A Celebration of Customs & Rituals of the World

Explores initiation rites, wedding feasts, harvest celebrations, religious rituals, and many other customs used around the world to mark all kinds of special occasions.

The title says it: a lavishly illustrated encyclopedia of traditional and contemporary customs and rituals representing cultures from every corner of the globe. In a clearly written text, Wilkinson (The Master Builders, 1994, etc.) makes sense of the variety of rites that accompany significant events in life, including childbirth, holidays, weddings, harvest, religious and artistic celebrations, and funerals. Ingpen demonstrates the universality of these rituals in beautiful montage illustrations; e.g., in the coverage of wedding dances, he depicts the Wodaabe men of Niger, Czech married women, and Cajun bridesmaids. Author and illustrator consistently attempt to stand outside their own culture, eschewing ethnocentrism, to convey the meaning of the ceremonial and spiritual ties that bind all people. In a world where religious, racial, and cultural differences often lead to conflict, this book may convince readers that what cultures share, through ritual and custom, is much more important than what divides them. (index) (Nonfiction. 10+) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Gr. 5^-8. Whether located in the Australian outback or the court of Queen Elizabeth II, human societies share a rich tradition of ceremonies marked by fascinating customs and rituals. Divided into four large topics, this survey highlights how we celebrate birth, coming-of-age (male and female), marriage, death, and other important passages. Common rituals like eating and gift giving are covered as well. Rich full-color illustrations, some of them showing partial nudity, and detailed captions help bring more meaning to these sometimes complex ceremonies. Denia Hester