Gypsy graves. How gypsies are buried: funeral customs of the Roma
The gypsy manner of funerals often amazes the imagination of non-gypsies. It differs significantly from European funeral rituals.
First of all, it should be understood that many features of gypsy funerals, although they are similar to ancient European pagan funerals, in fact have a completely different “theoretical basis”, namely, they directly stem from the “cult of elders and ancestors” and the concept of ritual “impurity”.
Almost all Gypsy law revolves around the latter concept (and in this way is similar to Conservative Judaism). Among the events that are “unclean” in the gypsy tradition is death. Accordingly, the dead are also unclean. Different gypsies have different ideas about what becomes unclean due to the death of a person:
1) all gypsies have the clothes in which he died,
2) very often - what he touched when dying
(because of this, in poor nomadic families, in order not to deprive the family of their only bed, old people, feeling the approach of death, lay down directly on the ground, avoiding touching the common feather bed; the importance of the feather bed in a nomadic family was very, very significant, because it was believed that those who have feather beds and sleep right on the ground die early and get sick a lot... I think it was not without reason that this was believed)
3) for some gypsies - in general, things that belonged personally to the deceased (personal, not shared, clothing, jewelry, dishes, etc.)
4) sometimes - relatives of the deceased.
In the case of the relatives of the deceased, they ate from separate dishes and did not touch things that they planned to use in the future, or people. Then the filth “slid away” from them, as if by itself, and they were recognized as “clean”.
(whether this exists somewhere now, I'm not sure)
Things are not like that. Things get rid of. Previously, there was a custom to distribute some of the personal belongings of the deceased near the church to the poor (non-gypsies who are not afraid of pollution, since the gypsy law does not apply to them), as well as to burn them or throw them away/bury them. The other part was buried with the deceased. Nowadays, ALL “unclean” things that belonged to the deceased are usually put into the grave.
Previously, the dead were simply buried in a coffin or, for some gypsies, burned. But for some time now, it has become widespread that it is disrespectful to ancestors to allow their ashes to simply disappear, dissolving into the ground or scattering in the wind. The graves began to be lined with bricks. Over time, the graves became wider, especially since the custom of having personal belongings among gypsies became widespread in the 20th century (traditionally, most things, including clothes, were and are still often considered family property), and things began to be put there which were previously given to the poor. One of the reasons for the latter was the consideration that then gypsies could accidentally touch these things, out of ignorance.
Another manifestation of respect for ancestors is ordering tombstones with their portraits, perhaps more luxurious, for their graves, with which these graves are, as it were, decorated.
(no, I don’t think in English, I just read romance novels for three days)
If you think that you understand the gypsy respect for ancestors, then you don’t understand anything. Because this is not the respect that they are used to showing in Europe. This is a frantic, childish, “fierce and mad” (c) respect, bordering on - but not reaching - deification.
It gets to the point that the gypsies help their dead... show off. They buy more personal belongings of the deceased. To the deceased, do you understand? To put them in the crypt/grave. So that those who come to the funeral can see how rich the deceased was. Images of cars, jewelry, and houses on tombstones serve the same purpose (thanks for the leading question lubech ). All this is given such importance that the gypsy writer Oleg Petrovich mentions in the book “Barons of Tabera Saporoni” how one gypsy worked for almost a year exclusively to erect a tombstone commensurate with his respect for his deceased father.
The drawing on the tombstone seems to tell us: the house of the deceased was a full cup; thanks for the photo lubech
AND finishing touch- in recent decades, a special fashion has emerged, not just putting the things of the deceased in the crypt, but arranging them there, as if in a room. It looks as if the deceased was prepared for the afterlife, aka Egyptian pharaoh:) although in reality this is not meant. It is done simply for the sake of beauty. Actually, this fashion itself was borrowed from the Moldovans.
P.S. Among Christian gypsies, in addition to the purely gypsy rituals described above, all Christian rituals are also observed, such as funeral services, wakes, and forty days.
The Roma are the largest ethnic minority in Europe, with predominantly Indian roots. These folk groups live among the population different countries and are divided into six large branches that have their own name.
For this reason, the influence of European states on cultural characteristics each of them. However, the religion and customs of the Roma still remain common features, uniting ethnicity. Especially it concerns funeral traditions, known for their scope, which is why the answer to the question “how do gypsies bury their dead” is of keen interest to many.
