The Cemetary of Gyumri, the Spitak Earthquake some notes on Funeral Traditions
Gyumri has more than one cemetary and we passed one and stopped there. At the center there had been a group of mourning people with lots of military, but the cemetary is vast. It has to be. So we went a little further.
Gyumri (Գյումրի) is the the second largest city of Armenia [1]. It is an old city having been found in the 8th century BC, but the area has been populated since at least the third millennium BC.
The picture of the family, mother and daughter and more I don't want to show have images or even real life images of the deceased persons [2]. Often you read year of death 1988. There is a simple reason: it's the year of the Armenian earthquake aka the Spitak earthquake (Սպիտակի երկրաշարժ), which occurred on the 7th of December [3]. In between 25,000 to 50,000 people were killed, 130,000 were injured.
The funeral (Թաղում) itself takes place on the 3rd day after death, if it isn't a Saturday or Sunday. The lid of the coffin is placed next to the door of the house to inform neighbors and friends or also passers-by of the death, who may come in to respect to the deceased, who would clean hands and shoes with water or a wet towel. “Death and honoring the afterlife is a very important event.” You may read more in the two citations below [4]. The funeral ritual has thress sections [5]:
Home Service/Wake – Dan Gark (Դեն Գարկ)
Church Service – Yegeghetsvo Gark (Եղեգեցվո Գարք)
Graveside Service – Kerezmanee Gark (Քերեզմանի Գարկ)
“Also, no lay person may speak or give eulogies in the sanctuary during either Home Service or Church Service at the Graveside Service. Instead, lay people should speak at the funeral home or the memorial meal (Hokejash).”
The sheer number of dead after the earthquake will not have allowed the funeral rites to be properly observed, which will have increased the grief even further. May the dead rest in peace, but also may the survivors have found their way back to life.
Links and Annotations:
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyumri
[2] With migration being a part not only of the past, I could show you such tombstone works e.g. in Cologne as well.
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1988_Armenian_earthquake
[4] https://www.advantour.com/armenia/traditions/funeral.htm and https://bayercemeterybrokers.com/armenian-burial-traditions/
[5] https://stjamesevanston.org/sacraments-and-pastoral-care/funeral
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