Eternal home: A Vlach Roma funeral in Kétegyháza, Hungary

Abstract

This case study is based on a Vlach Roma funeral in the village of Kétegyháza (Hungary) that the authors observed, and which they were able to record on video. The first part of this article describes the funeral. In the second part, the authors consider the origins of the funeral customs that they witnessed. These can be found in two different sources. In part, the funeral customs of the village’s Romanian Orthodox population and those traditionally followed by the local Vlach Roma community, living in and around the village, served as a model. However, the funeral in Kétegyháza was based to a significant extent on earlier Vlach Roma funerals that had been conducted in this part of Hungary and that had been videoed by the participants. These videos, which have been made since 1990, circulate amongst the wider Vlach Roma community and influence the character of subsequent Vlach Roma funerals.