THE STORY OF A FUNERAL HOME: RITUAL MODERNIZATION AND ITS RECEPTION IN A TRANSYLVANIAN VILLAGE COMMUNITY

The paper offers a brief re-study of funerary rituals in a village inhabited by Hungarian Roman Catholics in Romania. Since the completion of long-term fieldwork there in 2003 and 2004, the construction of a funeral home and the emergence of local companies, offering full service for funeral recept...

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Main Author: AGNES HESZ
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Romanian Academy 2016-04-01
Series:Revista Română de Sociologie
Online Access:http://revistadesociologie.ro/en/sites/default/files/04-agnes_bun_1.pdf
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author AGNES HESZ
author_facet AGNES HESZ
author_sort AGNES HESZ
collection DOAJ
description The paper offers a brief re-study of funerary rituals in a village inhabited by Hungarian Roman Catholics in Romania. Since the completion of long-term fieldwork there in 2003 and 2004, the construction of a funeral home and the emergence of local companies, offering full service for funeral receptions, have led to considerable changes in the course of funerary rituals. Rites that were traditionally carried out in the home have been moved to the public sphere, and tasks traditionally fulfilled by people nurturing social ties to the family of the deceased have largely been taken over by the service sector. Since funeral rites are intricately intertwined with cultural beliefs and values and with the management of social relations, these changes are more than technical. By focusing on how people reacted to the changes imposed on them, this study emphasizes their agency in constructing the ritual dimensions of their lives
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spelling doaj.art-d43841041d054ffc9f9c6474904c1f3a2022-12-21T18:21:16ZengRomanian AcademyRevista Română de Sociologie1224-92622016-04-011-2/20163953THE STORY OF A FUNERAL HOME: RITUAL MODERNIZATION AND ITS RECEPTION IN A TRANSYLVANIAN VILLAGE COMMUNITYAGNES HESZ0Assistant Professor, Department of European Ethnology-Cultural Anthropology Institute of Human Relations, University of Pécs, HungaryThe paper offers a brief re-study of funerary rituals in a village inhabited by Hungarian Roman Catholics in Romania. Since the completion of long-term fieldwork there in 2003 and 2004, the construction of a funeral home and the emergence of local companies, offering full service for funeral receptions, have led to considerable changes in the course of funerary rituals. Rites that were traditionally carried out in the home have been moved to the public sphere, and tasks traditionally fulfilled by people nurturing social ties to the family of the deceased have largely been taken over by the service sector. Since funeral rites are intricately intertwined with cultural beliefs and values and with the management of social relations, these changes are more than technical. By focusing on how people reacted to the changes imposed on them, this study emphasizes their agency in constructing the ritual dimensions of their liveshttp://revistadesociologie.ro/en/sites/default/files/04-agnes_bun_1.pdf
spellingShingle AGNES HESZ
THE STORY OF A FUNERAL HOME: RITUAL MODERNIZATION AND ITS RECEPTION IN A TRANSYLVANIAN VILLAGE COMMUNITY
Revista Română de Sociologie
title THE STORY OF A FUNERAL HOME: RITUAL MODERNIZATION AND ITS RECEPTION IN A TRANSYLVANIAN VILLAGE COMMUNITY
title_full THE STORY OF A FUNERAL HOME: RITUAL MODERNIZATION AND ITS RECEPTION IN A TRANSYLVANIAN VILLAGE COMMUNITY
title_fullStr THE STORY OF A FUNERAL HOME: RITUAL MODERNIZATION AND ITS RECEPTION IN A TRANSYLVANIAN VILLAGE COMMUNITY
title_full_unstemmed THE STORY OF A FUNERAL HOME: RITUAL MODERNIZATION AND ITS RECEPTION IN A TRANSYLVANIAN VILLAGE COMMUNITY
title_short THE STORY OF A FUNERAL HOME: RITUAL MODERNIZATION AND ITS RECEPTION IN A TRANSYLVANIAN VILLAGE COMMUNITY
title_sort story of a funeral home ritual modernization and its reception in a transylvanian village community
url http://revistadesociologie.ro/en/sites/default/files/04-agnes_bun_1.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT agneshesz thestoryofafuneralhomeritualmodernizationanditsreceptioninatransylvanianvillagecommunity
AT agneshesz storyofafuneralhomeritualmodernizationanditsreceptioninatransylvanianvillagecommunity