Chapter 4. Research. Death Museum
Novosibirsk, Russia
I had a one day trip in Novosibirsk to visit Death Museum, but got impressions which can be expanded for a week. After The Merry Cemetery I went to Novosibirsk to see Death Museum and speak to its Director, Vlad Shalaev.
First I thought that this was just one building. It turned out that it was located in a beautiful park with a Crematorium, spaces for cremated and beautiful nature where you can find squirrels and .. a camel Pharaoh.
The Crematorium has a personalized funeral ceremonies for cremated with respectful farewell ceremony and celebration of life — telling stories about the deceased during the ceremony. The surrounded nature enhances the respect to every one. It is unique of its kind.
The Death Museum is also unique and the only one in Russia of this kind.
The Museum presents funeral and cultural artifacts from different countries. An excursion starts from the legend that after the death the deceased wants to come back home therefore they were taken out of home through a window or a specially made hole and the way to a cemetery was covered with flowers or firry branches not to let the deceased come back. Also people changed their look: wore clothes which never wore before. Then black clothes appeared for this purpose to hide themselves from the deceased.
During Queen Victoria’s time in the 19th century a tradition of wearing black clothes was enhanced due to her 40-years mourning for her husband Prince Albert till her death (that time the period of mourning lasted for 2 years). Queen was a trend setter that’s why the fashion that time was build around black color.
That time a recognition of death and mourning traditions were strong. Families had many children and due to some reasons children died at early ages. Post-mortem pictures and memorial artifacts with the deceased’s hair were very popular.
Nowadays death’s recognition is lower. Due to routine and busy life style people only by the end of their lives people start regret main things before dying: to have courage to live a live true to themselves, not work so hard, to express their feelings. This article shows the most popular regrets before dying. As Vlad says, Death Museum is the right place where you can raise this recognition in less stressful way — through art, interesting facts, history, culture and traditions, — and start appreciating your life. On the Museum’s booklet right words are written: “This Museum helps to make you free from heavy memories; for those who wants to live a long life. A Museum that helps to live the right life.” And actually it happens: people feeling scary and sceptic at the beginning of the excurcion rethink and change their opinion on death and life questions and feel the importance of this place.
Museum’s mission is “to form public attitude to ethic, social and ecological aspects of funeral services and death. The potential impact this project will be enormous as individuals, communities and countries will be able to see death as an integral part of our life” (quoted from Museum’s web-site). The current exposition contains:
- history of mortuary traditions and culture, history of public and large burial spaces;
- mortuary symbols;
- mythology and superstition, desacralization of death (misinterpretations and misunderstanding of death);
- death in paintings, literature and cinema art;
- attributes of funeral services from different countries;
- different coffins, catafalques, cars and even motorbikes for funeral ceremonies;
- collection od mourning dresses;
- some unusual art collections about death.
More than 20 different exhibitions were organized by the Museum since 2008. Also they organize different events for remembrance and thematic events like Night at the Museum, Halloween, Before I die I want___.
Museums of death:
I was also exited to meet Sergey Borisovich Yakushin, Director and Founder of a Crematorium and a Museum, Pavel Ivanovich Novikov, Deputy Director and psychologist, Roman Shamolin, Candidate of philosophical sciences, Elena Popova, fine art restorer. Great people with positive and inspiring energy!
Takeaways
- People’s general opinion before coming to the Museum that it is created to scary people. But after excursions people realize its positive mission: recognition of death through art, history, culture impacts on recognition of life.
- Graveyards’ will run out of space and new sustainable practices and multistory graveyards are emerging.
- Physical death is gradually dissolving by different approaches: cremation, resomation, freezing, turning body in a part of nature like tree, compost.
- Digital technologies are taking an important part in funeral industry at all stages including the burial process and funeral ceremonies (e.g. online facilities for those who physically can’t be present at the farewell ceremony).
- Memorial culture is very important, because it keeps a personal story alive.
- Digital has a big potential of keeping memories and will take the important place for remembrance and paying tributes, the question — how.
Novosibirsk itself is a beautiful historical and cultural city on Ob River with wide avenues, beautiful Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre, St.Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Akademgorodok, etc.
