Celebrating Nature; Rites and Ceremonies around the world

IX SILENCE, SINGLE FILE, A SMALL GROUP of dark-skinned men slowly climb steep rocks to reach a cave in the wall of a ravine. On the face of the rock in the cave are sacred drawings, made by the ancestors of these men ages ago. There is a semicircle of small stones on the floor of the cave, placed there just as long ago. Standing by these stones, the men sing songs that are a part of an ancient rite of their tribe. Bending rhythmically, as in a dance, they strike the stones with special twigs they have brought. This, too, is a part of the rite. These men are members of the Witchetty Grub Clan, part of the Arunta tribe in Central Australia. They live on a vast desert where only scrub and a few trees can survive throughout the year. Rain comes seldom, but when it does come it pours down in torrents, and suddenly the desert blossoms as the rose. Plants, flowers, birds, insects, and other wildlife appear as if by magic. It seems to these people of the desert that this sudden upsurge of life has been sent by the spirits who created life everywhere on earth. It is spirits, too, who send the witchetty grub, a food so special that this clan was named for it. The Witchetty Grub people and their neighbors of other clans live by hunting animals and insects and gathering wild fruits and seeds. They believe that if they do not perform the ancient rites the spirits will not send an abundance of food. The people may starve. These rites are religious ceremonies performed in a set pattern, at special times of the year, for the gods or spirits who control man's world part I. In Earliest Times 1 PRELUDE 2 1. Man on the Earth 5 2. The Ancient Egyptians 13 3. In the Land Between the Rivers 19 4. Greek Myth and Ritual 23 5. The Hebrews in Palestine 28 6. Roman Festivals 35 7. Rites of Northern People 39 part II. Pagan Rites of Europe Become Christian 43 PRELUDE 44 8. The Turn of the Year 46 9. Winter Dies and Spring Comes 53 10. From Spring to Summer 61 1 1 Autumn Festivals 69 part III. Rites and Ceremonies of Other Continents 77 PRELUDE 78 12. Africans Celebrate Sowing and Harvest 80 13. Yams, Rice, and Ceremonies of the Far East 91 14. Hindus, Moslems, and People of the Hills 107 15. South America, Past and Present 122 16. The Aztecs Celebrated Maize 133 17. Ceremoniesof the North American Indians 143 EPILOGUE 157 SELECTED LIST OF BOOKS 159 PRONUNCIATION LIST 161 INDEX 163