REVIEWS

LE Poème et la Légende des - Nibelungen. By H. Lichtenberger. 8vo. 432 pp. Paris : Hachette. By Alfred Nutt.

Canti Popolari Siciliani, raccolti ed illustrati di Giuseppe Pitrè. Preceduti da uno studio critico a seguiti da melodie popolari. Nuova edizione, interamenta rifusa. Carlo Clausen, Torino and Palmero, 1891. 2 Vols. 8vo.

Bibliografia delle Tradizioni popolari d'Italia. Compilata da Giuseppe Pitrè. Scherie internazionali. Same Publishers. 1 vol. crown 8vo., 700 pp., on hand-made paper. By R. H. Busk.     

A Reply to the foregoing Criticism

This paper discusses the vetlatori dance performed on the occasion of a baptised infant's death in the Valencia region of Spain until about fifty years ago. Analyses of historical sources that emphasise the noble spirituality of the vetlatori dance are shown to be based on romantic views of traditional culture and emotions related to the loss of an infant, rather than on authentic information. Ethnographic and ethnomusicological data are presented to illustrate that the music and dances performed during the vetlatori dance were meant for entertainment rather than for spiritual impact. Recourse is also had to oral sources, particularly interviews carried out in the 1960s and 1980s with former infant wake participants who experienced the vetlatori dance, and who confirmed the popular nature of the music, song, and dances that were performed. Analysis of written sources and of the choreographic and musical characteristics of the dance also shows that the kind of music performed was typical of festive celebration in the Valencia region. Functional outcomes for such wakes are also proposed.