Zwyczaje i obrzędy zaduszkowe w okresie wielkanocnym na ziemi opoczyńskiej

Abstract

The problem of death is an issue which nurtures every man whatever the level of civilisation. Faith in after-life is known in the whole world and it has accompanied man throughout his existence. The images about the life of dead peoples inhabiting different continents are formed in close relationship to the degree of cultural development. Most of the living imagine after-life as a continuation of the earthly living only in another reality. The honour given to a dead person is not limited only to funeral ceremonies, but it goes on after they have finished. The relations connecting the world of the living with the dead took various forms and in this way a lot of traditional customs and rites in honour of the dead have been preserved. It was commonly believed that the dead were closely related to everything that was close and dear to them when they had lived on the earth. In order to welcome them with dignity, people made fires, prepared food and gave offerings to the dead on the cemeteries. Those practices were undertaken for family reasons and out of friendship bonds, and they were meant to remove malice and evil that the dead could bring to the crops or the inhabitants of a given village.