Rensselaer Republican, Volume 17, Number 9, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 November 1884 — Palovzean Funeral Customs. [ARTICLE]

Palovzean Funeral Customs.

In graveyards of the Palovzes, in the counties of Borsod and Heve3, may be seen hero and there pyramidal monuments of stone, with niches in their sides for images of the saints. . They are a survival from the ancient heathen altars of these people, the Kumanians of old, which wore erected in honor of the sun-god; and to this day also may lie seen on many of the houses of the Palovzes the symbol of the pyramid with Baal's eye, the use of which has come down from generation to generation, without the peasants knowing what it means. Children who die stillborn, or without having received bap tism, are buried as near as possible to the pyramidal monuments. It is a part of the folk-lore of the Palovzes that the little ones who are laid to rest hear these Baal pillars will at the end of seven years come out from their graves, when, if some good soul will come near them and utter the baptismal formula, they will immediately become little angels and go to heaven; but if the baptism is not given they will have to wait seven years longer for another opportunity to be released. Many other reminiscences of Baal worship survive among these people. The mother who hag, lost a young child wraps her head as a Bign of mourning, in a fiery red cloth. The former prvealence of cremation. is indicated in the custom of burning the clothes which the deceased wore last. The tear-jugs of the ancients may still be found in the houses, of exactly the old form and size, bat destined to a quite different purpose. Another peculiar custom at the funeral feast is to lay a plate with salt and bread upon the table, for the use of the soul of the departed one, if it should appear in the circle of friends.—Popular Science Monthly.