Food has performed an enormous function in funerary and memorial practices because the sunrise of the human race. within the historic Roman global, for instance, it used to be universal perform to construct channels from the tops of graves into the crypts themselves, and mourners would continually pour choices of foods and drinks into those conduits to nourish the lifeless whereas they waited for the afterlife. Funeral cookies wrapped with revealed prayers and poems intended to convenience mourners grew to become renowned in Victorian England; whereas in China, Japan, and Korea, it really is conventional to provide meals not just to the bereaved, yet to the deceased, with ritual dishes ready and served to the lifeless.

Dying to Eat is the 1st interdisciplinary ebook to ascertain the position of meals in demise, bereavement, and the afterlife. The individuals discover the phenomenon throughout cultures and religions, investigating issues together with tombstone rituals in Buddhism, Catholicism, and Shamanism; the position of demise within the Moroccan method of meals; and the function of funeral casseroles and church cookbooks within the Southern usa. This leading edge assortment not just bargains nutrients for idea in regards to the theories and techniques in the back of those practices but additionally presents recipes that permit the reader to connect with the argument via fabric adventure. Illuminating how cooking and corpses either rework and build social rituals, Dying to devour serves as a desirable exploration of the foodways of demise and bereavement.