The Irish Merry Wake
Before you read, consider this summary of Arnold van Gennup's take on funerals: Death rituals are a cultural strategy employed by man to combat the forces of nature. Mourning is a transitional period for the survivors and they enter it through the rites of separation and emerge from it through the rites of reintegration into society. In some cases, the transitional period of the living is a counterpart of the transitional period of the deceased.
Is this pretentious enough? Discuss.
The Ritual of Death
Before you read, consider this summary of Arnold van Gennup's take on funerals: Death rituals are a cultural strategy employed by man to combat the forces of nature. Mourning is a transitional period for the survivors and they enter it through the rites of separation and emerge from it through the rites of reintegration into society. In some cases, the transitional period of the living is a counterpart of the transitional period of the deceased.
Is this pretentious enough? Discuss.
The Ritual of Death
When a person dies, the transition from life to death is immediate, biologically speaking. But oftentimes in the human mind, the dead are not perceived as truly "gone" until the burial ritual is complete. For this reason, the corpse is in a liminal state until burial. Rites of separation are usually few and the emphasis is on transitional rites in order to transition the dead into the next life and to help the community cope with the loss and the fear of death. The entire mourning phase is a series of transitional rites which end with the lifting of mourning regulations, thereby reintegrating the mourners into society. Degree of kinships as well as the sex and social standing of the deceased will affect the length and severity of the mourning period (i.e. close family mourns longer than extended relations and a chief will be mourned by whole community for longer).
The corpse itself is regarded as being suspended between earthly and heavenly (or otherworldly) society. Different societies will treat this state differently, some dragging out the transitional phase while others might treat it so summarily as to deny it. Flesh is often regarded as unclean and precautions are often taken to ensure otherworldly influences are warded off. Bones, on the other hand, are almost always regarded as sacred. The social standing of the deceased generally affects the treatment of the body as well as the mourning rituals. In some societies expensive grave goods may be buried with a person of high standing.
The corpse itself is regarded as being suspended between earthly and heavenly (or otherworldly) society. Different societies will treat this state differently, some dragging out the transitional phase while others might treat it so summarily as to deny it. Flesh is often regarded as unclean and precautions are often taken to ensure otherworldly influences are warded off. Bones, on the other hand, are almost always regarded as sacred. The social standing of the deceased generally affects the treatment of the body as well as the mourning rituals. In some societies expensive grave goods may be buried with a person of high standing.
Function of Mourning in Irish Society
The period of mourning marks a sad time, when man feels powerless because of the intrusion of death. In Ireland this period is called a wake. During this time the corpse is laid out, usually in the home, and a vigil is kept by family and community for an average of two days. The wake serves to restore order to society after the intrusion of the other world, humanize death, help people come to terms with their loss, and move the deceased from one world to the next safely. The happiness of the deceased is considered dependent on the proper carrying out of the ritual. Not only is it important to make the dead happy so he/she does not return, but a good wake is also a sign of social status within the community.
The period of mourning, marked by the wearing of black and abstinence from dancing and interaction with the opposite sex (outside the immediate family), varies in duration. If the deceased was of a higher social standing, mourning may last longer, but the most common rule was that widows/widowers were subject to the restrictions of mourning for a year. Pregnant women might be expected to mourn even longer.
Whether a death was considered "timely" or "untimely" would affect the nature of the wake and mourning period as well. Timely deaths such as the death of an old person or one who had long been sick were regarded as Christian and natural; they fit into the order of life. Timely deaths were followed by the traditional merry wake. Untimely deaths such as accidents, murder, death at childbirth and other such sudden deaths were regarded as un-Christian or magical and were often blamed on fairy interference. In the case of an untimely death, the other world had intruded into the normal world too soon; before the person had passed through all stages of life. The wakes of the untimely dead were usually much more restrained, not so much "merry", and the precautions to keep the otherworld from intruding again were much more important. Suicides and the death of un-baptized children were untimely and were even further separated from other untimely deaths by the belief that these people's souls would travel to a different worlds entirely - neither heaven nor hell nor the realm of fairy (as some untimely dead souls were believed to have been abducted by fairies) - so they were not buried in the regular Christian graveyard.
The period of mourning, marked by the wearing of black and abstinence from dancing and interaction with the opposite sex (outside the immediate family), varies in duration. If the deceased was of a higher social standing, mourning may last longer, but the most common rule was that widows/widowers were subject to the restrictions of mourning for a year. Pregnant women might be expected to mourn even longer.
