Roma funerary rituals

[Nathalie Manrique]

Hello all,

I am starting a comparative investigation about funerary rituals and more particularly with roma people (My ph-D was about social organisation in a spanish gypsy community : in particular about the implication of gift for the structuration of the social organisation). Can somebody recommend me some book or/and paper?

Thanks so much,

Nathalie

 

[John McCreery]

I know nothing about the Roma. It may be useful to copare wht you find with China, where both funerals and gift-giving have been studied intensively. Watson and Rawski, Death Ritual in Late Imperial and Modern China(http://www.amazon.com/Death-Ritual-Imperial-Modern-Studies/dp/05200...) is a good place to start.

[Nathalie Manrique]

Thank you very much: that book seems very interesting !

[Nathalie Manrique]

Hello Tibor ! I don't know of any Hungarian anthropological literature on the subject. So, your proposal interest me very much. Thank you !

Nice day to you too

[Francesca Mosca]

The only article that comes to mind is in Italian, by Patrick Williams and Leonardo Piasere "Noi non ne parliamo..." Le relazioni tra i vivi e i morti in una comunità "Mānuš" della Francia" (1990). I just noticed this is a very old thread and you might not care any longer. However, if you are still interested, here are some notes on the paper

'Among the Mānuš, the funeral rituals organize the modalities of the dead's presence in the world of the living. The coherence of these rituals can be understood only if we consider Mānuš immersion in a world governed by the Gadje (the non-Gypsies). The analysis reveals then that these funeral rituals define the modalities of the Mānuš presence among the Gadje. Established in such a way, the Mānuš mastership of the world remains imperceptible to those who don't belong to this community. The conception developed here is distinct from the analyses which consider the practices observable in Gypsy communities only in terms of adaptation'. n.a. 

[Nathalie Manrique]

Thank you very much for your reply ! I know this book which was first published in French. And yes, I am still interested. Do you have written something about it ? Actually, I am looking for new data from different roma groups.

Francesca Mosca said:

The only article that comes to mind is in Italian, by Patrick Williams and Leonardo Piasere "Noi non ne parliamo..." Le relazioni tra i vivi e i morti in una comunità "Mānuš" della Francia" (1990). I just noticed this is a very old thread and you might not care any longer. However, if you are still interested, here are some notes on the paper

'Among the Mānuš, the funeral rituals organize the modalities of the dead's presence in the world of the living. The coherence of these rituals can be understood only if we consider Mānuš immersion in a world governed by the Gadje (the non-Gypsies). The analysis reveals then that these funeral rituals define the modalities of the Mānuš presence among the Gadje. Established in such a way, the Mānuš mastership of the world remains imperceptible to those who don't belong to this community. The conception developed here is distinct from the analyses which consider the practices observable in Gypsy communities only in terms of adaptation'. n.a.