Where and how are gypsies buried? Funeral rites among gypsies
Gypsies are one of the most amazing ethnic groups that have preserved their traditions and unique way of life. Despite professing the religion of the region of residence, the Roma have managed to introduce the characteristics of their culture into all aspects of life. One of the most closed ceremonies are gypsy funerals, surrounded by an area of mystery and magic.
Attitude to death as the basis of established traditions
Today, more than 10 million gypsies live around the world, differing in their religions and customs. But funerals for almost all branches of the Roma are almost the same. This is due to a special perception of death, which is characterized by:
- The establishment of a cult of the deceased, who is escorted to another world with unprecedented honors and festivities. Often, a funeral can drag on for several weeks, since all his relatives and close people must say goodbye to the deceased. All this time, the body is in a special tent, where next to it there is always a family member of the same gender as the deceased. Among the Roma, it is customary to place a huge memorial monument on the grave with a full-length engraved image of the deceased.
- Disgust, equating death with “dirty” events. According to tradition, it is forbidden to die in a common tent, since in this case the bed and all surrounding things will be considered unclean and will have to be burned or buried with the deceased. In this regard, the graves of some gypsies are arranged as the rooms in which he lived. Not only favorite things are placed there, but also furniture and interior items, surrounded by which he died.
In most cases, gypsy funerals are more like festivities with songs and dances. This is due to the belief that after death the soul leaves the mortal body and goes to better world, in which there is no place for suffering.
Gypsy funeral are still little studied, and the public knows only small part from customs. Invites you to get acquainted with some well-known traditions:
- Among the Roma it is forbidden to damage the integrity of the body of the deceased, since according to beliefs, without them a person will not be able to find peace in the afterlife. Resolution of controversial situations is carried out by the baron, and only he can give permission to conduct a medical examination. But it is done with the condition that all organs are returned to the body.
- Among nomadic tribes, a dying person moves to a special tent - “bender”. Close people are allowed to be near him, but they are not allowed to be sad and cry. Before last breath dying they should behave as usual.
- After death, a person is also washed, but not ordinary water is used, but special herbal infusions and decoctions. At the same time, not prayers are read over the deceased, but conspiracies.
- Some communities believe that the soul of a dying person is able to move into another body. Therefore, the bird is brought to the mouth, and after death it is released.
- Since the funeral must be held on a grand scale, relatives begin to collect money for them in advance. This tradition is somewhat similar to collecting a dowry for the bride.
- Sedentary gypsies prefer to purchase land in the cemetery in advance, arranging an underground room for the deceased. Nomads bury their dead in a deserted place, for example, in a thicket. A good sign It is considered to have a blackberry bush next to the grave, as it is believed that it will protect the burial site from desecration by animals.
- Not all Roma people bury their loved ones in coffins—some prefer to wrap the body in expensive carpets.
- The dead are buried in the best clothes, and women wear several bright gypsy skirts.
After a long funeral, a wake is held, which, as a rule, also lasts for several days. All this time, the guests eat, sing and dance, rejoicing that the person has gone to a better world.
The wealth of the gypsy barons is legendary. Their huge castles, luxury cars, gold jewelry, newfangled gadgets from time to time come to the attention of journalists and ordinary people. But no matter how the representatives of the Roma elite live, they also die. And they are buried. True, influential barons are escorted to the afterlife in a completely different way from ordinary mortals. The funeral rites of the gypsy elite evoke thoughts of the Egyptian pharaohs.
Who are the barons?
According to the 2010 All-Russian Population Census, there are approximately 220 thousand Roma in our country. Although, according to demographers, representatives of this mysterious people there may be more: just some of them are documented according to Moldovans, Romanians, Greeks... Despite the large number and long centuries during which the Gypsies have lived in Russia, their customs and traditions remain a mystery to us.
For example, contrary to the established misconception, the life of all representatives of this people is subject to a strict management system, and at the head of each camp is not a baron (as we used to believe), but a respected person called “baro”. Translated from the Gypsy language, this word means “important, respectable.” Native Europeans began to call representatives of the nomadic elite barons, apparently due to the similarity of the sound of the word “baro” with an aristocratic title.
The decision of such a leader is indisputable for the members of the camp. He considers any disputes, disagreements between Roma, and also regulates relations with authorities local authorities. All people subordinate to the baron regularly give him a certain part of their income. “Tax” rates vary in each camp, but usually it is about 10% of the profit of each family.
Often the income of the Roma is semi-criminal in nature (smuggling, gambling, illegal trade, etc.), so the barons hide their level of wealth. Their wealth can be judged by their four-story mansions with fountains and statues, the interior decoration of which is striking in the abundance of marble and gilding. While ordinary gypsies can live very poorly, in real shacks, their barons seem to compete with each other in excessive luxury. It's about about luxury cars, latest model gadgets, and the weight of gold jewelry is measured in kilograms.
According to the Moldovan press, the annual income of the local gypsy clan, headed by Artur Mihailovich Cerari, ranges from 20 to 40 million euros. One can only guess what amounts his Russian “colleagues” have.
Gypsy funeral
When these people were nomadic, they buried their dead in forest thickets or in the steppe, away from roads. The transition to settled life led to the emergence of gypsy cemeteries, which are located on the outskirts of their settlements.
The funeral rites of this people are known only from the words of eyewitnesses who, for one reason or another, were allowed to attend the funeral.
