Antigua and the Antiguans, Volume 2 (of 2): A full account of the colony and its inhabitants from the time of the Caribs to the present dayLanaghan, Mrs.
History
Antigua and the Antiguans, Volume 2 (of 2): A full account of the colony and its inhabitants from the time of the Caribs to the present day
Lanaghan, Mrs.
Antigua -- Description and travel; Antigua -- History
Another matter of surprise to a stranger is to see the prodigious
number of persons which attend these funerals, often consisting
of from four to five hundred, and very seldom less than from two
to three. These persons are arranged as follows:—The nearest
members of the family walk immediately after the hearse; if the
deceased is a man, then follow a number of that sex, then a
number of women, after them men again, and so on until the
procession is complete. On the contrary, should the corpse be
that of a female, the women precede the men; the train is
sometimes so long, that it reaches the entire length of a street.
Of course it is not to be supposed that all this multitude is
habited in black; from the short time which intervenes between
the demise and the interment, even the family are unable to
procure mourning, unless, as it sometimes happens, they may
chance to have those sable garments by them; the consequence of
this is, that the procession presents a most motley group. Some
of the followers are indeed habited in black; some in white, with
a little black ribbon and a coloured bonnet; but the greater part
appear in the various hues of the rainbow. As before remarked, at
these funerals almost all their friends give something, if it is
but a bottle of wine, or a small quantity of tobacco, and so
universal is this practice, that I knew a servant who refused to
attend the funeral of his father, because he had not money enough
to give. It used to be the custom in former times, to hand round
to the company cake, wine, rum and water, porter and “drink,” but
this is now dispensed with; the greater part of the assemblage
follow the corpse to the place of burial, and then disperse. When
a funeral takes place in the country, however, a grand dinner is
generally provided for the company after the ceremony is over;
and on these occasions all is mirth and joy, and the cup and the
glass is so often replenished, that many of the party return home
in a state of intoxication. It is among the Moravian
congregations the largest funeral processions are seen, the
reason of which is as follows:—As is the case in the established
church, and with the Methodists, the Moravians have formed a
society among their own people, in which every member throws in a
certain sum monthly, and when attacked by illness a doctor is
found them and so much per week allowed until they recover. When
any of these members of the Moravian society die, it is incumbent
upon the rest to follow the deceased to the grave, or if they
fail in so doing, a fine of 2s. currency is imposed upon them;
the consequence is, that, as few like to pay this penalty, they
endeavour upon all occasions to be present.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account