Resumen

GARCIA MEZA, Norma Esther. El discurso funerario de Lucas Macías en Al filo del agua. LiminaR [online]. 2009, vol.7, n.2, pp.56-58. ISSN 2007-8900.

In the Mexican countryside, funerary rites interweave numerous ritual practices, such as detailed analyses of the causes of death and evaluations of the life of the deceased, thus becoming social events in which language plays a prominent role. Often animated by locally-produced alcoholic beverages, participants in these rituals talk about the deceased and his or her relatives, and also discuss ethical and philosophical issues associated with life and death. This results in the construction of funeral speeches strongly rooted in oral tradition. One such speech is artistically recreated in Yáñe's novel in the character of Lucas Macías.

Palabras llave : funeral speeches; oral language; funerary rituals.