Taphophilia.(dot) Com - Graves run short in Johannesburg

Welcome

Taphophilia (dot) Com...
A repository of morbid curiosities:
Thanatology and Taphophile Issues, Cemetery,
Funeral Industry and Death Related News.

What's at Taph?

Taphophilia Home

Thanatology Forums

Taphophile Weblinks

Taph's Article Archive

Contact Deadgirl

Donating to Taphophilia

Book Library

Deadgirl Recommends

Dig Deeper

Literature

Topics at Taphophilia

Deadgirl's Dictionary

Cemetery Photography

Industry News

Carved in Stone

A Taphophilia Thank You...

Taphophilia (dot) Com would not be possible without the knowledge, experience and talent of DarkestWeb. From
its conception and early development, DarkestWeb
was faced with many challenges; from inspiring and motivating, to providing guidance and direction. The continued dedication and support has produced results greater than ever expected, and for this, I owe a huge debt of gratitude.

Cemetery Snapshot

Announcements

Graveyards of Chicago:
The People, History, Art, and Lore of Cook County Cemeteries
By Matt Hucke And Ursula Bielski. Discover a Chicago That Exists Just Beneath the Surface - About Six Feet Under! Take a tour of Chicago's permanent residents! Please visit the Lake Claremont Press website to purchase your copy of Graveyards of Chicago today!

Green-Wood Cemetery Arcadia Publishing announces the release of Alexandra Mosca's historic account of one of New York's most famous cemeteries. Aracdia Publishing's Images of America series has an extensive catalog of many cemetery publications! Please visit Arcadia Publishing to purchase your copy of Green-Wood Cemetery and to browse other available titles!

Men of Mortuaries Calendar
To purchase your 2008 calendar, learn more about the KAMMCARES Foundation, or to be featured in the 2009 calendar, please visit Men of Mortuaries.

Epitaphs: The Magazine for Cemetery Lovers By Cemetery Lovers
For information regarding subscriptions, single issues, submission guidelines, deadlines, classifieds or advertising for future issues, please visit The Cemetery Club.

Guardians of the Soul: Angels and Innocents, Mourners and Saints, Indiana's remarkable cemetery sculpture
with photography by John Bower and foreword by Claude Cookman is now
available. Please visit
Studio Indiana for more information.

West Springfield Massachusetts: Stories Carved in Stone by Rusty Clark features information on early New England gravestone carvers with more than two hundred photos and illustrations. Please visit the Dog Pond Press website.

Graves run short in Johannesburg

Written by DeadGirl
Thursday, 04 August 2005
Graves run short in Johannesburg Wednesday, August 3, 2005 Posted: 1250 GMT (2050 HKT) JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (Reuters) -- AIDS and a growing urban population are forcing South African officials to find new cemeteries and encourage families to bury several members in the same grave, Johannesburg city authorities said Wednesday. Johannesburg's Alexandra township has no spare grave spaces while Soweto's Avalon cemetery sees more than 200 burials each weekend, City Parks spokeswoman Jenny Moodley said. "There's a lot of pressure on the current infrastructure," she said. "A lot of people are saying we should cremate because in the future we don't want to have to pay large amounts in tax for the upkeep of cemetery spaces." With thousands flocking to cities from impoverished rural areas of South Africa and its neighbors in search of work and more than 6.5 million of the country's 47 million people infected with HIV, demand would grow further, she said. Every weekend, convoys of buses carrying mourners bring South African townships to a standstill as families bury their dead. Johannesburg City Parks, responsible for municipal graveyards, expects a 5 to 10 percent increase in deaths each year. "We like to think it's mainly down to urbanization," she said, adding the municipality did not have firm data on causes of death. African traditional beliefs put many off cremation, she said, so the city was also encouraging families to put several members in the same grave -- described as the "second burial" option -- to save space and pack as many corpses as possible into overcrowded sites. "For each hectare, we can only do 2,000 primary burials," said Moodley. "If residents were willing to have second burials then we'd have an additional 1.5 million burial spaces across the city." The opening of two large cemeteries on the outskirts of Johannesburg -- with an official population of around 4 million although some say it could be twice that size -- would almost double the city's burial capacity, she said, creating almost half a million new grave plots. "That should be enough to last us another 30 to 40 years." http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/africa/08/03/safrica.graveyards.reut/index.html

< Prev		Next >

[ Back ]

SEO by Artio

Taphophilia?

taphophilia (taf′ō-fil′ē-ă)

ORIGIN:
From the Greek words taphos, meaning "tomb" or "sepulcher" and philia, meaning "attraction or affinity to something, in particular the love or obsession with something"

DEFINITION: 1. An excessive interest in graves and cemeteries. 2. A love or fondness for funerals, graves, and cemeteries. 3. In psychiatry, a morbid attraction to graves and cemeteries