Among the traditional folk manifestations, those related to death are best preserved in the Romanian village. They accompany both the moment of the separation of the loved ones from the deceased, as well as the moment of their great passage from this life, having at the same time a ceremonial and “spectacular” character, in the funeral procession.
In Transylvania, a certain type of funeral songs is still preserved, often called “verş“, creations of the deacons (church singers), which they interpret before going to the cemetery, or to the grave, at the end of the service. Their theme is biblically inspired, with emphasis on the ephemerality of human life in the face of death, thus seeking solace in the teachings of the Church. These types of verş increase the pomp of the funeral and, sometimes, even bring tears in the eyes of the sorrowing souls, these factors, in fact, ensuring their permanence.
In Ceanu Mare, in Cluj county, a verş were sung at funerals until two or three years ago, we learn from deacon Ananie Hădărean. “At our funerals, we have to sing a verş. Without that you have no purpose. We make them, according to the life of the person. For a while, they have not been sung anymore, as the cross is not put on the coffin for the relatives and the close ones to come and kiss. It was sung after the priest had finished the sermon and received the absolution, when alms are offered. At that moment the verş is sung. I was thinking that if someone with many relatives dies, or many people come to the funeral, I have to make it longer”, says the deacon from Ceanu Mare, almost 80 years old. He was called to sing the verş at funerals in all the villages near Ceanu Mare.
“Oh, honorable assembly,
Who came to the funeral
Just wait a while and think
When you look at me
As I lay in the coffin,
That from now on I won’t be anymore,
That God had mercy on me
And got me rid of the disease.
I have no more pain
I no longer trouble you,
My beloved children,
Who remained parentless.”
(Fragment of a funeral “verş”, written and sung by deacon Ananie Hădărean from Ceanu Mare)
“I finished four grades, plus the seven-year “college”, the seven years of home education, as they say”, told us with a smile “the deacon of Cean”, name by which the people in the area know Ananie Hădărean of Ceanu Mare, Cluj county, almost 80 years of age, but even now, on Sundays and holidays, he is unreplaceable in the church pew. “These were my teachers, Toader and Raveca,” he says, pointing to a photo taken in 1954, showing his parents and his brother Niculae.
He sang in church from the age of 11, where his mother took him every Sunday, together with his brothers. “When we were children, my mother held us by the hand and took us to church. Dad couldn’t at the time, because he was attending the sheep… and we never miss the church service. Then, after we grew up and we had to go to the village in the afternoon, to dance, if we didn’t go to the church in the morning, we weren’t allowed in the village, that was the rule!”. He has been a deacon in Ceanu Mare since he was 33, after learning the order of services from the “old deacon”.”
Contributor: C.J.C.P.C.T. Cluj
