Blowing in the wind? Identity, materiality, and the destinations of human ashes
Authors: Prendergast, David; Hockey, Jenny; Kellaher, Leonie
Source: The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Volume 12, Number 4, December 2006 , pp. 881-898(18)
Publisher: Blackwell Publishing
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Abstract:
This article asks whether the recent UK-based practice of removing ashes from crematoria has led to entirely new, innovative rituals of disposal, or whether contemporary practice is an appropriation of late nineteenth-century Romantic values and beliefs. Drawing on findings from a major empirical study among both professionals and lay people involved in the removal of ashes, it explores the potentiality of ash remains as a mobile material residue of the corpse, and considers whether they enable disposal strategies which no longer reflect concerns with space and place - particularly those associated with traditional burial grounds.Document Type: Research article
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9655.2006.00368.x
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