ABSTRACT

Significant life passages are marked by ritual in virtually every culture. Weddings and funerals are just two of the most institutionalized yet troubled ones in our own society. A wide variety of rites, both traditional and invented, also mark birth, coming of age, and other major transitions. In Marrying & Burying Ronald Grimes, a founder of the n

chapter |7 pages

Beginning

part One|55 pages

Initiating

chapter 1|12 pages

Cowboy Christianity

chapter 2|15 pages

Good Guys and the Wiles of Perfection

chapter 3|18 pages

Guardian of the Thresholds

chapter 4|8 pages

Zen Clown

part Two|38 pages

Marrying

chapter 5|9 pages

Marrying by the Book

chapter 6|8 pages

Blood Wedding

chapter 7|19 pages

A Wedding that Weds

part Three|50 pages

Burying

chapter 8|16 pages

Bird Droppings on the Buddha

chapter 9|12 pages

A Funeral Undone

chapter 10|9 pages

Words for A Bundling Rite

chapter 11|11 pages

Oh, Give Me A Home

part Four|38 pages

Birthing

chapter 12|9 pages

Firstborn

chapter 13|12 pages

Birth by Belly

chapter 14|10 pages

Birth by Hand

chapter 15|5 pages

Cord-Cutting

part Five|69 pages

Practicing

chapter 16|20 pages

The Poetics of Monotony

chapter 17|19 pages

Ritual Practice

chapter 18|19 pages

The Politics of Practice

chapter |9 pages

Ending