I would second Dave on this - an excellent book, but definitely not an
introduction. If you are able to borrow a copy, I'd suggest looking at
Rappaport's 'The Obvious Aspects of Ritual' in his 1979 collection
'Ecology, Meaning and Religion' as a taster. To a certain extent the
claims pursued in this article form the basis of 'Ritual and Religion in
the Making of Humanity'.
Justin
> Avyorth,
>
>
> Am a bit pushed for time at the moment to go into lots of reasons, but I
> would heartily recommend the book as it offers something different to the
> excellent texts of Catherine Bell (whose texts are some of the best
> starting points I think). The Rappaport book is not really introductory in
> that sense, but does offer some basic features of ritual before moving
> onto the role of ritual in human evolution and evolution of religion (the
> book's main point). It is both a detailed and a very broad and ambitious
> book. Defintely worth reading but it might not be the best introduction to
> the topic. Hope that helps.
>
> Dave
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Society for The Academic Study of Magic
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Avyorth
> Sent: 09 March 2006 01:36
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: [ACADEMIC-STUDY-MAGIC] Ritual and Religion in the Making of
> Humanity
>
>
>
> Is anyone familiar with this book:
>
>
>
> Ritual and Religion in the Making of Humanity
> (Cambridge Studies in Social & Cultural Anthropology)
> Roy A. Rappaport
>
>
> Is it a useful introduction to ritual? Is it worth the read/cash? (Yes,
> I appreciate that's a rather subjective question but perhaps you might
> add the reasons for your conclusion?)
>
> Thank you,
>
>
> Avyorth
>
>
>
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