Customer Reviews

Deep Ancestors: Practicing the Religion of the Proto-Indo-Europeans

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First, let me say that it is a pleasure to see that any book on a "reconstructed" Proto-Indo-European religion is in print, and it is far more a pleasure to see that the book available is as well-done as this one. For those who have read his A Book of Pagan Prayer, this will come as no surprise.

Serith makes no bones about the fact that his book will be controversial and that some imagination is necessary in order to undertake this work, but he also promises (and sticks to this promise) to deal in logical innovation and to be clear about where it takes hold. What Serith posits is a Proto-Indo-European religion, one that can be said to represent a "common Indo-European" religion, which has value to both Neo-Pagan reconstructionists of all stripes, as well as to anyone who is interested in how religion can be influenced by language.

Serith presents his subject in a conversational tone, addressing not only the theories applied but also the criticisms of those theories. He at once debunks the notion that "Indo-European" work can be seen in any sort of racial manner early and effectively, and takes on Dumezil's tripartition in an elegant and effective way.

Serith also speaks very early on about how his work is a sort of synthesis between current scholarship in archeology, comparative mythology, and comparative linguistics, and talks about the limitations of this as well as its advantages. His in-line citations (found from cover to cover) show a depth of research, and a quick spot check of his citations shows that the citations are accurate and that the ideas he presents logically follow from the source he cites.

The meat of the book, though, is the "reconstruction" of this PIE religion, and here is where Serith's knowledge really shines through. Here, we find a wealth of information about the commonalities (and exceptions) of Indo-European cosmology and rituals that just doesn't seem to stop. Serith's deep knowledge of Celtic, Norse, Roman, Vedic, and Iranian ritual and cosmology is on full display here, and this information is woven together in such a way that it all dovetails nicely.

Included here are rituals for the turning wheel of the year, from planting to harvest to equinox rites. Additionally, there are rites for ancestors, lists of reconstructed deity names (and the functions those names imply), and domestic rituals for the family at their hearth. Serith also discusses some animals (though this section is not extensive) and their relationship to ritual. On top of that, Serith includes rituals for both weddings and funerals, rituals often overlooked in books meant to introduce a person to a religion. Unlike other books, too, this book provides not only "what to do" in a ritual, but also commentary to tell you how to do it and why it is done so that a worshiper will understand as well as participate. In terms of meeting the ritual needs of someone just starting out on the PIE path, this book leaves no stone unturned.

A refreshing note I made as I read was that Serith's discussion of "Nektar" (known as soma, haoma, and other drinks in the IE world) speaks about this drink in depth while avoiding the usual "quick and easy high" language that often accompanies discussions of ritual drink in Neo-Pagan books on the subject.

Finally, appendices address some significant points of question: Appendix 1 is a light glossary that defines both symbols and terms; Appendix 2 is a much-needed (and thorough) pronunciation guide; Appendix 3 and 4 contain instructions on how to clarify butter and how to mark sacred space, respectively.

Some small issues present themselves in this publication: the table of contents could use chapter titles, an index would be very helpful, and in-line citations are not for everyone (I prefer footnotes, myself); still, these are minor points that are heavily outweighed by the amazing amount of solid information in the book. I had the pleasure of meeting Serith at the Harvard Celtic Colloquium, where he gave his fascinating paper on Cernunnos, and so can vouch for the credentials mentioned on the back of his book, as well. Five stars.

Have you ever looked forward to reading a book and then waited impatiently for it to arrive and when it did, you just didn't want to read it because if you did you won't have anything similar to it to follow it? This is how I felt with this book. There aren't a lot of books on the Indo-Europeans (I know I read almost all of them) and there are no books (that I know of) besides this one on the religion of the Indo-Europeans. That this book is written by Ceisiwr Serith is actually very fitting because of you google the Proto-Indo-European religion (hence forth PIE religion), his name would be among the first to appear in relation to it.

In the preface of the book Serith finds it necessary to define what he means by PIE because PIE history covers thousands of years and he gives excellent reasons for why he defines it this way. To Serith the term PIE is used to denote the period when language and culture were beginning to break up. This is around the third and fourth millennia BCE.

The book goes on to discuss the PIE society, the classifications of Gods and Ancestors and how they might have been viewed by the PIE society. He also discusses the laws that govern the society, and the individual as well as the laws of ritual, which was very interesting. The author also discusses the seasonal festivals, and rites of passage that might have been celebrated by the PIE Culture and why they might have celebrated it this way.

The book ends with four Appendices, the first is a brief glossary, the second is a pronunciation guide, the third is an explanation of how to clarify butter, which is VERY interesting and the four is an explanation of how to mark a sacred space. The book also has an extensive reference section, which I really appreciate.

The book took me a while to read because I was trying to digest everything in it. It is written in a simple manner for anyone interested in the PIE religion to read. I would suggest though that you read a bit of PIE history before you read this book because it assumes that you know the history already.

Deep Ancestors is a great read about our Proto-Indo-European ancestors. It uses the best available information from linguistics, archaeology and cultural cross comparisons to determine not only the what, the possible and the known about these people, it also gives one examples of how they probably conducted rituals as well as the why. One would expect such a fact filled book to be a difficult read since it is based on current scholarly works and references, but this is not the case at all. Ceisiwr Serith has expressed the concepts and details about these cultures in a very readible and easily understood manner. Many useful and ready to use illustrations and examples are provided.

