Saga - 2020, Page 96

sjálfsábúð en einnig tækni-, félags- og menningarlegri sókn bænda.
Virðist raunar mega sýna fram á að sveiflur í fjölgun heimagrafreita
haldist í hendur við breytilegt gengi á þessu sviði. Önnur skýring
felst í því að lengst af tímabilsins 1880–1960 gætti kirkjulegrar deyfð -
ar víða um land sem kom fram í upplausn ýmissa kirkjulegra siða
svo sem þverrandi þátttöku í altarisgöngum. Við þær aðstæður er
skiljanlegt að hinn gamalgróni útfararsiður hafi einnig staðið höll -
um fæti og því látið að nokkru undan þeirri nýjung sem í heima-
greftri fólst. Þótt tekið hafi verið fyrir stofnun nýrra heimagrafreita
árið 1963 hefur verið grafið í eldri reitum allt fram á síðustu ár.
Heimagraftarsiðurinn er því enn við lýði.
Abstract
hjalti hugason
THE BATTLE OVER BURIALS: DISPUTES ABOUT HOME BURIAL PLOTS
IN NINETEENTH AND TWENTIETH CENTURy ICELAND
The article discusses changes in burial practices among Icelandic farmers between
around 1880 until after 1960. When Iceland became a Christian nation, the inter-
national Christian practice of burials taking place in communal parish church -
yards was implemented. Aside from rare emergencies, the only exceptions to this
rule were people who were buried on unhallowed ground because they had
passed away while in a dispute with the church or had been executed for severe
crimes.
In 1878, the District Officer of Borgarfjörður filed for permission to establish
a home burial plot on his own land. The application was considered odd but
ecclesiastical and legislative authorities saw no reason to intercede and the
Ministry of Icelandic Affairs in Copenhagen granted permission for the burial
plot. After this, the ministry, and later the Office of the Minister of ecclesiastic
affaires, granted many more such permissions on the basis of a special authorisa-
tion provision. In 1932, the minister’s authority to issue such permissions was
legally sanctioned, after which home burials increased exponentially until said
authority was repealed in 1963, at which point there were more home burial plots
in Iceland than in Norway, for example, despite much lower population numbers.
It is therefore evident that this was a widespread and popular practice in Iceland,
more so than in other countries.
Initially, people were so determined to establish home burial plots that they
conducted burial rites for deceased relatives without official permits and some-
times even without involving a priest. Along with the sheer number of home bur-
ial plots, this shows just how passionate many farmers were about their right to
hjalti hugason94