Russian, Eastern European and Baltic clans organize similar ceremonies in almost the same way. Main features of a funeral:
special prayers are read over the deceased, which people who do not know the gypsy language mistake for magical spells;
the corpse is washed not with water, but with a herbal decoction that helps hide the smell of decomposition;
sometimes funerals last much longer than the usual three days, because everyone who knew him must say goodbye to the deceased;
Before burial, the body of the deceased is placed in a “bender” - a special tent that is built on the street;
things are buried with the owner, since they will be useful to him in the afterlife, and money is often thrown into the grave;
at a wake you cannot grieve quietly, you must behave noisily: first sob loudly, demonstrating despair due to separation from the deceased, and then you should sing and dance a lot, rejoicing at his transition to a “better world”;
all the scraps left over from the funeral are buried in the ground, because according to popular belief, such food contains the energy of the other world.
However, funerals differ markedly depending on the social status of the deceased.
Afterlife of the Elite
Although most ethnographers adhere to the Indian version of the origin of the gypsies, the burials of representatives of the elite of a given people have clear parallels with the traditions of Ancient Egypt. Pyramids were built only for the pharaohs, and rooms imitating houses were dug in the ground for the barons. In such crypts, several rooms are set up, furnished with expensive furniture, appliances, household items and what the deceased loved: from expensive wines to computers and plasma TVs.
The underground “mansions” of the barons amaze with their luxury. They are decorated with marble and gold, the most expensive materials are used, and antique carpets are laid. They try to provide the deceased with maximum comfort in the afterlife. Often they don’t forget to put in the crypts: a razor, slippers, sunglasses, dishes, not to mention jewelry.
The aforementioned gypsy baron Artur Mikhailovich Cherari mentioned in an interview with various journalists that, among other things, a prestigious Volga car in Soviet times was lowered into his father’s grave.
In Russia, no one invites government officials or the press to the funeral of barons, but local politicians and journalists were present at the funeral ceremony of the Romanian “king of all gypsies.” They were amazed by the scale and luxury of the event.
Florian Cioaba, 59, died in August 2013. Delegations from many countries of the world arrived in the town of Sibiu to say goodbye to him; the funeral procession stretched for 7 km. Even the coffin of the deceased was a complex technical device, equipped with an air conditioning system and other electronics. At the same time, a window was installed in the coffin.
Graves of the Gypsy barons
Another source of information about the funeral traditions of the Gypsies is their tombstones. They differ from the graves of representatives of other nations in their creativity and artistic diversity.
Firstly, the deceased on the monument is depicted standing in full height, either riding a beautiful horse, or sitting at a table that is bursting with food. The purpose of such an image is to provide a person with the most prosperous existence in the afterlife. Graves reflect the passions of the deceased; tombstones can be engraved with bottles of expensive alcohol, cigarettes with brand names, fishing gear, cars and even... while living relatives of the deceased.
Secondly, usually on the back side of the monument they indicate family name or a nickname for a gypsy. For example, Pyotr Petrovich Petrov - on the one hand, and on the other hand - Shuko. Or Raisa Vasilyevna Mukhina, but for her own people - Rada.
Thirdly, tables with benches are installed next to many graves, because it is customary to remember the deceased with a hearty meal.
But the graves of the gypsy barons look completely different. These are real works of architectural art. Richly decorated chapels with monuments, gazebos for organizing funerals, golden statues - each grave reflects the individuality of the representative of the Gypsy elite buried here.
Displaying wealth among these people is not considered indecent. On the contrary, material wealth is put on display, because a large number of money and gold, according to the gypsies, bring honor to their owner.
Despite the luxurious burials, no one plunders the graves of the gypsy barons. Even seasoned criminals who have nothing to do with this people are careful not to do this. After all, it is believed that gypsy funeral gold can bring great misfortune to the one who covets it.
They are considered the most interesting in the world. Partly for the reason that the people are nomadic, and they have relatively few customs related to death. Settled gypsies (and there are more and more of them every year) borrow funeral rites from people permanently residing in the area and generously share with them their own - from those that they remember.
From the established funeral traditions Among the gypsies, two can be named: veneration of the dead, reaching the point of deification with the subsequent creation of a cult - and aversion to death, in general, the perception of it and everything connected with the process of dying, “dirty”. At first glance, these things seem mutually exclusive, but gypsies combine them quite naturally.
The cult of ancestors relates directly to the body of the deceased. Gypsy funerals are always magnificent and rich. There are often cases when the relatives of the deceased deliberately save money for years in order to bury him with dignity: in a crypt or coffin, with objects that belonged to him during his lifetime, or at least place the most expensive tombstone over the grave, not just with engraved dates, but with a portrait of the deceased in the whole stove. Previously, the things of the deceased were distributed to the poor, but relatively recently it was decided that in this way “unclean objects” could again fall into the hands of one of the gypsies, so all clothes, etc. now they are lowering them down there, underground. And in the process of dying, the patient tries not to defile either the bed or his family and friends with his touches.
The body is rarely provided with burial immediately after death. They notify and wait for everyone who knew the deceased during his lifetime, which takes days, and sometimes even weeks. All these people say goodbye to the dead man personally, going into the tent with the body, talking to him, and sometimes treating him to a glass. According to the beliefs of Russian (Orthodox) gypsies, for 40 days after a person’s death, the soul remains next to his body, so he sees, hears and, of course, understands everything. However, among Muslim gypsies this custom is now, if not completely lost, then reduced to a minimum.
After a long farewell, a wake is organized, as expected, which, in turn, lasts a day or two. On the third day, close relatives of the deceased announce the end of the wake... But this does not mean that everyone can go home. On the contrary, the feast will continue as usual for another whole day, already more like an ordinary gypsy feast with songs and dances. Often they choose the most luxurious apartment or house for him, for which it is not a pity to buy a hanging chandelier, it is so richly furnished, decorated with gold and looks like some kind of theater or palace. By the way, if you are interested in selling hotels in Bulgaria at low prices, follow the link earlier.
