Ancestors: Who We Are and Where We Come From
- ISBN-10
- 1538104377
- ISBN-13
- 9781538104378
- Series
- Ancestors
- Category
- Social Science
- Pages
- 248
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2017-08-03
- Publisher
- Rowman & Littlefield
- Author
- David Hertzel
Description
People involve their ancestors in every aspect of culture. Individuals and societies worldwide and throughout history have incorporated ancestors into rituals public and private, religious and secular. Societies often organize their aristocracies, tribes, and other kinship groups around ancestral constructions which are defined through laws and customs governing marriage, naming, guardianship, inheritance, and other social practices. Medical professionals consider ancestral information important to a patient’s diagnosis and to the study of disease; many psychiatrists consider one’s relationship to ancestors important in understanding the mental and emotional disposition of subjects. Ancestry and perceptions of ancestry frequently function as a determinant of personal, ethnic, racial, and national identity. For all its larger philosophical, medical, psychological, and religious implications, one fascinating aspect of ancestry is how passionately many people hold to ‘their own’ ancestry, and to their own perceptions of the same. In Ancestors, David Hertzel offers an introductory foray into the nature of relationships people today have with their ancestors, and explores the significance of ancestry and ancestral belief in our modern world. Guided by two questions—“who are your ancestors?” and “what is your relationship to your ancestors?”—Hertzel interviewed thirty-five elders and people of prominence within particular social or intellectual communities. Interviewees were accomplished in an area related to ancestry, its nature or its meaning, and included genealogists, geneticists, tribal chiefs and elders, researchers in some aspect of family or ancestry, family elders, and experienced practitioners or supervisors of particular ancestral rituals. Interviewees were selected from a variety of cultural backgrounds for purposes of contrast, comparison, and breadth—but they are not spokespeople and were not asked to ‘represent’ particular belief systems, doctrines, or Peoples. Rather, the interviewees describe their own personal experiences and beliefs involving ancestors. From these interviews, Hertzel identifies common themes to ancestral practices and beliefs, such as the way we sanctify our ancestors, how we create a living narrative of our ancestry, and how experiences like suffering and love are shared across generations and appear to transcend death. Excerpts from interviews serve as examples throughout his narrative exploration of the concept of ancestry; a selection of full interviews are embedded throughout the text and offer glimpses into the diversity of ways that people think about who they are and where they come from.
Get the book
Other editions
-
- 2021-09-01
- 192 pages
- Paperback
- University of Alberta Press
Similar books
-
The Ancestors
By Brandon Massey, L. A. Banks, Tananarive DueThe evils of the past haunt the present in a trio of stories from African-American writers.
-
Finding Your Native American Ancestors
By Guy NixonThen on July 31st Watie's third strike used his cannon to shell Fort Smith. This attack so shattered the Union forces sense of security that they began to pull back their forces and sent a message to Stephen H. Wattles of Fort Gibson to ...
-
Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors
By Carl Sagan, Ann DruyanShadows of Forgotten Ancestors is a thrilling saga that starts with the origin of the Earth.
-
Access to Origins: Affines, Ancestors, and Aristocrats
By Mary W. HelmsThis is the hypothesis that Mary W. Helms pursues in this broadly cross-cultural study of aristocracy in chiefly societies. She begins with basic ideas about the dead, ancestors, affines, and concepts of cosmological origins.
-
Tracing Your Criminal Ancestors
By Stephen WadeIf you have ever had any suspicions about the illicit activities of your relatives, or are fascinated by the history of crime and punishment, this is the book for you.
-
African Religion Defined: A Systematic Study of Ancestor Worship among the Akan
By Anthony Ephirim-DonkorAfrican religion is ancestor worship; that is, funeral preparations, burial of the dead with ceremony and pomp, belief in eternal existence of souls of the dead as ancestors, periodic remembrance of ancestors, and belief that they influence ...
-
Tracing Your Mississippi Ancestors
By Anne S. Lipscomb, Anne L. Webster, Kathleen S. HutchisonConfederate Records : Jackson County , Mississippi . Jean Strickland and Patricia N. Edwards . Privately printed , 1988. 178 pp . This volume contains copies of the pension applications made by confederate veterans in Jackson County .
-
The Homes of Our Ancestors in Stonington, Conn
By Grace Denison WheelerThe Homes of Our Ancestors in Stonington, Conn by Grace Denison Wheeler, first published in 1903, is a rare manuscript, the original residing in one of the great libraries of...
-
Ancestor Trouble: A Reckoning and a Reconciliation
By Maud NewtonONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker, NPR, Time, Entertainment Weekly, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Esquire, Garden & Gun Maud Newton’s ancestors have fascinated her since she was a ...
-
Annals of Our Ancestors: One Hundred and Fifty Years of History in the Watkins Family (Classic Reprint)
By Julia Watkins FrostHe married Elizabeth Spinning. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work.