Whether a death was considered "timely" or "untimely" would affect the nature of the wake and mourning period as well. Timely deaths such as the death of an old person or one who had long been sick were regarded as Christian and natural; they fit into the order of life. Timely deaths were followed by the traditional merry wake. Untimely deaths such as accidents, murder, death at childbirth and other such sudden deaths were regarded as un-Christian or magical and were often blamed on fairy interference. In the case of an untimely death, the other world had intruded into the normal world too soon; before the person had passed through all stages of life. The wakes of the untimely dead were usually much more restrained, not so much "merry", and the precautions to keep the otherworld from intruding again were much more important. Suicides and the death of un-baptized children were untimely and were even further separated from other untimely deaths by the belief that these people's souls would travel to a different worlds entirely - neither heaven nor hell nor the realm of fairy (as some untimely dead souls were believed to have been abducted by fairies) - so they were not buried in the regular Christian graveyard.
Aspects of the Merry Wake
The Vigil: The corpse was laid out on the kitchen table or a settle bed usually and surrounded by candles (traditionally 12, with one being unlit to represent Judas). The corpse was not to be left unattended at any time during the wake for fear of interference from the supernatural. Each visitor would be obliged to kneel and pray by the corpse upon arrival at the house and in some areas it was customary that the guest could not leave the vigil until a new guest came to take his/her place. Usually it was the older folk or the women who kept the constant vigil throughout the night. In cities the practical side of keeping the vigil was to ensure that medical students would not steal the body.
Fun & Games: Though today some of the games played at the wake may seem disrespectful or strange, the people of Ireland did not see it that way. They mean no disrespect to the dead and justified their actions as "tradition" which they were inclined to continue as it gave them a break from the drudgery of the everyday routines and an opportunity for the younger people to meet members of the opposite sex.
The evening of the wake would generally open with a recitation of the rosary and quiet time for prayer, but as the crowd grew, story-telling, dancing, singing, music-making and playing games took over the night. There was always plenty of food and drink for the guests and a clay pipe and tobacco or a plate of snuff was offered to each guest. Some people lived simply just to save up money in order to have a good wake upon his/her death. Social standing was judged by the amount and quality of the food prepared. Poitin (or porter) was generally the drink of choice at a wake rather than beer or stout. It was the drinking that tended to make wakes so merry and rowdy, indeed, there have been accounts of dancing with the corpse. Dancing had died out or moved to a nearby barn by the twentieth century, however. Accounts of rowdiness at wakes has been recorded (mostly by Church injunctions against such behaviour) since the 1500s.
People, usually children, would play games imitating the priest such as fake weddings and mock confessions in which the participants would think up terrible crimes to confess and the "priest" would then give impossible penances. When others were not looking, they might tie strings to the corpse to that when someone came to pray by the corpse, they children could tug the strings and make it look as though the corpse had come to life again. There are records of children play such tricks as putting pepper in the tobacco that would be passed around to all guests or blocking the chimney. The older people would pass the time gossiping and reminiscing, often exaggerating the good deeds of the deceased. Tug-of-war and other games of physical contest were common. Cardplaying was also a regular feature of wake gatherings. If the deceased was know as a good player, the dealer would often play out a hand to the corpse so as to include him symbolically and pay homage to his life.
Roles of Women: There was a piseóg that family members could not handle the corpse for the purpose of laying it out. A female neighbour with experience in laying out was called upon to wash the corpse, dress it in its grave clothes and arrange the body on the kitchen table. This woman was known as an bean bhán (the white woman). Family members were also not supposed to keen (cry) until the body was laid out, but the family also hired professional keeners to cry by the house for the corpse and to cry during the funerary rites as well. Keeners were always women, know as bean chaointe. Both of these roles are associated with the other world or the supernatural, the keener especially being related to the bean sidhe (banshee) or fairy woman who was supposed to be heard screaming the night before a death. Women were associated with the supernatural (this association can be traced to the goddess/hag figure so important in medieval Gaelic mythology) and thus the jobs that were in closest contact with the other world were jobs for women.
The evening of the wake would generally open with a recitation of the rosary and quiet time for prayer, but as the crowd grew, story-telling, dancing, singing, music-making and playing games took over the night. There was always plenty of food and drink for the guests and a clay pipe and tobacco or a plate of snuff was offered to each guest. Some people lived simply just to save up money in order to have a good wake upon his/her death. Social standing was judged by the amount and quality of the food prepared. Poitin (or porter) was generally the drink of choice at a wake rather than beer or stout. It was the drinking that tended to make wakes so merry and rowdy, indeed, there have been accounts of dancing with the corpse. Dancing had died out or moved to a nearby barn by the twentieth century, however. Accounts of rowdiness at wakes has been recorded (mostly by Church injunctions against such behaviour) since the 1500s.
