Wisdom from a Rainforest: The Spiritual Journey of an Anthropologist by Stuart A. Schlegel


Wisdom from a Rainforest: The Spiritual Journey of an Anthropologist
Title : Wisdom from a Rainforest: The Spiritual Journey of an Anthropologist
Author :
Rating :
ISBN : 0820324914
ISBN-10 : 9780820324913
Language : English
Format Type : Paperback
Number of Pages : 288
Publication : First published January 1, 1999

A VERY IMPORTANT CORRECTION I have spoken at length and with deep feeling in several places -- notably in my book, WISDOM FROM A RAINFOREST -- that I received a phone call in 1971 from a close friend in the Philippines that the entire Teduray community of Figel where I did research in the late 1960s had been massacred -- every man, woman, and child. This devastated me and I called another friend who confirmed that it was correct.

Just a few days ago -- some 46 years later -- a knowledgable new Teduray friend informed me that, in fact, Figel still exists, that he visits there regularly, and that there had been some survivors in 1971. The forest trees are now all gone, but Figel has a school and some descendants of Balaud, the esteemed legal sage, are still living there.

I am overjoyed beyond words to learn this, but embarrassed that I had misinformed my many readers. I am now trying to reach as many as possible to set the record straight. Please help me spread this happy news. 

Thank you very much,

Stuart A. Schlegel 

* * * * *

In the mid-sixties, Stuart Schlegel went into a remote rainforest on the Philippine island of Mindanao as an anthropologist in search of material. What he found was a group of people whose tolerant, gentle way of life would transform his own values and beliefs profoundly. Wisdom from a Rainforest is Schlegel's testament to his experience and to the Teduray people of Figel, from whom he learned such vital, lasting lessons.
Schlegel's lively ethnography of the Teduray portrays how their behavior and traditions revolved around kindness and compassion for humans, animals, and the spirits sharing their worlds. Schlegel describes the Teduray's remarkable legal system and their strong story-telling tradition, their elaborate cosmology, and their ritual celebrations. At the same time, Schlegel recounts his own transformation―how his worldview as a member of an advanced, civilized society was shaken to the core by a so-called primitive people. He begins to realize how culturally determined his own values are and to see with great clarity how much the Teduray can teach him about gender equality, tolerance for difference, generosity, and cooperation.
By turns funny, tender, and gripping, Wisdom from a Rainforest honors the Teduray's legacy and helps us see how much we can learn from a way of life so different from our own.


Wisdom from a Rainforest: The Spiritual Journey of an Anthropologist Reviews


  • RE de Leon

    I intended to add this to my GoodReads list soon after I started reading it,and update my progress the way I usually do, but I could not: I was too busy reading it through and through. Mo-Lini's (Mo-Lini was the name the Teduray had for Schlegel) mix of personal and academic tones makes for reading that is both insightful and touching.

    People coming to this book specifically for information about the Figel Teduray should be warned: this is NOT an academic work, but a memoir by an anthropologist who had been deeply influenced by his subjects. The most important parts of the book are Schlegel's self-insights as influenced by the people of Figel, and if the account is not taken for the personal account that it is, it can be a bit frustrating, as details of Figel Teduray cosmology or legal systems and so on are not fully explored.

    But read this with an open mind, and you'll see that these details are not the point. This book is not about encoding systems and facts, but about relationships and people, and that unique ability of the Figel Teduray to just live life; their art and wisdom of living.

    Mo-Lini captured an image of the way of the Figel Teduray, and it changed him. And he wrote about it in this book. The Figel Teduray Stuart Schlegel knew, I think, would have called that "just-right".

    R.E.de Leon
    Concepcion Uno, Marikina
    2001-03-17 13:26h

  • Cornelie

    Though the title at first struck me as somewhat woolly, 'Wisdrom from a Rainforest' turned out to be an interesting, gripping book about the Teduray tribe in the Philippines. Late tribe really, because the forest inhabitants were all killed as a result of war violence during the 70's.
    Schlegel, a priest-turned-anthropologist, spent several years with these people, a decade before they were wiped from the earth. His story is quite touching, not only because of the incredible placidity and kindness of the Teduray, but also because he does not spare himself. Running of into the jungle to do research meant leaving his wife and two toddlers in the middle of nowhere. He admits that looking back, that wasn't necessarily the nicest thing to do. Also he is frank about his shortcomings as a researcher, that led to flawed research in some areas.
    Schlegel describes his identity crisis in the Philippines which made him leave, followed by his disappointment in Western society when he returns home to the US. No matter how hard he tried, he could not recreate the kindess-based society of the Teduray.
    The beauty of this book lies in the fact that Schlegel shows us a eleborate society where cooperation, total equality and aversion of hierarchy, greed, competition and violence worked. It was not just a Utopion idea, it truly existed. Schlegel never denies that the people of this society were only human and just as flawed as the next person. Violence occured (sometimes). But at the core, they were peaceful. To know that this was (is?) possible, is comforting to know.

