Cemetery

Introduction:
 
            The death of a loved one is a very common sadness that plagues most of our lives. This is why there is an empathic sorrow when, for example, driving past a cemetery even if one has no correlation to that specific one. When there is a death there is more than likely a funeral, and preparations start immediately. From personal experience, and not a projection unto other cultures, when one dies there is a collective thought which initiates the funeral process and lack of debate if there should even be one.
Many cultures have a custom intended to celebrate life when a loved one passes away. In some areas a party is thrown and in others it is a time of grievance. Despite the celebration aspect there is a common denominator amongst many and that is a burial tradition. Burying a body is a very symbolic act in which the dead reintegrates with nature, as well as the continuation of death (Dagyeli, 2015). There is also the ability of visitation and allows for more leniency when saying goodbye. The pressure of celebrating a life takes on a different purpose of importance to the family making a proper burial a critical necessity.
            The inability to honor the deceased affects the loved ones, beliefs, grievances, etc. Should the person not be laid properly to rest there can be a surmountable amount of guilt involved with the process. If the tradition is not done up to standards, different religions could view this as a hindrance in the passage of death to the afterlife (Dagyeli, 2015). An improper goodbye can lead to extreme psychological distress. There are very significant and prominent emotional ties to burials that make the tradition almost inescapable. If there is also the pressure of one’s cultural background, then the tradition becomes mandatory.
            Cemeteries play an essential role which may expand past its intended purpose. Cemeteries offers a designated place for those who have passed away in a world in which open land is being depleted. These plots of land are so valuable they are often bought in advanced but can also be very costly with the average ranging anywhere from $200-$5,000 depending on a variety of factors (Gardner, 2020). The dependency of cemeteries due to the necessity of burials can affect society from differing perspectives.
 
A Short History of Cemeteries:
 
            Cemeteries date back for many centuries all across the world. Despite burials being such a common practice in modern times, during its history there were many other alternatives and burials were a minority practice (Eggener, 2018). Today there are still many other alternatives such as cremation which has dated further than cemeteries, there are now burial plots for the cremation remains (Gardner, 2020). This adds to the complexity of how burials became as important as they are today.
            In fact, the act of burials was not an act of commemoration during its trial times but an act of intended disregard. By burying a body, during its history, the body is now incapable of undergoing its intended ritual at the time. However, the plotted bodies had proven to be an acceptable alternative when the body remained unaffected by predators, seasons, and differing elements (Eggener, 2018). The integration of burials and earlier death rituals had actually fossilized throughout time. Ancient graves held original death ritual artifacts within.
            The first permanent settlements were a catalyst in mainstreaming graveyards. They found the act as a way to commemorating their dead in a way that was missing from the earlier rituals. These appeared in different forms depending on the area such as catacombs and tombs but ultimately held the same idea. Further industrialization then led to broadening the landscape intended for the dead which could mass over 100-acers worth (Eggener, 1018). Then as a societal standard, these graveyards ultimately led to the cemeteries that are often seen today, especially in the States.
             The beauty of a grave was once seen as a place meant for the rich was now available to the middle class. The cemeteries were now decorated with flowers and headstones that were pleasing to the eye which led it to become a popular hangout spot (Eggener, 2018). Now that people were having tea amongst the dead, the practice was officially normalized.
            Normalization did not signify the pique of meaning for burials. As previously mentioned, when burying the dead became preferred there was an integration with already common rituals of this time. In modern times, this integration is indeed the ritual and carries great association with religion and religion. In article How to do a Burial Right: Negotiations of Identity, Religious Practice and State, the performance of a burial is interrelated with a person’s religious identity. Should someone who is Muslim not follow the modern ritual their full integrity as a Muslim comes into question (Dagyeli, 2015).
 
Lens: Social Construction of Nature
 
            When a burial is taken place there is hope that a person reintegrates themselves with nature. During a funeral, when the casket or urn is buried there is a remain of fresh soil in the shape of what lays beneath it. After a couple of months, the grass regrows and blends itself in with the rest of the land. This is seen as one of the first steps of nature taking its course and often helps in the healing process. Unfortunately, in taking a completely anthropological approach, this is a social construct (Ch. 8 Hintz, et al., 2014).
            The idea that a body is reintroduced completely with nature takes on a constructivist approach. The ideology of a proper burial service is so integrated with the concept of the self that reality is distorted. Nature is, “… everything that exists that is not the product of human activity…” and graveyards, no matter how decorated or neglected is a product of human activity (Ch. 8 Hintz, et al., 2014). There are also other components during a funeral that furthers itself from being a natural process. For example, the popularity of caskets or urns being made of metal and wood makes the deterioration process much slower. The foreign objects that are often buried along with the casket could add toxins into the soil that would otherwise not be there (Eggener, 2018).
            Cemeteries advance one of the biggest social constructs in modern society which is a lawn (Ch 14 Hintz, et al., 2014). Essentially, cemeteries could be considered to be a massive lawn. Cemeteries try to utilize as much land as possible because without space their business would cease to exist. The Cemetery also has to respect the graves of loved ones which is a possibility as to why graves are located around trees instead of trees planted on top of the plots. But there also needs the nature aspect, in order to meet the criteria of a proper burial, which can me met through the grass that grows on top (Dagyeli, 2015).
            Yards initially look natural because of the bright green colors and lushness all year-round. As previously mentioned, this is a social construct of nature that is a product of the manipulation of nature called agrodiversity (Ch 14 Hintz, et al., 2014). Lawns typically use a multitude of chemicals that are unsafe for people and nature itself. Mass amounts of water is used as well to maintain the societal demanded look. Typically, yards extend but a few feet in front of a typical house in the suburbs but cemeteries contain what could be hundreds of acres and has to continue expanding. Without lawns cemeteries become unattractive and enforce the concept of death.
 
