"Ceremony Men is an account of one scholar's attempt to return an anthropological collection to Aboriginal communities in remote central Australia. In revealing his process, Jason M. Gibson highlights the importance of personal rapport and collaborations in ethnographic exchange, both past and present, and demonstrates the ongoing importance of sociality, relationship, and orality when Indigenous peoples encounter museum collections today. Combining forensic historical analysis with contemporary ethnographic research, this book challenges the notion that anthropological archives will necessarily become authoritative or dominant statements on a people's cultural identity. Instead, Indigenous peoples will often interrogate and re-contextualise this material with great dexterity as they work to re-integrate the documented into their present-day social lives. By analyzing one of the world's greatest collections of Indigenous song, myth and ceremony-the collections of linguist/anthropologist T.G.H. Strehlow-Ceremony Men demonstrates how inextricably intertwined ethnographic collections can become in complex historical and social relations. By theorizing the nature of the documenter-documented relationships this book makes an important contribution to the at times simplistic post-colonial generalizations that dominate analyses of colonial interaction. A story of local agency is uncovered that enriches our understanding of the human engagements that took (and continue to take) place within varying colonial relations of Australia"--

Are you getting married? Do you plan on having a civil ceremony? Are you at a loss about where to begin? Well, help is at hand. Planning a Civil Ceremony Wedding will guide you through everything you need to know from the engagement to organising the big day itself. Weddings are happy events but arranging the day can be stressful and there is so much to think about that it can seem overwhelming, not to mention dealing with family and friends, all with their own opinions on how things should be done. This book tells you how to have the wedding that you want and the steps to take to get there with the least amount of fuss – all it takes is a little planning. Written by a wedding enthusiast who has recently organised her own special day, this book covers all aspects of planning a civil ceremony wedding from announcing the day to the marriage ceremony itself. Packed with helpful hints and suggestions, this book is all you need to help you plan your own perfect day.

Voices from the Delaware Big House Ceremony examines and celebrates the Big House ceremony, the most important Delaware Indian religious observance to be documented historically. Edited by Robert S. Grumet, this compilation of essays offers diverse perspectives, from both historical documents and contemporary accounts, which shed light on the ceremony and its role in Delaware culture. As Grumet says, "The many voices brought together in this book produce something more akin to a chorus than a chant." The annual fall festival known as the "Gamwing" (Big House) was the center of life for Delaware Indian communities in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana west to Ontario and Oklahoma. The last ceremony was performed by the Eastern Oklahoma Delaware community in 1924. Determined to preserve their traditions for future generations, Delaware Big House followers have worked with anthropologists to preserve Big House texts, rituals, songs, and sacred objects. Including commentaries by Delaware traditionalists from communities in Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and Ontario, where most descendants of the Big House Church live today, the volume also features an ethnographic description of the Big House ceremony and historical accounts dating from 1655 to 1984. Voices from the Delaware Big House Ceremony contributors and consultants are John Bierhorst, Ruthe Blalock Jones, Marlene Molly Miller, Michael Pace, Bruce L. Pearson, Terry J. Prewitt, James A. Rementer, and Darryl Stonefish.

This book contains sensitive material. It is not available for viewing without prior permission of the current head of the Indigenous Cultures Department.

In Sacred Ceremony: How to Create Ceremonies for Healing, Transitions, and Celebrations, Steven Farmer offers ideas on how to create your own ceremonies to consecrate the critical events and passages that you experience on your life’s journey.