New Orleans photos, group three: Lafayette Cemetery, part one

[valis2]

I'm thrilled with many of these photos; some of them are the best cemetery pics I've ever taken.

Nine images under the cut.

Some of the magnolia trees were still in bloom.



The light was magical. This picture turned out so beautifully; I love the shady main boulevard of the cemetery, it's just lovely.



Some of the tombs were unusual. I love the look of this one.



The method of burial in New Orleans is rather interesting. Basically, they inter a body for a minimum of a year and a day in one of the upper chambers of a tomb, and then when a new body is ready, they remove the coffin (a simple pine box) and take the bones, seal them in a vinyl bag (they've started doing this because of DNA), and push the bag to the back of the tomb, where a slot opens up into a vault underneath. Each tomb can hold about thirty-fifty bodies. Leaving the body in the upper chambers acts as a flenser, basically.

Here is what an empty tomb looks like.



This is a marvelous tomb. Simply gorgeous.



Ah, the Lockhart family tomb. *grin*



Tombs with gates.



The wall, which is basically a rent-a-tomb program. Bodies simply get shoved to the back of the tomb when a new body is ready to go in, until they just can't shove anything else back there.

Comments

[todayiamadaisy]

Oh, lovely photos! I mean all of them, not just the ones in this entry.

I hope you stopped to sniff those magnolias - they're gorgeous! I've got a 50-year-old magnolia grandiflora like that in my garden, and it more or less flowers all year round. More so in the warmer months, but even now in winter it can manage a few blooms.

[catsintheattic.livejournal.com]

That wall of tombs is fascinating. As is the information about how these tombs function.

There is one word I don't know, and didn't find many explanations for it on the net. What exactly is a "flenser"?

[marginaliana]

Great photos! I especially loved the Lockhart family tomb, although it's not as sparkly as I'd imagined. :D Also, the rent a tombs are kind of creepy...

[valis2.livejournal.com]

They were so lovely and fragrant, even though it was a little past their season. So beautiful! There were very few flowers, but those that were still blooming were amazing.

I'm so glad you like the photos!

[valis2.livejournal.com]

Glad you enjoyed! I know many people find it morbid, but it really is part of life.

Flensing is removing the flesh from bones. It can be done with heat, with insects, or with animals, I believe.

[valis2.livejournal.com]

bwahaha! Yes, I'd imagine that Lockhart would be rather miffed if he ever saw it.

The rent-a-tombs function that way, as do the society tombs. There are special tombs for the fire department, for example, and the orphaned boys tomb is the same thing.

[catsintheattic.livejournal.com]

Death definitely is a part of life. It's only in our Western cultures that we try to give it a place apart from the rest of society. It only gets mentioned when it serves a romantic or tragic plot line.

Thank you for the explanation! *plays with shiny new word*