Sunday, June 18, 2006
Sunday
Hello-
Today was a kinda sad day, Paul and I went to the funeral of the daughter of a friend of ours. When we got to his house, the women and the men were sitting on opposite sides. Not knowing what to do, I went with the women, and Paul with the men (obviously). But then, our friend's son came to us and brought us inside the house where there was the priest and other people, including the parents and grandma. They were all sitting around the little girl, getting her ready for the coffin. Then they brought out the coffin and we went one by one putting flowers in the caskett (sp?), we did this, women first, and then the men. There was a group of women singing during most of the ceremony.
There were two cars ready to take us to the cemetery, so we all loaded up onto those. The front car had the casket and a wooden cross with the name of his daughter written by pen. When we got there, men and women got divided again. While they put the coffin down, the priest said a few words, but mostly the women sang. It's hard to describe the singing, to us it sounds very African (and i dont mean to stereotype). Usually there is a woman leader in the chorus who sings a phrase, and then the group repeats it. Sorry, I know that doesnt say much, but its hard to explain (and considered how musically challenged I am...). The parents and grandma went to say their good-byes, and then the men began covering the grave. After a few minutes, the women went to help, but mostly in a symbolic way (just a few handfuls of dirt). Then our friend came to us and told us to go back to the car.
Once back at their home, there was water ready to wash the shovels and everyone's hands. Once again, we didnt really know what to do, but people were really nice and told us. I think we got the special treatment tho, cuz Paul was the only person sitting on a chair (someone specifically brought him a chair), everyone else was either standing or sitting on the ground. The priest said a few more words, the women sang a few more songs and they set out a plate for offerings. After that, they offered chima and peixe (which we tried to avoid, but got anyway!).
Well, that was about it. I hope all is well for everyone.
Love
Eli and Paul
Today was a kinda sad day, Paul and I went to the funeral of the daughter of a friend of ours. When we got to his house, the women and the men were sitting on opposite sides. Not knowing what to do, I went with the women, and Paul with the men (obviously). But then, our friend's son came to us and brought us inside the house where there was the priest and other people, including the parents and grandma. They were all sitting around the little girl, getting her ready for the coffin. Then they brought out the coffin and we went one by one putting flowers in the caskett (sp?), we did this, women first, and then the men. There was a group of women singing during most of the ceremony.
There were two cars ready to take us to the cemetery, so we all loaded up onto those. The front car had the casket and a wooden cross with the name of his daughter written by pen. When we got there, men and women got divided again. While they put the coffin down, the priest said a few words, but mostly the women sang. It's hard to describe the singing, to us it sounds very African (and i dont mean to stereotype). Usually there is a woman leader in the chorus who sings a phrase, and then the group repeats it. Sorry, I know that doesnt say much, but its hard to explain (and considered how musically challenged I am...). The parents and grandma went to say their good-byes, and then the men began covering the grave. After a few minutes, the women went to help, but mostly in a symbolic way (just a few handfuls of dirt). Then our friend came to us and told us to go back to the car.
Once back at their home, there was water ready to wash the shovels and everyone's hands. Once again, we didnt really know what to do, but people were really nice and told us. I think we got the special treatment tho, cuz Paul was the only person sitting on a chair (someone specifically brought him a chair), everyone else was either standing or sitting on the ground. The priest said a few more words, the women sang a few more songs and they set out a plate for offerings. After that, they offered chima and peixe (which we tried to avoid, but got anyway!).
Well, that was about it. I hope all is well for everyone.
Love
Eli and Paul
# posted by Paul and Eli @ 5:51 AM 
