"Bardwell L. Smith offers a fresh perspective on mizuko kuyō, the Japanese ceremony performed to bring solace to those who have experienced miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion. Showing how old and new forms of myth, symbol, doctrine, praxis, and organization combine and overlap…
Here, Bardwell L. Smith offers a fresh perspective on mizuko kuyo, the Japanese ceremony performed to bring solace to those who have experienced miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion.
It is a classical anthropological paradox that symbols of rebirth and fertility are frequently found in funerary rituals throughout the world. The original essays collected here re-examine this phenomenon through insights from China, India, New Guinea, Latin America, and Africa.…
For a decade, the author followed Cambodian men and women to former wedding and birth sites from the Khmer Rouge period (1975-79), filming their return to these locations. In the process she uncovered evidence of the way severe dislocation, induced starvation and other murderous…
For a decade, the author followed Cambodian men and women to former wedding and birth sites from the Khmer Rouge period (1975-79), filming their return to these locations. In the process she uncovered evidence of the way severe dislocation, induced starvation and other murderous…
"For centuries, a persistent and important component of Lakota religious life has been the Inipi, the ritual of the sweat lodge. The sweat lodge has changed little in appearance since its first recorded description in the late seventeenth century. The ritual itself consists of s…
This book details the traditional and sacred use of psychoactive substances by peoples in the ancient past through the lens of archaeology.
This book details the traditional and sacred use of psychoactive substances by peoples in the ancient past through the lens of archaeology. "Mind-altering substances have been used by humans for thousands of years. In fact, ancient societies sometimes encouraged the consumption…
This book details the traditional and sacred use of psychoactive substances by peoples in the ancient past through the lens of archaeology.
Over the last decades quite a few studies have been devoted to drinking. Most of these were concerned with alcohol and written by social anthropologists. This book presents multidisciplinary aspects of the ingestion of liquids at large, addressing many of the overt and covert me…
Over the last decades quite a few studies have been devoted to drinking. Most of these were concerned with alcohol and written by social anthropologists. This book presents multidisciplinary aspects of the ingestion of liquids at large, addressing many of the overt and covert me…
"This new translation of Sud e magia, his 1959 study of ceremonial magic and witchcrafts in southern Italy, shows how de Martino is not interested in the question of whether magic is rational or irrational but rather in why it came to be perceived as a problem of knowledge in th…
"This new translation of Sud e magia, his 1959 study of ceremonial magic and witchcrafts in southern Italy, shows how de Martino is not interested in the question of whether magic is rational or irrational but rather in why it came to be perceived as a problem of knowledge in th…
"This new translation of Sud e magia, his 1959 study of ceremonial magic and witchcrafts in southern Italy, shows how de Martino is not interested in the question of whether magic is rational or irrational but rather in why it came to be perceived as a problem of knowledge in th…
La guerra es tan antigua como la humanidad, pero en el pasado, los guerreros se preparaban para la batalla mediante el ritual, la religión y la literatura, que también les ayudaban a volver a casa. En esta narración, el autor entrelaza los relatos de sus experiencias de combate …
War is as old as humankind, but in the past, warriors were prepared for battle by ritual, religion and literature, which also helped bring them home. In this narrative, the author weaves accounts of his combat experiences with thoughtful analysis, self-examination, and his readi…
War is as old as humankind, but in the past, warriors were prepared for battle by ritual, religion and literature, which also helped bring them home. In this narrative, the author weaves accounts of his combat experiences with thoughtful analysis, self-examination, and his readi…
War is as old as humankind, but in the past, warriors were prepared for battle by ritual, religion and literature, which also helped bring them home. In this narrative, the author weaves accounts of his combat experiences with thoughtful analysis, self-examination, and his readi…