Empty Night: Kashubian “Home Liturgy” in the Context of Death
Based on ethnographic field research and thanatological literature, this article analyzes the continuing, but rapidly disappearing, Kashubian custom of bidding farewell to a deceased member of the local community known as “empty night”. Its essence is the night prayer vigil in the house of the decea...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-02-01
|
| Series: | Religions |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/2/136 |
| _version_ | 1797395861307654144 |
|---|---|
| author | Jan Perszon |
| author_facet | Jan Perszon |
| author_sort | Jan Perszon |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Based on ethnographic field research and thanatological literature, this article analyzes the continuing, but rapidly disappearing, Kashubian custom of bidding farewell to a deceased member of the local community known as “empty night”. Its essence is the night prayer vigil in the house of the deceased, performed by neighbors and relatives. The prayer consists mainly of singing religious songs on “the last things”—in particular about purgatory, human fragility, God’s mercy, and the Passion of Christ. The efforts of the orants are motivated by the concern for the salvation of the soul of the deceased, that is, the shortening and relieving the purgatorial punishment. The centuries-old tradition of “empty night” has been rapidly disappearing over the past 50 years as a result of both economic and social transformations, the gradual erosion of living faith, and the abandonment of the priority of salvation by younger Kashubians. The progressive medicalization of life and change of the approach to death play a crucial role in weakening the tradition of the ancestors. Thus the traditional “empty night” becomes a relic of “tamed death,” giving way to its tabooization and the illusion of “technological immortality”. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T00:41:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a1ab5205c2904d4eaa6936e3ef8e00cc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T00:41:51Z |
| publishDate | 2021-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj.art-a1ab5205c2904d4eaa6936e3ef8e00cc2023-12-11T17:47:55ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442021-02-0112213610.3390/rel12020136Empty Night: Kashubian “Home Liturgy” in the Context of DeathJan Perszon0Faculty of Theology, Nicolaus Copernicus University, 87-100 Toruń, PolandBased on ethnographic field research and thanatological literature, this article analyzes the continuing, but rapidly disappearing, Kashubian custom of bidding farewell to a deceased member of the local community known as “empty night”. Its essence is the night prayer vigil in the house of the deceased, performed by neighbors and relatives. The prayer consists mainly of singing religious songs on “the last things”—in particular about purgatory, human fragility, God’s mercy, and the Passion of Christ. The efforts of the orants are motivated by the concern for the salvation of the soul of the deceased, that is, the shortening and relieving the purgatorial punishment. The centuries-old tradition of “empty night” has been rapidly disappearing over the past 50 years as a result of both economic and social transformations, the gradual erosion of living faith, and the abandonment of the priority of salvation by younger Kashubians. The progressive medicalization of life and change of the approach to death play a crucial role in weakening the tradition of the ancestors. Thus the traditional “empty night” becomes a relic of “tamed death,” giving way to its tabooization and the illusion of “technological immortality”.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/2/136Kashubiadeathfolkreligiosity |
| spellingShingle | Jan Perszon Empty Night: Kashubian “Home Liturgy” in the Context of Death Religions Kashubia death folk religiosity |
| title | Empty Night: Kashubian “Home Liturgy” in the Context of Death |
| title_full | Empty Night: Kashubian “Home Liturgy” in the Context of Death |
| title_fullStr | Empty Night: Kashubian “Home Liturgy” in the Context of Death |
| title_full_unstemmed | Empty Night: Kashubian “Home Liturgy” in the Context of Death |
| title_short | Empty Night: Kashubian “Home Liturgy” in the Context of Death |
| title_sort | empty night kashubian home liturgy in the context of death |
| topic | Kashubia death folk religiosity |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/2/136 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT janperszon emptynightkashubianhomeliturgyinthecontextofdeath |