Law and culture
The cultural customs of some gypsy tribes often lead to disagreements with the laws in the territory where the camp roams or lives. This is due to a strict taboo against damaging the integrity of the body of the deceased, and the roots of such a prohibition should be sought in magical beliefs.
Russian, Baltic and Scandinavian representatives of this ethnic group They are of the opinion that a person is not able to find peace without such internal organs as the brain and heart, and therefore they oppose forensic medical examination.
This position forces one to obtain a death certificate bypassing law enforcement agencies. If the matter gets too serious, the gypsy baron is involved in resolving the problem. In this case, if the latter considers disputes with the law useless, the deceased will go to an emergency medical examination, but with the condition: after examination internal organs must be returned to the body of the deceased.
Gypsy customs and traditions
There is an opinion that only three branches of this ethnic group customarily organize luxurious funerals. However, isolated cases allow exceptions depending on the traditions formed in a particular camp or community. Of the established ones, only two can be distinguished: a persistent aversion to death and the construction of some kind of cult of the deceased.
Gypsy funeral among the Baltic, Russian and Scandinavian tribes they last 2-3 days, and are accompanied by “songs and dances”. Such unusual customs are explained by Roma beliefs: it is believed that with the death of the physical body, a person becomes free from all worldly problems and sorrows, passing into better world devoid of suffering.
At the same time, a person dying from an illness is never left alone. In nomadic tribes, he moves to a special tent - “bender”, where his loved ones remain with him until the last. At the same time, until the very moment of death, relatives must behave as usual: eat, drink, laugh and even sing.
Not a single gypsy will ever allow himself to be left to die in a common tent or house, since by his death he will make this place dirty, unsuitable for further living. Because of this, the personal belongings of the deceased, also stained with filth, were previously distributed to the poor near churches, and in recent decades they have been lowered underground along with the deceased, arranging them as if in a room.
In a word, no one does it today the way gypsies are buried. For example, instead of prayers, incantations are read over the deceased and, if possible, the body is lowered into a grave without a coffin.
Preparing for the funeral
Some branches of the Roma are notable for their advance preparation for burial: it is expressed in the creation of savings from childhood in order to later be able to provide themselves with a decent funeral. For example, there is often a pre-purchase of a place in a cemetery where gypsies are buried.
Otherwise, the process of preparing the body for burial depends on the religion of the tribe itself. Funeral rites Orthodox Roma mostly consist of adherence to Christian traditions: the body is also washed and mourned, with the only difference being that herbal infusions are used for washing, and prayers are replaced by incantations.
How do gypsies bury?
In many regions, Roma funerals are celebrated with pomp, especially if a Gypsy baron dies. In Moldova, in 1998, the local Bulibashi was buried only on the 14th day, so that everyone who wanted to say goodbye to him could arrive, while at the same time building a richly decorated crypt with special niches. They are needed to place household items and favorite alcohol with the deceased.
In this, the funerals of the Russian, Baltic and Scandinavian branches of the Roma are similar. They differ only in their general scope, depending on the status of the deceased, and the number of days allotted for preparation.
Gypsy burials
So, we have already practically considered the question of how gypsies bury their dead. Let us also note that the process largely depends on the burial place.
Nomadic tribes do not have the means to buy a place in the cemetery, so the deceased is buried in a deserted, untraveled corner, such as a forest thicket or a steppe under a blackberry bush. According to legend, this plant protects the grave from desecration by animals. The deceased's belongings are often simply burned.
Other settled representatives of the ethnic group bury their loved ones like everyone else: in cemeteries. Large gypsy settlements have their own graveyard on purchased land.
Conclusion
In order to speak with confidence about the funeral customs of the Gypsies, one must personally attend the funeral or be a member of the camp. This is explained by the fact that the Roma protect their traditions with special care, because much of what is known today is rumors or eyewitness accounts. 
Moreover, the spread of even those customs whose meaning has been forgotten by the gypsies is not allowed. Perhaps the reason for this is the strict fulfillment of all required rituals associated with death and funerals.
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 dead are usually depicted in full height 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 such details as the brands of alcoholic drinks 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 testify to two sides of the life of the Roma people - official and shadow.
