Enchantment
Ashes, Diamonds and the Transformation of Funeral Culture
By (author) Thorsten Benkel By (author) Thomas Klie By (author) Matthias Meitzler
Paperback (Published)
(November 2020)
ISBN: 9783525670217
6.1 x 9.06 inches
Price: $57.00
In stock
Ash diamonds – a reflection of changing mourning rituals
The culture of burial and mourning is presently in a state of flux. The idea of using the cremated remains of loved ones to form jewelry no longer belongs to the realm of science fiction but has become a fact of modern life. Today, many countries are open to allowing the ashes of the dead to be turned into ornamental objects. Technically, this produces remembrance artifacts representing the dead. The new aspect is that the mortal remains continue to exist after death in the form of such an artifact, for which previous burial culture has no precedent. How do such “ash diamonds” figure into the mourning process? How do relatives deal with this phenomenon? What is the role of esthetics? How does the social environment react to this “metamorphosis”? And does this represent the renewal of the idea of relics? This book is based on interviews held with persons who decided to go this route of remembering their deceased loved ones. The authors also visited the production facilities of these precious stones, talked with experts about the process, and attended the delivery rituals. In addition to practical, theological, and sociological assessments, the volume includes case studies that provide a forum for those concerned to voice their opinions.
- By (author) Thorsten Benkel
- By (author) Thomas Klie
- By (author) Matthias Meitzler
Similar Books
‘For You I Study, For You I Work, For You I Live, For You I Am Ready To Even Give My Life’
Essays in Honour of Francis (Frank) J Moloney, SDB
A Late Antique Harrowing of Hell and Its Medieval Reception
Eusebius of Alexandria's Sermons 15 and 17 (CPG 5524; 5526) and their Latin Rewritings
Volume 99
Between Bones and Beliefs
Human-Bird Relations in Central and Northern Europe in the First Millennium AD
Volume 4
Beyond Sovereign Courts
Agents and Practices in Early Modern Spanish and Habsburg Diplomacy
Volume 3
Drunk the Potion, No Whit Charmed
The Doctrine of Pure and Perfect Souls from Iamblichus to Damascius
Engaged Languages and Literatures / Langues et Littératures engagées
Critical Views / Regards Critiques
Extracanonical Traditions and the Holy Land
Texts, Rituals, and Material Culture in Late Antique Palestine
Fear, Fear of God, God-Fearers
Philological and Historical Perspectives on the World of Ancient Judaism and Christianity
Legal Visuality
Exegesis, Ambiguity, and Dissimulation of the Donation of Constantine in the Early Modern Period
Liturgia semper reformanda
Adaptations and accommodations in the liturgy in light of canon 838 of the Code of Canon Law
Pre-Christian Religions, Rituals, and Beliefs in Central and Northern Europe
Interdisciplinary Investigations
Volume 5
Students, Scholars and Their Books at the University of Louvain (1425-1797)
Studium Lovaniense: Learning across Borders, 1
Volume 17
