Nowhere did the power of memory a more compelling role than in the veneration of holy relics by the Christians of the Middle Ages. This practice was not inspired only by the exemplary lives of prodigious individuals from the past. No, the heroes of faith had far more to offer than mere example. They conferred well-being, healing, protection and the ultimate promise of victory over death. The author experiences the veneration of Christian relics as an expression of something more universal, as the power of memory. Therefore he feels the need to actuallly see these powers in action somewhere else. It was this need which took him in search of real ancestor worship at Geelvink Bay in former New Guinea. In the lecture new research will be presented and also hitherto unknown and rather spectacular reiquaries will be published.
