SMILES AND TEARS

Until now, Belarusian cemeteries have attracted the attention of ethnologists, folklorists and historians from two main perspectives: places where historical tombstones are preserved and where traditional memorial practices can be observed. The huge new cemeteries founded outside the boundaries of growing cities in recent decades remained a “blind spot” for Belarusian researchers. This article aims to show how observation of contemporary Belarusian cemeteries and the changes taking place in them can help to understand contemporary Belarusians’ ideas about the afterlife and the development of cultural memory and memorial practices. Five characteristic examples were selected for this purpose: the spread of tombstone portraits with smiling deceased persons, the tendency to demonstrate the profession of the deceased on the tombstone, the gradual disappearance of traditional grave designs, methods of depicting and articulating ideas about the afterlife and the tradition of bringing toys to children’s graves. Interpretations of these examples are proposed. Thanks to this, we can see in the change a complex system that directly reflects the development of Belarusian society and understand what great epistemological potential modern Belarusian tombstones contain for ethnology and other social sciences.