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AN ANCIENT RITE
OF DINING WITH
THE DEAD
From the third millennium B.C., the cult of the dead played a primary role in state and family religion of Mesopotamians. On the night of the new moon, the worlds of the living and dead intersected. Led by the eldest son, families gathered to follow the ancient tradition of remembering the dead. They offered food and drink to their ancestors and asked them for blessings during a memorial feast known as “kispum." The performance of this rite marked the eldest sons as heirs to their fathers, and it linked the living and the dead in a relationship of mutual dependence. Remembering the dead was believed to keep the spirits contented and bring good fortune.
When we pass the anniversary date of a loved one’s death, we often feel the same sharp grief as we did the
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