Cultural studies: customs and traditions Books

For centuries, tea has held a valued place in both Eastern and Western cultures. From the ritual of a Japanese tea ceremony to the cosy informality of an English cuppa at the kitchen table, tea (whether green, black, white or herb) soothes, grounds and...

A guide to harnessing ancestral power in the Slavic Pagan tradition• Offers traditional rituals and spells to help you connect with your ancestors, see your family’s ancestral patterns, and change your destiny• Examines the history of ancestor worship in...

After 'Hit Man'The New York Times bestseller Confessions of an Economic Hit Man documents John Perkins’ extraordinary career as a globe-trotting economic hit man. Perkins’ insider’s view leads him to crisis of conscience--to the realization that he must...

With unflinching gaze and uncompromising intensity Julius Evola analyzes the spiritual and cultural malaise at the heart of Western civilization and all that passes for progress in the modern world. As a gadfly, Evola spares no one and nothing in his...

The first book to reveal the secret and sacred practices of Aboriginal shamans, Aboriginal Men of High Degree presents an extraordinary series of rites by which the young Aboriginal male begins the degrees of shamanic initiation--each marked by its own...

Immerse yourself in stories of gods and goddesses of the underworld and explore how themes of death, love, and revenge are depicted in folklore and mythology by different cultures around the world.Myths of the Underworld is a vibrant collection of ten...

Pierrot, Little Bo Peep, cowboy: these characters and many more form part of this colourful story of dressing up, from the accession of Queen Victoria to the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Fancy dress became a regular part of people's social...

Some people take photos, but artist Betty Reynolds captures memories with her paintbrush and watercolours. Clueless in Tokyo provides an outsider's take on everyday life in Japan's capital city-a place where vending machines talk,...

From hand-knitted mittens to exquisitely embroidered confections and Bluetooth-enabled gloves that function like a mobile phone, the extraordinary variety of gloves is a tribute to human ingenuity. So, too, is the diversity of their often contradictory...

Japanese Legends and Folklore invites English speakers into the intriguing world of Japanese folktales, ghost stories and historical eyewitness accounts. With a fascinating selection of stories about Japanese culture and people, A.B. Mitford - who lived...

Proverbs, once described as 'the wisdom of many and the wit of one', offer unique insights the way of life and the social mores of past generations.This book features an introduction which explores the role of proverbs in Scottish culture and over 1,000...

In 1801, some five years after Robert Burns' death, nine of his friends sat down to dinner in what is now known as Burns Cottage in Alloway to celebrate his extraordinary life and to give thanks for his friendship. Over the years the informal theme from...

Toques, mittens and scarves are all associated with northern climates, but the quintessential garment of Canadian knitting is surely the bulky and distinctly patterned West Coast cardigan. In the early twentieth century, Indigenous woolworkers on...

With the appearance of the demonic Christmas character Krampus in contemporary Hollywood movies, television shows, advertisements, and greeting cards, medieval folklore has now been revisited in American culture. Krampus-related events and parades occur...

It's not your father's Ireland. Not anymore.In a May 2019 countrywide referendum, Ireland voted overwhelmingly to make abortion legal, three years earlier, it had done the same with same-sex marriage, becoming the only country in the world to pass such a...

Two volumes in one!This is a complete, two-volume set of one of the greatest books on 19th century Japanese history and culture. Though Lafcadio Hearn went on to write a dozen more books on Japan, this collection of first impressions remains his most...

"This new and valuable book delves into the 'interior' experience of voodoo, as opposed to the usual outsider focus on ritual and cosmology. In telling the story of her own initiation and painstaking education in voodoo, Beaubrun takes us into the...

This book teaches the two fundamental secrets to tea as practiced in ancient China-technique and taste. These exemplify some of the basic concepts of the philosophy of tea, which greatly enhances tea enjoyment. Not only an exhaustive source of tea...