Anthropology

Japan's association with the land and its peasant classes has been an element which has defined Japanese identity, but was constructed rather than organic to Japan.

Death can be a celebration of life, or a means to help the soul pass. Everyone has their own way to deal with grief. This article explores how cultures around the world handle death.

The lore of mead, honey, and bees in the ancient insular Celtic lands.

So much faith and perfection is put into these ceremonies that even one slip of the tongue in a recitation, one omission of a word, one stumble in a dance, can discredit the performer and bring misfortune for the entire village and a failed crop for the year.

The art of traditional tattooing nearly died out among the Hawaiians. But it has been reborn. Join me on a journey through the history of tattooing and my quest to receive a tattoo from Keli'i Makua.

The 17th March, St Patrick's Day, is recognised as a celebration of Irishness around the world. Yet somehow, even though there are almost a million Protestants living on the island of Ireland, Irishness is often equated with Catholicism in many...

Many people know of the Jersey Devil, but not many people know of the man the legend likely originated from.

Who were the Neanderthals? Were they related to us? How were they different from us?

Cave paintings of Lascaux are some of the earliest visual demonstrations of art created by people living in the Paleolithic era.

The pine is a genus of tree which has meanings and symbolism all around the world. Cultural and religious meanings of the pine tree and various facts about the great pine.

In August 2014, our home in Thailand was blessed by nine Buddhist monks. After examining why homes are blessed, this article describes the ceremony conducted in the presence of family and friends.

This interview was done in 2015, when I visited Felix Padel, famous anthropologist and the great-great grandson of Charles Darwin, in Odisha

One day after my wife and I purchased a new SUV in Thailand, we decided to get it blessed by a Buddhist monk. In this article, I explain why the vehicle was blessed and then describe the interesting ritual involved.

Life in rural Honduras is hard. The people are poor by monetary standards, but they accept their lot stoically as the traditional way of life handed down to them from many past generations.

Even though the carved cedar pole and potlatch were illegal for many years until 1951, their meanings in a cultural context were never lost. The lineage of the Master Carvers preserved them.

Ghana has myths ingrained in its society and directs the way of life and behavior of its people. Some of these myths have evidence to back them up and serve as sacred and tourist attraction sites.