Deathscapes, erasures and posthumous identities: a comparison of cemeteries in Denmark and Cyprus

ABSTRACT

This is a study of deathscapes at the margins of Europe, Denmark and Cyprus, focusing on cemeteries in the respective capitals of those two countries. By employing comparison and situating the emergence of cemeteries within the two societies’ different socio-historical trajectories, we challenge key assumptions on cemeteries put forth by historians and sociologists related to cemeteries’ inexorable secularisation and the democratic prerogative of everyone, not just the elites, to their posthumous presence as named individuals. Specifically, we show how in Denmark’s case the predominance of social democracy entailed a preference for erasure in communal, anonymous graves rather than the posthumous presence of all as named individuals. In Cyprus instead, the rise of an ‘ethnarchic’ religious-orientated state hindered the secularisation of cemeteries. Moreover, the symbolic focus of graves in Cyprus has not been on the atomised individual subject but on the family. These dynamics have given rise to different challenges: emptying out in Copenhagen’s cemeteries and overcrowding and expansion in Nicosia. Consequently, cemeteries have also come to be conceptualised in different ways: as sites of real estate in Cyprus and as public spaces in Denmark.

KEYWORDS:

• Capitalism
• social democracy
• religion
• cemetery
• Cyprus
• Denmark

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all those who were willing to talk with us and show us in detail the cemeteries discussed here. Particular thanks to Stine Helweg for her interesting tours, discussions and willingness to share with us her unique knowledge. We also thank the participants of a small workshop in Copenhagen during December 2019 who gave us useful feedback on an earlier version of this paper. The same applies to the two anonymous reviewers for their detailed and helpful comments. Finally, Yiannis would like to express his gratitude to the Department of Anthropology at Copenhagen University which kindly hosted him during the early stages of this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).