Concerning nomadic gypsies, they do everything the same, but, not having the opportunity (often the means) to bury everyone with the proper luxury, they often do not buy places in cemeteries, simply digging a grave in the one they pass by - or even just somewhere in a field or in the forest.
"Passion-faces"
Firstly, we are all mortal, and this is no secret.
Then, they (the unclean ones) can see the near future.
And most importantly (at the very beginning I write that many situations puzzled me),
The meaning of the story is very simple: “don’t sin, otherwise you will perish for eternity,”
and how things work for them, that demonic hierarchy, it’s better not to even be interested...
Priest Alexander Dyachenko
The events I describe took place in a small peripheral town many years ago. True, I may be confusing something in small things, you will forgive me for that, a lot of water has flown under the bridge since then. I had just been ordained at that time, and I served as the second priest in the church. I had almost no ministry experience yet, so some of the events that I had to face frankly perplexed me. And I couldn’t find an answer to many questions.
Once, and it was in the summer, on one of the weekdays, I, as befits a second priest, ran around doing religious services. Just ran, although the town was small, there were many applications for the consecration of houses, for communion and unction of people, sick and old. By the way, this is evidence that the temple in the city was almost never closed, and the custom of inviting a priest to your home is considered something taken for granted by the local population. In new towns and villages, where there have never been churches before, there is no such custom.
I didn’t have a car then, so I had to walk a lot. During one of my hikes, I was stopped by a middle-aged woman. And although she was dressed like a gypsy, and her habits, gestures, and the very way she addressed me was similar to a gypsy, nevertheless, the woman turned out to be Russian.
“It’s just that I’ve lived among the gypsies for a long time, so in appearance I’ve begun to resemble them, and I even speak with their accent.” Listen, father, my sister called me here recently and says that she saw me in a dream very badly. That’s why he orders me to consecrate the apartment immediately. And then my mother called the same thing yesterday, worried:
- Daughter, is everything okay there? IN Lately For some reason I keep thinking about you, I can’t find a place for myself, please be careful.
Since I met you, it means this is a sign that God sent you to me. Here is my address, I ask you, consecrate my apartment. Only I work in Moscow on weekends, so let’s meet on weekdays, preferably at about two o’clock next Wednesday.
On the appointed day, at two o’clock in the afternoon, I was already standing in front of the door of her apartment and pressing the bell button with all my might. But, strangely enough, no one opened it to me. I called again, listened to what was happening outside the door, but heard nothing. This happened to me for the first time, so that people would invite a priest to their home, and then forget about it and leave.
“Okay,” I think, “she’s gone, well, she’s gone, in the end, it’s not for me, it’s what you need.”
Already in the church, shortly before the evening service, I could not resist and called my friend, she lived in the same house next to the apartment where I was invited, and asked her to go again and ring the doorbell I indicated.
- You know, for some reason I’m worried, the man asked me to come to her, set a time, and then suddenly took it and forgot about everything? Something is wrong here.
About fifteen minutes later they call me to the phone:
- Father, the mistress is at home, but she probably invited you not to bless the house, but to the funeral service. You understand, I ring her doorbell, no one answers. I pushed the door with my hand and it opened. I go in, there’s no one, I call, no one answers, I go into the room, and she’s lying in a coffin on the table. Surely you yourself confused something, apparently, she asked her to sing the funeral service.
- Are you out of your mind?! - I almost scream into the phone. How can a person, being alive, invite a priest to his funeral service on a certain day, at a certain hour?
And only the next day we learned that the day before, in a region neighboring ours, on the way back from the capital, several gypsies died in an accident, and along with them, my new friend. Since then, I have never ceased to be amazed by women’s ability to foresight. After all, both the sister and the mother of the deceased had a premonition that their to a loved one trouble threatens.
It is understandable how worried our Roma community is. In general, they are very sensitive to the very fact of the funeral of one of the gypsies, and here there are several dead people at once. Funeral services for the dead women were held separately for several days, and each funeral turned into a demonstration of crying relatives. I performed the funeral service for one of the dead, and my funeral service was the last in this series of burials. Many gypsy people crowded into the church for the funeral service. At first everything went as usual, the mother cried loudly, her relatives consoled her, children ran around and men periodically came out to smoke.
Suddenly I heard a dissatisfied murmur among those in the church. I turn to the door and notice small group gypsies who have just entered. They walked deeper and stood apart from everyone else. And the rest, clearly outraged by their appearance, began excitedly talking among themselves, loudly and sharply shouting something in their own language. Then one gypsy with a decisive step approached the newly entered people and sharply pushed one of them, a young man, almost a boy, on the shoulder, although there were also adult men there. It became clear that a conflict was brewing, and I thought, something needs to be done, it wasn’t enough for them to also fight in our church.
And, interrupting the prayer, he warned:
“You will fight in the street, and until the hooligan who hit the young man leaves the church, I will not hold the funeral service.” And then almost all the men, and after them the boys, fell into the street; at first only loud cries were heard, and then I discerned the noise from the mutual exchange of blows. Okay, I think, let them figure it out themselves, it’s their own business, and I continued the funeral service.
Of course, I was curious why these people quarreled so much that even the funeral did not prevent at least a temporary truce. If the gypsies decided to sort things out in the temple, it means that someone really annoyed someone. But who of them will tell about this? The gypsies do not like to let strangers into their affairs.
