Celebrations of Death: The Anthropology of Mortuary Ritual - Hardcover

Huntington, Richard; Metcalfe, Peter

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0521225310 ISBN 13: 9780521225311

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1979

Synopsis

This revised edition of a cross-cultural study of rituals surrounding death has become a standard text in anthropology, sociology, and religion. Part of its fascination and success is that in understanding other people's death rituals we are able to gain a better understanding of our own. Peter Metcalf and Richard Huntington refer to a wide variety of examples from different continents and epochs. They compare the great tombs of the Berawan of Borneo and the pyramids of Egypt, or the dramas of medieval French royal funerals and the burial alive of the Dinka "masters of the spear" in the Sudan, and other burials which at first sight seem to have little in common. Many of these cases are anthropological classics, and the authors use these examples partly in order to illustrate the many different ways in which anthropologists have tried to interpret these rites. A new introduction reviews theoretical developments in the anthropological study of death since the book first appeared in 1979.

About this title

Book Description

This revised edition of a cross-cultural study of death rituals has become a standard text in anthropology, sociology, and religion. A new introduction reviews anthropological developments since its publication in 1979.

From the Back Cover

This revised and updated edition of a cross-cultural study of rituals surrounding death has become a standard text in anthropology, sociology, and religion. Part of its fascination and success-also among a general readership-is that in understanding other people's death rituals we are also able to gain a better understanding of our own.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1979
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521225310
• ISBN 13: 9780521225311
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272