Rituals

A funeral is something we perform for the dead, certainly. But perhaps it is also something we do with them. We accompany them.

Across cultures, death is more than a biological event. From Maya cave burials and Balinese cremation to Chinchorro mummification, Zoroastrian exposure, Berawan secondary burial, and apotropaic graves in Poland, funeral practices reveal how humans understand the body, personhood, and the dead. What happens after the body dies—and when does a person finish dying? Explore the anthropology of mortuary and funerary practices around the world.

Grief refuses to stay inside the neat emotional categories we try to impose upon it. Music offers something unusual. It doesn’t ask us to explain what we are feeling. It simply gives those feelings somewhere to go. Many bereaved people instinctively understand this. Some create playlists filled with songs that remind them of the person who died.

Summer solstice celebrations and traditions shouldn't be relics of the past. They are important rituals acknowledging our humanity and community.

Exploration of death themes in diverse world myths.

As the Northern Hemisphere pivots from the dormant chill of winter toward the waxing light of summer, a diverse array of ancient rituals—Beltane, Walpurgisnacht, and May Day—emerges to mark this transition. While these festivities often appear as quaint folk customs or vibrant tourist spectacles, an anthropological and mythic analysis reveals a deeper architecture: they are sophisticated cultural mechanisms for managing death anxiety and reaffirming the continuity of life wit