But within a few days, literally within the next week, I again saw in the church those recent troublemakers whose presence at the funeral the others did not tolerate. Among these people was a boy of about fifteen; it was he who was then pushed on the shoulder. The boy stood opposite and looked at me with undisguised curiosity. There was so much childish spontaneity in his eyes that I decided to talk to him and find out how this funny-looking boy could annoy so many serious adult gypsies. And he seemed to be waiting for my question, and as soon as I spoke to him, he, in turn, poured out a whole stream of questions at me, from the simplest and most ridiculous, to those that can only be answered with theological training.
Metya, that was the boy’s name, said that their family, being related to the local gypsies, lived in one of the cities in the region neighboring ours. Some time ago, a young man in their family committed suicide. He was brought to us and buried in the old city cemetery. It is clear that no one held his funeral service, since he laid hands on himself, and even because he was drunk, and drunkenness is only an aggravating reason. Time passed, and it would have been time to forget about him, but that was not the case.
Somewhere after six months, he began to appear in dreams to local gypsies. And when he appeared, he warned each time:
“One of these days one of you will die,” and he called the name of the victim.
It is not clear how, but Metya, independently of others, learned about the impending death of one of the gypsies, and was never mistaken. By the way, Metya also knew about the imminent death of the women who died in that accident. But the worst thing is, almost on the day of their death, the strangled man appeared again and pointed to a teenage girl, the only child in one of the families...
Here the gypsies could no longer stand it and exploded, putting Metya's relatives ultimatum: either by hook or by crook they seek permission to have a funeral service for the suicide, or the gypsies themselves will dig up his body and burn it somewhere outside the city. In short, he annoyed them with his predictions, and not only annoyed them, but completely intimidated them.
A relative, even if he is a suicide, does not cease to be a relative, and no one wants his body to be burned like some kind of ghoul.
“Father,” Metya’s relatives ask me, “what is needed for you to perform the funeral service for our suicide?” Let's do this, we'll give you a lot of money, and you'll sing it to us without any fuss. Of course I refused. And not because I know that if a gypsy promises you a lot of money, then he is guaranteed to deceive you, but because no priest will perform the funeral service for a suicide. And the question of money, no matter how much it is promised, in this case will not even be considered by anyone.
Gypsies, you must go to the diocesan administration of the diocese to which your suicide formally belonged and bring permission for his funeral in absentia, and they will give it to you only if you have certificates from doctors that your relative was mentally ill . Being sure that they could not achieve such permission, I had already begun to forget about this story. And I would have forgotten if, two weeks later, Metya and a group of relatives had not stood in front of me and waved in front of my nose the real permit for the funeral service with the imprint of the seal of the administration of the diocese next to us.
Gypsies, how did you do it?
“Oh, father,” the young man spoke, clearly proud of himself, “first we went to our city psychiatric hospital, there we met one a good man, and he helped us (for little money). So we are behind you, get ready and go to the cemetery. Metya, openly telling me about his roguery, could not even admit that, having learned about the deception, I would still not begin to perform the funeral service for the suicide, and no piece of paper would be an authority for me in this case.
Just arguing with the gypsies and proving to them that they are wrong in this case is completely hopeless. The paper is in your hands, and feeling that they are formally right, they will yank you out of bed. Therefore, I did not argue and agreed to go to the old cemetery. I’m driving, but I still don’t really know what I’m going to do. It is understandable that I will not perform the funeral service, but the problem of the unhappy family also had to be solved somehow. Circumstances drove people into a corner, and they could no longer cope without my participation.
I drove and prayed, and when we arrived and approached the grave, I suddenly discovered with joy that a man with exactly the same name as the unfortunate suicide was buried literally nearby. And I, with full right, served a funeral litany for his ever-remembered neighbor, and then gave the land a gypsy burial; by the way, I could have done this without special permission. Metya and his company were happy; now they no longer had to fear attacks on the mortal remains of their poor relative.
Another eight months passed, and again Metya, our good friend, with a radiant smile on his lips, visited our temple. He approached me as if he were an old acquaintance:
- Father, I come to you on business, we need to perform the funeral service for our father!
Noting the discrepancy between his face, beaming with joy, and the tragedy of the event, at first I couldn’t even figure out how to behave, express condolences to the young man, or be happy for him. Having learned from the bitter experience of Metya’s family, he immediately asked:
- I hope not suicide?
“No, father,” and his mouth stretches into a completely happy smile, “I got there by car.” I always warned him, don’t smoke weed if you get behind the wheel. And he was a fan of smoking while driving. The car, in short, was shattered, and he broke his neck.
Maybe the boy was happy that at least he wouldn’t have problems with the folder, and he could be buried like a human being?
Look, gypsies know how to bury. Firstly, as a rule, a very expensive coffin is bought. The family gives it their all, gets into debt, but the coffin and everything else will be top notch!
Okay, we agreed on the time of the funeral service, and early in the morning on the appointed day a messenger from Metya finds me with a request that after the funeral service I lead the funeral procession around the city. I imagined how I would walk through the entire city to the cemetery with a cross and censer in front of a funeral column of relatives and with a happy Metei, and I felt uneasy.
Although, the tradition of Orthodox burial has always meant seeing off the body of the deceased Orthodox Christian priest to his final resting place.
- But, firstly, today this tradition is practically no longer supported, especially in cities.
- And secondly, if you do go, it’s not in front of the coffin of an over-aged hooligan who got stoned and therefore broke his neck!
After my refusal, all morning more and more envoys found me with a request to be sure to take me to last way"respected person" Maybe in my presence at the funeral, Metya saw a guarantee that his blood brothers would definitely not have any suspicions about this deceased from their family.
