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| The pine tree (brad) in the cemetery next to the wooden cross |
Bradul is the name of a transylvanian funeral ritual which is used in the funeral ceremonies of unmarried man who died at a young age ( teenage years or early adulthood). The ritual of the brad (en: pine tree) is largely known for its very prominent vocal character , this ritual consists of a number of funeral songs which are intended to ease the souls journey to the after life. The song of the brad (pine tree) is only used in the funeral ceremonies of unmarried man, the song represents through the images that it paints the idea of youth , life , vitality and purity.
The lyrics of the song are characterized by a "sad beauty" , they tell the story of the unfortunate life of the pine tree , how he was cute out from the forest , how the man who cut him lied that he wold plant him in his garden and the story ends with the pine tree withering on the grave of the deceased .
This ritual has both a vocal side represented by the funeral song and a material side represented by the fir tree used in the ceremony . A pine tree will be cut out from the forest and a group of old women will decorate it with candy and fruits . At the end of the funeral , after the coffin is put in to the grave and the hole is filled the pine tree will be put next to the tomb stone , at the deceased's head.
The song of the pine tree was initially a wedding tradition (still in use today) and is a symbol of marriage , in funerals the pine tree symbolizes "the unfound wife "".
One of the goals of this tradition is to "repair" the deceased tragic faith .The pine tree is meant to replace the spouse that the deceased never had the chance to find in this life , so the pine tree is left on the grave so that the soul will finally find his peace.
When the pine tree is brought in the deceased's home from the forest it is always carried with its crown headed to the forest. The song of the pine tree is divided in a couple of section each one is used for a certain stage of the ceremony .
The beauty and simplicity of the song is fascinating and it can be considered a true human masterpiece , and it shows the way that romanian culture celebrates death in a truly unique way.
A culture that celebrates death is a society that isan't afraid of it and has the maturity to realize that death is the only thing that is guaranteed for every human.
One of the most interesting stages of the ceremony is the moment when the cortege enters the cemetery and the singers say "Bucura-te tintirime" or "Bucura-te cimitire" which means "Be happy you cemetery " which is filled with intense emotions .
The pine tree tradition can be found as also in the historic regions of Banat and N-V Oltenia. The pine tree also symbolizes the union with nature , the friendship between man and nature and most importantly ideas of youth and marriage.
The decorated pine tree looks very similar to a Christmas Tree making this costume to look kind of strange to people that are not familiar to romanian funeral traditions. The exact origin of this costumes is unclear but it can have as a source the funeral rituals of prechristian Romania.
In order to get a look on this unique ritual I listed a couple of videos with the "cantecul bradului"(song of the pine tree) and suggestive images from the ritual :
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