For strangers - Samoilov, for our own - Major.
Very eye-catching a large number of graves belonging to young people. 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.
The gypsy manner of funerals often amazes the imagination of non-gypsies. It differs significantly from European funeral rituals.
First of all, it should be understood that many features of gypsy funerals, although they are similar to ancient European pagan funerals, in fact have a completely different “theoretical basis”, namely, they directly stem from the “cult of elders and ancestors” and the concept of ritual “impurity”.
Almost all Gypsy law revolves around the latter concept (and in this way is similar to Conservative Judaism). Among the events that are “unclean” in the gypsy tradition is death. Accordingly, the dead are also unclean. Different gypsies have different ideas about what becomes unclean due to the death of a person:
1) all gypsies have the clothes in which he died,
2) very often - what he touched when dying
(because of this, in poor nomadic families, in order not to deprive the family of their only bed, old people, feeling the approach of death, lay down directly on the ground, avoiding touching the common feather bed; the importance of the feather bed in a nomadic family was very, very significant, because it was believed that those who have feather beds and sleep right on the ground die early and get sick a lot... I think it was not without reason that this was believed)
3) for some gypsies - in general, things that belonged personally to the deceased (personal, not shared, clothing, jewelry, dishes, etc.)
4) sometimes - relatives of the deceased.
In the case of the relatives of the deceased, they ate from separate dishes and did not touch things that they planned to use in the future, or people. Then the filth “slid away” from them, as if by itself, and they were recognized as “clean”.
(whether this exists somewhere now, I'm not sure)
Things are not like that. Things get rid of. Previously, there was a custom to distribute some of the personal belongings of the deceased near the church to the poor (non-gypsies who are not afraid of pollution, since the gypsy law does not apply to them), as well as to burn them or throw them away/bury them. The other part was buried with the deceased. Nowadays, ALL “unclean” things that belonged to the deceased are usually put into the grave.
Previously, the dead were simply buried in a coffin or, for some gypsies, burned. But for some time now, it has become widespread that it is disrespectful to ancestors to allow their ashes to simply disappear, dissolving into the ground or scattering in the wind. The graves began to be lined with bricks. Over time, the graves became wider, especially since the custom of having personal belongings among gypsies became widespread in the 20th century (traditionally, most things, including clothes, were and are still often considered family property), and things began to be put there which were previously given to the poor. One of the reasons for the latter was the consideration that then gypsies could accidentally touch these things, out of ignorance.
Another manifestation of respect for ancestors is ordering tombstones with their portraits, perhaps more luxurious, for their graves, with which these graves are, as it were, decorated.
(no, I don’t think in English, I just read romance novels for three days)
If you think that you understand the gypsy respect for ancestors, then you don’t understand anything. Because this is not the respect that they are used to showing in Europe. This is a frantic, childish, “fierce and mad” (c) respect, bordering on - but not reaching - deification.
It gets to the point that the gypsies help their dead... show off. They buy additional personal belongings for the deceased. To the deceased, do you understand? To put them in the crypt/grave. So that those who come to the funeral can see how rich the deceased was. Images of cars, jewelry, and houses on tombstones serve the same purpose (thanks for the leading question lubech). All this is given such importance that the gypsy writer Oleg Petrovich mentions in the book “Barons of Tabera Saporoni” how one gypsy worked for almost a year exclusively to erect a tombstone commensurate with his respect for his deceased father.
The drawing on the tombstone seems to tell us: the house of the deceased was a full cup; thanks for the photo lubech
And the final touch - in recent decades, a special fashion has appeared, not just putting the things of the deceased in the crypt, but arranging them there, as if in a room. It looks as if the deceased was prepared for the afterlife, like an Egyptian pharaoh :) although in reality this is not meant. It is done simply for the sake of beauty.
P.S. Among Christian gypsies, in addition to the purely gypsy rituals described above, all Christian rituals are also observed, such as funeral services, wakes, and forty days.
P.p.s. Here in the comments the topic of the post unfolds :)
"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 people crowded into the church for the funeral service. gypsy people. 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 will give you a lot of money, and you will 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 futile. 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
8 hours 26 sec. back - 16592 Husband doesn't work
1 day 44 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 19 hours ago - 16575 And you will do the right thing! Only
2 days 19 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 5 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! Everything
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
