Death messengers, in former times, were those who were dispatched to spread the news that an inhabitant of their
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
or
village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...
had died. They were to wear unadorned black and go door to door with the message, "You are asked to attend the
funeral of the departed __________ at (time, date, and place)." This was all they were allowed to say, and were to move on to the next house immediately after uttering the
announcement.
[Swenna Harger & Loren Lemmen, ''The County of Bentheim and her Emigrants to North America'', 4th edition (Holland, MI: Swenna Harger, 1994), p. 7.] This
tradition
A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...
persisted in some areas to as late as the mid-19th century.
See also
*
Casualty notification
A death notification is the delivery of the news of a death to another person. It describes the moment a person receives the news of someone's death. There are many roles that contribute to the death notification process. The ''notifier'' is th ...
*
Death notification
A death notification is the delivery of the news of a death to another person. It describes the moment a person receives the news of someone's death. There are many roles that contribute to the death notification process. The ''notifier'' is the ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Death Messengers
Death customs