Abstract
Cemeteries have been viewed in opposed ways as ritual spaces that either mirror society or present an idealized model of society. In this article, we propose an analysis of cemeteries as ritual spaces, focused on the case study of municipal cemetery Tongerseweg in Maastricht, among the most important monumental cemeteries still in active use in The Netherlands today. Drawing on historical as well as interview material, spatial and ritual studies, the authors argue for a new “Arena Model” to understand cemeteries as dynamic ritual spaces. Cemeteries do not only form an ensemble of ritual spaces that are reliant on pre-existing communities, they also evoke, produce and maintain communities. Codeterminants are the physical layout and a wide range of ritual markers that variously underscore, mitigate or even contradict the communities created by the spatial layout. Important actors pertain to municipal politics and administration as well as the users, their respective allies and service providers. The article further analyses the wide range of competing values that help to shape a cycle of cocreating plural ritual spaces as well as communities.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 435 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1-21 |
| Number of pages | 21 |
| Journal | Religions |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue number | 9 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Sept 2020 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This research was funded by Humanities in the European Research Area (HERA), grant number Hera.2.078, project ?Cemeteries and Crematoria as Public Spaces of Belonging in Europe (CeMi)?. Acknowledgments: We are grateful to Serv? Minis of the municipality of Maastricht for his historical insights into the cemetery, to the general management and volunteers of Cemetery Tongerseweg for sharing their knowledge and experiences, to Tam Ngo for identifying the Chinese-Vietnamese graves as Hoakieu, to Elise Aghazarian and others for information on the Maastricht Armenian community, and to Korrie Korevaart and Bert Lever of Foundation Terebinth for Funerary Heritage for organizing a symposium and a guided tour at Cemetery Tongerseweg on 24 August 2019 (attended by E.V. and M.W.). All authors wish to express their gratitude to cemetery staff and volunteers who help to maintain and develop a unique cultural heritage site in The Netherlands. The authors also wish to express their gratitude to Avril Maddrell (Reading), leader of the CeMi project, for her support: nihil sine labore eius.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Funding
This research was funded by Humanities in the European Research Area (HERA), grant number Hera.2.078, project ?Cemeteries and Crematoria as Public Spaces of Belonging in Europe (CeMi)?. Acknowledgments: We are grateful to Serv? Minis of the municipality of Maastricht for his historical insights into the cemetery, to the general management and volunteers of Cemetery Tongerseweg for sharing their knowledge and experiences, to Tam Ngo for identifying the Chinese-Vietnamese graves as Hoakieu, to Elise Aghazarian and others for information on the Maastricht Armenian community, and to Korrie Korevaart and Bert Lever of Foundation Terebinth for Funerary Heritage for organizing a symposium and a guided tour at Cemetery Tongerseweg on 24 August 2019 (attended by E.V. and M.W.). All authors wish to express their gratitude to cemetery staff and volunteers who help to maintain and develop a unique cultural heritage site in The Netherlands. The authors also wish to express their gratitude to Avril Maddrell (Reading), leader of the CeMi project, for her support: nihil sine labore eius.
Keywords
- Arena
- Boundaries
- Cemetery
- Cocreation
- Minority groups
- Pluralization
- Religious groups
- Ritual dynamics
- Space