Yes that is sad but true Dominican reality...Sometimes they take a hammer to the coffin before covering it with dirt. Then cover the plot with cement. This is when the coffin is not locked up in one of those fancy little houses you see a the cemeteries in DR. This is due to thieves stealing the coffin if it is in new condition.
next day funeral is the norm. sometimes even the same day, if death happens very early in the morning or at night. suspicious deaths, of course, take longer as pm is performed. in very few cases the funeral may be halted so that distant family members can arrive.
funeral is just about the only thing dominicans can organize swiftly and well. body is taken to the funeral home where it is put on a display. that seems to cover nearly all dead as i have seen pictures of open caskets of folks shot, burned and badly injured in accidents. family and friends visit. rich people are dressed in white or black. poor people wear normal clothing. burial is very quick and requires quite some skill from men who handle the casket due to the lack of space in dominican cemeteries. i have witnessed the coffin being held in all possible directions including upside down before it finally arrived to its shelf.
Here in Canada people always send flowers and cards. Is this the norm in Dominican, as well?
yeah, whatever, this is not a discussion about classes in marxism.The people between the RICH AND THE POOR dress in white and black too..
Yes that is sad but true Dominican reality...
I know of a rich guy who asked his family to put all his money in the coffin so he will be rich in the heaven and for the thief reason the wife decide to write a check on his name and keep the cash day of his funeral just in case of the thieves to break in his mausoleum...
JJ
I've never seen a funeral here, are they sad events or do they do the crazy party thing? I always found the celebration of someones life a better way of marking their death. Personally I attend as few funerals as possible as I am follower in tears, once one starts my entire family goes and we proably look a bit nuts trying our best not to catch each others eyes or we know we're next to start the waterworks. I have thought for a while I would deal with death a lot better if we could have the celebration party funeral, as opposed to the typical Brit sad and dark gathering that they are.
I went to a wake in Cristo Rey (the 'nice' part west of Ortega y Gasset).
The wake was in the family house and the body was set up in the sala for viewing.
With the exception of chairs all the family possessions that had been in the area accessible to the viewers had been put in a bedroom which was padlocked shut.
Not something I particularly enjoy. I haven't been to a funeral in decades, not even for my own immediate family.
Most funerals I've been witness to here have been with the person being viewed in their home, with everything locked up in a bedroom.
For the most part, very somber and quiet, until the procession hits the cemetery, then all hell breaks loose. By that I mean, crying, screaming, folks going though anxiety attacks, being restrained by other relatives.
Not something I particularly enjoy. I haven't been to a funeral in decades, not even for my own immediate family.