WOMEN’S LAMENTS IN DEATH CEREMONIES IN EPIRUS. THE ULTIMATE MOMENT OF FAREWELL

Abstract

Posthumous ceremonies are an ancient ritual custom found in various peoples. It is already known to us that from the ancient times, closer relatives, mainly women, are responsible for the lamentation of the dead. The rituals concerning the burial of the deceased still occur incomprehensibly throughout the centuries, from antiquity until quite recently. In the region of Epirus these rituals continue in many communities until nowadays. As a basic means of expressing all the manifestations of human social life, singing is also, in this case, an integral part of death rituals. The mourning, the woman’s lament, is the ultimate moment of conversation with the deceased and accompanies him to his ϐinal resting place.

This article attempts to clarify the woman’s role during death rituals in the region of Epirus and, in particular, her relation with the lament at the ultimate moment of farewell. Afterwards, we study the laments’ motifs concerning Charon (Death), Hades and the connection, the conversation between the living and the Underworld. The woman, the mourner, bears the heavy burden of taking up the work of this communication.