New Orleans is a city steeped in traditions as rich and flavorful as its gumbo. Perhaps none are as visibly unique, though, as its approach to eternal rest. Far from somber, uniform graveyards, cemeteries in New Orleans are veritable “Cities of the Dead,” with ornate, above-ground tombs that tell centuries of stories. The distinct practice of communal burial, one in which families and societies share final resting places, is a particular cornerstone of the city’s culture.
St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 is no exception to this trend, which means that exploring it reveals both a practical response to geography and a rich tapestry of cultural expressions. From challenging burial conditions to gorgeous architectural styles, the development of communal burial is a story of adaptation and resilience. These 4 interesting things to know about New Orleans communal burials tell a unique narrative of the Big Easy that is all their own.
Not Everybody Got To Be Buried In A Communal Tomb
It wasn’t a simple matter of preference for many New Orleanians when it came to being interred in a communal tomb. These unique burial structures actually came with a host of requirements and restrictions that limited access for certain members of the population. For example, some of the most prominent tombs required membership into the benevolent societies that owned them, a status that was itself dependent on other characteristics or achievements.
Attaining membership in these societies was not necessarily straightforward. For some, candidates needed to prove themselves of “good moral character” during their lives. Others set age restrictions that could impact whether individuals were buried in a communal tomb at the time of their passing. Some society designations were even based on health, occupation (like The Musicians Tomb), ethnic affiliation, or race. For certain racial minorities, the formation of separate societies allowed historically underrepresented groups like African Americans to pool funds for plot purchase in spaces typically dominated by white populations.
Many Communal Tombs Were Built Above-Ground
In general, burial practices in New Orleans have needed to account for the region’s high water table. Since ground becomes saturated just a few feet below the surface, underground graves were largely impractical due to flooding fears. Due to rather nasty experiences that included floating caskets and concerns about sanitation, the city’s public and private sectors opted for above-ground tombs that largely mitigated the risk posed by these swampy conditions.
Communal burial practices followed the same trends as individual interments. Benevolent societies constructed and maintained large, multi-vault tombs located above ground for their members. St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, in particular, contains oven-like wall vaults that are built into the location’s perimeter and interior walls. The New Orleans tradition of waiting “a year and a day” to reopen tombs after burying somebody was testament to the practice of tomb reuse, one which necessitated the movement of bones to lower compartments to make room for more recent deaths.
Communal Tombs Were More Cost Efficient
New Orleans communal tombs are a case book study in cost efficiency. With individual members likely unable to afford the cost of a burial, benevolent societies could pool group resources to collectively purchase or construct substantial multi-vault tombs. Since society membership typically involved small, regular dues from each person, the cost of individual burials could essentially be paid in installments. This strategy, in turn, afforded people of lower socioeconomic status a degree of dignity and pomp when they died.
For families, purchasing a communal tomb meant making a single large investment that could, theoretically, span generations in perpetuity. One advantage to this practice was the legacy given to living family members who knew, essentially from birth, that they had a burial place waiting for them. The spiritual and emotional comfort that being buried with one’s ancestors provided was undoubtedly significant, particularly in periods of high child mortality and shorter overall life spans. Well-built tombs like that for the Barbarins also represented a lasting family asset, one that (usually) couldn’t be squandered away within one lifetime.
Communal Tombs Include Various Architectural Styles
At least as far as St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 is concerned, simple brick box family tombs represent the location’s earliest communal burial structures. The common practice of whitewashing stuccoed brick tombs is one factor that gave cemeteries their reputations as cities for the dead. Many communal society and family tombs featured vaults stacked two to three high vertically, which was a strategy for maximizing burial space on a small geographic footprint.
During the 1800s, one of the most popular architectural styles for tombs was Greek Revival, which resulted in structures composed of Doric or Ionic columns, entablatures, and pronounced pediments. Decorative elements like antefixae (ornaments concealing where roof tiles ended) and palmettes (fan-shaped palm motifs) bestowed a sense of beauty to the macabre atmosphere of the cemetery. Over time, different types of mortar, facades, and embellishment adorned communal tombs. What stayed the same, however, was the longstanding respect and veneration given to these final resting places.
The Legacy of St. Louis Cemetery No. 1
Ultimately, New Orleans’ communal burial traditions, so vividly preserved in St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, reflects the soul of the city itself. This characteristic, in turn, demonstrates a collective approach to life, death, and remembrance that continues to fascinate people from all over the world.
To see some of these incredible communal tombs for yourself, plan a visit to St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 and take an official guided tour!
