This week I had to return one of my most valuable sources for the project to the library so I am waiting to be able to check it back out, quite impatiently. Since I lost that source I decided to do a grab bag of facts for this weeks post and hope that I get the other source back soon. As such I am going to start with a little about death certificates, the consequences of death among spouses, the abolition of the death penalty, some cultural facts, information about Portuguese funerals, and then end with mourning traditions.
DEATH CERTIFICATES
The civil registry in Portugal requires all Portuguese citizens' deaths that take place abroad to be reported to the Civil Registry Office; the same place where that person's birth was recorded. Registration can be requested through the Portuguese Consulate that is located in the area where the death occurred. A certified copy of the death certificate, as well as a Portuguese identification card and a certified copy of the person's birth certificate, must be submitted to the nearest Portuguese Consulate.
DEATH AMONG SPOUSES
When one spouse dies, the matrimonial property regime is cancelled and if there was community property, it is divided up. The living spouse would receive their share of the community property and the other part of it would go to the deceased's estate. The surviving spouse and any children inherit the same amount of estate but the spouse will not receive less than a quarter of the inheritance. If there are no children, then the spouse receives two thirds of the estate and any ascendants receive the other portion. If the only surviving heir is the spouse of the deceased, then the spouse retains the full inheritance.
DEATH PENALTY
In 1852, the death penalty was abolished for political offenses in Portugal and was again abolished in 1867 for civil offences. These abolitions happened under the reigns of Maria II and King Luis, respectively. Despite these actions, the army still used the death penalty in Portugal until 1911. It was completely abolished under the Constitution of the Portuguese First Republic, at least for the first time. During World War I, it was reintroduced in cases of treason during war but was restricted to being applied only in war settings. In 1976 the death penalty was completely abolished for the second time under a new democratic regime whose constitution stated that the death penalty was not to be used for any reason. Portugal was the first European country to abolish the death penalty. It has not been used for political purposes since 1834. The last recorded execution was in 1846, for a civil offence, in the city of Lagos. The last time a woman was faced with the death penalty in Portugal was in 1772.
CULTURAL STUFF
When someone dies in Portugal, after the church bells ring to announce the death, doors and gates to the deceased's house are often opened so that relatives and neighbors can enter and begin mourning. Each village has burial societies, or confrarias. All Saints Day is used to revere those who have passed on. Mourning is signified by black clothing; often widows will wear it for the rest of their lives, while other family members will wear the color for varying amounts of time. There are various death cults found around Portugal and many cities have their own communities of mediums who claim to talk to the dead.
FUNERALS
Around 97% of all Portuguese citizens claim to be practicing Catholics. The Church has standardized funeral ceremonies to high degree but even the most faithful still finds ways to personalize the funerals of their loved ones. Funerals are a huge deal to the Portuguese because family is so important in their culture. Hearses in Portugal are different from the type one would see in America or elsewhere in the western world. Although the vehicle is similar (close to a van), there is a raised platform in the back of the hearse that can be seen through the back wall which is made of glass. This allows the public to see into the hearse and look at the casket as the procession goes by. The procession is extremely slow moving and mourners always accompany the hearse to the cemetery. The only times the procession does not take place is when the walk is extremely long.
I realize that these facts are not organized, highly randomized, and extremely short stated, but that is what the grab bag title is all about. I have ran into some roadblocks lately with my project so I decided to go with the sporadic this week. Unfortunately I do not think that I will be able to incorporate much material about death rituals in Portuguese colonies, mostly because Brazil was the most important colony and all the information I have found is for Brazil after it became independent. Yes the customs would still be based on Portuguese traditions but I was really hoping for more colonial information. Therefore I am not completely ruling out that subject but it has fallen lower on my list of priorities for now. I want to delve more into the idea of inheritance and wills in the next week if possible because that seems to be a more complex subject and one that I feel like has been an issue in Portuguese death rituals since the beginning. Hopefully I can find a good source that easily explains the customs because so far everything is kind of hard to understand in legal terms. Hopefully the grab bag topics provided some filler information to my broader topic posts; at least for me they did.
SOURCES
http://www.embassyportugal-us.org/Embassy_of_Portugal/Death_Certificates.html
http://www.coupleseurope.eu/en/portugal/topics/6-what-are-the-consequences-of-death/
http://en.www.mcu.es/patrimonio/MC/PatrimonioEur/Red/Portugal_Abolicion_penademuerte.html
http://www.everyculture.com/No-Sa/Portugal.html
https://mysendoff.com/2011/06/portuguese-funerals/
