the Siren's song

Siren Song  n. An enticing plea or appeal, especially one that is deceptively alluring.

The Cemetery and Mythology... not a combination one sees very frequently. That's why I was pretty excited to find the image above.

This is the stone was dated 1849 and belonged to a 53 yr old man. The cemetery is on the Coast of Maine and holds countless ship captains. There are images of anchors and boats of all kinds on various stones here. Stories of bravery and tragedy.


Could this be a grieving wife.... yes. It may even be the classic image of the Virtue - Faith.

But, this imagery makes me think it could be even more than that. The parted curtain symbolizes the entry into Heaven. The anchor, a strong symbol of a life on the Sea as well as that of Christian faith. The finger pointed upwards, yet another sign of the final reward.

Then there is the woman herself. The first thing that struck me was her long Lady Godiva style hair. A long flowing dress with what looks like bare arms.

This would have been irresistible imagery in the mid 19'th century. Is she not a wife but a temptress maybe?



So what exactly is a Siren?





Sirens were dangerous creatures who lured mariners with their beautiful music and enchanting voices to an untimely death.

They were considered the daughters of the river god Achelous. There were said to be between 2 and 5 of them existing off the islands of Greece. There are two Sirens referred to in Homer's tale the Odyssey. As well as more references in the Iliad.

Though these creatures are tied to the Sea, they are not sea maidens and are not to be confused with mermaids. In fact they are not fish-like at all.

The earliest Greek images portraying Sirens showed them as large birds with female faces. They sang like birds and were granted wings by Demeter.





This pottery portrays an interesting legend. 

It is said that Odysseus was curious as to what the Sirens sung in their song to him, so, on Circe's advice, he had all his sailors plug their ears with beeswax and tie him to the mast. He ordered his men to leave him tied tightly to the mast, no matter how much he would beg. When he heard their beautiful song, he ordered the sailors to untie him but they bound him tighter. When they had passed out of earshot, only then was Odysseus untied.

The depictions of Sirens have changed over time as they became less bird like and portrayed more as femmes fatales.

There have even been references to them as the muses of the underworld.

Descriptions are also found of them on the islands, "lolling there in their meadow, round them heaps of corpses rotting away, rags of skin shriveling on their bones."  Not your average maiden.


With all of the death in the 19'th century by men making their fortunes from the Sea, it is no wonder the legend of the Siren may still be found in the cemetery. Though it's origins are Greek, the Siren appears any place in the world where people feared for their lives and the unknown.  Even in a small cemetery off the coast of Maine.

the Obelisk

The obelisk is one of the most classic shapes in the cemetery. But did you ever wonder what inspired it's design?

Say obelisk and no doubt the Washington Monument in our Nation's capital comes to your mind. It's one of the most famous obelisks in the world. But this shape is also found everywhere in 19'th century cemeteries. Shapes are important in cemetery art... design always has meaning.

The answer can be found in Egypt.


The Egyptians were absolute masters in forming monuments and statues that would stand the test of time. Monuments dedicated to Pharaoh were commonly portrayed as sitting. All arms and legs were carved compactly situated to the bodies. Over the ages, there were no long outreaching arms to break off unlike many Greek statues. The compact Egyptian design held up beautifully over time. They truly mastered shapes that were meant to hold up.

A main deity in the Egyptian religious beliefs, was the sun god Ra. Life was seen to come from Ra but death was also connected. The dead were buried on the west side of the Nile where the sun was seen as dying each day. On the flip side, the living stayed strictly on the east side of the Nile... here the sun was daily reborn.

The obelisk shape is said to symbolize a ray of light, associated with Ra.  Also known as a light pillar or solar pillar. It's four cornered base is solid and thicker than it's top, allowing it to withstand more than a simple pillar. A light pillar is a visual phenomenon created by the reflection of light from ice crystals with near horizontal parallel planar surfaces. The light can come from the Sun (usually at or low to the horizon) in which case the phenomenon is called a sun pillar. It can also come from the Moon or other sources such as streetlights.

 
Did you know that the obsession that fueled the obelisk movement in America had a name?

The term "Egyptomania" was coined in part due to ... Napoleon?

Yes, we have Napoleon to thank for introducing America to the "All-Things-Egyptian Craze".  Napoleon's Egyptian Campaign from 1798-1801 introduced the world to Egypt and it's culture. In the early 1800's books were being published on Egypt and the fever began to spread rapidly. There wasn't a single piece of American culture that wasn't suddenly influenced by this new trend. This was seen especially in the cemetery.

After some time the obelisk also began to take on some variations. As we see in this photo to the side, they didn't always have a simple pyramid top. Some were topped with urns.

The urns are also of Egyptian origin - (the canopic jar)

Some had small angular roof peaks. We call these vaulted obelisks.

While others had crosses attached to the tops.

Even traditionally shaped stones, like this slate, added the obelisk image .




















This truly massive obelisk towers at more than 30 feet high. A grand representation to a family's wealth and social status.

Some obelisks incorporated other traditional icons such as the classic willow or maybe a dove indicating a lost child. Multiple layers of meaning...




Hope you enjoyed this post and explanation.

Fraternal Orders

Benjamin Franklin once said, "Show me your cemeteries and I will tell you what kind of people you have."  

What a seriously profound quote.

 

This is where being a taphophile delves into, cultural anthropology.
For unknown reasons, we all seem to thrive on dark cloaks, secret phrases and mysterious rituals - we are drawn to the mystique of fraternal orders. No matter the year, and there are certain truths that will persist when it comes to people. The things that drive us as a group...

First: We all want to be remembered. To be celebrated for the impact we had on those around us. Why else would we spend so much precious resource - time and money - building memorials to those who have passed on?

