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Immortality: Funerary Rites and Customs
This book is a comparative study of the many and varied cultural forms of the belief of life after death. It examines the wealth of conceptions of the hereafter from all parts of the world across many different eras.
- GenresHistory
215 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1926
11 people want to read
About the author
C.E. Vulliamy
44 books2 followersAka Anthony Rolls, Twm Teg.
Colwyn Edward Vulliamy (1886-1971) was a Welsh biographer and historian. He was educated privately and studied art under Stanhope Forbes. He entered the Army in WW1 and served in France, Macedonia and Turkey. After the war he wrote mainly biographies and humour, but also produced several inverted mystery novels.
He married Eileen Hynes in 1916 and had two children. She died in 1943. Their son, John Sebastian, an architect, married Shirley Hughes.
His best-known book is The Vicar's Experiments (1932), written under the pseudonym Anthony Rolls.
Colwyn Edward Vulliamy (1886-1971) was a Welsh biographer and historian. He was educated privately and studied art under Stanhope Forbes. He entered the Army in WW1 and served in France, Macedonia and Turkey. After the war he wrote mainly biographies and humour, but also produced several inverted mystery novels.
He married Eileen Hynes in 1916 and had two children. She died in 1943. Their son, John Sebastian, an architect, married Shirley Hughes.
His best-known book is The Vicar's Experiments (1932), written under the pseudonym Anthony Rolls.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 23, 2025
Welsh writer Colwyn Edward Vulliamy provides an overview of funerary customs from around the world, covering many diverse ethnic groups such as the Bantus, Australian Aboriginals, Ancient Egyptians, tribes of New Guinea, the Ibos of Nigeria, the ancient Chinese, Bronze Age Europeans, and so on.
Vulliamy takes particular interest in the rites of so-called “primitive” man, as is described in his politically incorrect lexicon of the 1920s. Although he refers to ancient peoples and isolated tribes as “savages,” he seems to simultaneously have an underlying current of fascination and appreciation of their unique customs. Some of the subject matter is occasionally stomach churning, such as descriptions of cannibalistic rituals, self-mutilation at funerals, and the use of human body parts in certain rites.
Vulliamy concludes his book with one last question:
“Is the belief in immortality based on primitive error, or on some egotistical admiration, or, on the other hand, is it based on the partial recognition of truth?”
His thesis seems to suggest that modern humans have lost their sense of spirituality and belief in the endurance of the human soul from beyond the grave. By covering such a wide breath of subject matter, Vulliamy uncovers a universal thread that seemed to link mankind in their reverence for the dead and their insistence on performing traditional burials for the deceased.
Vulliamy takes particular interest in the rites of so-called “primitive” man, as is described in his politically incorrect lexicon of the 1920s. Although he refers to ancient peoples and isolated tribes as “savages,” he seems to simultaneously have an underlying current of fascination and appreciation of their unique customs. Some of the subject matter is occasionally stomach churning, such as descriptions of cannibalistic rituals, self-mutilation at funerals, and the use of human body parts in certain rites.
Vulliamy concludes his book with one last question:
“Is the belief in immortality based on primitive error, or on some egotistical admiration, or, on the other hand, is it based on the partial recognition of truth?”
His thesis seems to suggest that modern humans have lost their sense of spirituality and belief in the endurance of the human soul from beyond the grave. By covering such a wide breath of subject matter, Vulliamy uncovers a universal thread that seemed to link mankind in their reverence for the dead and their insistence on performing traditional burials for the deceased.
May 23, 2013
I read this wonderful non-fiction title years ago. It was easy to read, sharing some rather interesting information regarding how people across the world deal with death. And no, nowhere near as morbid as the subject matter might suggest. Vulliamy ties a bunch of different cultures together by way of the similarities in which they deal with death, showing that regardless of geographical differences and apparent isolation from each other, we draw from similar belief systems. Very cool stuff!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews