Ancestors: Who We Are and Where We Come From

(Hardback)

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People involve their ancestors in every aspect of culture. Individuals and societies worldwide and throughout history have incorporated ancestors into rituals public and private, religious and secular. Societies often organize their aristocracies, tribes, and other kinship groups around ancestral constructions which are defined through laws and customs governing marriage, naming, guardianship, inheritance, and other social practices. Medical professionals consider ancestral information important to a patients diagnosis and to the study of disease; many psychiatrists consider ones relationship to ancestors important in understanding the mental and emotional disposition of subjects. Ancestry and perceptions of ancestry frequently function as a determinant of personal, ethnic, racial, and national identity. For all its larger philosophical, medical, psychological, and religious implications, one fascinating aspect of ancestry is how passionately many people hold to their own ancestry, and to their own perceptions of the same. InAncestors,David Hertzel offers an introductory foray into the nature of relationships people today have with their ancestors, and explores the significance of ancestry and ancestral belief in our modern world. Guided by two questionswho are your ancestors and what is your relationship to your ancestorsHertzel interviewed thirty-five elders and people of prominence within particular social or intellectual communities. Interviewees were accomplished in an area related to ancestry, its nature or its meaning, and included genealogists, geneticists, tribal chiefs and elders, researchers in some aspect of family or ancestry, family elders, and experienced practitioners or supervisors of particular ancestral rituals. Interviewees were selected from a variety of cultural backgrounds for purposes of contrast, comparison, and breadthbut they are not spokespeople and were not asked to represent particular belief systems, doctrines, or Peoples. Rather, the interviewees describe their own personal experiences and beliefs involving ancestors. From these interviews, Hertzel identifies common themes to ancestral practices and beliefs, such as the way we sanctify our ancestors, how we create a living narrative of our ancestry, and how experiences like suffering and love are shared across generations and appear to transcend death. Excerpts from interviews serve as examples throughout his narrative exploration of the concept of ancestry; a selection of full interviews are embedded throughout the text and offer glimpses into the diversity of ways that people think about who they are and where they come from.

Reviews

Hertzels book serves as a corrective to youth-obsessed culture by insisting that we owe a debt to those whove gone before us. He interviewed more than 30 'people of prominence within a particular social or intellectual community' and calls such folks 'elders.' The interviews focus on two questions: Who are your ancestors, and what is your relationship to them The elders he interviewed represent Native American spirituality and Hindu, Mormon, Protestant, Catholic, Buddhist, and Jewish faiths, in addition to other cultures. Whether interviewees felt they were in some kind of contact with their ancestors or not, many comments reach similar conclusions: it is important to remember, to honor, and to be guided by those who have gone before. In addition, Hertzel weaves in his own insights based on the interviews and considers what constitutes family and what is our obligation to them. This book could be enjoyed by general readership; for a book club; or used to augment philosophy, religion, sociology, or history class discussions. * Booklist *
Dr. Hertzel, as a historian, weaves an impressive multidisciplinary approach to the voices in his book. At its heart the book is tolerant, expansive and relentlessly curious about the beliefs religious, spiritual, and psychological found in the interviewees' relationships to their ancestors. The subjects of the book are quite open, sometimes painfully so, about their views and their relations to those who have passed, both immediate and distant. If the book deals with loss, it also deals with hope. If it deals with intangible religious mysteries, it is also grounded by an honest humor. If it deals with diversity, it also touches on a number of commonalities. Ancestors: Who We Are and Where We Come From is history in its most important guise: it is a history about ourselves and our place in the world. * BookGrowl *
David Hertzel takes us on an introductory foray into the nature of relationships people today have with their ancestors, and explores the significance of ancestry and ancestral belief in our modern world. . . . Hertzel firmly believes that we stand on the shoulders of those who came before and we are indebted to them. . . . The subjects of the book are quite open, sometimes painfully so, about their views and how they relate to their ancestors and even though this book deals with loss, it also deals with hope. We read of intangible religious mysteries, diversity and commonalities. Here is history as seen through families and we understand that progression has no substance unless we trace the influence of one generation upon the other, which is exactly what this important book achieves. Here is the truth in both the cultural and spiritual effects of those who came before us. * Reviews by Amos Lassen *
Human history viewed through families as a linear progression has no substance unless we trace the influence of one generation upon the other, which is exactly what this important book achieves. Hertzels groundbreaking work uncovers the truth in both the cultural and spiritual effects of ancestors. The modern world needs this book and Hertzels insights more than ever. -- Howard Kurtz, author of Introduction to Sociology through Utopian Thought
We live with a deep personal and spiritual loneliness brought on by the atomization of society, time spent with technology instead of family, and busyness in place of relationships. David Hertzel gives us the healing medicine for these conditions by reminding us that we value deeply our family ancestors who live in our memories and souls. If you want true peace, read these interviews to be reminded how near your own ancestors really are. -- Rev. Martin Brokenleg, Vancouver School of Theology, Lakota First Nation
There are so many worlds hidden in places so close to us, so intimate to our life and its meaning. Hertzel opens windows to the hearts of our neighbors and the worlds of meaning around their ancestors. This insightful book is an experience of life and death that will enlighten and intrigue. -- Mark MacDonald, National Indigenous Anglican Bishop of Canada

Author Bio

David Hertzel is professor of history at Southwestern Oklahoma State University. He is the author of The World History Workbook.