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The Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the Dead

1911 to 1913
University of St. Andrews

Professor Frazer dedicates these anthropological lectures to examining the notion of immortality as it is held by almost all societies. His main concern is the conception of immortality held by ‘primitive’ communities of aborigines. His lectures are mainly descriptive and cover an extraordinary amount of sources and traditions from all the continents. The ultimate aim of his study is both to cast light on the development of magical beliefs into purer forms of religion as well as to clarify the origin of the notion of immortality our own conception of it.

Books

The Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the Dead

Available Chapters

Preface

Lecture 1 Introduction

Lecture 2 The Savage Conception of Death

Lecture 3 Myths of the Origin of Death

Lecture 4 The Belief in Immortality Among the Aborigines of Central Australia

Lecture 5 The Belief in Immortality Among the Aborigines of Central Australia (continued)

Lecture 6 The Belief in Immortality Among the Other Aborigines of Australia

Lecture 7 The Belief in Immortality Among the Aborigines of Australia (concluded)

Lecture 8 The Belief in Immortality Among the Natives of the Torres Straits Islands

Lecture 10 The Belief in Immortality Among the Natives of German New Guinea

Lecture 11 The Belief in Immortality Among the Natives of German New Guinea (continued)

Lecture 12 The Belief in Immortality Among the Natives of German New Guinea (continued)

Lecture 13 The Belief in Immortality Among the Natives of German New Guinea (continued)

Lecture 14 The Belief in Immortality Among the Natives of German and Dutch New Guinea

Lecture 15 The Belief in Immortality Among the Natives of Southern Melanesia (New Caledonia)

Lecture 16 The Belief in Immortality Among the Natives of Central Melanesia

Lecture 17 The Belief in Immortality Among the Natives of Central Melanesia (concluded)

Lecture 18 The Belief in Immortality Among the Natives of Northern and Eastern Melanesia

Lecture 19 The Belief in Immortality Among the Natives of Eastern Melanesia (Fiji) (continued)

Lecture 20 The Belief in Immortality Among the Natives of Eastern Melanesia (Fiji) (concluded)

London
Macmillan Company
1913

This first volume of Professor Frazer’s book, The Belief in Immortality, consists of twenty lectures delivered between 1911 and 1912 as part of the Gifford’s Lectures at the University of St. Andrews. Frazer focuses on the belief in immortality in primitive societies, as he believes only then can we understand our own beliefs in life after death.

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