Paper short abstract:

The paper describes the reverse way of using places and directions in Bulgarian funeral rituals. It analyzes dual oppositions, such as left-right; up-down; forward-backward; east-west.

Paper long abstract:

The paper sheds light on the issue of the reverse order, mostly with regard to the organization of space in Bulgarian funerary rites - the one which is in opposition to the other rituals of the individual life-cycle. The reverse use of the directions left-right is analyzed, i.e. what was placed or done to the right during the life-time, in the funerary rituals is placed or done to the left (the bunch of flowers on the head of a dead woman; the gifts placed on the shoulders of people who attend a commemorative rite; the burning of incense at the grave and during the commemorative meal). The analysis is also focused on the same reverse logic in the oppositions up-down (placing the deceased or the ritual commemorative meal on the ground); forward-backward (prohibition of turning one's head back during a commemorative procession); east-west (placing the deceased with the head pointing to the west), etc. The paper is based on fieldwork materials collected from archival and published sources from the end of the 19th century till 1980s.