Customer Reviews

Rag and Bone: A Journey Among the World's Holy Dead

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There are at least three good reasons to read Peter Manseau's latest book, Rag and Bone: A Journey Among the World's Holy Dead. The most quickly apparent reason is the way Manseau writes. Disguised as a travelogue, Rag and Bone is actually a history of the role relics play in the world's religions. Of the few remains of Joan of Arc Manseau writes,

"The bits and pieces that may have once belonged to the Maid of Orleans, the most popular saint the church ever killed, have been placed inside three glass jars, slid into cloth cozies, and arranged within a pale wooden case the size of a toolbox... First on the the RER commuter train, then the metro, she rides up out of the darkness like a body exhumed, despite the unfortunate fact that she never had a grave to begin with."

Manseau strikes the delicate balance of humor and awe through the book's eight chapters. While not overlooking the odd moments that are bound to take place while traveling the world to view pieces of dead people, the author is careful to treat the relics and those who venerate them with deference and admiration.

The stories that emerge when the reporter's search intersects with those who see something transcendent in old bones and bits of skin is the second reason Rag and Bone is so enjoyable. The best travelogues entertain even while showing the reader fascinating scenes and unknown histories; both are abundant in these pages. Manseau mixes his own adventures of traveling to places like Jerusalem and Syria with the stories of the once living saints whose bodies- or what's left of them- continue to influence the faithful.

There's another reason I so thoroughly enjoyed this book, though I'm not sure the author intended this reaction. Rag and Bone repeatedly shows the human desire for a physical connection with the spiritual world. Officially, many of the world's religions are rather ambivalent- or outright hostile- towards relics and the veneration that often follows. This hasn't stopped believers all around the world from making pilgrimages to see bits of bone, tooth, hair and (yes, it's true) foreskin. While modern religion is often portrayed in otherworldly terms, Manseau compellingly portrays the human need for a tangible connection with the divine.

In the midst of it's adventure, history, and humor there is plenty to ponder in Rag and Bone for those who share my Christian belief. Historic Christianity affirms the physical-ness of creation and humanity and looks to a final restoration of all things that is not less but more physical than what we now experience. Unfortunately Christianity has often moved in more gnostic directions where the body and the world is seen as a temporary existence from which we will one day escape. Within this dualistic worldview it makes sense that believers would grasp at relics as material connections to the out-of-reach spiritual world. A more traditional understanding of Christianity looks not to jars of bones for this connection but to people (the image-bearers of God) and the creation (a reflection of the character and creativity of God). The Christian is directed to God by the living creations of God. We are encouraged to worship as we encounter the beautiful and complex results of God's creative work.

Whether or not a reader finds this type of insight in its pages, Rag and Bone is an enjoyable read- as entertaining as it is informative.

We take it for granted that people will revere their dead, memorializing or sentimentalizing them. We might view as old-fashioned the practice of keeping a lock of the dear departed's hair, but there is nothing too strange in that. But what if the keepsake was the dear departed's tongue? Veneration for body parts has a long history. "Whether a tooth, a heart, a whisker, or a calcified tear, these items have exerted a remarkable and complicated influence in the world for such tiny, often frankly repulsive, things." So writes Peter Manseau in _Rag and Bone: A Journey Among the World's Holy Dead_ (Henry Holt), a strange, reflective, and amusing tale of a very weird but universal practice. Manseau has traveled all over the world to peep at some of these objects, the ways they are put on display, their influence, and the people who adore them. Manseau is a writer on religion and other subjects, and throughout brings a humorous but always sympathetic view to relics and believers, and his insights into human nature through this peculiar subject are always interesting and sometimes profound.

He starts in Goa, for a look at the corpse of St. Francis Xavier. Francis stayed whole and undecayed until his return to Goa, where he was put on display and in 1554 a "pious Portuguese woman" was so filled with religious fervor before the relic that she not only kissed his toe but bit it off. That was a spontaneous removal, but in 1614 his right lower arm was cut off, split, and sent to Italy and Belgium to benefit Jesuits there; then later Jesuits in Japan got the rest of the arm, and then a shoulder blade went... well, you get the picture. One of the best parts of Manseau's book is that it does not restrict itself to the veneration of bones that is a familiar part of Catholic tradition, but shows relics in other religions as well. There are, for instance, relics in Islam, but they point out a very basic divide in the great Shia and Sunni branches. Shiites are inspired by relics and Sunnis are disgusted by them. From the beard of the Prophet himself has come (as one chapter here is titled) "The Most Dangerous Whisker in the World". Then there is the Buddha's tooth, which resides, naturally, at the Temple of the Holy Tooth in a Sri Lankan hill town. The most peculiar stories here have to do with the foreskin (or foreskins) of Jesus. All of him went to heaven, believers say, but the fruit of his circumcision had to be left behind on Earth somewhere. There used to be a dozen of these prepuces circulating around all over Europe. There are still bits of it about, but the place most accepted as the site of the true foreskin is Calcata, Italy, although the Catholic Church dismisses it as an "irreverent curiosity." This is perhaps a better designation than that given by a seventeenth-century Vatican librarian, who determined that the prepuce had indeed left Earth along with Jesus, and expanded and stopped at Saturn, where it became the planet's recently-discovered ring.

