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

Folk-Lore from the Dominican Republic

419

In this duty they are helped by experienced wailers who can utter
loud mournful cries and go into hysterical fits at the sight of a
corpse. They never fail to be present. Some of them are regarded
by the community as impostors, but they are welcome at any
wake. During the wailing period, which lasts till some time after
the corpse is taken out of the house, the relatives and friends
mention repeatedly all the good qualities of the deceased, recapitulate all his good deeds, no matter how trivial. This recital is
repeated every time a new condoler arrives. The latter begins by
recounting some good deed, real, or imaginary, and the mourners
repeat the recital amidst lamentations and extravagant demonstrations of grief. This is carried on almost exclusively by the women.
In the meantime, the occasion is one of merriment for all but
the most intimate friends. They gather in groups around the kitchen
or outside the house, telling stories, solving riddles, and courting
the young women, while from time to time bread, cheese, coffee,
and tobacco are served.
The burial takes plakes the day after the death. The corpse is
taken out through the front door, which must be opened and closed
by one who is not even a distant relative of the dead person. A
violation of this taboo "opens the family for an early intrusion
of death". In the farms that are distant from the cemetery the
coffin is carried on a kind of litter resembling a ladder made of
two long pieces of wood with three transversal pieces. When the
village is reached, this litter must be broken by a relative, and
the coffin is carried on three cords (andas) held by six men.
If while passing in front of a house the funeral stops to relieve
the bearers or for any other reason, the dwellers of that house fill
a can or any other receptable with water, and, as the funeral
starts to move, the water is thrown from the door of the house in
the direction in which the funeral is going. This is to prevent the
death of some one in that house.
If the funeral should pass by a house where some one is sick,
the patient must sit up in bed, lest he too die.
The funerals are generally silent. But in the case of the members
of the secret society called Hermandad del Congo, which still exists
in many districts of the province of Santo Domingo, the persons
who take part in the funeral sing from time to time. A leader
sings: i Ahe, ahe, congo, congo, congo, eeeeeeh! / Tan bueno comw-era
y se murio! And the rest respond in unison, i Congo, eeeeeh!
ANGELITOS
This is the name given to the wake in the case of a young child.
The occasion is free from most of the tragic aspect of wakes. (velorios) of adults. No effort is made to prolong the consequent weeping
and wailing. There is an atmosphere of calm resignation. During
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