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This volume is the first in a new series of editions of Coptic-language "magical" manuscripts from Egypt, written on papyrus, ostraca, parchment, and paper, and dating to between the fourth and twelfth centuries CE. Their texts attest to non-institutional rituals intended to bring about changes in the lives of those who used them - heal disease, curse enemies, bring about love or hatred, or see into the future. These manuscripts represent rich sources of information on daily life and lived religion of Egypt in the last centuries of Roman rule and the first centuries after the Arab conquest, giving us glimpses of the hopes and fears of people of this time, their conflicts and problems, and their vision of the human and superhuman worlds. This volume presents 37 new editions and descriptions of manuscripts, focusing on formularies or "handbooks", those texts containing instructions for the performance of rituals. Each of these is accompanied by a history of its acquisition, a material description, and presented with facing text and translations, tracings of accompanying images, and explanatory notes to aid in understanding the text

"Dá̈kwändür Ghay Ghàkwädīndür--Our Story in Our Words tells the story of the peoples of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation, from thousands of years ago to the present day. This richly illustrated book includes traditional stories from long ago, told by Elders, about the origins of the world and the aftermath of a great flood, about "The Double Winter" and "The Girl Who Married the Bear." Several stories appear in Tlingit, Tagish, Northern Tutchone, or Southern Tutchone, to share these original languages of Kwanlin Dün with the next generation. The lives of early inhabitants of the Southern Yukon are imagined with reference to archaelogical finds and scientific understandings. Elders also share stories about the arrival of white people, about the Gold Rush days and the building of the Alaska Highway, and all the intense challenges that Kwanlin Dün faced. KDFN citizens recall the decades-long land claims struggle that culminated in the KDFN Final Agreements in 2005. And the many nation-building accomplishments since then are celebrated--with an eye to much success ahead. Throughout the book are striking historical pictures, beautiful contemporary artwork, and vivid photographs of the land. Dá̈kwändür Ghay Ghàkwädīndür--Our Story in Our Words is a wide-ranging story, told in many unique voices, that celebrates the values, endurance, and accomplishments of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation."--