The Catholic Church has a designation for the offense of buying and selling sacred objects: simony. But there is a loophole: such objects can be donated, and donations can be accepted in return. This points out that relics are big business, like the touring Buddha relics which bring in dollars that are to go to an enormous statue of the Buddha, twice as tall as the Statue of Liberty. It also explains some of the thefts that have gone on for centuries, first by the Crusaders and then by monks of one church stealing from another in what seems like a great sport played from one era to the next. Of course, it isn't all about money, and as Manseau points out in this delightful collection of travel stories with a purpose, it isn't even always about faith. George Washington's hair can be found in many collections, as can fabric that soaked up Abe Lincoln's blood. And then there is the museum in Georgia that enshrines a finding from deep in the shag carpet of the Jungle Room in Graceland, and exhibits it as "Possibly Elvis's Toenail."

Exactly the book I hoped it would be, at exactly the right time. I was looking for a well-written, somewhat humorous travel memoir with a more literary bent. So much of what I've been reading lately has been so heavy, and I needed a short break from that. Manseau's book fit the bill perfectly.

The subject of religious relics is probably covered in more depth elsewhere, in a nonfiction book that perhaps goes into more detail. But that's not the book I wanted to read. Manseau's less-structured romp through the world of relics, and light foray into what makes them important to some, was appealingly sweet and informative enough it satisifed my need to know just the surface facts. Indeed, at times his musings were more deep than others, and I enjoyed that as well. For me, it was just the right book for the point I'm at in my reading.

I was interested by the title of this book because it is really true that relics have played a major role in people's lives.However my impression was that the author does not really go deep into what a relic represents and means.For him is just a journey in which he is just curious for a couple of relics that get his attention, but does not tackle the issue head on.I guess this book is a good intro to someone who will like to start learning more about the topic,but for serious fans it just fells short.

This book was written as a memoir of the authors travels in search of holy relics, i.e., bits and pieces of the bodies of long-deceased people who are now venerated as holy in some way. The religious icons discussed span a variety of religious beliefs: Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam. In each case, the author briefly discusses a small part of the life of the long-departed individual and the reasons for their alleged sainthood. He then discusses the associated relics: their histories, their authenticities (or possible lack thereof), their current locations, their supposed powers, their veneration and any political/religious turmoil connected with them. The writing style is really that of a travelogue, complete with various digressions that are not directly related to the book's main theme. The prose is friendly, often tongue-in-cheek, generally lively and widely accessible; it is not meant to be pious, but rather historically objective. In some occasions, the author's choice of words in describing a relic and its history, etc., is simply priceless in the amusing sense. This is a book that can be enjoyed by anyone, no matter what their religious beliefs, if any. History buffs - especially those interested in religious history - should be in for a treat.

Unfortunately after watching a program about the Holly Shroud, I thought I will find something about that subject in his book, I was wrong it wasn't what I was looking for.

Ritualized burial of the dead extends back at least fifty thousand years and is probably (at least one of) the oldest signs of mankind's emergant civilization.

In this brief and free wheeling book Peter Manseau makes a whirlwind tour of some of the world's hotest relics spots and shows you, among other things:

The Mosque of Muhammed's Beard Hair: Located in the Kashimar region of northern India, this site features a single hair reputed to come from the beard of Islam's Prophet himself.

The Temple of the Tooth: Located in Sri Lanka, this Temple contains a tooth reputed to have been once located in the mouth of the Buddha himself.

The Church of John the Baptist's Father's Head: Located in Aleppo Syria, this church contains an organ reputed to be the head of the father of John the Baptist.

Along the way, Manseau introduces you to the individuals who run the various relic sites, the money they make from their trade and the faithful who come from far and wide to visit and worship.

For my part, the book resembles video vacation footage in that it all too often places its focus not on the objects themselves and the history which surround them but rather the incidental individuals who've happened to wander into the camera angle. Also, Manseau's on the scene research often fails because he doesn't know the local language and therefore you know you're probably missing out on a lot of the story. Also, I honestly don't think photos would have hurt to give readers a better idea of what the items looked like. Indeed, such an addition probably would have fit in nicely with the travelogue nature of this book.

That all being said, it's still a good book for what it is and very much worth reading.

For those whose curiosity in religious artifacts is piqued by reading this book I would also suggest the Cruz book on Christian artifacts known simply as Relics which provides a more thoroughing going review of at least those items not to mention some pictures too.

This is definitely not for the mainstream emo/goth wannabe. It is for someone whose reading is geared more towards the insightful than shallow. My only wish is that it were longer...

Something of a romp through the world of relic adoration. We get chapters on Buddha's tooth, strands of hair from Mohammed' s beard, and my favorite, Jesus's foreskin - which some people think ended up as one of the rings around Saturn. This is a book to kick off a fatwah from any one of the world's major religions, but if you can check your righteousness at the door it's amusing and educational. I mean, prior to this book I've never given even half a thought to Jesus's foreskin, now it's dinner party conversation.

I was very disappointed in this book. I expected I very interesting tour of relics of the world. Instead, I got just a few visited relics, and a lot of half baked philosophical ramblings. A very superficial coverage of the topic.