The abbot was on vacation at that time, and I had no one to consult with on what to do in such a situation. I approach the headman:
- Petrovna, what should we do, the gypsies are starving us to death, we no longer have the strength to resist.
- And you, father, use a trick, assign them some hefty fee for escorting them, name a number, even the most crazy, impossible one! Then they’ll just fall behind, there’s no other way to fight back.
Following the advice of the headman, I assigned such an “impossible”, in my opinion, amount to the next walker. But what to me, yesterday’s hard worker, railway, seemed impossible, for Metya’s family apparently was pocket money - they handed it to me right away.
After the funeral service, I leave the church with the air of a martyr and pray that the Lord, taking pity on me, will at that moment pour tons of water onto the city, or bring down hail the size of egg, if only I would not participate in this procession. But it turned out that the merciful Lord took pity on me even before I began to ask Him about it. Apparently it was my guardian angel who advised someone from the organizing committee of Metya’s dad’s funeral to order a brass band.
Today, a brass band accompanying a funeral procession can no longer be seen, but once upon a time, in Soviet times, it was unthinkable to bury without such accompaniment. It's the same as if today the bride wouldn't wear it to her wedding. White dress, or car numbers wedding procession Don’t cover it up with some nonsense like “we’re walking.” Then, in the years I am describing, the time of brass bands had already passed, but, as it turned out, not for everyone. My guardian angel told the gypsies where they could find this anachronism and brought musicians to the funeral. Bury, bury like that - both with the priest and with the orchestra!
It was these musicians that I grabbed onto like a straw:
- Metya, don’t you know that Orthodox funerals exclude the presence brass band? This used to be the case, when people refused to perform funeral services on principle and were buried to the tune of revolutionary melodies. So here's your money and I'm off.
But that was not the case; Metya, indeed, had remarkable intelligence. I hear him shouting at my back:
- Father, you don’t need money. We do this: you get into the car and drive with us to the cemetery, at this time the orchestra is playing, and when we arrive, the musicians fall silent and continue in a Christian way!
This was salvation, internally rejoicing, but externally remaining calm, I got into their car.
And only there, in the car, did I understand why Metya was so happy. He admitted that talking to me immediately puts him in a better mood, and then he feels great. Therefore, he will be happy to ride with me in the same car. During this time, the curious young man managed to ask me many questions. He was interested in how the priests live, what they drink and what they eat, and much, much more. I suggested to him:
- Metya, start going to church, you will understand a lot, and then, you see, you will go to study. You will become a priest yourself, and you will preach about Christ to the gypsies.
The young man laughs, he is very pleased, but he perceives my words as a joke.
Finally the procession approached the cemetery gates and stopped. The time had come to change the musicians, and they, having finished their work, began to pack their instruments. Everyone who was driving got out of their cars and continued on foot. I was about to sing “Holy God...”, but at that moment the widow screamed with a heartbreaking cry. An amazing metamorphosis: just now a woman was driving with us, calmly participating in the general conversation, and then she suddenly started screaming at you. Metya immediately reassured me:
- It’s okay, don’t be afraid, this is how it is with us.
We approached the grave, or rather the crypt. Gypsies bury their dead differently from others. They line the inside of the grave with bricks, place a coffin in it and place a concrete slab on top. Into the crypt along with the remains of the deceased they can, as if in ancient Egypt, put some things, carpets, bottles of wine. The coffin was placed on a dais, the widow is on her knees and continues to scream with a heartbreaking cry:
- Breadwinner, who did you leave us with?!
Although among the gypsies, most often it is women who are the breadwinners, and not men, like ours. It’s true that recently, in our families, women are earning more and more, so that you no longer understand who feeds whom. And if the husband is a parasite, then why bother about him? I lean towards the woman and quietly ask:
- How long are you going to be? I would like to serve.
The scream stops for a moment, and I hear in response: “Another minute and a half.” Okay, let's wait.
The scream ended as suddenly as it began. The widow quickly and business-likely placed several bundles into the coffin. One of them, as it seemed to me from the shape, contained alcohol, but I couldn’t figure out what was in the others.
Finally, the service was served, and the coffin began to be lowered into the crypt, and I, left with nothing to do, stepped aside, and then, feeling completely out of place, decided to return to the temple.
Having collected my belongings in a bag, I was about to set off on foot, and at that moment Metya found me:
- It’s good that I found you, father. We'll take you now. Please excuse me if something is wrong. I really wanted our people to see you in the cemetery, otherwise, God forbid, it would turn out like with that relative of ours who committed suicide.
I asked: “By the way, how did the story of his adventures from the other world end?” Doesn't he take anyone else?
- And he, father, didn’t take anyone. I began to pray for him, as you taught me, he came to me in a dream and said:
- Metya, tell them not to be afraid of me, I have absolutely nothing to do with this. It is the demon who takes them away for their sins. Tell me so, Metya, "for sins". If they don’t sin, they will stop being afraid!
I don’t know whether this science benefited Metya’s family, but I haven’t seen Metya himself since then.
Priest Alexander Dyachenko
PS Moldovan gypsies often put the deceased’s favorite things in the grave, so lately TVs and computers have been going there, which causes some inconvenience, but it’s a tradition, however :-)
Father Alexander Dyachenko:
But then it will be easier for archaeologists to date the remains, and modern computers will reach descendants in good condition :)
P.P.S.
“He admitted that talking to me immediately puts him in a good mood, and then he feels great. Therefore, he would be happy to ride in the same car with me.”
