Libation for the Dead: Difference between revisions

''Except pour brew throughout the crew to make sure we all remember you

''And believe me it hurts

 

Libation is the tradition of pouring some drink, usually alcoholic, on the ground as a sort of offering. Sometimes for the gods, sometimes to the dead. This trope is mostly about doing it in memory of dead friends. Traditionally, one pours on the ground before drinking oneself. Will often involve [[Talking to the Dead]] as well. May be regarded as [[Due to the Dead]].

 

{{examples}}

* ''[[One Piece]]'': Genzou, the policeman at Nami's home village, pours some sake on Nami's mother Bellemere's grave, after the Straw Hats defeat Arlong.

* ''[[Space Cruiser Yamato]] / [[Star Blazers]]'' Sgt. Saito pours sake on the graves of the many men lost.

* Reinhard von Lohengramm in ''[[Legend of Galactic Heroes]]'' poured a glass of white wine onto the glass windows {{spoiler|in the office of the Alliance High Council Chairman after he conquered the Alliance}} against the setting sun as a sign of respect to those who have died due to the war.

 

* Jonah pours one for {{spoiler|his father}} after watching him die in ''[[Jonah Hex]]'' #69.

 

* In ''The Gridiron Gang'', Willie and Kelvin are members of rival gangs. After football practice, Kelvin asks Willie if he'd like a bottle of water, but before Willie can grab it, he pours it onto the ground, stating "my dead homies drink before you do."

* In ''[[Once Upon a Time In Mexico]]'', Agent Ramirez, an FBI agent, does this for his partner Archuleta after Agent Sands, the corrupt CIA agent and one of the other protagonists, tells him about how Dr. Guevara tortured him to death.

* In ''[[Boyz N the Hood]]'', [[Ice Cube|Doughboy]] pours out a little of his drink on the curb for {{spoiler|his dead brother before its revealed that Doughboy himself is murdered not long after}}.

 

* The [[The Lies of Locke Lamora|Gentlemen Bastards]] have a similar custom of "a glass poured to air" for absent or dead friends.

* In ''[[Dune]]'', Duke Leto Atreides makes the toast "Review, friends - troops long past review" by pouring out a flagon of water onto the floor (note that water is worth its weight in gold on the desert planet of Arrakis).

* There's an interesting variant in the Armistead Maupin's ''[[Tales of the City]].'' Anna Madrigal is in the habit of taping a joint to the door of her tenants as a welcoming present. In the last chapter, she visits the grave of her former lover, and tapes a joint to his tombstone with the words: [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|"Enjoy it. It's Columbian."]]

* [[Odyssey|Odysseus]] pours a libation for Hades and Persephone when he goes to the edge of the underworld. The spirits of the dead appear to try to drink it, and per Circe's instructions he stands guard over it until the spirit of [[Blind Seer|Tiresias]] appears and drinks first. Tiresias advises Odysseus on how to return to Ithaca, and other spirits (including his own mother, who died from grief) speak to him before the crowd of dead becomes too large, and Odysseus with his men flees back to the ship.

** There's also another [[Discworld]] moment where Moist von Lipwig bribes a priest of Offler with sausages. They normally roast the sausages so the god gets the "essence," while the high-ranking priests get to eat the meat (based on real-world religions, of course).

* In the same spirit as [[Odyssey|Odysseus]], {{spoiler|Nico}} in ''[[Percy Jackson and The Olympians]]'' offers up a Happy Meal and soda to communicate with several dead people.

* In [[Robert E. Howard]]'s "[[Beyond the Black River]]", when [[Conan the Barbarian]] is talking of Balthus's [[You Shall Not Pass]], with the aid of a dog, he drinks to his memory and pours out the rest—smashing the cup as well.

 

* Kim Shin does this for his dead brother in [[Korean Drama]] ''[[The Slingshot]]''.

* Randy in ''[[My Name Is Earl]]'' pours some chocolate milk in the memory of an old shop teacher.

* [[The Colbert Report|Stephen Colbert]] commemorated the end of the Space Shuttle by pouring out some Tang onto his desk.

