2. Superstition - unfounded belief in the existence of a
connection between the events. They are associated with
stereotypes of tradition and culture.
Tradition - passed down from generation to generation
cultural content (such as customs, ideas, beliefs, ways of
thinking and behavior)
3. The first is the tradition of near-death rituals. If death
occurs at home, and it is predictable (for example, is the result
of long-term disease) we speak about near-death rituals.
When a person is dying, a priest is called to come home
from the nearest church. The priest administers the Anoiting of
the Sick-, the Sacrament of Penance, and the Holy Communion.
If possible, in the room where the sick person is lying, there
should be a table covered with a white cloth, and the ritual
objects like holy water, the cross, the two lighted candles and
cotton wool to wipe the oil should be present.
4. When the Sacrament of Penance is being administered,
the family, friends and neighbours gather in the next room and
pray.
A large candle lighted at the deathbed is put into hands
of dying person – the reason of this is to light the way to heaven
for his soul. This candle is lit for the second time after the body
is put into the coffing, and taken into the cemetery. It should be
lit to the very end of the funeral ceremony.
The attention is also put the fact that the death is not to
be disturbed -you should not touch the dying person, cry over
him, because otherwise the death will last for a very long time.
5. After the death, if it is necessary we should close the eyes of the deceased.
Sometimes, the eyelids open, then the coins are put on them to prevent them from
opening again. According to popular local superstition, you cannot look into the eyes of
the dead, as it means a quick death of a viewer. Coins which have used in the ceremony
are put into the coffin - like anything else which dead person had a direct contact with,
or what has been prepared for him.
The next step is the cleaning and dressing of the body which is usually done the
dead person’s children - daughter prepares her mother for the funeral, the father is
prepared by his son. The outfit of the deceased person depends on his/her marital
status. Woman are burried in head kerchiefs, caps are put on men’s heads. Unmarried
girls are dressed in a wedding gown and veil, unmarried boys in wedding suit.
Unmarried women have two handkerchiefs on the head - white and black, tied on top.
However, an unmarried man's clothing has another special feature – a white
handkerchief is put into small jacket’s pocket.
6. The number of objects that are connected to a tradition are
put into the coffin. Those are primarily a rosary and a picture of the
patron of the deceased. A prayer book, little money, favourite
trinkets of the deceased (comb, mirror) are placed in the coffin, too.
Deceased that were smokers are often given a cigarette-cases. It also
happens that the items associated with the daily activities of the
deceased (awl and a hank of wool, books, etc) are also put into the
coffin. However, the flowers should not be put into the coffin, unless
the funeral is a holiday of deceased person (for example, nameday)
and the bouquet is a gift from the family.
7. The singer is often present during the funeral rite. This is a person
who leads the prayers at home of the deceased person, and at the funeral
rite itself. He uses its own, unique collection of books with songs chosen
especially for this occasion. Singers were mostly elderly people, mostly
women and these priceless books were often passed from mother to
daugther. Nearly every major village had its own singer, and if not – she
was invited to the funeral from the neighboring village. In this case, in
addition to the customary invitation to the small mourning party, it was
necessary to pay the singer.
8. The prayers and singing around the dead body intersplaced with
moments of silence and recalling the memories of the deceased. There are
superstitions connected with the wake. First, the dead can not be left at
home alone, the light must be constant on in the room where the coffin
with the body is kept. Unfortunately, the meaning and significance of
these superstitions are not known, even by the oldest inhabitants of the
villages. They just know that this is the way it needs to be done, and they
continue to practice these rites.
The tradition also states that we should put a black masking
material on the mirrors, or turn them around so they face the wall. We
should also remove all the potential reflecting surfaces such as water (
puddles of water, or any other fluid) which can cause that the dead will
see his face in the reflection. If the deceased will be reflected in the
mirror - the death will not leave the place for a long time
9. Until coming back from the funeral we should stop all the clocks on the
hour of the death of the deceased so to show that time has no meaning in
this house, so the death can no longer take anyone away.
Living tradition, even for today, is rubbing the moles with the
deceased person’s index finger as it was believed that after this "treatment"
all moles will disappear.
At the time when the coffin is in the house, and all the family
members, neighbours and friends are gathering around the body we need to
pay special attention to the bouquets and wreaths laid beside the coffin. If
any of the flowers is clear of branches, it must be inserted back into the
bunch and necessarily taken to the cemetery. These flowers symbolize the
removal of the death and makes it impossible to return to the family.
10. Pregnant women should attend the wake.
However, if a woman belongs to the immediate family,
or just want to participate in the prayers, she must be
careful to not to look in the face of the deceased.
According to tradition, it is dangerous for a child who
may be born with the face similar to the deceased person.
It is also important to determine the date of the
funeral itself. It is believed that the body should not be
at home on Sunday, as it is a sign that another funeral
in the family will occur soon.
11. The last important tradition associated with the funeral in the
country is certainly a mourning party after the funeral. This refers to a
meal for immediate family, neighbors and friends of the deceased, held after
the ceremony at the cemetery, usually in the house of the deceased. In the
past, it was more like meeting for prayers, now is becoming more informal
in character. Very important element of this event is the alcohol – although
in small amounts no one can’t able to drink it.
If the event takes place at home where the deceased lived it must
be remembered that until the next day we can not clean the table. The
leftovers will be the last meal for the deceased.
12. Although there is no formal obligation to dress in black
and abandon the social life in rural areas, these restrictions are
quite strictly kept. Grief usually lasts for one year, and it
includes the immediate family of the deceased, parents, children,
siblings, but for the grandchildren this period last for six weeks.
Beautiful, but sad at the same time, an unwritten custom says
parents cannot wear black clothes when they childern died. The
villagers believe that the deceased child bears the jar in heaven
with tears of his beloved ones.