I understand Matthew very well :)
And in stories now I immediately start to think where is the “lie” and where is the “hint”
:(I want to go back to the blissful state of confidence that everything is the absolute ins and outs of the pure natural truth:)
And I'm afraid of gypsies. Very.
Father Alexander Dyachenko:
Don't be afraid of them, but rather pray. They won't touch you.
As for the plot, here only the name is different, and perhaps some temporary rearrangements, but everything is the purest truth :)
PPPS Like in the movies. - Exactly. Just a ready-made script!
Father Alexander Dyachenko:
Yes, the plot is interesting, but another one, which I would also like to frame, is no less mysterious and incomprehensible, only even more dramatic.
PPPPS An unexpected ending. They talk more often about God's long-suffering, “Do not want the sinner to die, but rather be converted and live”.
Father Alexander Dyachenko:
The boy, apparently, has a soul that both those and These look into. Apparently there was something in him that could be fought for.
PPPPPS Wonderful story. I want to believe that it is true.
And I absolutely believe that Metya’s mood was improving. Thank you.
Father Alexander Dyachenko:
Does it really matter whether it is true or with some additions? Is it bad if the author sometimes uses the right to “lie for the sake of interest”? After all, all our cinema and TV are built on this principle.
The story in reality is more creepy, I softened the accents a little.
PPPPPPS Father, you know how to snatch whole pictures from gray everyday life, with storyline and a wonderful ending. That’s why your stories are so easy to read, they are better than in life, where you can’t understand where the actual beginning is, where the plot is and where the denouement is. Therefore, they can even be mistaken for fiction, and not life scenario. You have the gift of a writer; not everyone can feel life so subtly.
About the story. Intuitively I come to the following conclusion: deception as life goal lead Metya and his people to spiritual death. They do not put luxury items and an expensive coffin with music in the grave of the deceased, they themselves descend into the grave, like that suicide and stoned drug addict. They, knowing that they are engaged in deception, kill themselves, hypocritically hiding behind Orthodoxy, like that piece of paper with a seal from the diocese. And being in the Temple, they throw themselves out of It, and no longer come to Him, just like we too. This story is about us. About Us.
Father Alexander Dyachenko:
Yes, I want to tell you more about this. Among the gypsies there is a very strong belief in ritual, which they bring almost to the point of magic.
PPPPPPPPS The Lord, of course, is long-suffering, but:
- "...It pleases the righteous and burns the sinner. And it is painful for us until we are cleansed from all unrighteousness and uncleanness..."
- "...For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but, having bound them in the chains of hellish darkness, handed them over to be judged for punishment..."
- “...The Lord certainly knows how to deliver the pious from temptation, and to preserve the wicked for the day of judgment, for punishment...”
Father Alexander Dyachenko:
The purification process is ongoing; it is not only something that will happen one day in the future, but also an everyday reality. And not only among the gypsies, this is a universal process...
PPPPPPPPS Although you served the litiya for another person, for Metya (as for everyone else) it was the funeral service for his suicidal father. I wonder how Metya will treat the Church in the future, will she be tempted?
Father Alexander Dyachenko:
This is very similar to Leskov’s story, when fathers, instead of an illegal wedding, performed an ordinary prayer service over the young.
I think that Metya has a “healthy rational view” of things.
He probably doesn’t care who is inveterate and how, it’s important for him to follow the letter. The goal, albeit illegally, has been achieved, but what happens to the soul of the deceased is of little concern to him...
Story "Passion-faces" rural priest Father Alexander Dyachenko
Prototype of the story “Passion-face”: LJ priest Alexander Dyachenko
07/22/2010 - alex-the-priest.livejournal.com/34766.html
Comments
Ask a QUESTION or express your humble opinion:
06.25.11 Sat 15:49 - Miroslav Bakulin
Gypsies - This time he was invited to another funeral service for the Gypsies
When I was little, gypsies lived across the river and stole everything that was bad. My mother gave my sister, a tenth-grader, gold earrings. The gypsies started talking to her on the street and stole the earrings from her ears. Mom called the police. The fat policemen didn’t mess around with them for a long time; they grabbed the first one they came across and pushed them into the monkey house. When the gypsies stood in a noisy crowd around the police car, the cops suggested that they exchange the gypsies for earrings. The earrings were delivered instantly.
Until 2000, Gypsies named their children names from Mexican TV series.
And in 2000, someone blessed spread a rumor among them that the Day of Judgment was coming, and that the unbaptized would not be saved. In short, millenarianism extends to the freedom-loving children of India. They came as a whole camp to be baptized; a baron walked ahead with a stack of banknotes. He asked the temple where he could find the apostle. They told him that there were no apostles, but that the archpriest would be brought to them. The priest baptized the entire camp and from then on the gypsies began to call priests to perform funeral services for the baptized gypsies. One protodeacon with many children was in charge of all the needs in the church. He chose a priest, took him to services, because no one canceled the money.
This time he was invited to another funeral service for the gypsies. He and the priest chanted “Rest in peace with the saints,” and the gypsies stood at the edge of the grave, tore thousand-dollar bills in half and threw them into the coffin. This is their tradition. And after the funeral they forgot to give money to the funeral attendants. Father Protodeacon was indignant in mind and body: “You can throw money at a dead person, but we shouldn’t? That's a lot of wasted money! There were about fifty of you standing there. It would be better if they gave it to us.” The gypsies thought and gave them a thousand each. Still, sacred people are entitled to it. It’s not for nothing that they tore their throats.
June 21st, 2011 - zamorin.livejournal.com/389964.html
17.07.11 Sun 20:01 - Anonymous
photo
Do not forget that every photograph has an author and only he has the copyright to the photograph. If you take the liberty of just stealing photos on the Internet like this, then at least indicate the author.
