Oral narration by Josefina Lucio Veloz (La Libertad, 1929)
«My grandparents told me about the way the inhabitants of La Hueca or Agujereada buried their dead back in 1934, where the flourishing canton of La Libertad is now located.
The custom described here was exclusive, and I say this because what I am going to tell you has not been heard anywhere else:
After a native inhabitant of the area died, the pain of his departure was expressed with tears, but this crying had a musical expression, so the preferences of the deceased were sung, both in daily life, as well as his customs and the places he frequently visited.
Near the time of the burial, the mourners would take the corpse out for a walk, uncovered, accompanied by a relative who would hold the corpse's hand and make the corpse say goodbye to the places or houses that it had once visited out of friendship or familiarity.
This custom was unhygienic and so it was determined by the first authority appointed in the place, whose title was Inspector, who prohibited this way of burying the dead. From that date on, the custom was eliminated and forgotten.
Taken from «MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF THE SANTA ELENA PENINSULA».
Compiled by: Maria Teresa Alvarez, Sol Damerval 1999.
Compiled by: Maria Teresa Alvarez, Sol Damerval 1999.
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