Oracje pogrzebowe na dawnej wsi polskiej

Abstract

In this chapter I analyse the custom of delivering special speeches during the funeral rites in the old Polish village. First, I describe in detail the circumstances in which the speeches would take place, the way they were performed and the performers themselves. In the following discussion, I point out that, although, the texts delivered would have their printed sources, however, in the end they functioned in oral tradition and were treated as schemes and formulas that would be subject to various modifications in the course of particular performances. The analysis of the funeral orations’ texts leads to the conclusion that, despite the texts being dominated by Christian themes on a deeper level, the pre-Christian concepts of death and the relationship between the dead and the living are also present there. Therefore the discussed texts served two kinds of functions: on the surface they reminded people of Christian principles as well as social coexistence, yet under the surface they were the functional equivalent of the magical formulas and practices.