I declare to you as the author of this photo - Eremina Svetlana (link to LJ, where it was originally posted http://shafali2883.livejournal.com/267691.html)
17.07.11 Sun 20:12 - Pilgrimage
This is what was written in the tag
This is what was written in the IMG tag:
alt="Gypsy. Camp. In search of adventure - Photographer Svetlana Eremina - Tyumen, trans-river camp"!}
So there was and is a link for search engines! What's important. If you right-click on a photo and open “Properties”, then the contents of the alt parameter are shown there! Learn materiel!
By the way, you don’t have the ALT parameter in LJ. It is not right. Read about it.
Read on the website:
Questions and answers for the month
- 16593 Looks like a love spell
7 hours 57 minutes back - 16592 Husband doesn't work
1 day 41 min. back - 16591 Good evening! My godmother
1 day 3 hours ago - Question In the publishing house "Smirenie"
1 day 6 hours ago - 16590 Do you think that your amulets are very different from your ex-wife’s fortune telling?
1 day 11 hours ago - 16590 "Uninvited Guests"
1 day 11 hours ago - 16584 Figured it out. Thanks.
1 day 20 hours ago - 16580 https://www.youtube.com/watch
1 day 21 hours ago - 16580 At least you're watching, then,
1 day 21 hours ago - 16573 My dears, to church
2 days 6 hours ago - 16589 relics of John the Baptist
2 days 8 hours ago - 16586 clock in the dome of the temple
2 days 8 hours ago - 16585 Question about the Holy Spirit
2 days 8 hours ago - 16580 That's all we do
2 days 9 hours ago - Question Need help visiting Athos
2 days 10 hours ago - 16570 There is no need to evaluate anyone!!!
2 days 18 hours ago - 16571 God bless you!
2 days 18 hours ago - 16580 And all you have to do is support him
2 days 18 hours ago - 16584 Question to the Priest
2 days 18 hours ago - 16572 Curses!
2 days 18 hours ago - 16574 Why not? This is his
2 days 18 hours ago - 16575 And you will do the right thing! Only
2 days 18 hours ago - 16577 Over such phenomena
2 days 19 hours ago - 16578 Be sure to finish it, and you can
2 days 19 hours ago - 16580 You need to see a doctor first. So that
2 days 19 hours ago - 16569 Every person sins greatly
3 days 3 hours ago - 16567 We must pray daily, like
3 days 3 hours ago - 16546 Hello! I understand your
3 days 3 hours ago - 16581 Can those who do not know about Christianity be saved?
3 days 9 hours ago - 16580 Hello from my husband
3 days 11 hours ago - 16579 Didn't wait for a response
3 days 14 hours ago - Question Fear and worries
3 days 14 hours ago - 16578 Icon “The Queen of All”
3 days 15 hours ago - 16577 Vision of a silver silhouette in reality
3 days 16 hours ago - 16576 Pentecost
4 days 2 hours ago - 16575 Hello, my name is
4 days 5 hours ago - 16574 Hello, such
4 days 6 hours ago - 16573 My friend and I started walking
4 days 10 hours ago - 16572 Curses
5 days 4 hours ago - 16571 Help me on my journey to faith
5 days 5 hours ago - 16570 Is my relative sinning...
5 days 8 hours ago - 16569 Is my relative sinning...
5 days 8 hours ago - 16568 Life and death
5 days 11 hours ago - 16567 I'm going on a long journey
5 days 15 hours ago - 16566 Hello, I bought an amulet
5 days 21 hours ago - 16565 Give advice, Father.
5 days 21 hours ago - 16564 Is it still disgusting or not?
6 days 1 hour ago - 16563 When you remember in prayer
6 days 11 hours ago - 16556
6 days 12 hours ago - 16556 God bless you! Pray
6 days 12 hours ago - 16552 Every human destiny
6 days 13 hours ago - 16555 It's up to you to decide!
6 days 14 hours ago - 16561 Hello! Go
6 days 14 hours ago - 16561 My son is drinking, what should I do?
1 week 5 hours ago - 16519 Hello dear, father
1 week 11 hours ago - 16540 Priest Nikolai answers
1 week 12 hours ago - 16529 Both marriage and religion are not in themselves the solution to all our problems
1 week 12 hours ago - 16519 Hello Maria!
1 week 12 hours ago - 16558 Tell me how to treat
1 week 14 hours ago - 16557 Hello. When I was a child, my mother found a cross the size of her palm and she wore it, so what should I do with it? Mom used to ask her if they told her to keep it to herself, is that so?
1 week 15 hours ago - 16556 Lived for 20 years with my husband,
1 week 16 hours ago - 16376 Anger at my daughter.
1 week 16 hours ago - 16554 God save you!
1 week 16 hours ago - 16553 Hello! Go
1 week 16 hours ago - 16555 Difficult choice
1 week 1 day ago - 16553 Hello, from the wedding day
1 week 1 day ago - 16552 Hello, after my
1 week 1 day ago - 16548 God bless you!
1 week 2 days ago - 16551 You know better.
1 week 2 days ago - 16550 Good afternoon! Something's all
1 week 2 days ago - 16551 Hello, tell me
1 week 2 days ago - 16497 Priest Nikolai answers
1 week 2 days ago - 16505 Priest Nikolai answers
1 week 2 days ago - 16502 The daughter’s incomprehensible attitude towards life.
1 week 2 days ago - 16550 Good afternoon. In the article I read:
1 week 2 days ago - 16549 Questions that are very tormenting
1 week 3 days ago - 16548 Distant past love
1 week 3 days ago - 16547
1 week 3 days ago - 16519 Hello, what a sin.
