Not many wondrous monumental marble graves in the Municipal graveyard. Poor people make the most of what they have, as best they can.
What goes through the mind of the tombstone tourist?
A feeling of curiosity and excitement: Is it unmaintained and in disrepair; or filled with a collection of flowers, photos and personal effects from the lives of the dead?
Who will we find, a single graves or ones for an entire family? Young old, when were they born, how old were they when they died?
So many questions, often no back story, no answers; all adding to the wonder of walking with the dead.
Mexican graveyards... unashamedly in your face, colourful, celebratory, and definitely less inhibited than here in the UK.
The chaos and lack of order in Palenque made stumbling amongst the dead a memorable few hours. It was full, to the point of claustrophobia, it was full to the point that any footpath that once existed has now been claimed by the dead.
The few more affluent townsfolk had modest mausoleums, family affairs, bearing photographs of the dead, fresh flowers along side plastic ones bring colour.
Cans of beer, bottles of coca cola, if they were part of the resident's life then, they too are placed by family members.
Wrought iron crosses from another era, rusted, like memories their paint faded. The story unknown, no visitors, no love. Lives once lived.
A cross of leaves carefully placed, windblown, Fernandez now returned to his parents.
Quite relaxed, some Mexican graveyards forbid the placing of fresh flowers, here no such rules are in place or if they are, they are openly ignored.
As well as blue for males and pinks for girls, colour plays a big part in Mexican culture in general, shades predominantly used in Mexican graveyards often are symbolic.
Purple hues signify pain, suffering, grief, and mourning and is used to acknowledge the loss of loved ones.
Pinks, are on of celebration a tribute to the deceased.
Purity and hope are represented by the colour white, believed to bring new beginnings for the souls who have gone to the next life.
Red represents blood ties, a link that the dead once shared with the living.
Orange/ yellow as in the use also of marigolds shows the the pathway, the colour of bright sunlight for the souls of the dead to follow so they can to be re-untied with their families.
Melted candles and simple gifts of a couple of lollipops on an unmarked grave, someone must have recently visited.
A football , woody and a guitar all part of a short time on earth.
"Always in our hearts, mom and brothers"
A nameless child, two days old, a grave.
For people like myself, who are just visitors, they are a beautiful and at times a humbling reminder that we are all here for just a short time.
Try to be nice, be kind, be slow to judge and quick to forgive, and never miss an opportunity to encourage or lift someone up.
Don't shed crocodile tears for people in the news you do not even know existed, nothing worse than the "diana factor".
Give your own kith and kin a hug at every opportunity. tell them how much they mean to you when they are here, they ain't gonnna hear you when they are dead.
Thanks for visiting my page, I am pleased to make your acquaintance. this is Stephen aka, @grindle, happily retired, travelling the world snapping away. My weapon of choice is currently a Nikon Z6(2).
Unless stated all images are shot by me, all text is mine based on various info sources. NOT AI generated.
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Thanks, Grindle, I learned the name of a new phobia. Hahaha... I didn't know that. Luckily I was able to scroll through this post without any problems and admired the interesting photos you took there.
Although I can't deny that the one with the hands is creepy :O
No, and the one with the dead man who wants to come back, my goodness! 😲
Very impressive, this colour thing.
cheers @nanixxx I guess I suffer from taphophilia !!! Wherever I am travelling I tend to hut down graveyards they make interesting places to snap away, and also read the headstones.
It is good to have colour yes? Black is too sombre
Now a new word learned, the opposite. You did it on purpose, you rascal. A love of funerals, cemeteries and the rituals of death.
Oh... hahaha... you'd like to work as a thanatopractor then. 😁
😟 I think our first meeting included a story that was a bit... poor wives... 🤔 I remember it.
And now this... mmmm (lol)
it would make an interesting job ( just googled it lol).
hmm I do seem to have a darkside I have to agree
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Here the graveyard are of various styles, some are very similar to the Palenque cemetery, colorful, with flowers, photos and personal objects, others are simple with stone or concrete tombs, there are more modern ones that only look like a garden, it all depends on the social level and what the relatives can pay, normally the best thing is to have a funeral insurance since it is a service that can be very expensive.
The poor struggle to survive and have just money to survive life doubt they have any form of insurance tbh
Well said 😎
Great walk through this cemetery… they are special.
cheers @littlebee4 , great walk it was, glad you enjoyed
Cheers @grindle enjoy your Sunday 👋🏻😊
An unusual place.
Loved every minute of it lol
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STOPor to resume write a wordSTARTVery true. If there's one thing I took away from all these graves, is that we are merely passerby's on earth. The time will come when we too will leave in order for others to occupy.
These are amazing pictures, as always, Grindle. I never would have had a inkling of how the Mexicans buried their dead.
It goes to show how different burials are across the globe. In the western part of the world, they have grounds reserved for these purposes and it is very neat and well spaced out.
In my part of the world, the deceased are usually buried in their homes. Mostly inside the compound, in front of the main house.
I enjoyed watching your pictures and learning all that I have. Thanks Grindle!
cheers @zitalove I am glad you enjoyed my stroll, yes we are all different, cremation is big in UK.
Death is part of life nothing to fear, but to be accepted and celebrated. i guess that is why I enjoy graveyards I guess.
I have never heard about "home burials before" may I ask where you are from please
Oh really, I thought that was more common with Asian people.
Yeah I'm from Nigeria, in Africa. We mostly bury our loved ones in the compound of our homes. But it has to be the deceased's original home, as in where the family is from. If the deceased is a married lady, she gets married in her husband's home.
what a weird and different world this is indeed.
Cremation very formal, as in organised, placed in an oven, not as dramatic as those in the East.
gosh what happens if you bury grandad but then decide to move house
Oh I see. I heard they burn the deceased together with the casket. Is that true?
😅😅😅 We rarely move houses. Like I said, the deceased is buried in their original home, where they're from. So most times, the land on which the house is built belongs to the family. It's not common for people to move away from their land.
I was fortunate to visit Varanasi a few years ago, the epicentre of Hindu cremations, what I saw was remarkable. They just carry the deceased through the streets wrapped in just a shroud, and they are burned in the open air on a pyre of wood right on the Ganges, an awesome thing to witness.
I see, our cultures are so very different in respect of house moves
Oh wow, that sounds horrifying. It reminds of that one scene in Game of thrones 😅.