Abby Burnett
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9781628461114
- eISBN:
- 9781626740624
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781628461114.003.0007
- Subject:
- Sociology, Culture
Ozark cemeteries have been defined by location, types of grave markers and vegetation found there, as well as by certain traditions of respect. Customs and taboos governed where and when graves were ...
More
Ozark cemeteries have been defined by location, types of grave markers and vegetation found there, as well as by certain traditions of respect. Customs and taboos governed where and when graves were dug. The custom of creating vaulted grave shafts, plus high water tables and frozen ground, made added work for the diggers. The Southern custom of creating scraped, mounded graves is discussed, as are the theories as to why cemeteries are situated where they are. Lowering the coffin and filling in the grave were also subject to tradition. The chapter concludes by examining the need to move graves, as well as the folk belief that the digging up, repositioning, and reburial of amputated limbs alleviated phantom limb pain.Less
Ozark cemeteries have been defined by location, types of grave markers and vegetation found there, as well as by certain traditions of respect. Customs and taboos governed where and when graves were dug. The custom of creating vaulted grave shafts, plus high water tables and frozen ground, made added work for the diggers. The Southern custom of creating scraped, mounded graves is discussed, as are the theories as to why cemeteries are situated where they are. Lowering the coffin and filling in the grave were also subject to tradition. The chapter concludes by examining the need to move graves, as well as the folk belief that the digging up, repositioning, and reburial of amputated limbs alleviated phantom limb pain.
