Cemetery - Radio Nigeria Ibadan Zonal Station

By Titilayo Kupoliyi

A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many dead people are buried or otherwise entombed.

The word cemetery (from Greek κοιμητήριον ‘sleeping place’) implies that the land is specifically designated as a burial ground and originally applied to the Roman catacombs.

The term graveyard is often used interchangeably with cemetery, but a graveyard primarily refers to a burial ground within a churchyard.

Globally, concrete burial vaults are common because they provide ground stability, preventing sinking graves, and protecting the casket/body, keeping them contained for proper cemetery maintenance.

They also offer a durable, practical solution for maintaining cemetery landscapes and accommodating traditional burials in a more orderly way.

However, there are unique, privately-run cemeteries in China having glass-covered graves or transparent displays. Examples are those at the Fan Jianchuan Museum Complex or other memorial sites, designed to offer a raw, reflective view of decomposition and mortality to serve as powerful reminder of life’s fragility and the importance of living meaningfully.

These aren’t widespread but are specific, artistic, and philosophical statements in memorial parks, sometimes even showing bodies slowly returning to nature.

This indeed is a shift from the typical traditional concealed interment but such aims at provoking reflection on mortality, encourage purposeful living, and serve as a “never forget” memorial, notes.

The core message is a reminder to everyone on earth about the transient nature of life and the legacy one leaves behind, with a view to encouraging sincere living.

In essence, transparent graveyard of China is to remind us how fragile our lives are and what a brief stopover we have in this earth.

The question is, “What will you be remembered for after your departure on earth”?

The New Yorker

In the past, the graveyard used to be revered as many cultures have respect for the dead.

However, this culture appears to be fading gradually with emerging trends in some climes.

For instance, in some parts of Nigeria, there are growing cases of people suspected to be ritualists who now hunger for the graveyards seeing them as a potential ground for ritual materials.

As a result, people have been caught exhuming corpses to dismember dead bodies for money rituals.

Just as in other cultures, Ghanaians on their own too have a strong desire to beautify the dead and everything associated with them, including coffins, and funeral procession.

However, the latest craze in the country is burying the dead in a rotating tomb, which many people have likely never seen before.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cb71XXgoG8i/

Radio Nigeria gathered that a man who most likely saw the spinning tomb for the first time decided to forget about his sorrows and had a good time, sitting on the tomb and having his pals spin him around.

He was reported to have gone to the cemetery with his friends to bury a comrade but thereafter, decided to have a pleasurable spin on sighting the roller coaster on the tomb of another deceased.

He was riding the smooth rollercoaster on the tomb while conversing with his pals, who were also recording and laughing.

His companions assisted him in bringing the spinning tomb to a halt after he had enjoyed the ride for a while.

Olaitan Oye-Adeitan

Radio Nigeria Ibadan Zonal Station

Uplifting the People & Uniting the Nation

Video: Have You Seen a Glass Cemetery Before?

By Titilayo Kupoliyi

Pleasure Ride In A Grave Yard?

Recent Posts