Dancing on the Grave

Looking at the ways different cultures around the world deal with death and give it meaning, this book covers such diverse areas as myths about death, belief about ways to mourn, joking at funerals, post-mortem videos, cannibalism, headhunting and royal mortuary ritual.

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Seeking to merge the information of theologians and anthropologists, this book looks at the variety of ways in which cultures around the world deal with death and give it meaning. In some cultures, most famously Ancient Egypt, families would virtually financially ruin themselves in order to deal with the death of just one person. Other cultures such as the nomadic peoples of southern Africa, simply pull down the roof of their dwelling onto the body and move on, while the wrapped bodies in Torajan (Indonesian) houses are used as shelves. The reader is guided through such diverse areas as myths about death, belief about ways to mourn, joking at funerals, post-mortem videos, cannibalism, headhunting and royal mortuary ritual.