Handling death

More about the book

In a unique collaboration, an architectural historian and an indologist document the death rituals of the Newar community in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. The first section focuses on Bhaktapur, exploring its calendric rituals of death and renewal. It introduces the city’s urban landscape, including cremation sites, death procession routes, and locations of spirits and ancestor deities, accompanied by 28 illustrative maps. The second part details the ritual that unites the deceased with their forefathers, which is also presented on a DVD. Additionally, local handbooks and manuals used by Brahmin priests during this ritual are edited and translated. This ethno-indological approach combines textual and contextual methods to understand the agency in rituals and the role of texts within their contexts. The study reveals that formalized rituals are not rigid or unchanging; rather, they are influenced by the unique characteristics of the participants, locations, and timing. The authors emphasize the significance of naming places and actors and dating events. This exploration of death rituals is the first volume in a trilogy examining life-cycle rituals in Nepal, conducted under the Collaborative Research Centre “Dynamics of Ritual.”