another option is to bury the dead(vs a mausoleum)
bury:
1. To place in the ground: bury a bone. 2a. To place (a corpse) in a grave, a tomb, or the sea; inter. b. To dispose of (a corpse) ritualistically by means other than cremation. 3. To conceal by or as if by covering over with earth; hide: buried her face in the pillow; buried the secret deep within himself. See synonyms at
hide1. 4. To occupy (oneself) with deep concentration; absorb: buried myself in my studies. 5. To put an end to; abandon: buried their quarrel and shook hands.
Middle English burien, from Old English byrgan. See bhergh-1 in Appendix I.
http://www.bartleby.com/61/roots/IE58.html(from the american heritage dictionary)
the
hide idea is interesting.. it comes up in other words (used for the ways we deal with dead bodies)
its interesting that death (and dead bodies) has this aspect of hidden. (perhaps a bit of a taboo)
as i said, i went to a cemetery, (the first time i have gone to 'visit' one--i have been to several funeral services in cemetaries, but unlike TV and Movie services, these did not not have a grave side service.
the US military (several relatives who were US veterns have died in the family in recent years) conducts a very formal, slow, careful service. but its done in a small open air --not quite a chapel, but building.(gazebo isn't quite the right word, but the structure is more like a gazebo than anything else)
its covered and has half walls (one service was in dead of winter, and the angle of the roof let in warming sunshine, but the walls broke the wind) the other service (in mid summer) was cool-- the angle of the roof provided much needed shade.
the actual interment is done out of sight of the family, (the graves are precicely lined up.. (i have the name of the engineering tool (az???) used to line up up the graves and headstones is at the tip of my tongue (fingers!) but can't quite remember it.
military (well US military) cemeteries have a very distincitve look, as a result. (the uniformity of headstones is another reason)
OP
