Krajputaši

The tombs, called Krajputaši , on the country roads in Serbia are characterized by their unique chiseled and painted motifs and epitaphs.

description

Krajputasi usually stand on empty grave sites. The Serbian people believed almost up to our day that it was terrible to die somewhere far away, far from family and home, where one cannot be buried by one's own people and they cannot light candles. Therefore, if someone died or fell far from home, on the road, at work or in the war , his suit was buried on the highway with all solemnity, as if it were the deceased himself, and - most importantly - a memorial was erected for him . In many villages in Serbia there are monuments like this on the roadside as a visible sign that someone is different here in the distance. Especially in western Serbia there are many of them on the streets, individually or in groups, in one or more more or less precisely maintained rows. Some older, almost weathered groups of tombs appear like classical necropolises .

Historical background and evaluation

Placing a stone on the grave of a deceased is now considered a sign of attention and piety towards the dead. In the past, however, this custom had a different meaning. It was believed that the soul of the dead, even the soul of a living person, could be tied up and hidden in wood or stone , and so trees were planted on the grave or stone monuments erected. Krajputaši are therefore also the seat of the dead man's soul or at least the place where it settles in the form of a bird or in another form.

The appearance of the stone tombs on Serbian highways is explained not only with ethnological peculiarities, but also with cultural-historical moments. The majority of the Serbian population comes from Herzegovina , from where they brought the custom of building monumental monuments, so-called Stećci , with them. The similarity in the visual design between Krajputaši and Stećci is obvious. The basic shape of the Krajputasi is the stele , a tall, cuboid, upright stone, on one side of which the colored figure of the deceased can be seen in natural size, flat or deeply carved, while the other side is often very witty, even has sneering text. The Stećci from Herzegovina and Eastern Bosnia are also columnar - steles on which a human figure in natural size is often carved with a corresponding text. According to recent research, it is believed that the Illyrians and Thracians had a strong influence on the properties of these stone monuments. In addition, the historical events in Serbia during the 19th century, the struggle for liberation from Turkish rule, deepened and strengthened the original, often hidden popular belief in the existence of the soul.

Form of representation, symbolism

The Krajputasi show the dead body in full or in part. The often very realistic representations are so precisely worked that you can even see details of the clothing in them. In addition, there are interesting symbolic figures, geometric, plant and animal motifs, as well as table and chairs for the feast of the dead, glasses and candlesticks, agricultural implements ( ax , plow ), weapons ( pistol , rifle ), weaving devices (distaffs, shuttle boats, bobbins, needles ), Musical instruments ( flute , harmonica ) and objects of daily use ( basket , umbrella, sewing machine , stick , inkwell, books, mirror , comb , bag , tobacco box, scissors, etc.). The representations show the characteristics and social position of the deceased during his lifetime: trader , mayor , soldier , schoolboy , unmarried girl, married woman , Heiducke .

The majority of the figures and portraits on the Krajputasi are real representations of the dead, which is surprising, as they were all not modeled on a model, but based on memory. The artists probably knew the deceased. Of course, if the tombs were erected long after death, the physical similarities were less. The best evidence that the stonemasons actually tried to depict the appearance as faithfully as possible is provided by the figures of two brothers, soldiers, on separate tombs, which show the characteristics of the two people individually.

Numerous Krajputaši show characters with mocking, sneering smiles and no less mischievous texts:

“Here I am, and you are looking at me!
I wish you were lying and I would look at you! "

literature

• Tamara Ognjević (2012): Kamena sela srpskih duša - nadgrobnici i krajputaši , from the book "Blago Srbije", Mladinska knjiga, Beograd. (Serbian)

Web links

• Крајпуташи , website "Srpsko blago" ("Serbian goods ") (Serbian)