The funeral

10/29/09

Today I attended a funeral for a 95 year old woman from Victoria whose funeral mass was held at St. George’s.

I sat in St. Francis square from 3 p.m. on, waiting to see if there would be a procession for the funeral I had been tipped about. Sure enough, at 3:40 mourners began gathering across from Tapie’s near the flower shop at the intersection where Palm St. meets the Pjazza. Shortly thereafter, the procession of priests from St. George’s came up Palm St. and stood there waiting for the arrival of the hearse. From where I was located, I could see which undertaker was in charge of the funeral and noted that he was also playing the role of pall bearer, along with the hearse driver and two other men. They hoisted the coffin onto their shoulders and followed the procession of 3 acolytes and thirteen priests down the side street to the left of Gauda. They were then followed by the mourners. Rather than following and trying to pass as a mourner, I cut back down Palm St. and up one of the side streets to the back side of St. George’s, hoping the procession would come down that side of the church rather than the far side. My gamble paid off and I beat the procession to the intersection I hoped they would cross. I wasn’t the only person standing aside to let the procession pass either, so it was not as awkward as I worried it would be to observe the group as they walked passed me.

The priests all chanted a Maltese prayer song and as the undertaker passed me with the coffin on his shoulder we gave each other solemn nods in greeting. They held the coffin up with only their shoulders, not using their hands at all, keeping them folded in front of them for the entire procession. The coffin was the work of the undertaker and was a simple varnished wood, with no real embellishments and a raised cross on the top. I have seen several of the types of coffins that are available in Gozo and though they are all handmade by the undertaker/carpenters, they can be quite elaborately carved and beautifully designed so the simplicity of this coffin’s design struck me. The procession rounded the side of the church, entering into St. George’s square and ascending the steps into the church. I hesitated only a moment before following them in and situated myself in the back to attend the funeral with several other people I would consider “non-mourners” who had been inside the church praying at the start of the mass. (I say non-mourners because they were not dressed for the funeral – those that were sported either black, gray, navy or a combination mixed with white.) For my part, because I’d decided not to try to pass as a mourner, I took the middle road, wearing black dress pants, a pale turquoise tank top, and a brown cardigan sweater. Respectful yet clearly not trying to deceive anyone into thinking I was “bereaved.” Throughout the course of the mass several tourists still managed to wander in to get a look at St. George’s as well as some other local “non-mourners” who were just there to pray their rosary and move on their way. This too made me feel less awkward about being there.

Organ music played while the priests changed their vestments from the simple black cassock covered with white to a white garment covered with a heavier purple robe. For those of you Catholics, the mass that followed was very similar to that of the Catholic mass back home, though again done all in Maltese. (And with subtle differences both from the American catholic mass and in comparison to the regular mass I attended at St. George’s last week that I’m not going to get into here.) One of the acolytes passed out the prayer cards for the deceased and I debated taking one but took my cue from the other Gozitan “non-mourners” and took one. The entire mass took about 45 minutes, which was 20 minutes longer than the “speed masses” that happen every hour on the hour. After the mass had ended, the pall bearers once again hoisted the coffin onto their shoulders and processed out, placing the coffin directly into the hearse, which was a Mercedez “Elegance.”

I couldn’t help but note that having funerals during “siesta” time worked on several levels. First of all, because they fall during siesta the church is always available (pending a wedding or another funeral) as there are no “regular” masses from 1 – 4. Second, because of siesta, most of the locals are at home eating lunch and spending time with their family so the mourners are able to bury their dead, walking through the streets in quiet procession without having to disturb the shops and shopping of the day. Third, the mass is over in enough time for the locals to begin arriving for the next mass which begins at 5, and the final burial mass is over just a touch before the sun sets and it would be too dark to see at the cemetery. It’s very well orchestrated.

This is clearly the abridged version but I could hardly leave y’all hanging on at least some of the details. You’ve all been so encouraging, supportive, and interested in this “work” that I felt I owed you at least a general description of how it went down. We are edging closer to All Saints Day and All Souls day and I’m really excited to see what the month of November brings in Gozo as far as cemeteries and commemoration are concerned considering how important the “month of the dead” is to the people here. With any luck, I may end up with enough material for a thesis after all! (Thank God!)