Supernatural Beliefs

When my father went to his grandmothers wake in Ireland, he stated that the customs of the wake were the most astounding. Unlike most wake services where the body is laid out in a casket for close family members and friends to look upon, the bodies are laid out on a bed within their house. According to Mary Murray Delaney author of "Funeral Customs- Irish Wake"," Wakes of times gone by began with neighbor women washing the body of the deceased and preparing it to be laid out on a bed or a table, often in the largest room of the house "(Delaney 1973: 5). The women who washed and laid out the deceased stay in the room until the body leaves for the funeral service or else the body will "attract evil spirits that would take the soul of the departed"(Delaney 1973:6). In earlier times, my father said that tobacco and pipes were place in the room where the deceased lay. Everyone who would have come into the room would take a puff of the pipe because the smoke was said to help avoid evil. Whereas, at american wakes, it is seen as disrespectful to have any type of smoking. It is seen as disruptive and unruly.

Along with alcohol, tobacco also symbolizes positive customs within social norms of the irish opposite of american customs. Not only did wakes take place in the home and involve drinking and tobacco use, but they lasted for almost two to three days until the funeral service was to take place. These two to three days involve singing, laughing, and telling stories of the deceased one. Having such good outlook on death is very rare. In most societies, death is to be dealt with as quickly as possible because societal fears of being around the deceased. Our wake are a total of about 6- 8 hours, and our funerals take about a half a day to complete. Opposing American traditions, the irish provide a true representation of love for the lost ones, and the want to spend as much time as possible in order to give a proper goobye to their loved ones.

Delaney, Mary Murray
1973 Of Irish Ways. Dillon Press Inc.