A Matter of Grave Concern: Burial Sites and Funeral Rites in the Nineteenth-Century Philippines

Abstract

This article seeks to describe the colonial cemetery in the Philippines at the turn of the eighteenth and the nineteenth century in four material dimensions: location, spatial planning, ethnic and social differentiation, and economical importance for the parish. From 1804 onward, colonial attempts to regulate burial practices centered on the spatial relocation of the deceased. Closely correlated with the cholera outbreaks in the Philippines, the growing pressure exerted by colonial authorities on burial practices gave rise to a complex mix of political, social, and ethnic tensions that both reflected the enormous complexity of colonial society and contributed to recompose it.

KEYWORDS: CATHOLIC CEMETERIES • NON-CATHOLIC CEMETERIES •BURIAL REGULATIONS • NINETEENTH-CENTURY PHILIPPINES • SPANISH COLONIALISM