Lens: Environmental Ethics
 
            Environmental ethics deals with the beneficence of nature and human consumption (Ch 5 Hintz, et al., 2014). There is much research done in proving cemeteries to be toxic to the environment but will that be enough to change a ritual that is a necessity for multiple communities? I do not think so. Modern society already hold itself to be above nature and not equivalent. More than likely a person will hold a member of their in-group to the same standard and possibly more if deceased. A burial alternative that was held in the past was leaving the deceased on a mountain top (Eggener, 2018). Although, possibly as natural as could be, it would be a hard sell in the name of environmental justice. Education is not always met with action (Ch 14 Hints, et al., 2014).
            Death rituals, such as funerals, are a paradox. The loved ones of the deceased wish for them to become a part of nature but also holds the individual above nature which is why they go to a cemetery to begin with. Second, becoming one with nature involves deterioration, however there are many steps that happen before-hand in order to sustain their body (Jonker & Olivier, 2012). These steps to maintain the body also aid in environmental toxins.
            Article, Mineral Contamination from Cemetery Soils: Case Study of Zandfontein Cemetery, South Africa helps illustrate why society may need to evolve the tradition of a proper burial. Paints are not for human consumption for obvious reasons that could be lethal. Well, many caskets are painted and glossed before entering the Earth. Afterwards, the same toxins in the paint that would be dangerous for people are broken down into the soil. The toxins remain concentrated around the casket but soil often shifts which widens the parameters of contaminated soil (Jonker & Olivier, 2012). Cemeteries consists of thousands of acres of land all around the world, all of which are filled with death and now toxins. The Earth now contained thousands of acre’s worth of contaminated lawns.
            There is also little thought in the placement of cemeteries. When one thinks of a cemetery one does not usually take into account environmental factors. Since soil shifts and gather toxins, there has been cases in which a communities’ water becomes toxic to drink. Jonker and Oliver’s study of a South African cemetery was able to conclude that cemeteries are anthropogenic sources of contamination (2012). However, people continue to be buried due to their belief system and studies focusing on the environmental impacts of cemeteries are quite recent. As of environmental ethics in today’s society, death outweighs its environment.
 
Conclusion:
           
            I think the concept of cemeteries as a part of society is a wildly interesting topic. Cemeteries are an object that is considered a necessity but is only thought of when needed because of its emotional association. In this article, I tried to take a perspective of behavior and environment which in starting was hard to do. What made the anthropological approach difficult was exactly what contributed to the social construct and environmental ethics of burials. This brought much dissonance within my cognition.
            The environment has become increasingly important to me, especially since starting my education at Humboldt. Viewing the need of cemeteries was beyond my comprehension before starting this paper. I want to do more to help the environment that goes beyond convenience and instead set an example, but when learning about how harsh a burial is to its surroundings makes practicing what I preach difficult. How do I start that change? By boycotting a funeral? Or not getting the best casket I can for a loved one? Although, those answers are unclear as of now I am happy I have enough comprehension of the topic to establish critical thinking.
            I did not realize how little information was available on a century old practice. Further research is needed to be done on this topic and putting together scarce articles to form this paper was very interesting. Each resource offered completely different information than the other but still blended with one another. In Eggeners Ted Talk, he predicted that death rituals will continue to evolve and inevitably forced to with the lack of land (2018). For example, cremation remains are now offered in the form of a vinyl or even tattoo ink and maybe this will offer the next alternative, but I hypothesis not anytime soon.
 
 
 
References
 
Dagyeli, Jeanine. (2015). How to do a burial right: Negotiations of identity, religious practice, and state. Journal of Czechoslovak Oriental Institute, 83(3). 357-601. http://ezproxy.humboldt.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/how-do-burial-right-negotiations-identity/docview/1761755100/se-2?accountid=11532
 
Eggener, Keith. (2018). The fascinating history of cemeteries. TED-Ed. https://www.ted.com/talks/keith_eggener_the_fascinating_history_of_cemeteries?language=en
 
Gardner, Amy. (2020). Cemetery burial plots buyer’s guide: How much should you pay? Cremation institute. https://cremationinstitute.com/cemetery-burial-plots-guide/
 
Hintz, John., Moore, Sarah A. & Robbins, Paul. (2014). Environment and society: A critical introduction. ProQuest Ebook Central. 1(2) 65-79 https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/humboldt/reader.action?docID=1582846
 
Hintz, John., Moore, Sarah A. & Robbins, Paul. (2014). Environment and society: A critical introduction. ProQuest Ebook Central. 1(2) 119-134 https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/humboldt/reader.action?docID=1582846
 
Hintz, John., Moore, Sarah A. & Robbins, Paul. (2014). Environment and society: A critical introduction. ProQuest Ebook Central. 1(2) 243-255 https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/humboldt/reader.action?docID=1582846
 
Jonker, Cornelia & Oliver Jana. (2012). Mineral contamination from cemetery soils: Case study of zandfontein cemetery, south Africa. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 9(2), 511-520. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph9020511