There are interesting, quirky things that people do for years without any recognition or notice from the outside world. Then one day, somebody “discovers” their work and the outside world becomes aware and curious. That’s the story of the Merry Cemetery, located in Săpânţa, a small village on the northern edge of the Romania.
Stan the Man
Starting in the 1930’s, Stan Ioan Pătraş carved and painted festive wooden grave markers with depictions of how the deceased lived, and often how they died, accompanied by clever, somewhat dark limericks. Hundreds of these bright blue grave markers surround the local church. In 1970, a French journalist let the outside world know about Ioan and his unique contribution to the business of headstones.
Stan passed away in 1977, leaving his house and work to his apprentice, Dumitru Pop, who continues the work to this day. On the day of our visit, Dumitru was talking to tourists and carving a new marker with a modified screwdriver and makeshift metal mallet.
The Merry Cemetery is a regular stop on the tour bus circuit and there are dozens of thriving businesses set up on the street selling goods to the stream of visiting tourists.
Susie went around to essentially every marker and took photos of the most unique carvings depicting the life of the deceased, so here they are in two collages. Click on each collage to enlarge the photo to see the detail, and in many carvings, to see how the person died.
Perhaps the most famous marker shows a woman wagging her finger at an unhappy man. The inscription roughly translates as:
“Underneath this heavy cross
Lies my mother in law poor
Had she lived three days more
I’d be here and she would read
You that are passing by
Try not to wake her up
For if she comes back home
She’ll bite my head off
But I’ll act in the way
That she will not return
Stay here my dear
Mother-in-law.”
And here we are reenacting this scene at that grave marker:
Next up, Wooden Churches and Painted Monasteries of Northern Romania!
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