Adonis Diaries

Burial ground facilities: Not conducive to praying and remembering

In a previous article I described my experience attending the burial ceremony.  The part concerning my essay is: “We attended mass and listened to a speech by one of the priests on the qualities of the deceased person.  Twenty minutes later, we walked behind the limousine to the Greek Orthodox grave yard, half a mile away.

Grave yards in Christian towns in Lebanon have been transformed into enclosed corridor with boxes on both sides of the walls, large enough to insert the gasket.  Every family purchase a burying box for these eventualities.

The corridor of the grave location was dark: The boxes were painted black with a white cross on.  I just watched from the outside.  I have no idea of the process of disposing of the gasket or the body later on.  Most probably, the gasket is retrieved and the bones are collected when another member of family dies in order to making room.

Where the bones are dumped?

Most probably in an open public waste dump, as every thing else:  Frequently, town people ignite open waste site,  andthe  fumes suffocate the neighborhoods because the successive governments in this non-State country have more important things to worry about.

Males and women receive condolensces in separate houses.

We returned to the women-house to present our condolence to the bereaved women.”

In my hometown, every large family, constituted of several branches, have their own church, and the “tribe” does its best to collect enough money to build a “salon” for receiving condolences instead of particular homes.

Several large families might agree on a unique “grave corridor” to insert the gaskets:  Every family purchase a cell for burying the members of their family.

It is very depressing attending these kinds of ceremonies.

I am suggesting that every town constructs an open air graveyard, just for the ceremony, sort of nice green park.  The body is buried for just a week in a fancy marble grave, before being transferred to the cell in the dark corridor.  Thus, the graveyard park will not be studded with hundreds of graves, just a couple of fancy graves for short durations.

This open air graveyard should look like a community green park, plenty of trimmed trees, flowers plants, amenities for the crowd…

The bereaved family members accept condolence in the park,.Mass should be performed in the park, and followed by the burial process; all in the same location, instead of getting on the move from here to there, from a house, to a salon, to church, to the community grave, back to the salon…

The graveyard park committee should purchase a few varieties of fancy and luxury gaskets (according to gender and age of the departed) to be rented to families. Thus, townspeople will be

1. saving money and effort for selecting and purchasing gaskets,

2. the family of the departed that cannot afford a fancy gasket will have the opportunity of supporting the expenses of maintaining the open park and using a luxury gasket like the rich families…

3. Once a year, or on any occasion for separate families, the members can meet in the park and spend a good day, a cheerful gathering, remembering the positive attributes of the departed…

In winter season, a large transparent tent can be installed during the season for the ceremony.

This suggestion would save plenty of redundant expenses to townspeople, strengthen the community spirit, and extend a climate of respect to the departed member.  I don’t have to feel suffocating in these gloomy enclosed locations and suffering the non-ending processes and processions.

Most importantly, this luxury park would be an ideal location to remembering the departed and become an ideal location to welcoming frequent visits to praying and sharing with close families, around a meal, a mass,…

It is to be noted that the most ancient towns discovered in archeology, built castles on hills, were actual graveyard. These town castles reserved fro burrying the inhabitants were later transformed to host clerics, temples, and constantly praying congregation…