Funeral Customs (Forgotten Books)

Book Description:

"A funeral is a ceremony marking a person's death. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from the funeral itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor. These customs vary widely between cultures, and between religious affiliations within cultures. In some cultures the dead are venerated; this is commonly called ancestor worship. The word funeral comes from the Latin funus, which had a variety of meanings, including the corpse and the funerary rites themselves.

Funeral rites are as old as the human race itself, as well as other hominids. For example, in the Shanidar cave in Iraq, Neanderthal skeletons have been discovered with a characteristic layer of pollen, which suggests that Neanderthals buried the dead with gifts of flowers. This has been interpreted as suggesting that Neanderthals believed in an afterlife, and in any case were aware of their own mortality and were capable of mourning." (Quote from wikipedia.org)

Table of Contents:

Publisher's Preface; Forword; Acknowledgment; The Provisions Of Nature; Death Warnings--when Does Death Take Place?; Preparation For Burial, Coffins, ''grave-goods,'' Suttee; Wakes, Mutes, Wailers, Sin-eating, Totemism, Death-taxes; Bells, Mourning; Funeral Feasts And Processions; Early Burial-places; Churchyards, Cemeteries, Orientation And Other Burial Customs; Trees, Flowers, Body-snatching; Plague; State And Public Funerals; Cremation, Embalming; In Memoriam; Memorials, Epitaphs, Rings And Mourning Cards

About the Publisher:

Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, Esoteric and Mythology. www.forgottenbooks.org

Forgotten Books is about sharing information, not about making money. All books are priced at wholesale prices. We are also the only publisher we know of to print in large sans-serif font, which is proven to make the text easier to read and put less strain on your eyes.