Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, Volume 9: Mundas - Phrygians

The opening articles examine the Mundas, their social organization, religious beliefs, spirits, ritual practices, festivals, marriage customs, and interaction with Hindu traditions. Major comparative studies follow on the Muses, Music, Mysteries, Mysticism, and Mythology. The extensive article on music surveys primitive, American, Babylonian, Buddhist, Celtic, Chinese, Christian, Egyptian, Greek and Roman, Hebrew, Indian, Japanese, Jewish, Muslim, Slavic, and Teutonic traditions, analysing instruments, scales, chanting, liturgical functions, and religious symbolism. Particularly notable are the illustrated discussions of Indian and Japanese instruments and musical notation.

The sections on Mysteries and Mysticism investigate initiation, esoteric cults, religious experience, contemplation, union with the divine, and mystical traditions within Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, and other religions. Mythology addresses the nature, origin, transmission, and interpretation of myth from comparative and psychological perspectives. Subsequent articles treat peoples, religions, doctrines, ethical concepts, philosophical schools, rituals, institutions, and historical figures, including Nāgas, Neo-Platonism, Nirvāṇa, oaths, ordination, Origen, pantheism, penitence, personality, pessimism, Pharisees, and philosophical traditions. Overall, the volume reflects the encyclopaedia’s interdisciplinary method, integrating philology, ethnography, comparative theology, philosophy, ritual studies, and historical analysis.