Roadside Memorials—Some Australian Examples

Smith, Robert

doi:10.1080/0015587x.1999.9715990

Cited by 11 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Spiritual feelings are, however, involved, proving once more that there is no such thing as a completely desacralised society (Eliade, 1987). In a similar way to that evidenced in a number of western countries (the Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand), for bereaved people who establish and visit a memorial, the place assumes a sacred character whether or not they are church-affiliated (Clark & Franzmann, 2006;Hartig & Dunn, 1998;Klaassens, Groote, & Huigen, 2009;Reid & Reid, 2001;Smith, 1999). Religion plays a minor role in terms of the construction and maintenance of most Czech roadside memorials; indeed it is possible that this very lack of a religious tradition has contributed towards the creation of a new secular rite which includes a number of spiritual aspects.…”

Section: Memory and Czech Roadside Memorialsmentioning

confidence: 87%

Roadside memorials in the Czech Republic and Romania: memory versus religion in two European post-communist countries

Nešporová

Stahl

2013

Mortality

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This article provides a comparison of roadside memorials in two European post-communist countries, namely the Czech Republic and Romania. The number of memorials, dedicated to the victims of sudden death, often resulting from traffic accidents, has seen a significant increase in both countries over the last two decades. As the phenomenon appears to be assuming worldwide proportions, the authors have chosen to focus on a comparison of two societies which have widely different approaches towards death and religion. Whereas in the Czech Republic roadside memorials have more to do with the memory of the dead in the here and now, in Romania they are closely interlinked with religious practices and beliefs regarding the soul and the afterlife. Roadside memorials thus reflect the progressive secularisation of Czech society and a religious revival in Romania.

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Section: Memory and Czech Roadside Memorialsmentioning

confidence: 87%

Roadside memorials in the Czech Republic and Romania: memory versus religion in two European post-communist countries

Nešporová

Stahl

2013

Mortality

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“…Na vzdálenějších místech se pak spíše objeví pouze kříž s kyticí umělých květin. Paralely soukromých cest vykazujících prvky poutě pozůstalých ke vzdáleným posledním místům života blízkých, které byly pozorovány v Austrálii [Smith 1999], nebyly v českém prostředí zaznamenány. Pokud existují, jsou nepochybně výjimečné již proto, že zdejší vztah k cestování i charakter silnic a dálnic je odlišný.…”

Section: Připomínané Osoby a Tvůrci Pomníčkůunclassified

“…Jako vysvětlení se nabízí jiný, méně otevřený, způsob komunikace, dále sekulárnější charakter české společnosti i menší jistota ve víře v určitou koncepci posmrtné existence (například křesťanskou představu nebe), která s tím souvisí. Většinově používaná symbolika kříže nemusí sloužit jako čistě křesťanský sym- 20 Posvátný charakter pomníčků u silnic zmiňovali i další autoři zkoumající tento fenomén v Austrálii [Hartig, Dunn 1998;Smith 1999]. 21 Stejnou funkci plní i hroby na hřbitovech.…”

Section: A) Tvůrcové a Udržovateléunclassified

“…Tito autoři zároveň ve své studii vyjádřili přání, aby namísto glorifi kace smrti obětí dopravních nehod prostřednictvím pomníčků byla tato místa vnímána spíše jako kritická upozornění na problematickou formu agresivní maskulinity a na neschopnost společnosti zabránit smrti mladých lidí, většinou mužů. Relevance této genderové interpretace však byla jinými australskými autory zpochybněna [Clark, Cheshire 2004: 209-210;Smith 1999] a ani pro české prostředí se nezdá být tento výklad vhodný. Může se týkat pouze zcela specifi ckých případů, ve kterých je tragická smrt heroizována, například v komunitě motorkářů.…”

Section: B) Multiplicita Významůunclassified

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Veřejná připomínka smrti - pomníčky u silnic obětem dopravních nehod [The Public Remembrance of Death - Roadside Memorials]

Nešporová¹

2008

Czech Sociological Review

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Roadside memorials can be seen more and more often along Czech roads. This way of coping with the death of friend or family member in a road accident spread markedly during the 1990s -twenty years after the number of road traffi c fatalities reached its peak. Roadside memorials in the Czech Republic are not offi cially regulated by either local or traffi c authorities, but they are usually illegal, because they tend to be erected on state or private property without permission. Traffi c authorities unoffi cially tolerate such memorials as long as they do not obstruct traffi c or essential road maintenance. The memorials are usually built as permanent structures intended to remind travellers of both the accident and the deceased, the majority of whom are young men. One hundred such memorials were examined in this research and almost all of them had fl owers and candles and more than two-thirds featured the symbol of the cross. Such memorials are constructed and visited by the bereaved -parents and other relatives (spouse, siblings) or friends. The memorial holds a special meaning for those who built it; it represents an intimate bond with both the life and death of the victim. Drivers generally perceive such memorials as reminders that they are passing through a potentially dangerous location and that they should drive more carefully. Most drivers seem to understand the reaction of the bereaved and tolerate roadside memorials, even though this stark reminder of the violent death of a road accident victim may make them feel uncomfortable. Public memorials provide a relatively new, personalised form of expressing grief that extends private mourning into the public domain.

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“…Clark and M. Franzmann Reid & Reid, 2001;Santino, 2001;Smith, 1999;Zimmerman, 1995). At the same time, there have been some attempts to go beyond what may be called an initial response to the phenomenon to examine key features or issues in order to move closer to a better understanding of the meaning and purpose of the phenomenon (Clark & Franzmann, 2002).…”

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confidence: 94%

Authority from Grief, Presence and Place in the Making of Roadside Memorials

Clark

Franzmann

2006

Death Studies

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Those who make memorials for the victims of motor vehicle crashes assume an authority to do so that stems from three main elements of experience: the overwhelming empowerment of grief; the belief that the presence of the deceased can be felt and recognized; and the understanding that the place where life was lost is a special place for memorialization. The strength of grief, the power of presence and the importance of place allows ordinary people to assume and, therefore, challenge the authority of the church and the government as official purveyors and regulators of mourning ritual.

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Roadside Memorials—Some Australian Examples

Cited by 11 publications

References 4 publications

Roadside memorials in the Czech Republic and Romania: memory versus religion in two European post-communist countries

Roadside memorials in the Czech Republic and Romania: memory versus religion in two European post-communist countries

Veřejná připomínka smrti - pomníčky u silnic obětem dopravních nehod [The Public Remembrance of Death - Roadside Memorials]

Authority from Grief, Presence and Place in the Making of Roadside Memorials

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