Pain, Ritual, and Remembrance: Body Suspension in the Context of Human Mourning Practices

In the suspension community, many participants describe suspensions performed in memory of loved ones or as part of their personal mourning process. Similar impulses appear in many cultures, where ritualized pain or bodily modification has historically been used to express grief, honor the dead, or mark the transformation that follows loss.

This lecture examines suspension through that broader anthropological lens. Drawing on ethnographic research alongside first-person accounts from within the suspension community, we will explore examples of mourning rituals involving physical hardship, discuss theories about why such practices exist, and consider the social and emotional roles they may serve.

by: Sasha Belenkiy
Slot 15 : Sun. 9am-10:30am