Kiriyama Prize
1 appearances
Piers Vitebsky
ピアーズ・ヴィテブスキー
Piers Vitebsky
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Nationality
- British
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Cambridge, England → Yakutsk region, Russian Federation (fieldwork) → India (Sora region fieldwork) → Tromsø, Norway (visiting/affiliated)
Career
- Occupations
- Anthropologist, Researcher, Author, Professor (honorary/visiting)
- Active Years
- 1971-
- Affiliations
- Scott Polar Research Institute (University of Cambridge), University of Tromsø (Professor II / affiliated), Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) (Honorary Academician), North-Eastern Federal University (Honorary Professor)
- Memberships
- Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) (Honorary)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| King's College, University of Cambridge | Classics with Modern and Medieval Languages | — | BA | 1968–1971 | United Kingdom |
| Oxford University | Diploma in Social Anthropology | — | — | — | United Kingdom |
| Delhi School of Economics (affiliated student) | — | — | — | 1970年代後半（在籍） | India |
| School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London | — | Anthropology | PhD | 1979–1982 | United Kingdom |
King's College, University of Cambridge
Classics with Modern and Medieval Languages
Degree:
BA
Period:
1968–1971
Year of Graduation:
1971
Country:
United Kingdom
Undergraduate degree
Oxford University
Diploma in Social Anthropology
Country:
United Kingdom
Diploma level study in social anthropology
Delhi School of Economics (affiliated student)
Period:
1970年代後半（在籍）
Country:
India
Affiliated student / fieldwork preparation period
School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London
Anthropology
Degree:
PhD
Period:
1979–1982
Year of Graduation:
1982
Country:
United Kingdom
PhD based on fieldwork
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Gilchrist Expedition Award | — | — | Royal Geographical Society | 受賞 |
| 2006 | Kiriyama Prize (Non-fiction) | Reindeer People | — | Kiriyama Prize committee | 受賞 |
| 2007 | Victor Turner Prize for Ethnographic Writing | — | — | Society for Humanistic Anthropology, American Anthropological Association | 準優勝 |
Gilchrist Expedition Award
Organization:
Royal Geographical Society
Result:
受賞
Kiriyama Prize (Non-fiction)
2006
Work:
Reindeer People
Organization:
Kiriyama Prize committee
Result:
受賞
Victor Turner Prize for Ethnographic Writing
2007
Organization:
Society for Humanistic Anthropology, American Anthropological Association
Result:
準優勝
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Dialogues with the Dead: the discussion of mortality among the Sora of eastern India
1993 Ethnography / AnthropologyA detailed ethnography of the Sora of eastern India focusing on death, ancestor practices and the social negotiations around mortality.
mortalityancestor beliefritual
The Shaman: voyages of the soul from the Arctic to the Amazon
1995 Comparative religion / EthnographyA comparative study of shamanic practices from the Arctic to the Amazon, exploring universals and regional differences in shamanism.
shamanismritualconcepts of the soul
Translations
- Shamanism (various translations; reprinted as 'Shamanism')
Reindeer People: Living with Animals and Spirits in Siberia
2005 Ethnography / Environmental anthropologyFieldwork account of Siberian nomads, their reindeer herding lifeways, spiritual worldviews, and responses to environmental change.
nomadismhuman-animal relationsenvironmental change
Living without the Dead: Loss and Redemption in a Jungle Cosmos
2017 Ethnography 380 pagesA comparative ethnography exploring experiences of loss and redemption in a jungle society through rituals and narratives about the absence of the dead.
lossritual renewalrelations with ancestors
Bibliography
- Dialogues with the Dead: the discussion of mortality among the Sora of eastern India (1993)
- The Shaman: voyages of the soul from the Arctic to the Amazon (1995)
- Reindeer People: Living with Animals and Spirits in Siberia (2005)
- Living without the Dead: Loss and Redemption in a Jungle Cosmos (2017)
- Indigenous Knowledge: A Handbook of Sora Culture (co-authored/part)
Adaptations
- Documentary collaborations including 'Siberia: after the shaman'
- Film collaborations with BBC2, Channel 4 and National Geographic
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- descriptive and comparative writing based on extensive field notesnarrative approach to ethnographyscholarly yet accessible prose for general readers
- Recurring Motifs
- animism and spiritsshamanismreindeer and human-animal relationsrelations with the dead/ancestorsclimate change and environment
Legacy
Through long-term fieldwork in Siberia and South Asia, he has contributed key insights to the study of shamanism and indigenous responses to environmental change. His academic and popular publications and film collaborations have had wide-ranging impact.
Academic Societies
- Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) (Honorary)
Archives
- Related materials held in archives at the Scott Polar Research Institute (Cambridge)
In Popular Culture
- Documentaries he collaborated on were screened at international festivals including the Margaret Mead Film Festival
Trivia
- Considered one of the first westerners since the Revolution to live long-term with an indigenous community in the Russian Arctic.
- 'The Shaman' has been translated into multiple languages (reported as 15 languages in sources).
- The documentary 'Siberia: after the shaman' won first prize at the Film Festival of the European Foundation for the Environment and was screened at the Margaret Mead Film Festival.