The curious ritual behind new Serbian TV thriller Black Wedding
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Loading... - Amanda Miller
- 30 Nov 2021
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For the past few weeks, tabloids in Serbia have been abuzz with coverage of a “strange” and “shocking” funerary ritual practiced among parts of the Vlach community in the east of the country.
Interest in the ritual, known as a “black wedding”, stems from its starring role in a new TV show – also called Black Wedding (Crna svadba) – that has become instantly popular.
In essence, a black wedding takes place when a young, unmarried man dies. The ritual is performed during the young man’s funeral, when he is “married” in a symbolic wedding to a young woman, essentially fusing two very different rites, that of marriage and death.
What appears to have caught the attention of the tabloids and television audiences is that certain things usually thought inappropriate for a funeral are part of the proceedings. The woman chosen as the symbolic bride wears a wedding dress and the traditional kolo dance is performed around the coffin.
Of course, the TV show takes massive liberties with the source material, in order to flesh out a supernatural murder mystery. But Vlach customs, especially beliefs around magic and curses have long been a source of fascination in Serbia, with many fearing the potency of “Vlach magic”.
“In the context of Vlach folk beliefs, death is just a continuation of life in another form. A person transitions from the world of the living into the world of the dead, and is still considered an important member of the community,” explains Nebojša Savić, an anthropologist.
“Rituals and beliefs connected to death are one of the most important parts of culture and daily life of the Vlach people in Serbia. Taking into account the extent of preparation for the afterlife before and after the death of a community member, the ritual of the black wedding shouldn’t come as a big surprise.”
Righting a wrong
These days however, the black wedding is no longer a widespread practice: indeed, it is increasingly rare. However, rituals of offerings to the dead are commonplace: not just in the Vlach community but in Serbia in general. In many parts of the country a daća is observed: a day when food is offered to dead relatives. Such feasts will typically include dishes that were favourites of the deceased. Read More…
