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May 27, 2005
Glapion Tomb in the news...
Wow, it's interesting that I got a very obnoxious e-mail from someone purporting to be a tour guide earlier this week, saying that I was reckless in my description of the practice of marking the Glapion tomb in St. Louis Cemetery Number One. The tomb is reputed to be the burial place of Marie Laveau, the most notable "voodoo queen" in the city's history.
The front page of Da Paper today has an article about the tomb. In my section on St. Louis #1 on CitiesOfTheDead (dot net), I talk about the tradition of marking the tomb with an 'X' to curry favor with the spirit of Laveau. While I don't see my description of the practice as encouraging the desecration of the tomb, I now see a need for a re-write. If tourists are using pens and permanent markers on the tomb, this is a bad thing. Usually the marks were left with piece of red brick. The dust from the brick is like chalk and disappears in a short amount of time.
I'm also in agreement with Dr. Martha Ward from UNO:
The "word on the street" is that only Elvis Presley draws more visitors to his grave, said Martha Ward, University of New Orleans research professor and author of "Voodoo Queen: The Spirited Lives of Marie Laveau."
Ward sees no end to the tradition of marking Laveau's grave with X's.
"Marking on the tomb is not a good thing to do, and I don't do it or encourage people to do it -- but it's not going to stop," she said. "This is a spiritual impulse that people have, a very human thing to do."
The marks are a way of "paying homage" to the woman who "rules the imagination of this city," Ward said. Those who make the marks "want spiritual contact."
Rather than punish people for continuing the practice "we need to make it OK," she said.
Ward suggested encouraging the custom of using the dust from red brick to make the marks, or selling tokens that people can leave at the site.
I particularly like the idea of selling tokens to leave near the tomb. It's an excellent way to pay for the whitewash needed to keep the tomb pristine.
Posted by YatPundit at May 27, 2005 12:02 PM