The Charm of Graves: Perceptions of Death and After-Death Among the Negev Bedouin - Couverture souple

Kressel, Gideon M; Bar-Zvi, Sasson; Abu-Rabia, Aref

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 1845197089 ISBN 13 : 9781845197087

Editeur : Liverpool University Press, 2014

Synopsis

The authors provide a comprehensive picture of burial, mourning rituals, commemoration practices and veneration of the dead among the Negev Bedouin. A primary emphasis is the pivotal linkages between the living and the dead embodied in the intermediary role of healers, sorcerers, seers and other arbitrators between heaven and earth, who supplicate -- publicly and privately -- at the gravesite of chosen awliyah (deceased saints). This book brings together integrated findings of three scholars, based on decades of field work that combine close to 65 years of scrutiny. It maps out the locations and particularities of venerated tombs, the identity of the occupants and their individual abilities vis-a-vis the Almighty. Attitudes, beliefs and customs surrounding each gravesite, when combined on a longitudinal scale, reveal changes over time in beliefs and practices in grave worship and burial, mourning and condolence customs. Analysis of the data reveals that the dynamic of grave worship among the Negev Bedouin throws light on ancient traditions in a complex relationship with mainstream Islamic doctrine and the impact of modernity on Bedouin conduct and belief. The authors' observations and interviews with practitioners about their beliefs are compared and augmented with references that exist in the professional literature, including grave worship elsewhere in the Arab world. The Charm of Graves is essential reading for anthropologists, scholars of the sociology of religion, and students of Islam at university and popular levels. The topic has received only marginal attention in existing anthropological works and has been keenly awaited.

A propos du livre

À propos de l?auteur

Gideon M. Kressel is professor emeritus at Ben-Gurion University's Blaustein Institute for Desert Research. Sasson Bar-Zvi served as military governor of the Negev from 1963 to 1968 and had lasting personal involvement with the social concerns of the tribes. 'Aref Abu-Rabi'a is a professor in the department of Middle East studies at Ben-Gurion University.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Liverpool University Press
• Date d'édition: 2014
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 1845197089
• ISBN 13: 9781845197087
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 256
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
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