Democratic Sentinel, Volume 9, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 June 1885 — A Bulgarian Funeral. [ARTICLE]

A Bulgarian Funeral.

A funeral procession, described by Mr. More in his recent work, entitled “Under the Balkans,” was remarkable in the first place for a yoke of white oxen drawing a wagon with wicker sides, on which the coffin—that of a woman—was placed feet foremost: “On the front of the wagon rode the priest, carrying in his hand a sacristy made of clay; and behind sat one of the relatives. It was followed by a small crowd of about twenty or thirty mourners, mostly women, wearing gowns of coarse homespun cloth, colored aprons, and handkerchiefs on their heads, being the usual costume of the country. Arriving at the ruins of the battered and decayed Church of St. George, the procession stopped and the mourners crossed themselves, while the priest scattered incense on all sides. The corpse, which was wrapped in a colored blanket, the face only being exposed, was carried into the church, placed before the altar, and laid feet eastward in the blanket, the head being supported by a pillow. The body was clad in a gold-braided bridal costume, a handkerchief on the head, shoes and stockings on the feet, and a gold chain around the neck. On the breast was placed a lighted triple-branched wax taper, and bunches of flowers were also laid on the breast and placed in the hand. A small oil lamp was burning near the head. A loaf of bread on a plate, a pan of boiled wheat, and a dish of honey were set near the corpse. The mourners and congregation, to tho number of about fifty, mostly women, each held a lighted taper, as did also the two officiating priests and the clerks."