People, usually children, would play games imitating the priest such as fake weddings and mock confessions in which the participants would think up terrible crimes to confess and the "priest" would then give impossible penances. When others were not looking, they might tie strings to the corpse to that when someone came to pray by the corpse, they children could tug the strings and make it look as though the corpse had come to life again. There are records of children play such tricks as putting pepper in the tobacco that would be passed around to all guests or blocking the chimney. The older people would pass the time gossiping and reminiscing, often exaggerating the good deeds of the deceased. Tug-of-war and other games of physical contest were common. Cardplaying was also a regular feature of wake gatherings. If the deceased was know as a good player, the dealer would often play out a hand to the corpse so as to include him symbolically and pay homage to his life.
Roles of Women: There was a piseóg that family members could not handle the corpse for the purpose of laying it out. A female neighbour with experience in laying out was called upon to wash the corpse, dress it in its grave clothes and arrange the body on the kitchen table. This woman was known as an bean bhán (the white woman). Family members were also not supposed to keen (cry) until the body was laid out, but the family also hired professional keeners to cry by the house for the corpse and to cry during the funerary rites as well. Keeners were always women, know as bean chaointe. Both of these roles are associated with the other world or the supernatural, the keener especially being related to the bean sidhe (banshee) or fairy woman who was supposed to be heard screaming the night before a death. Women were associated with the supernatural (this association can be traced to the goddess/hag figure so important in medieval Gaelic mythology) and thus the jobs that were in closest contact with the other world were jobs for women.
The Funeral & Faction Fighting
Some of the piseógs associated with the procession to church and then to the graveyard included: The corpse should be taken out by the back door (if the house had one) so as to prevent the fairies from noticing the change of location; refraining from carrying the corpse over any crops so as to prevent the essence of death from getting into the harvest; the deceased should be buried with its eyes facing their place of origin; and, especially during the plagues times, make sure your family member is not the last one put into the ground when burials are occurring simultaneously because the last one in has to serve/watch over the rest of the graveyard and therefore won't have time to go to Heaven until someone else is buried to take over.
This last piseóg was one of the many reasons for fighting at grave sites. The funeral parties might try to physically prevent the other from burying their dead until theirs was in the ground. Most of the fighting that occurred, however, was faction fighting. The liminal period is over for the dead and so the family now puts aside the sense of communitas that prevailed during the wake and fights over inheritance of land, stock, home, or goods. It is sometimes even seen as disrespectful if some kind of fight does not occur, especially in the case of an untimely death. In fact, the struggle between sides of the family may begin at the wake itself in the case of an untimely death, especially the death of a young wife before a child is born. In these cases, the deceased has not been fully incorporated into the husband's family and so her incorporation into the correct ancestor grouping becomes problematic. The husband's family and her family of origin, then will fight over burial place as it is the nearest they can get to recovering the woman from the fairy host that they believe stole her and assuring her successful incorporation into the next world with her ancestors. Additionally, at the wake there is a struggle to turn the next death onto the other side of the family. All of these struggles have an underlying need to protect the community form the danger of contact with the supernatural that death, especially untimely, has brought. With "turning the next death", the sides of the family will attempt to be the first to reverse objects with which the deceased had contact in death such as the pillows, sheets, the mattress, and even the bed and once the body has been put into the coffin, the table or settle on which the corpse had been laid out. The turning around of the most objects will ensure that the next visitation of the supernatural will come to the other side of the family.
This last piseóg was one of the many reasons for fighting at grave sites. The funeral parties might try to physically prevent the other from burying their dead until theirs was in the ground. Most of the fighting that occurred, however, was faction fighting. The liminal period is over for the dead and so the family now puts aside the sense of communitas that prevailed during the wake and fights over inheritance of land, stock, home, or goods. It is sometimes even seen as disrespectful if some kind of fight does not occur, especially in the case of an untimely death. In fact, the struggle between sides of the family may begin at the wake itself in the case of an untimely death, especially the death of a young wife before a child is born. In these cases, the deceased has not been fully incorporated into the husband's family and so her incorporation into the correct ancestor grouping becomes problematic. The husband's family and her family of origin, then will fight over burial place as it is the nearest they can get to recovering the woman from the fairy host that they believe stole her and assuring her successful incorporation into the next world with her ancestors. Additionally, at the wake there is a struggle to turn the next death onto the other side of the family. All of these struggles have an underlying need to protect the community form the danger of contact with the supernatural that death, especially untimely, has brought. With "turning the next death", the sides of the family will attempt to be the first to reverse objects with which the deceased had contact in death such as the pillows, sheets, the mattress, and even the bed and once the body has been put into the coffin, the table or settle on which the corpse had been laid out. The turning around of the most objects will ensure that the next visitation of the supernatural will come to the other side of the family.
Conclusion: Another Pretentious Statement
Though death is a natural occurrence, it is a mystery, an unknowable; something which humans fear. “That is why both relatives and friends stove to show that Death was a trivial occurrence, which could be alleviated by all the features of the wake: the feasting and drinking, the attendance at the wake-house, the fun and amusements, and even the keening [and fighting]” -S. Ó Suilleabháin
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