The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1877-11-09
Corsican Funeral Rites.

In Corsica wailing and chanting is kept |
up off and on, from the hour of burial. The
news that the head of family has expired |
is quickly communicated to his relations
and friends in the surrounding hamlets, who
hasten to form themselves into troop or
band, that are locallycsled the Scirrata, and
thus advance in procession toward the house
of mourning. If the death was caused by
violence, the scirrata makes a halt when it
arrives in sight of the village and then it is
that the Corsican women tear their hair and
scratch their faces till the blood flows, Just
as do their sisters in Dalmatia and Montene-
gro. The widow awaits the scirlata by the
door of the house. and, as it draws near, The
leader steps forth and throws black veil
over her head to symbolic her widowhood;
the term Of which must offer dreary pros
pect to woman who has the misfortune to
lose her husband while she is still in the
prime of life, for public opinion insists that
she remain for years in almost total seclu-
sion. The mourners and as many as can
enter the room assemble round the body,
which lies stretched on a table of plank sup
ported by benches it is draped in long
mantle, or it is clothed in the dead mans
best suit. Now begins the dirge or Vocero.
Two persons will perhaps start off singing
together, and in that case the words cannot
be distinguished, but more often only one
gets up at time. She will open her song
with quietly-delvered eulogy of the vir-
tues of the dead, snd few pointed illusions
to the most important events of his life
but before long she warns to her work, and
pours forth volleys of rythmic lsmentation
with fire and animation that stirs up the
women present into frenzied delirium of
grief, in which as the pretor pauses to take
breath, they howl, dig their nails into their
flesh, throw themselves on the ground,
sometimes cover their heads with ashes.
When the dirge is ended they join their
hands and dance frantically round the
plank on which the body lies. More sing
ing takes place on the way to the church
and thence to the graveyard. After the fu-
neral the men do not shave for weeks, and
the women let their hair go loose and
occasionally cut it off at the grave-cutting
off the hair by the way, ,ifa universal sign of
female mourning it was done by the women
of ancient Greece and it was done by the
women of India. A good deal of eating
and drinking brings the ceremonials to a
close. If the funeral feast comes short of
that recorded of the funeral feast of Sir
| r., IL I
Al pigs, 40 calves and 10 sheep were but a
few items--nevertheless the Corsican baked
meats fall heavily upon the pockets of fami
lies as deem themselves bound to "keep uE
position" Sixty persons is not an extraor.
dinary number to be entertained at ban
quet, and there is, over and above, a gener
al distribution of bread and meat to poor
!. er neighbors. Mutton in summer, and porl
in winter, are estimated the yiands prepe
to the occasion. In happy contrast to al
this lugubrous feasting is the simple cup o
milk drawn by each kinsman of the shep
herd who dies in the mountains in whicl
case the body is laid out, like Robin Hoods
in the open air, green sod under his head
at his side, his dog at his feet. Curious ar
. the supersttions of the Corsican shepherd
: touching death. The dead, they say, ca
the living in the night time, and he who an
swers will soon follow them they believe
, too, that, if you listen attentively afte
> dark, you may hear at times the low beatin
). of drum, which announces that soul ha
y nassed - CornhW Maqazine.