ABSTRACT
WHEN we examine the evidence, we see a considerable similarity both in customs and beliefs, and an almost universal agreement in some elements, such as the conceptions connected with the disposal of the body, of the general attitude toward the corpse, of the dread of the spirit of the deceased., of the necessity of observing mourning ceremonies, of the practice of commemorating the dead by feasts at which some portion of the food is offered them, and the belief in the continued existence of the soul. Our object now is to analyse some of these elements, and see why certain phases of the deathsituation are brought into prominence at the expense of others. Before we have voiced the sentiment that, although ours is not a search for ultimate origins, yet this does not make us eliminate psychological considerations from our discussion.
