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Piers Vitebsky

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description Piers Vitebsky Overview

Piers Vitebsky is a British social anthropologist whose research concerns religion, ecology, and Indigenous peoples in Siberia and tribal India. He conducted long-term fieldwork with the Eveny of northeastern Siberia, focusing on shamanism, reindeer herding, landscape, and changing relations between people and the dead. Vitebsky is emeritus head of Anthropology and Russian Northern Studies at Cambridge University’s Scott Polar Research Institute and wrote Reindeer People.

help Piers Vitebsky FAQ

Who are the Eveny studied by Piers Vitebsky?

The Eveny are an Indigenous people of northeastern Siberia whose lives have long been connected to reindeer herding. Vitebsky studied their relationships with reindeer, landscape, migration, shamanism, and social change.

What is The Reindeer People about?

The Reindeer People: Living with Animals and Spirits in Siberia was published in 2005 and draws on nearly 20 years of fieldwork among the Eveny. It explains how reindeer provide transport, food, materials, and a framework for social relationships. [Google Books](https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Reindeer_People.html?id=qbwmAQAAMAAJ)

How does reindeer herding shape Eveny life in Vitebsky's work?

Reindeer are not treated only as livestock or economic assets; they organize travel, cooperation, kinship, and ideas about the landscape. Vitebsky describes the relationship across migration routes, winter settlements, and the changing conditions of northeastern Siberia.

Did Piers Vitebsky study shamanism outside Siberia?

Yes. His book Shamanism and Dialogues with the Dead examines the Sora of eastern India, giving him a second major field context alongside the Eveny. His comparative work connects religious experience with ecology, mortality, and changing Indigenous communities.

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