I plan to defend my master's thesis 'Sociocultural significance of cemeteries in Latvian society - relationship to space, people and other species' in January next year. In my research I will try to understand the different concepts people have of cemeteries as different spaces. I will analyse the social interactions that take place there, paying attention not only to the relationship between people, but also to the significant role of multiple species at burial sites.
As part of the development of my master's thesis, I have spent many hours in cemeteries - interviewing people, observing developments and conducting fieldwork - and this “cemetery story” - a brief glimpse into the life of an anthropology student - deals with my observations.
Cemetery – the best place on Earth?
I drew inspiration for my master's thesis from the experience I gained in the summer of 2022, when I participated in the study ‘Memento Mori: Conclusion of Life, Death and Imaginary Afterlife in the Lifeword of Contemporary Residents of Latvia’, conducted by RSU researcher Agita Misāne. I decided to conduct a qualitative study in cemeteries in order to understand the different types of relationships that are practised in this particular space.
I believe that the paradox lies in the fact that visitors to cemeteries feel comfortable and enjoy their stay. One interviewee told me: ‘I like being in a cemetery a lot’, while another described a cemetery as ‘the best place on Earth’. In these liminal spaces, people experience peace and silence, they engage in contemplation and self-reflection, but in-depth conversations reveal experiences associated with loss, separation, grief and suffering.
From the interviews of the field study: What do you think a cemetery is?
- Katrīna (42)
A cemetery is a place to lay flowers. And - it is like going to church - closer to God. Here we can be closer to the person. These bodies have already shrunk. But the idea is that my mother sees me from above. This is just a memorial. I would like to say - cemeteries have a pleasant energy and peace. And these souls and spirits - they are not bad at all. They should be there. But I think they are everywhere.
- Aleksandrs (38)
A cemetery is an interesting place. A place where history can be studied. Inscriptions can be read. But if we see it as a place to visit deceased relatives ... I would say - the first thing that comes to mind is the traumatic experience of my godfather's funeral. So, I associate the cemetery with something very tragic. In a nutshell - it is a place where bodies are buried. Someone can see it as a wonderful and peaceful place, but not me.
- Linda (43)
It is the place where we bury the physical body and create a memorial next to it. The first word that comes to mind is remembrance. I think it is a place where we can stay with that person. To tell them something in silence, to thank them or to ask for help.
Cemeteries are social and cultural constructs, they are not just physical places to bury remains, they are places to make sense of the world and search for deeper meanings. The aim of my study is to analyse cemeteries as social spaces by observing different dimensions of these spaces, paying attention to different aspects and gaining a deeper awareness of different types of relationships that are maintained in cemeteries.
Surrounded by birds, lilies of the valley and insects
We often overlook the obvious and do not try to explain why we perceive things and places as we do. The cemetery plays an important role not only in the relationship with other people and deceased relatives, but also in the relationship between different species. Birds, animals, insects, plants, mushrooms and other living organisms come together in cemeteries to form relationships with people and to participate in the creation of space. Birds and insects, for example, which we usually perceive as an insignificant background, become important participants in the creation of the sound landscape. I believe that the sounds of nature serve as one of the aspects that make the environment of cemeteries harmonious and pleasant for visitors.
Ethnography of multiple species tends to overcome the anthropocentrism and bring other living organisms to the forefront. In this context, “plant blindness” is often discussed - it is defined as ‘the inability to see or notice plants in the surrounding environment’. However, having spent a lot of time in cemeteries, I realised that, unlike other spaces where plants are seen as a green background, their relationship to space changes. In cemeteries, plants not only take on symbolic and emotional significance - visitors often associate them with supernatural phenomena.
An example of this can be seen in the association of accidentally sprouting lilies of the valley with the will of the deceased, as these flowers were the favourite of that person.
In other situations, a great mullein is not weeded out, because it is associated with the personality of the deceased. As a result, plants that would otherwise go unseen or unnoticed attract the attention of cemetery visitors and enjoy the care and appreciation of people.
Living organisms interact with, influence and transform their environment. Soil, micro-organisms and other life forms have a special role to play in the environment of cemeteries. In my opinion, visitors develop a particularly interesting relationship with animals - not only because pets are taboo in cemeteries, while wild animals and birds are considered an integral part of the landscape, but also because people often explain the presence of animals as the reincarnation of a deceased relative or as a message from the afterlife delivered by animals or birds.
A portal to another world
Initially, I focused on cemeteries as threshold or transitional spaces, where mundane and spiritual world, the public and private space, as well as the life and death intersect. At cemeteries, people feel symbolic closeness to the world of the dead, experience emotional change and gain experience that cannot be developed in other, mundane, spaces. While at cemeteries, the human mind can travel to another place and time.
- From field studies:
The wind and rain have been raging for several days. I arrive at the cemetery - the same place as always. But something has changed - a new grave has appeared on my path. The flowers are still fresh. Someone has crossed the bridge from the world of the living to the world of the dead and their body now rests in their eternal home. A place where their remains will remain forever. Body, flesh... the fact that the tangible part of a person is buried here is the most important thing that distinguishes a cemetery from a park, a forest or a garden.
(Field notes 5 July 2023)
In my research I looked at people's relationships with each other and with the dead. Although most cemetery visitors admit that cemeteries are places of remembrance, I discovered during the study that conflicts and disagreements between relatives of the deceased are often resolved in cemeteries, as well as - it is a place that unites. It has to be said with regard to the deceased - the mutual relationship does not end with the death of a person - cemeteries are places where economic as well as spiritual relationships continue.
- From field studies:
UNDER THE GROUND. I pierce the ground in the cemetery and think of the stories the visitors have told me. How terrible! What is under there? Bones? Teeth, maybe hair? Horrible! People have a natural fear of the dead bodies that fill the ground here. According to the stories of the people interviewed, we do not come to visit the remains - we do not even think about what is hidden under the ground. We continue our relationship with the spirit, with the soul, with the immaterial part of a person, whatever we call it and wherever it lives - in our conscience, in our memories, or in other inexplicable dimensions of life that transcend the boundaries of a mortal body. This relationship is like a link between the past and the present, between a person and their mysterious inner world. In the end, none of us thinks about a corpse. We come to remember people's lives. To feel close to a person who was with us during our lives. I do not come to a rotting body and bones, I come to them, to my memories of them.
(Field notes 6 July 2023)
