Funerary Rituals Past and Present: Their Historical and Ongoing Significance
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2024 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Starohrvatska prosvjeta. Proceedings of the 6th International Scientific Symposium in honour of Stjepan Gunjača. Political and Social Structures in Medieval Central, South and Eastern Europe (9th – 15th centuries). Archaeological and historical evidence |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Keywords | rituals; rite de passage; burial; funerary behaviour; homo religiosus; funerary archaeology; forbidden death; tamed death |
| Description | Human being as part of the cultural world is often referred to in historical-philosophical or religious studies writings as Homo religiosus. In the contemporary, modern world, however, this designation sometimes loses its meaning. In the secularised Euro-North American cultural space, people today are often disconnected from the rituals that used to accompany people from birth to death. It is as if the spiritual content of the human being has been emptied and replaced by nothing for the time being. In the aftermath of the covid pandemic, many people have become aware of this emptiness and are trying to return to the tradition of ritualised perception of time. They perceive their finiteness and try to cope with it through rediscovered funerary rituals. Funerary archaeology can facilitate this journey of return. Based on the results of funerary archaeological research, people can understand the meaning and finality of farewell rituals through ancient and not so ancient history. |
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