The book is a treasure of knowledge about the very foundations of modern day practices in the Pagan world that come to us from the past. It explains the roles of the deities as well as the cosmogony and cosmologies of the universe. For those whose religions and practices are rooted in the original tree of the Common (or Proto) Indo-Europeans, it is almost a Rosetta Stone of cultural awareness. It covers the structures and values of our deepest, ancient Pagan philosophies. Using this book one can easily construct personal, family or group rituals that have meaning from the past through the present.

I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking to understand and flesh out their current Pagan practices with the traditions and outlooks of our far ancestors. They are the beginnings of our religion while we have the responsibility to honor them while carrying forward their knowledge. Here we can learn the ways to get into touch with their spiritual awareness as well as the structure of being itself.

Deep Ancestors explains to a great extent why and how the Celtic branch of the Great Tree is like it is. It also gives us an opportunity to form our own branches and families of that tree. It also branches across the board into comparative analyses of all the major, known Indo-European cultures and their philosophies. For those who follow Continental Pagan practices, it is a key to understanding their roots and branches as well.

Indo-European studies being what they are, I suppose one is bound to disagree with a fair bit of the material in any attempt to reconstruct the religion for practical purposes. I am no exception. I disagree with his take on Dumezilian tripartite models, his comments about directional associations, and quite a bit beyond this. I certainly understand where his views come from and so these are respectful disagreements, but they are disagreements nonetheless. I am also sure that if I were to write a comparable work, that everyone would disagree with me too.

We have to start somewhere, and this is as good a place as any to start. The author has generally adopted a fairly Dumezilian approach to Indo-European comparative religion and despite some misgivings about this approach it is probably the most widely accepted viewpoint to date, at least in the US. (I see Dumezil's discoveries of tripartite formulas as valuable and worthwhile but I think he, and hence the current author, attempt to limit the gods too much to formulaic roles.)

Anyone seriously trying to figure out how to practice Indo-European religion will find this book an inspiration and a helpful guide to other studies as well. Given the current state of the field, this is the best that can be hoped for. This is why I think the book deserves five stars. This appears to be the author's goal and he hit the mark with great precision.

This book will make you THINK about how to re-enact Indo-European religious rites. It is therefore highly recommended.

Deep Ancestors, Practicing the Religion of the Proto-Indo-Europeans is a wonderful read for most of us have them as our ancestors. Though Christianity is now the dominate religious philosophy of the Indo-European speaking peoples, it was not always so. Christainity has Pagan roots and many traditions that Christians have are from those Pagan traditions. Trying to decipher the religious practices from the remains was a major undertaking, some supposition and persistence on the part of the author. Some features of the descendent peoples were not carried on later and some did. Features like persistance of the use of the number 3 in the religious practices, though such features were not exclusively PIE, they do occur and even were adapted by modern Christainity.
Sifting throught the myths and recorded rituals to see the patterns is much the same as that of the linguists that took modern speakers and looked for common roots and put together a likely ancestral form. Such is the way this book was constructed. It is a good read for Neo-Pagan folk to see and understand the way things are done now.

This book is an excellent exposition of how and where Paganism may have arrived in the world, what it means and how to practice one particular style of its ritual. It is directed more toward thinking Pagans and other persons who are open-minded toward religion in general. However Serith approaches the subject in such an evenhanded manner that even the reader who emulates Thomas Edison, the original popularizer of the Industrial Age myth that, "Religion is bunk," can learn appreciation of both the form and function of reconstructionist Paganism. (Readers of that ilk would be more capable of an objective reading of this or any book on religion if they first take the time to read Joseph Campbell's The masks of God; in 4 vols.)

Reading "Deep Ancestors" I'm struck that it could actually be two freestanding books; the first of roughly nine chapters, or 106 pages in the paperback version, followed by the second, with ten chapters. It also has a liberal set of appendices and a good list of references for further study.

The first section explains the reasoning by which he approaches the religion itself, proposed in the second section.

In the first nine chapters Serith describes the methods and logic by which the science of comparative linguistics reconstructs the Proto-Indo-European language. He describes similar methods for reconstructing cultures and then the subset of culture we call "religion". He then presents his reconstruction of both the religion and its cultural and philosophical underpinnings.

In the remainder of the book he continues to expand his logic for reconstruction, but he adds specific directions for rituals which can be adapted by modern Pagans for their individual and group needs. In many respects the second part of the book follows the structure of A Book of Pagan Prayer. The latter book would be an excellent companion for persons seeking to practice the form of Paganism which Serith espouses.

Why four stars and not five? This is an excellent read, probably worthy of a five star rating by anyone who is more adept at memorizing new vocabulary. But in addition to linear reading I like to skip around, exploring threads of ideas. (OK, 'fess up, how many readers do the same? Novels have to be read straight through but books like this lend themselves to skipping around.) In skipping I find myself constantly having to backtrack to learn the meanings of words such as "hngnis" and "xador". The appendices help to an extent but are not complete. (Once you learn the vocabulary the book flows well for one's actual full reading, hence the four star rating rather than three.)

I have little interest in reconstructing Indo-European pagan ritual, however; the plus to this book is that he traces Indo-European religion back through European mythology. He uses the reconstructed Indo-European language to plead his case. I do not know the success he has had with trained linguists and archeologists.

I give it three stars for general interest in the history and pre-history of the Indo-European genesis and language.