|
Welcome
Taphophilia (dot) Com...
A repository of morbid curiosities:
Thanatology and Taphophile Issues, Cemetery,
Funeral Industry and Death Related News.
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.
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.
|
|
Dust to Dust Brings Grief for the Living |
|
|
|
|
Written by DeadGirl
|
|
Wednesday, 29 June 2005 |
By DAVE COURTNEY June 27, 2005
CONTROVERSIAL FAREWELL: New Brighton beach is a popular spot for New Zealanders to scatter the ashes of loved ones - but some say the practice is offensive to beach-goers.
Kiwis wanting to scatter loved ones' ashes are finding their special place isn't always the most appropriate.
The patches of grey among the rose bushes of Blenheim's Pollard Park are the calling cards of mourners.
For years local families have come here to scatter the ashes of the dead. Officially they are not supposed to - a permit is needed to dispose of any material on council land - but the sentimental spot draws mourners regardless.
Few realise that every second year the garden's top-soil, complete with ashes, is scraped away and dumped in Blenheim's tip to avoid bacterial buildup.
"If people knew that, they might have a different idea of putting their loved ones' ashes in Pollard Park," Marlborough District Council's reserves and amenities supervisor Russell Montgomery told a recent council meeting.
Montgomery's concern was not only for mourners unaware of the ashes' destination, but also for council gardeners confronted with pieces of bone among secretly dumped ashes. It is a common sight around the country as more people choose popular public spots as final resting places.
"It's obviously an emotive issue," Funeral Directors Association president John Duncan says. "There has always been a dilemma for people over what to do with ashes . . . scattering them needs to be done sensitively. What might not worry me could upset others."
Last year, 28,420 people died in New Zealand, and about 20,000 were cremated. The average weight of ashes from a cremation is about 1.5kg, so more than 20 tonnes of human ash were produced.
The awkward issue has forced many local councils and the Conservation Department to introduce guidelines.
At Mt Cook/Aoraki National Park, scattering ashes in certain parts of the park sacred to Ngai Tahu is "actively discouraged". In other parts, people are asked to contact local iwi and make a request. A similar policy is in force at other national parks.
The Wellington City Council discourages people from scattering ashes in its Botanic Garden. Hutt City Council has asked people not to scatter ashes in its gardens.
In Christchurch, the council allows people to scatter ashes on the Port Hills among newly planted stands of native trees.
Canterbury Crematorium managing director Geoff Jones says some just "don't think" when it comes to scattering ashes. He generally advises people against scattering ashes, particularly in public places.
"It's disrespectful. People say they will scatter them at New Brighton beach but families and kids go there to play . . . it's offensive."
Yet people still do it. Jones says urns have been dumped in public rubbish bins after ashes have been scattered. Members of the public will hand the urns in, sometimes still with remains inside. Jones then has to search his records and track down the family to return the remaining ashes.
He says families often do not know what to do with ashes - the crematorium has hundreds of boxes of unclaimed ashes from the more than 60,000 cremations it has done since 1934 - and those who scatter them often wish they had not.
"They realise later they have no form of visual remembrance and wish they had never done it - it's a worldwide problem."
Families have returned years after scattering ashes to ask Jones if they can have a plaque in the crematorium's memorial gardens.
Christchurch undertaker Cheryl Cowden says ashes are usually put to rest in one of three places - on a mantelpiece, buried in an existing plot or scattered. Favoured spots for scattering ashes in Christchurch are the Port Hills, the Waimakariri River and local beaches.
She has no problem with people scattering ashes, as long as it is done discreetly.
"They say ashes to ashes, dust to dust, and it's true . . . we are all returned to the earth at some point."
Source: Stuff.co.nz
|
|
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
Quote Repository
“Nature's first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf's a flower; But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay.” Robert Frost--Nothing Gold
Shirtless and Sculpted
The Men of Mortuaries 2008 Calendar is now available! All sale proceeds benefit KAMMCARES, a breast cancer foundation.
|
