GER-VOLGA-L Archives
Archiver > GER-VOLGA > 2009-01 > 1231801444
From: Leona Garcia <>
Subject: Re: [GV] Coffins, Language Imperfections, Rituals, etc....
Date: Mon, 12 Jan 2009 15:04:04 -0800
References: <c43.42b5d8b1.369b73c7@aol.com>,<103492.51535.qm@web45911.mail.sp1.yahoo.com><4969F7C8.23029.1EA83E92@gpmartens.sbcglobal.net>
In-Reply-To: <4969F7C8.23029.1EA83E92@gpmartens.sbcglobal.net>
I think Mr Martens is wonderful. Years ago he helped me with research.
He is valuable to this board.
Alejandro and I research similar lines. We have emailed often.
Although I am not a native speaker, he has never criticized my Spanish.
He is valuable to this board.
As far as the Spanish, (as explained by my professors at WWU) and when I
lived in Colombia, SA for awhile, they do treat death differently.
I was raised in America, I am not Hispanic, I married one. In 1968 when
my young son was dying in Children's Orthopedic Hospital, they would not
let anyone in with Cameras or anything. I begged a Catholic priest
after he gave him the last rights to find a way to get a photo. I had no
photo of my child. They would not allow it. When he died, the only
picture I have of my child is in his coffin. I don't look at it often,
but I still have it.
I guess I wonder why anyone or anyone's family has to have a reason to
take a picture of any of their family as they see fit. I know people
like to put it in historical perspective and put time frames on things,
but other than that, it can happen in any culture.
I am mostly German and I know the least about my German heritage and am
stuck on my paternal Volga German HERMAN/HERRMAN side probably permanently.
But anyhow, you all are wonderful Lauren has translated for me
tirelessly and I got some results from his letters and beleive I have
found my great great great grandfather's relatives in Hamburg, DE.
Vera has helped me a lot. Ms Potter has been wonderful too.
There are just too many to mention.
I have not contributed too much over the last two years as my husband
died, I have had 5 surgeries, and now have my mother who is 89 and not
well. I am exhausted but I try to at least read the boards.
To all of you -Thank You.
wrote:
>Cult is not the term that we would apply to having a graveyard next to a
>church or having an open casket and pictures taken.
>
>Cult: A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist
>or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner
>under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader.
>Next, having a graveyard next to a church, Lutheran or otherwise, depended
>on the community or location in the US.
>
>My father was a Lutheran pastor, starting in 1942, and was the pastor at 7
>congregations in his time as a Lutheran pastor. The churches he served
>were all founded well over 100 years ago, most in small towns, and not one
>of those churches had a graveyard next to the church. Churches that had a
>graveyard next to the church were typically in a location far from a
>village/town cemetery, and put there as a convenience so that people did
>not have to travel a long distance to the nearest cemetery.
>
>You'll find many Catholic churches have there own cemetery, but they are all
>not next to the church. In my work with the NEgenweb history project for 3
>counties in Nebraska, you will find some cemeteries that started out as
>family cemeteries, then became community cemeteries.
>
>I think you will find most cemeteries in this country were founded for one of
>those reasons, none of which had anything to do with some cult belief.
>
>Gary Martens
>
>
>
>On 11 Jan 2009 at 10:47, Alejandro Müller wrote:
>
>
>
>>Same happens to me, some people got upset when they saw the photo I add to my blog, but I'm not feel the same about that.
>>The cult to the dead people is always present and special among all cultures, I found myself specially interested anytime I see a graveyard, I love to spend hours looking at the pics, the names and all that stuff in a graveyard...
>>Somedoby told me that for the Volga germans, the graveyard, and their deads are part of their own, part of the "Heimat" who every Volga German takes inside of his own...maybe that's an explanation of why I love to go to every graveyard to spend hours looking...specially the luthean ones.
>>You see, when the Volga Germans founded their villages, at least here in Argentina, the first two things they did where to measure the land for the future church, and the future graveyard...then comes the school, but mostly the religion and the cult of their own dead people was their base.
>>Maybe the felt guided and supported knowing their own wise old people from whom they learned almost all, were resting nearby them...I don't know...it's a psicologichal thing of the Volga germans I think...what do you think about this fact???
>>
>>
>>Alejandro Müller from Entre Rios, Argentina.
>>http://muellerausweizenfeld.blogspot.com
>>
>>--- El dom 11-ene-09, <> escribió:
>>
>>
>>
>>>De: <>
>>>Asunto: Re: [GV] Death: Displaying corpse in open coffin
>>>Para: , ,
>>>Fecha: domingo, 11 de enero de 2009, 4:09 pm
>>>Hello all,
>>>I have a photo of my grandfather (1946) lying in an open
>>>casket at the
>>>funeral home in Great Bend, KS. Several of his children
>>>were "upset' about the
>>>photo when they received their copy. They were Lutheran.
>>>Laurin Wilhelm, San Antonio, TX
>>>**************A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See
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>>>cemailfooterNO62)
>>>
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>> Yahoo! Cocina
>>Recetas prácticas y comida saludable
>>http://ar.mujer.yahoo.com/cocina/
>>
>>
>>
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