'Singing out the dead' in Ramsjö and Färila, Sweden : Historical Aspects and Recent Ethnography

The tradition of ”singing out of the dead” (utsjungning av de döda) was widespread throughout Scandinavia in early modern times. This study argues that this peculiar singing practice could be understood historically as an amalgamation of the medieval sanctification of the corpse (without which it was illegal to move a body to the church or burial site) and the early modern liksång, singing processions with the dead to the burial site, typically involving the Swedish diocese school choirs. This historical analysis serves as a foundation against which we may understand memories and witnesses from persons who partook in the singing out of the dead during the first half of the 20th century. Eight persons who have been involved in singing out of the dead in Ramsjö and Färila (Northern Hälsingland, diocese of Uppsala) have been interviewed in relation to matters of practice, beliefs, tradition and singing ideals. The study reveals that in these two parishes, the practice of singing out of the dead remained vital well into the 20th century, but waned rather rapidly after the middle of the century, due to matters of infrastructure and modern healthcare. Bishops, kings and clergy fought and repressed the practice for hundreds of years, due to the perceived incompatibility between Lutheran doctrine and the popular notion that the singing out was intended for the soul of the deceased person, rather than for the mourners left alive. Reports from the ethnography in Ramsjö and Färila evinces the belief that the predominantly female “singers out” took on a mediating proxy role between the person who was “sung out” and the absent priests, who were forbidden to partake in the practice under the Church law of 1686.