Food was always served, and everybody I met thought what they do is normal and what everybody else does is weird. It demands that we give it meaning, and we certainly comply. In every culture you ll find endless rituals, holy books, and beliefs about dying. Villagers of Madagascar, inspired by dreams, walk to the tombs of their ancestors, while soaring flutes fill the air, to remove the corpses for re-wrapping and festivities. Professional mourners wail in apparent sorrow to support the grieving in synagogues, while cantors chant comforting prayers.
Jazz orchestras lead joyous marches to the burial grounds in New Orleans.
Bird songs, sung at funerals of the Hualapai people of northwest Arizona, help spirits find their way to the next life. In this small collection, we have tried to embrace a very large human experience. Dancing with the Dead contains 17 tracks, recorded live on location, from funeral rituals around the world. In addition, the book contains rare photography and extensive notes touching upon many traditions and cultures. Living there not as anthropologist or missionary, but as a welcome member of a cooperative community, Sarno is free to record songs and rituals previously unheard by Western ears music he calls one of the hidden glories of humanity.