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Mourning Deaths, Lamenting Lives: Grief and Transformation in Inner Maniot Laments

Abstract The funeral laments (moiroloya) of Inner Mani, a region in southern Peloponnese, are the focus of this article, in particular the gestural and transformative aspects of their liminal character. A specific case of a wake (klama) is discussed and analyzed in order to provide insight into the particular process of lamenting. Some general characteristics of lamenting in the region are reviewed and some of the basic assumptions of anthropologists concerning the role of emotional expression in death rituals are considered. Lastly, by focusing on an excerpt from a lament that was sung in the wake session under question, the article points to the gestural, mimetic and transformative qualities of the emotional performance of lamenting, suggesting thus an alternative reading of the expression of grief within the course of death ritual.