Rituals: Types, Efficacy & Myths

This book presents current research in the study of the types, efficacy and myths of ritualistic behaviours. Topics gathered by the authors from across the globe include the modern case studies of ancient Greek cave rituals; rituals marking transitions between different life stages in the elderly; ritual complexes of North-West Siberia in the 17th-18th centuries; healing rituals of Brazil; the myth of the ayahuasca ritual in Europe and the cult of the horse in the Sakha religious and ritual practice of the 19th century.