1 week 3 days ago - 16152 don’t think about the Antichrist, think about Christ!
1 week 3 days ago - The question is my salvation in case of a complex disorder of the body
1 week 4 days ago - 16546 urgent help is needed.
1 week 4 days ago - 16544 Hello)
1 week 4 days ago - 16541 Pray for other people,
1 week 5 days ago - 16540 Hello! Do you ever
1 week 5 days ago - 16539 Hello! Everything in life
1 week 5 days ago - 16536 Let your son go, of course.
1 week 5 days ago - 16515 Don’t pay attention)
1 week 5 days ago - 16541 Good afternoon! Tell me how
1 week 6 days ago - 16538 Hello! I would like yours
1 week 6 days ago - 16540 I want to save my family
1 week 6 days ago - 16539 Hello. Please,
1 week 6 days ago - 16538 Church notes
1 week 6 days ago - 16535
2 weeks 5 hours ago - 16534
2 weeks 5 hours ago - 16536 What to do, I need advice.
2 weeks 7 hours ago - 16535 start thanking God for what you have and he will give you what you lack
2 weeks 23 hours ago - 16534 People are recovering after
2 weeks 1 day ago - 16523 The main thing is not to use
2 weeks 1 day ago - 16533 You definitely need time
2 weeks 1 day ago - 16531 If there is a sin in confession
2 weeks 1 day ago - 16530 Hello! We need to repent
2 weeks 1 day ago - 16533 Children and hobbies
2 weeks 1 day ago - 16531 How to atone for a sin, or how to formulate it correctly - tell me
2 weeks 2 days ago - 16530 Good afternoon, I am a servant of God
2 weeks 2 days ago - 16528 Try to read the strong ones
2 weeks 2 days ago - 16529 God bless you! Are you sure?
2 weeks 2 days ago - 16529 When I came to God, a million problems appeared
2 weeks 2 days ago - 16528 People from nowhere.
2 weeks 2 days ago - 16527 Sermon. Holy Fathers.
2 weeks 2 days ago - 16527 What will help
2 weeks 2 days ago - 16524 Is it possible to bury a medallion with a deceased person?
2 weeks 3 days ago - 16509 Don't worry, God will give us
2 weeks 3 days ago - 16518 Saints do not advise believing
2 weeks 3 days ago - 16519 And you definitely have a temple
2 weeks 3 days ago - 16511
2 weeks 3 days ago - 16515 And you infect everyone with your
2 weeks 3 days ago - 16520 Hello! To someone
2 weeks 3 days ago - 16523 How to do the right thing.
2 weeks 3 days ago - 16512 Pray for the repose of his soul!
2 weeks 3 days ago - 16517 Hello! If you are still
2 weeks 3 days ago - 16520 fathers and sons
2 weeks 3 days ago - 16519 Hello, father. Me
2 weeks 3 days ago - 16497 Leave everything in its place...
2 weeks 3 days ago - 16492 Such blasphemous visions, you say correctly, from evil spirits
2 weeks 3 days ago - 16483 In the Ancient Church there was a custom of repentance
2 weeks 3 days ago - 16518 I'm pregnant. My husband and I can't
2 weeks 4 days ago - 16513 Why are our women like this?
2 weeks 4 days ago - 16517 I don’t want intimacy with my husband
2 weeks 4 days ago - 16516 Hello! Very welcome
2 weeks 4 days ago - 16505
2 weeks 4 days ago - whose wife was she?
2 weeks 4 days ago - 16495
There are several Gypsy villages in Donetsk. Like everywhere else in the world, places of compact residence of Roma in the Donbass are territories with their own laws and customs, where the indigenous Ukrainian population tries not to look unless there is special need. Roma communities tend to be very closed. Entry to outsiders is prohibited. But there are places where the customs of the Roma appear before us in all their splendor. These are gypsy cemeteries.
One of these cemeteries is located on the border of Donetsk and Makeevka, in the village of the Stroydetal plant, which is a densely populated area of Roma. Not only gypsies are buried there, but gypsy burials make up a significant part.
Blogger frankensstein visited the gypsy cemetery.
The graves of the Gypsies differ from the Slavic burials in their pomp and special style. The deceased, as a rule, are depicted in full body or at dinner tables, sometimes together with cars and on horses. The photographs are signed not only with passport names, but also with family nicknames that Gypsies use among themselves.
The graves of rich gypsies differ from the graves of the poor in their special chic. Their portraits are usually large. They illustrate how fun and good life was for those buried during their lifetime.
Even details such as brands of alcoholic beverages on the table are carefully recorded, allowing one to get an idea of the culinary preferences of the gypsy elite.
Poor people's graves differ little from most cemetery burials.
Generic nicknames of gypsies are usually written next to passport data, or on back side monument. Sometimes they sound like surnames, sometimes like criminal nicknames.
The tradition of writing official data on the front side and nicknames on the back is very interesting. It seems to indicate two sides of life gypsy people- official and shadow.
For strangers - Samoilov, for our own - Major.
A very large number of graves belonging to young people is striking. The high birth rate of Roma is apparently compensated by their low life expectancy. Few people live over 60 years
Monuments of wealthy gypsies sometimes represent real works of architectural and fine art.
There is even a grieving woman depicted here, apparently still alive.
The Gypsy graves contrast sharply with the poverty and wretchedness of the Gypsy village adjacent to the cemetery and the homes of ordinary Roma. The places where Roma live in Donetsk are usually the most neglected and poorly equipped in the city.
