The first volume of Frazer's book comprises the Gifford Lectures he gave at the University of St. Andrews in the years 1911 and 1912, and deals with the belief in immortality and the worship of the dead, as these are found among the aborigines of Australia, the Torres Straits Islands, New Guinea, and Melanesia. In the second volume, the author describes the corresponding belief and worship among the Polynesians, a people related to their neighbors the Melanesians by language, if not by blood. Contents: The Savage Conception of Death Myths of the Origin of Death The Belief in Immortality among the Aborigines of Central Australia The Belief in Immortality among the other Aborigines of Australia The Belief in Immortality among the Natives of the Torres Straits Islands The Belief in Immortality among the Natives of British New Guinea The Belief in Immortality among the Natives of German New Guinea The Belief in Immortality among the Natives of German and Dutch New Guinea The Belief in Immortality among the Natives of Southern Melanesia (New Caledonia) The Belief in Immortality among the Natives of Central Melanesia The Belief in Immortality among the Natives of Northern and Eastern Melanesia The Belief in Immortality among the Natives of Eastern Melanesia (Fiji) The Belief in Immortality among the Maoris The Belief in Immortality among the Tongans The Belief in Immortality among the Samoans The Belief in Immortality among the Hervey Islanders The Belief in Immortality among the Society Islanders The Belief in Immortality among the Marquesans The Belief in Immortality among the Hawaiians

In 'The Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the Dead' by James George Frazer, the renowned anthropologist explores the universal belief in an afterlife and the rituals associated with honoring deceased ancestors. Written in a scholarly and comprehensive style, Frazer delves into various cultures, traditions, and historical practices to examine the continuity and evolution of beliefs surrounding death. Drawing on a wide range of ethnographic data, this book provides a profound insight into the human psyche and the ways in which different societies navigate the concept of mortality. Frazer's meticulous research and comparative analysis offer valuable perspectives on the significance of ancestor worship in shaping cultural identities and religious practices. Through his interdisciplinary approach, Frazer sheds light on the complexities of human spirituality and the enduring relevance of ancestral veneration in contemporary societies. Readers interested in anthropology, religious studies, and the history of belief systems will find this book enlightening and thought-provoking.

This 1913 volume discusses several religions whereby believers worship the dead both in hopes that the dead will bless their futures and in hopes that the dead will rise up to bless the living. This concept of the undead or dead rising again is present in some capacity in many religions, even mainstream ones like Christianity (i.e. the resurrection). This volume highlights those beliefs among the Aborigines in Australia, New Guinea and Melanesia.

Reproduction of the original: The Belief in Inmortality and the Worship of the Dead by J.G Frazer

The fact cannot be overlooked that we are in the midst of a sociological crisis of orientation on the grand scale. New problems and needs have become insistent, new fears and longings have come to light. Many are looking for a new foothold, a fundamental certainty, a compass for their life and the life of other human beings. The inconsistencies and ambivalence of the phenomena cannot conceal the fact that religion is attracting greater attention: the old religion and many new ones, the Christian religion as well as the Islamic, Hindu, and Buddhist religions. In East and West anyway the God Progress seems to have lost rapidly something of its credibility; belief in a continually better life with the aid of science and technology and also through revolution and socialism has been shaken by serious doubts. And, while the elderly have not been able - with all the aids of psychology - to come to terms with the meaning of death, younger people - supposedly a "no future" generation, apathetic, noncommittal, nervous, and self-destructive - are asking afresh about the missing sense of life. Meanwhile, though science did the most in the last century to destroy belief in immortality and made stupendous efforts to prolong life, it is medicine today that has broken through the taboos in regard to death and with its research into dying has given new life to the question of death and survival. But has medicine - or perhaps parapsychology - proved that there is life after death?

Reproduction of the original: The Belief in Inmortality and the Worship of the Dead by James George Frazer