ABSTRACT
The idea that humankind, or to be more accurate mankind. is avart from nature seems to be one that is deeply rooted in Western civi1i;ation. In contrast to the 'animistic' religions of many indigenous peoples, which, to use our terms, see culture in nature and nature in culture (Hultkrantz, 1967; Lowie, 1970; Eliade, 1972; Colchester, 1981; 1982b), Judaeo-Christian traditions tell of an origin in which man was given dominion over the beasts. Indeed, even the most ancient of the world's epics, the Tale of Gilgamesh, recounts the primordial struggle between kingly civilizations and the forests, the source of all evil and brutishness (Sinclair, 1991).