    Flaw: Schlegel's training as an anthropologist before living with the Teduray was only brief, which sometimes shows. He mentions how gender as a social construct was not an issue in the 1960's. However, this type of research had been done for several decades by then.

  • Kath Pompa-Calagui

    When I read "Wisdom from the Rainforest", I had 2 kids to take care of so I wasn't able to read this book in a day unlike my friend who recommended it. But I think it was more advantageous for me. After reading a few pages, I was able to ponder about those few pages while I was waiting
    for things to cook, or waiting in the car for my kids to finish school.

    I'm a Filipina who grew up in Metro Manila and I appreciate your book for all the things I've learned about Mindanao that my 19 years of education in the Philippines never taught me.

    One of my favorite parts was their creation story. So many thoughts have run through my mind after reading that part. How did I not know of indigenous peoples from my country having a complex story of creation? How can a mild-mannered group of people with a complex culture just be wiped out? Your book made me reflect and cast doubts on my religion for the first time. Such as, was the Spanish colonization/ mission justifiable because they got to convert people to Catholicism anyway? I would like to think that the tribes in Luzon and Visayas though not exactly the same as the Tedurays had similar practices and beliefs. What gave the missionaries the right to destroy their beautiful culture and belief system? Suddenly, I was not proud of how I and my ancestors became Catholic. By the end of the book, I am still a devout Catholic but now with a deeper understanding on what my beliefs stand for.

    I do hope more Filipinos will have the chance to read your books and get to know themselves better as a nation.

    You can check his profile and other books at
    http://www.amazon.com/author/stuartsc...

  • Kelly Palakshappa

    I enjoyed reading this book because it is written from the perspective of an anthropologist and has a personal tone heard throughout the book. From the minute I began reading the book, I could not put it down, even when it ended I wanted to read more about the Teduray people and the intriguing life of Schlegel. Schlegel's book explains, in great detail, his fieldwork with the Teduray people, including his firsthand accounts with the Teduray and the cultural differences of their society, compared with his native culture.

    I think Schlegel's work is an example of a good ethnography because he explains, in vivid detail, his daily activites with the Teduray people. I especially enjoyed the conversation Schlegel has with Mo-Lino when they are discussing the constellations and the different interpretations each has. Schlegel sees a satellite moving across the sky and asks Mo-Lini what it is, and Mo-Lini replies that it is a satellite. The converation in the book shows the reader not to assume what you think people know, you must be openminded.

  • Kate Lawrence

    I stumbled on this quite by accident, but it ties in wonderfully with a discussion group I'm currently participating in, on David Korten's The Great Turning. Is it possible for a society to be organized on principles of cooperation instead of competition, partnership instead of domination? Stuart Schlegel can answer with an emphatic "yes!" because he lived in such a society for two years in the 1960s. He intended to study the Teduray, an indigenous tribe in a Philippine rainforest, as the subject of his dissertation for a Ph.D. in anthropology, but it became much more than that. The tribe's egalitarian values and kindness led Schlegel, an Episcopal priest, to reflect deeply on the contrast between how they lived and the hierarchical values he had been brought up with in the U.S.
    This is the kind of book I love to discover, one which involves spiritual questioning while telling an engrossing story, and speaks of a higher human potential than we commonly experience. But you might expect that from someone who wrote a book about peace.

  • Laura

    Moving and honest reflections of an anthropologist. His view of the world is challenged as he immerses himself in a culture so different from his own. he wrestles with questions many of us also ask. Some of What he discovers is not certainty but more questions, compassion, increased sensitivity to others.These Teduray people seemed to accept the ambiguities of life. Instead of continuously seeking answers they sought to live in egalitarian partnership with others and reconcile different as peacefully as possible. The author found his thinking and attitude toward the life he knew greatly shifted.
    So helpful to me as I am troubled right now seeking the 'purposes' in my view of my own life and deep sadness at my perceived inadequacies. Hope is found in each moment, if we honor each moment and encounter.

  • Chris Economon

    Wonderful book! Great perspective on the human spirit and the quest to find ourselves...individually and as a society.

    Favorite moments:
    "Besides, with our serial killers, our ethnic wars, and our miniscule concern for the impoverished and hopeless among our own people, who are we to call anyone else primitive?" 62

    "'Going native' just can't be done. One can, of course, fit in. One can act as inconspicious as possible. One can come to deep empathy with the cosmology and the moral understanding of a people...But it takes years and years, often generations, before an immigrant comes to seem at all 'native.'" 69

  • Gabriela

    A delightful yet sorrowful read that takes us into the world of the Philippine's Figel Teduray people. You cannot help but question the way you live while reading the narrative.

  • Caitlin

    I'm currently reading this for my Cultural Anthropology class. I bought the book off Amazon and only just realized that the copy that I bought is signed by Schlegel.

  • Kimberly

    Schlegel speaks with a heart so open it challenges you to find the draped parts of your own heart and draw back the curtains.

  • Joanie

    I saw this beautiful book in the library and fell in love with it. The story was deeply personal, the ending was sorrowful.

  • Isabella

    2.5/5

    Read for school. Good book, but didn't hold my interest very well. Bonus points for a good ending, though.