Wood-carved grave crosses among the Serbs in the municipality of Leposavić: A gift to the deceased for the forty-day commemoration

The author of this paper focuses on a hitherto insufficiently researched element of the folk tradition of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija related to posthumous customary and ritual practices. It's about placing large wood-carved crosses on the grave of the deceased for the forty-day commemoration, which is a practice that, historically speaking, was recorded more widely among Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, but also in central Serbia. When it comes to the southern Serbian province, that practice till today has been preserved mostly in the territory of the Leposavić municipality, which is why it can be said that in the modern, current moment, it represents the element of traditional culture specific to the Serbian population in the aforementioned area. What is characteristic of observed wood-carved crosses is that their creation involves the use of rich ornamentation, which means that they can be viewed as a form of traditional art of the local Serbian population. Based on the analysis of the main features of the studied phenomenon, the conclusion of the research is that in the perception of the bearers of the studied element of traditional culture - Serbs in the area of the Leposavić municipality - the placing of large wooden crosses on the grave of the deceased symbolizes the act of sending a gift to the deceased by family members and closest relatives, which is the way to express grief for the deceased on the forty-day commemoration, but also to send him/her a final greeting, farewell, and the like, after his/her departure from this world.