Second: We have a desire to belong. We are pack animals at heart. At one time we may have lived in groups for sheer safety and shared resources. But, as time marched on and we became more successful, that pack mentality continued to persist. Though, some may say, it developed into more of a social need and less of a survival need.


One solution to this need was the fraternal order. A fraternal order is typically defined as a group "whose members are usually bound by oath and who make extensive use of secret ritual in the conduct of their meetings." Sometimes they include secret handshakes and special benefits.

For instance, the picture at the top of this post  had an LOL at the top.  In today's world of abbreviations, any 16 year old would tell you that meant  "Laughing Out Loud". The truth is, it's attributed to a society call the Loyal Orange Lodge. The link here will give you more info on this obscure order.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_Order  This stone was found in Brewer, Maine.

I found the stone just above in Waldoboro, Maine. A triangle, star, and the words LOVE – PURITY – FIDELITY. This order was very interesting indeed. It is the symbol used for The Sons of Temperance.  They existed:

"To reform drunkards and to prevent others from becoming drunkards.”  

 A colonial Alcoholics Anonymous if you will.

The first few orders I mention are not that well known but what about the ones we all recognize? Like the Freemasons. This fraternal order is truly ancient. The first text referring to Masonic activity is dated to 1390, but the first lodge,  Lodge at Kilwinning was known to exist in Scotland in the late 16'th century.  Here in the United States the growth of fraternal orders exploded after the Revolutionary War until the Anti-Masonic Movement of the 1820-30's. Again societies proliferated during the Progressive Era with approximately 600 organizations existing and 5 million members.

 Another well known order is the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF)  This is recognized as three rings with  F-L-T (Friendship – Love – Truth) The first order in the U.S. was started in Baltimore in 1819. A point of interest is that, with all of their various activities, the Odd Fellows were known to have begun and maintained cemeteries in various states.

Also worthy of mention, is that often times people chose to belong to more than one order. Sometimes the desire to be a part of a group led people to join many different groups.  As is seen on the stone above. This person belonged to both the Masons and the Odd Fellows.

Most of these groups existed exclusively for men, but with time many auxiliary offshoots popped up for women.  The Odd Fellows for instance began the Daughters of Rebekah. These are some of the variations on markers that can be found on graves. Notice the three links with F-L-T on all three markers tying the group to Odd Fellows.

Women belonging to the Rebekah's today need to have no ties to the Odd Fellows ie. a husband belonging. Their credo is  “To live peaceably, do good unto all, as we have opportunity and especially to obey the Golden Rule, Whatsoever ye would that others should do unto you, do ye even so unto them.”

In the 19'th and 20'th centuries many fraternal orders began to share the stage with civic groups and military service affiliations. From Civil War ancestors to insurance sellers, police to government workers. Sometimes you may find dozens of these group within just a single cemetery. Here are a few examples.

#1  The Knights of Pythias was the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an act of the United States Congress.
#2 The Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen was founded on December 1, 1873 in Port Jervis, New York by Joshua A. Leach and 10 other Erie Railroad firemen.
#3 The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a  lineage-based membership organization for women who are descended from a person involved in United States' independence.

This organization is a group for members who's ancestors fought in the Civil War. The eagle marker on the left has Sons of UV in the center, standing for Sons of Union Veterans. There is a matching logo carved into the headstone. The marker on the right has an ASUV. This would indicate the Auxiliary of the group, therefore the ladies version.

This grave is a great example of a husband and his wife who both shared an interest in belonging to the same group. For some reason I really like this one. I would have liked to have met this couple, but thanks to their stone and markers, I feel like I at least understand more about them.

Pointing Finger & Hand Stones

"I am not afraid" - captions a finger pointing upwards.

I want to take a moment to explain one of the most interesting and confusing icons of the cemetery.

I have accumulated quite a collection of them over the years.

The hand is a life symbol. When a finger is pointed upwards it is a message of faith. The person believes that, though the body has failed, the soul now continues upwards to Heaven.  Additionally on the stone above, the finger is seen pointing toward a broken chain, yet another life symbol. A link has been broken so the chain (or life) now ends. A statement of faith is added in "I am not afraid." For those of faith are said to never truly die.

One question I am asked more than anything else seems to be...

"If a finger pointed upwards means the person will go to Heaven, then what does a finger pointed downwards mean?"

This question seems to really upset people. Like a Victorian equivalent to the Puritan Death Head in the scary department.

The answer is very simple.

This is the hand of God. 

Man is not supposed to portray God as an image, it is blasphemy to do so. All we know about God's appearance is that Adam was made in his likeness.

Since the Bible refers to the "hand of God" often,  it was then deemed appropriate to show just that much of God on stones, just a hand.

This stone above is from Scarborough, Maine and it's one of the nicest I have found to demonstrate this point. Notice the heavenly clouds and radiating light? The finger also points to the Bible, again - a symbol of the faithful. This is such an amazing set of images!

Sometimes the finger is seen pointing to additional icons. Like the finger at the top which pointed to the broken chain.

This finger to the left, points to a heavenly star image.

Take notice the sleeves on hand. The stone to the right has a fancy, full sleeve complete with lace. It belongs to someone's wife. 

Another variation on the hand is the shaking hand. Looking at the sleeves is important on these images.

Two masculine sleeves is a symbol of God grasping Man's hand and bringing him into Heaven.

If one sleeve is feminine and the other masculine, it is seen as a matrimonial symbol. Husband and wife, one welcoming the other into Heaven.

The final portrayal of the hand on a stone is that of hands clasped in prayer. Again, a symbol of a person's faith.


Hope you enjoyed this explanation of the pointing finger and hand icons.

Now, it's time to get out there and find a few of your own to share!

If you'd like to share your images, you can post them on the Taphophile Corner Group Page on facebook. 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/173533606049437/

or follow me on twitter: @Taph_Corner