„Prosím nepáliť sviečky, ešte žijeme“ – k problematike „zabývania sa“ v priestore cintorína

Abstract

An analogous perception of the grave as a “residence” for the deceased belongs to the archaic sphere within the traditional spiritual culture of many communities, not only within Europe. Even today, such an attitude can be observed in the behavior, imagination and reflection of our contemporaries, especially those belonging to the oldest generation. In the context of these ideas, such persons tend to prepare their own burial place even though they are still alive. The paper is focused on the current forms of preparing one’s own “residence” at a cemetery, and the attitudes attendant on this phenomenon. Presented material is based on the long-term ethnological research of the problems in the rural environment of Slovakia. It presents its genesis, analyzes the strategies of preparing burial site (alternatively: a place for the insertion of a urn), defining the motives of such behavior, and the individual forms of “occupying” the place at the cemetery even though the person in question is still alive.