 

* The music video of "The End of the Road" by Boyz II Men.

* "Six Feet Deep" by Geto Boys.

* [[Ice Cube]] makes mention of it in his song ''Dead Homiez''.

 

* The episode of Raw that followed [[Owen Hart]]'s death, [[Stone Cold Steve Austin]] came down to the ring with two cans of beer. Saluting with one, he left the other in the centre of the ring "for Owen".

 

* The opening fiction from ''[[Geist: The Sin Eaters]]'' is called "Rum is the Drink the Dead Like Best," for good reason. Likewise, the game mentions that Sin-Eaters often make use of ''ofrendas'', gifts to the dead - usually booze, but can include cigars, candy, or hell money - to gain the trust of ghosts.

 

* Clytemnestra sends libations and gifts to Agamemnon's grave in bad faith in ''[[Electra]]'', but Electra persuades Chrysothemis not to take them and so dishonour their father.

** Electra and her servants deliver offerings to Agamemnon's grave in the second part of the ''Oresteia'' trilogy, appropriately titled ''The Libation Bearers.''

 

* ''[[Tech Romancer]]'' Does this in the Wiseduck story mode if you chose the ending where the crew decided that they were human and lay the beatdown on the enemy. 10 Years later after the war, Alvin is the lone survivor and gives a libation to his now deceased crew.

* Comes up when you drink an ice cold fotie in ''[[Kingdom of Loathing]]'', after first pouring out some for your homies in the Pasta 'Lean.

* This is how you revive homies in ''[[Saints Row]]'' 1 & 2. You pour a 40 oz. on them, and they spring back to life. Quite humourous on homies who are on fire.

 

* Done sometimes in ''[[Knights of the Dinner Table]]'' in honour of fallen characters.

* [http://nonadventures.com/2008/11/22/alls-fairy-in-love-and-war/ This] ''[[The Non-Adventures of Wonderella]]'' strip.

* Done at the end of ''[[Garanos]]'' on {{spoiler|Ethreden's grave}}.

 

* ''[[Homestar Runner]]'' parodies this at the end of the Strong Bad Email "video games."

** And again in the Strong Bad Email "retirement", when Homestar pours out a bottle of Mountain Dew for the Tandy 400 (after pouring it ''into'' the Tandy 400 along with some fizzy denture tablets, causing it to explode in a green, rectangular mushroom cloud).

{{quote|'''Dumbledore:''' So I ask you to join me now, in pouring one out for C-Dig. }}

* Done in the third ''[[France Five]]'' episode, by [[The Lancer|Black Beaujolais]] pouring wine on the tomb of his Japanese [[Old Master]].

 

* Parodied in ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'', in the episode where the family go to Florida during spring break. Kid Rock at concert has a large novelty bottle of beer - a 40 gallon bottle - which he pours to the memory of "friends not with us... back at home", and Homer tries to drink from it.

* In a ''[[The Buzz on Maggie]]'' episode, the other bugs pour some juice on the ground before a field trip in honour of Maggie, who has accepted a detention so the rest of the class can get their excursion.

 

* A subversion used to exist amongst sailors in the Mediterranean, back when people had all sorts of superstitions about what was in/on/near the ocean. To protect them from mermaids (who, in most myths, lean decidedly towards [[Tsundere]] or even outright [[Yandere]]), they would pour a glass of wine into the water, hoping to please any mermaids (and thus protect the sailors themselves from disaster.)

* Ceremonies in the Voodoo tradition typically involve pouring our libations of rum for the spirits of the dead, especially if guidance from or communion with said spirits is the objective.

* The ancient Greeks poured libations to their dead, and the practice is mentioned by their earliest writers.

* Swedish joke: two alcoholic friends discusses their love of alcohol.

* The [[Ancient Egypt]]ians poured libations to the dead, or at least to dead kings, at least since Old Kingdom times.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Funeral Tropes]]

[[Category:Drama Tropes]]

[[Category:Food Tropes]]

[[Category:Older Than Dirt]]