Sadly our landlady died in her sleep last week. We're not sure how old she actually was, since she was born before birth records were kept. However she thought she was about 85 - 90 years old.
The tradition here is that the burial takes place after the next noon-day prayers, however the burial was delayed since four of her children live in America and were travelling to attend. During the first day close family members visit and Kira and I went upstairs to pay their respects, since they consider us as part of the family. We sat and talked and were offered bitter coffee and dates. Some of the ladies were reading portions of the Quran or using prayer beads. Everyone was wearing black, grey or white as a sign of respect.
Bitter coffee and dates
It's not here, it's upstairs!
The following day the family put a sign on the gate giving notice of the funeral. Kira made an arrow sign which we put on our front door since a number of guests rang our bell instead of going to the entrance of the rest of the building. I was invited upstairs again for lunch. The food had been provided by a restaurant and was Ouzi - rice, meat, nuts and peas wrapped in pastry - with yoghurt. Before the lunch, women were reading portions of the Quran or using prayer beads again.
'Keep going till we reach at least 10,000'
One of the women was counting up how many prayers they had collectively made because they wanted to reach about 10,000. Another woman was encouraging the ladies to quickly read parts of the Quran before the burial. I asked someone to explain about this custom and she said that if the complete Quran was read and more prayers offered then they believed God would be more forgiving and count it towards the old lady's good deeds which hopefully would outweigh her bad deeds and therefore enter her into heaven.
Ouzi
In the evening Paul went to the men's part of the funeral. This was held in a community hall next to the mosque. He talked with family members and drank coffee with them.
Where do I sit?
On the third day, I went to visit again with Kira for the final part of the funeral. On this day the wider community visit so there were lots of women. We sat and were given bitter coffee and dates again. I wasn't sure if there was an etiquette about where to sit, so asked the lady next to me what I should do. She told me that there was just one special couch for the closest family members and then everyone else could sit where they wanted. However often places further into the room are for more honoured guests. The tradition is to only stay for about 15 minutes to enable other women to have space to visit also.
The tradition here is that the burial takes place after the next noon-day prayers, however the burial was delayed since four of her children live in America and were travelling to attend. During the first day close family members visit and Kira and I went upstairs to pay their respects, since they consider us as part of the family. We sat and talked and were offered bitter coffee and dates. Some of the ladies were reading portions of the Quran or using prayer beads. Everyone was wearing black, grey or white as a sign of respect.
Bitter coffee and dates
It's not here, it's upstairs!
The following day the family put a sign on the gate giving notice of the funeral. Kira made an arrow sign which we put on our front door since a number of guests rang our bell instead of going to the entrance of the rest of the building. I was invited upstairs again for lunch. The food had been provided by a restaurant and was Ouzi - rice, meat, nuts and peas wrapped in pastry - with yoghurt. Before the lunch, women were reading portions of the Quran or using prayer beads again.
'Keep going till we reach at least 10,000'
One of the women was counting up how many prayers they had collectively made because they wanted to reach about 10,000. Another woman was encouraging the ladies to quickly read parts of the Quran before the burial. I asked someone to explain about this custom and she said that if the complete Quran was read and more prayers offered then they believed God would be more forgiving and count it towards the old lady's good deeds which hopefully would outweigh her bad deeds and therefore enter her into heaven.
Ouzi
In the evening Paul went to the men's part of the funeral. This was held in a community hall next to the mosque. He talked with family members and drank coffee with them.
Where do I sit?
On the third day, I went to visit again with Kira for the final part of the funeral. On this day the wider community visit so there were lots of women. We sat and were given bitter coffee and dates again. I wasn't sure if there was an etiquette about where to sit, so asked the lady next to me what I should do. She told me that there was just one special couch for the closest family members and then everyone else could sit where they wanted. However often places further into the room are for more honoured guests. The tradition is to only stay for about 15 minutes to enable other women to have space to visit also.
