Resumen

ENRIQUE FINOL, José  y  MONTILLA, Aura M.. Rite and Symbol: Anthropo-Semiotic of Wake in Maracaibo. Revista de Ciencias Humanas y Sociales [online]. 2004, vol.20, n.45, pp.03-12. ISSN 1012-1587.

In this paper we make an inventory and an interpretation of most important symbols used in wake rituals in Maracaibo, Venezuela. For the collection of information we have used the ethnographic method of observation-participation, during which we applied techniques such as interview, recording, and photography. For the interpretive analysis we worked with semiotic theories as proposed by Lotman and Greimas. The analysis allows us to confirm the role of symbols in the constitution and functioning of funerary culture, particularly thanks to their condensation capacity, their role in collective memory, and their special stability and resistance to change through time.

Palabras clave : Rite; wake; semiosis; symbol; funerary; culture.