World
Dead Space 
Cemeteries: Vietnam
Cemeteries in
northern Vietnam are very distinctive.
Historically, family members were buried in the fields where the
family grew crops. Today, bodies must be placed in concentrated cemeteries.
Bodies are first buried in the ground; after three years,
the bones are dug up and reburied. These "villages of the dead" are found
among rice paddies and fields. Tombstones are made of poured concrete and covered with colorful glazed tiles as families have the money to do so. Very poor families have only dirt mounds, as shown by the yellow circle in the above photo. From the many military engagements in Vietnam's history, military cemeteries are a common feature of the rural landscape.
Tho
Ha village, north of Hanoi, historically specialized in ceramic coffins for
the bones of the dead. The villagers used rejects to build walls, as seen in
this photo. In north Vietnam, dead people are first buried in wooden coffins
and buried in the ground for about 3 years. Then the remaining bones are dug
up and cleaned by specialists, not family members, and placed in small
ceramic coffins and buried in a different location from the originally
burial site.