Presents a source of information about the myths, ceremonies, and lives of the New World inhabitants whom Columbus first encountered. This book contains many linguistic and cultural observations: descriptions of the Indians' healing rituals and their beliefs about their souls after death. It provides the first known account of the use of tobacco.

He provides the first known account of the use of tobacco and recounts the use of idols in ritual ceremonies. The names, functions, and attributes of native gods, the mythological origin of the aboriginal people's attitudes toward sex and gender, and their rich stories of creation are described as well. With this new edition, Pane's remarkable and unapologetic examination of an indigenous people will enlighten English-speaking students of history, Latin America, and anthropology. Fray Ramon Pane, a self-described "poor friar of the Order of Saint Jerome," arrived in Hispanola with Christopher Columbus in 1494 where he spent the next two years living with and recording the lives of its indigenous inhabitants. Jose Juan Arrom is Professor Emeritus of Latin American Literature at Yale University and the author of numerous books, including "Imaginacion del Nuevo Mundo". Susan Griswold is Professor of Foreign Languages at Wofford College in South Carolina and is the translator of "The Cambridge History of Latin American Literature".