Hrana i piće u posmrtnim obredima a posebno kao viaticum
Food and Beverage in Death Rituals

Summary/Abstract: Death rituals contain a series of performances which express, in various ways, the solidarity of a community with the berieved; some also express the relationship between survivors and the deceased. Special foods and beverage have an important function in these rituals (including koljivo or panahija, mashed beans, rice, dried fruits, honey, wine and brandy). Food and drinks are often placed in the coffin or the tomb of the deceased, along with other items. This old custom has persisted until the present day with only slight changes of form. The author discusses people’s motivation for ritual offerings to the dead at the present time, and concludes that these rites reveal still existing beliefs in after-life, superstitions, trust in magic manipulation, some forms of the cult of the dead, and even some irrational medical convictions (such as that wine or brandy, if kept for a time in a tomb, acquire certain healing qualities).

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