An anthropological study, first published in French in 1909, of the cultural ceremonies that accompany an individual's life-crises in different societies.

Alone in Practice, Alive in Spirit The practice of Wicca is more popular than ever. While some Wiccans are unable to find a coven, others simply prefer to practice alone. Either way, solitary practice is a wholly authentic choice, steeped in traditions even older than those of organized covens. Known as the Father of American Wicca, Raymond Buckland provides this indispensable, comprehensive guide to the solitary practice of Wicca through every...

Every year, in the colonial city of Antigua, Guatemala, the "sorrowful way" of Good Friday is recreated by a path of colored sawdust and flower petals. Along this road several hundred people take turns carrying a ponderous mahoganybier. Indians from the surrounding countryside come to observe the spectacle of townspeople garbed in Biblical and Roman military uniforms.

To Serve the Gods is about the beliefs, rituals and performances of a week-long ceremony given by a Haitian family in honor of its ancestral spirits. We are told at the outset of the film that this sevis loua only occurs every twenty to thirty years. This particular service takes place in a rural community in southern Haiti, on family land, where relatives have gathered to propitiate gods inherited by their ancestors.