I'm sorry I haven't written to you for a long time. My grandfather died. Here, prayers are said in the house of the deceased for seven days and foods are eaten. I was constantly there. I didn't have time to write.
Remarks about the translation
Here: in this country / in this culture
It is customary here to say prayers for seven days and to eat food in the house of a deceased person.
Same thing although 'food is (being) eaten' sounds better than 'foods are (being) eaten'.
My question is: is this still going on? Are they still praying and eating? When I read the last sentences (I was constantly there. I didn't have time to write.) I get the impression it is no longer going on. If it is past, prayers were said (or being said) and food was eaten (or being eaten).
I replaced ‘his house’ with ‘the deceased’s house’ to show that this is a regular thing like a ritual. (e.g. in our culture prayers are said in the deceased’s house) Am I correct?
Ah, I see what you are getting at. I think it is the word 'here' which made me think 'here in the deceased's house', implying the writer is still in that house.
To make this clear, what would you think of 'It is customary here to say prayers and to eat food in the house of a deceased person'?
Or else, maybe 'Here, prayers are said in the house of a deceased person'? Just to separate 'here [in this country] from 'in the / this house'. Let me know what you think