User:Kaszubian/sandbox

Pusta Noc (Pustô Noc in the Kashubian language), can mean either "Empty Night" or "Hollow Night." It denotes a ceremony held at a deceased person's home on the night before his or her funeral, serving much the same function as a wake. The premise of Pusta Noc was that the soul of the deceased was lonely, and this ritual was intended to ease the deceased's loneliness, hence the terms "empty" and "hollow." It was also intended to ease the sorrow of the assembled mourners and strengthen their bond with their Roman Catholic faith. It was believed that those who sang at the ritual were praying twice for the deceased, and that they were also securing peace for the living. The ritual seems to have been observed throughout Poland, including the Masovian Voivodeship, but most Poles seem to associate it with Kashubia. While the article at wikipedia.pl. observes that it is a common Slavic custom, the article is entitled "Pusta Noc na Kaszubach," or "Empty Night in Kashubia."

Ritual
On the evening before the funeral, participants gathered in the deceased person's so-called "living room," where he or she lay in state. All tables were covered with white cloths, and candles were lit. A crucifix was prominently displayed. If a prominent member of the community was about to be buried, there was an especially large gathering. Members of the community who did not attend the ritual were noted. The ritual began with the saying of the Rosary, after which sick people and women with small children were allowed to return home. Afterward, a lead singer (usually a man, although women sang as well) led the mourners in singing funeral hymns from hand-written songbooks which were shared among the community. Sometimes the assembled sang as a group, and sometimes the funeral hymns were sung by impromptu choral groups. At times, the mourners participated in joint chants such as "Eternal Rest" and "Good Jesus and our Lord." At midnight, the mourners took a break for coffee and dessert or a small meal, and then continued singing funeral hymns until dawn. About five in the morning, the godzinki or "Hours" (also known as The Little Office of the Immaculate Conception) were sung. In some cases, the singing continued until the body of the deceased was removed to the church for the funeral Mass.

Music
Research on Pusta Noc and its music continues to this day. According to one modern source, the songs were sung in Polish, not Kashubian, with some of the funeral hymns in Latin. A 1957-58 study by Anna Szalaska for the Folklore Museum of the Plock Region collected several examples of songs used in the Masovian Voivodeship. At present, there are two canonical songbooks. The first of these, Pustô Noc, published in 1993 by Father Jan Perszon, includes about 120 songs, although only 20 to 30 are said to be sung in the course of an average ritual. A second songbook, Śpiewnik Pieśni Pustej Nocy (Book of the Songs of Pusta Noc), was published in 2015 by Dr. Slawomir Bronk, director of the "Discantus" vocal ensemble, based in the Kashubian village of Gowidlino, in Kartuzy County. It was compiled as the result of fieldwork and archival recording led by Dr. Bronk and Father Perszon on a project, "Odtworzenie zwyczaju Pustej Nocy na Kaszubach" (Recreating the custom of the Empty Night in Kashubia), sponsored by the Kashubian-Pomeranian Association.

Survival
Kashubian emigrants carried the Pusta Noc ritual to the United States: according to Hieronim Derdowski and Stefan Ramult, it was still observed in Winona, Minnesota (which is regarded as the "Kashubian Capital of America") into the early 20th century, Szalaska's article in Notatki Plockie indicates that it had survived in Mazovia into the late 1950s. A 2002 publication by the Foundation of the Polish Bishops' Conference indicates that it is no longer common in Poland, and that the bodies of the deceased normally remain in funeral homes. However, the ritual has not died out entirely. In 2005, Pusta Noc ceremonies were held to commemorate the death of Saint John Paul II in the Kashubian towns of Sianowo and Brusy. Karina Cierocka also indicates that the ritual is still carried on, in somewhat attenuated form, in some parts of Kashubia.