Some cribbing and commingling from a much earlier
posts.
Tunisia
is a secular country, estimated at 97% Muslim. In 2012 I noted it was
the most liberal Arab country I had visited at the time. There I had opportunity
to view a Muslim cemetery up close. Burials are generally made within
a day of death, avoiding the embalming process that interferes with
the body. While all mourners attend the funeral prayers led by an
imam, only men accompany the body to actual burial in the cemetery.
The deceased are buried on their right side facing Mecca. In general,
elaborate grave markers and flowers are not encouraged; prayers are
preferred as memorials.
The town of Hammamet is about 60km
southeast of the capital, Tunis; a place of lovely beaches for
holidayers. Apart from seaside attractions, it has a fascinating
medina (old town) dating from the 15th century. After
climbing one of the protective walls to enter (on a ramp), one meets
a maze of narrow streets zigzagging throughout, bursting into
colourful small piazzas of shops and vendors. Photographers’
delight!
A cemetery is located outside the
walls along the Mediterranean seafront. Many tombs have traditional
mosaic decoration. Here, the customary marker is the representation
of a book: the left hand page identifies the individual with name and
dates; the right hand side has a quotation from the Koran. Grounds
maintenance does not seem to be a priority. We saw litter dumped in
one section. A small Christian cemetery is nearby with many Catholics
of Italian origin.
Some years ago, preparation for new
construction in Hammamet unearthed an extensive Roman necropolis
among remnants of the ancient settlement known as Pupput. We did not
see that particular area, but signs of the old Roman occupation are
everywhere across the country. Many museums exhibit excavated burial
markers – stelae – and funerary objects, some as old as the 1st
century AD. Most stelae
commend the departed to the pagan
household gods (dis
manibus sacrum –
DSM). They
usually give the person's name, age, parents, status, and name of the
person who erected the stone. Date
of death does not seem to be the norm! That
the inscriptions have
survived so long is
likely due to being
covered
by soil as
new communities developed on
top of them – inadvertent
conservation.
 |
| Two photos above at Sousse Museum |
Even older! Near the ruins of
Carthage, that legendary city ultimately defeated and ruined by the
Romans, parts of the excavated Tophet cemetery show stelae from the
time of Carthage’s great power BCE. These were all child burials;
the indicative geometric sign appears often. I diligently took many
photographs, only to learn later my new SIM card was corrupted. The
two photos below are thanks to Atlas Obscura and the
individual photographers who shared.
 |
| by Patrick Giraud |
 |
| by Dennis Jarvis |
Tophet has long been a locus of
serious controversy; scholarly and scientific researchers debate
whether it was a place of infant sacrifice. My discovery of a blog
called Bones Don’t Lie was serendipitous; here’s a great
discussion:
The
city of Kairouan ‒ inland but still considered coastal region –
with its Great Mosque is Tunisia's spiritual centre. In fact, the
Great Mosque there is the holiest Muslim site in Africa; the original
portion is from the 9th century. Overall it is the fourth
holiest site for (Sunni) Islam after Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem.
 |
| In the courtyard |
Outside the walls of the medina can
be seen (with the mosque's minaret in the background) the small old
Ouled Farhane burial ground named for the tribe that had once
requested this location close to the mosque. I can’t ascertain when
the burials began or the age of the stones. All inscriptions have
long vanished over time and whitewash is the only memorable feature.
And then to modern times. A visit to
the small town of Monastir included the mausoleum of Habib Bourguiba
(1903-2000), the enlightened and revered father of modern Tunisia. He
became the first president at the time of independence in 1956. Among
other reforms such as banning the burkha and niquab, Bourguiba
instituted universal health care and compulsory education up to full
high school level. A processional avenue leads up to his grandiose
monument with its golden dome, within the town's extensive el-Mazeri
cemetery.
The interior has private rooms for
family visitors and a public room serving as a small museum of
Bourguiba’s life. Separate rooms have comparatively plain burial
slabs for members of his and his second wife's extended families.
Thus, the deceased provide quite the
contrast in time periods, cultures, even empires, in one rather small
country.
©
2020 Brenda Dougall
Merriman
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