article

Text and context in Serbian ritual lament

Canadian-American Slavic studies15 (1) • Published In 1981 • Pages: 52-60

By: Halpern, Barbara.

Abstract
This is a study '…of ritual lament as part of the repertoire of oral genres in a contemporary 'traditional' oral culture, concern is with context as much as with text, with function, with how people communicate in a given social situation' (p. 52). The author presents as an example of ritual lament a situation which she recorded in the 1960s in which a cluster of women gathered for a memorial service at a mass grave for several young men killed by lightning several years before. Halpern describes the setting, presents the text of the lament offered by one of the grieving mothers, and analyzes its content.
Subjects
Drives and emotions
Music
Burial practices and funerals
Cult of the dead
culture
Serbs
HRAF PubDate
1997
Region
Europe
Sub Region
Southeastern Europe
Document Type
article
Evaluation
Creator Type
Ethnologist
Document Rating
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
John Beierle ; 1996
Field Date
1950s-1970s
Coverage Date
1950s-1970s
Coverage Place
Serbia
Notes
Barbara Kerewsky-Halpern
Includes bibliographical references
LCCN
73641861
LCSH
Serbs