A detailed study of the art and artifacts of indigenous cultures. In 17 richly illustrated chapters written by a variety of experts - anthropologists, musicians, art historians, folklorists and poets, one encounters masks, musical instruments, ceremonial robes and costumes, the instruments of healing, the architecture or the sacred dances used by the shaman and others from the beginning of recorded time to the present. The shaman in the role of healer, the balancer of society, the maker of songs and images, was the first artist. This work was first published in artscanada, December 1973 / January 1974, Volume xxx, Numbers 5 and 6, Issue Numbers 184/185/186/187.