Folk-lore from the Dominican republic / by Manuel J. Andrade.

Folk-Lore from the Dominican Republic

417

Con flore a Maria
con flore a polfia,
con flore a Maria
que madre nuetra e.
Peldon, Dio mio,
peldon, indulgensia,
peldon y clemensia,
peldon y pied&.
Eta flol que te presento
para ti yo la colte.
Pres6ntala a Maria,
presentala a Jose.
DEATH
As soon as a person's illness is considered serious, the near
relatives and his most intimate friends congregate in the patient's
house. Some remain there during the day only, while others, as
many as can find floor space to sleep on, do not return to their
homes till the person be considered out of danger, or, in case of
death, till after the funeral. These people relieve the members of
the patient's family of all duties and responsibilities except that
of providing food, and, occasionally, alcoholic drinks and tobacco,
for them. They minister to the needs of the patient, they cook,
take care of whatever domestic animals he may possess, and look
after anything on his plantation that may require immediate
attention.
In the case of a very old person, any sickness with no cause
obvious to their notions may at once be considered as a sign that
his end has come, and it is useless for the person to protest that his
condition is not serious. It is the duty of the old women of the
neighborhood to "help him to depart". They come with their
rosaries and pray during the day and part of the night, each one
taking her turn, but with no definite order or plan. The words of
the prayers recited have no bearing on the occasion. Each woman
has a favorite prayer with emotional associations, as explained
below, under Prayers and Incantations, and her reason for reciting
that one is either that it has proved to be efficacious on such
occasions or simply because "it is a good prayer".
If the sickness makes no appreciable progress, the aged patient
is exhorted to abandon the things of this world, the implication
being that he is lingering so long between life and death because
of undue attachment to earthly interests. The admonition begins
regularly with the words: i Deprendete, que ya tu no ere d'ete mundo!
All informants agree upon the uniformity of this ritual sentence,
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