"Theirs is the power of death and disappearance"

 I find it fascinating to try and reason through why Ama killed the panther and why she did not produce the body when she so easily could have produced it and lessened her judgment. For me, I think it was the tribe mentality; to bring back a beast who symbolized the essence of their tribe and was held in such reverence, and yet was dying of sickness, would have weakened the resolve of an already disappearing people.

I think that Ama offered herself as a scapegoat so that the people of the Taiga tribe would not have to face the decay around them. Also - as the judgment upon Abraham earlier in the novel shows - with the expression of the power held by the tribal leaders, many young people started following the ways again. Perhaps Ama reasoned that if she allowed herself to be judged, remaining silent so as to not tell them about the panther's true condition, that this would give the tribe the chance to grow and flourish once more due to their expression of power.

How is the Panther itself a symbol of the taiga tribe?

Shades of Grey

It is interesting to note that, in Power, the people around Omishto are trying to follow their beliefs and what they believe to be true. However, Omishto has a very different approach to life. Within Power, we see that Omishto is struggling to find her own understanding of faith versus knowledge, and is trying to understand her own opinions and the opinions of those around her.
An article from Vladmir Antonov, written in 2008, speaks about the conflict between faith and knowledge. Based on our discussions in class over Power, do you agree or disagree with his views on the subject and why?
Vladmir Antonov - Faith Versus Knowledge