Gravestone Inscriptions in Qom and Najaf: A Comparative, Sociolinguistic Study

Document Type : مقالات علمی پژوهشی

Authors
H. Taktabar Firoozjaii
M. Moqadasi Nia
R. Al-Darraji
University of Qom
Abstract
The present study concerns a comparative sociolinguistic study of similarities and differences between gravestone inscriptions in the two holy cities of Qom in Iran, and Najaf in Iraq. This descriptive-analytical study has been conducted based on studying 1,000 gravestone inscriptions of the commoners, half of which belong to Najaf, and the rest to Qom. The research findings indicate that the Najaf inscriptions render merely a brief report, replete with Islamic religious advice, all devoid of any hint regarding the deceased persons’ social status. In this regard, the Najaf inscriptions make just a reminiscent of former classic and heritage-based Islamic evidence. In contrast, those of Qom imply the grief and bereavement of the dependants of the deceased, all indicative of their profound sorrow for their loved ones. Here, the religious traces are fainted by far compared with those of the former category, although not entirely without any such hint.

Keywords

Subjects

13.Alina Felea (2013). EPITAPH IN ROMANIAN, RUSSIAN, POLISH AND LITHUANIAN HISTORIOGRAPHY. Codrul Cosminului. XIX, No. 1, p. 7- 24.
14. Anderson, K.A., Sielski, C. L., Miles, E. A., & Dunfee, A. V. (2011). Gardens of stone: searching for evidence of secularization and acceptance of death in grave inscriptions from 1900-2009. OMEGA: Journal of death and Dying, 63 (4), 359-371.
15. Bada, E., & Ulum, Ö. G. (2016). My culture is engraved on my tombstone. Journal of Human Sciences, 13(3), 5407-5422.
16.Crespo Fernández, E. (2011). Euphemistic conceptual metaphors in epitaphs from Highgate Cemetery. Review of Cognitive Linguistics, 9(1), 198-225.
17.Diem, W., & Schöller, M. (2004). The Living and the Dead in Islam: Studies in Arabic Epitaphs. (Vol. 2). Wiesbaden-Erbenheim: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag.
18. Halevi, L. (2011). Muhammad's Grave: death rites and the making of Islamic society. Columbia University Press.
19. HERAT, M. (2014). The final goodbye: The linguistic features of gravestone epitaphs from the nineteenth century to the present. International Journal of Language Studies, 8(4).
20.Kay, D. L., & Gitlitz David, M. (2002). Pilgrimage: from the Ganges to Graceland: an encyclopedia.
21. Paternost, J. (1987). Metaphors of Mediation in Slovene Epitaphs. Slovene Studies Journal, 9(1), 181-187.
22.Woodhead, A. G. (1959). The study of Greek inscriptions (Vol. 424). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
23. Alina Felea (2013). EPITAPH IN ROMANIAN, RUSSIAN, POLISH AND LITHUANIAN HISTORIOGRAPHY. Codrul Cosminului. XIX, No. 1, p. 7- 24.
24.Anderson, K.A., Sielski, C. L., Miles, E. A., & Dunfee, A. V. (2011). Gardens of stone: searching for evidence of secularization and acceptance of death in grave inscriptions from 1900-2009. OMEGA: Journal of death and Dying, 63 (4), 359-371.
25.Bada, E., & Ulum, Ö. G. (2016). My culture is engraved on my tombstone. Journal of Human Sciences, 13(3), 5407-5422.
26.Crespo Fernández, E. (2011). Euphemistic conceptual metaphors in epitaphs from Highgate Cemetery. Review of Cognitive Linguistics, 9(1), 198-225.
27.Diem, W., & Schöller, M. (2004). The Living and the Dead in Islam: Studies in Arabic Epitaphs. (Vol. 2). Wiesbaden-Erbenheim: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag.
28.Halevi, L. (2011). Muhammad's Grave: death rites and the making of Islamic society. Columbia University Press.
29.HERAT, M. (2014). The final goodbye: The linguistic features of gravestone epitaphs from the nineteenth century to the present. International Journal of Language Studies, 8(4).
30.Kay, D. L., & Gitlitz David, M. (2002). Pilgrimage: from the Ganges to Graceland: an encyclopedia.
31.Paternost, J. (1987). Metaphors of Mediation in Slovene Epitaphs. Slovene Studies Journal, 9(1), 181-187
32. Woodhead, A. G. (1959). The study of Greek inscriptions (Vol. 424). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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17.Diem, W., & Schöller, M. (2004). The Living and the Dead in Islam: Studies in Arabic Epitaphs. (Vol. 2). Wiesbaden-Erbenheim: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag.
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20.Kay, D. L., & Gitlitz David, M. (2002). Pilgrimage: from the Ganges to Graceland: an encyclopedia.
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26.Crespo Fernández, E. (2011). Euphemistic conceptual metaphors in epitaphs from Highgate Cemetery. Review of Cognitive Linguistics, 9(1), 198-225.
27.Diem, W., & Schöller, M. (2004). The Living and the Dead in Islam: Studies in Arabic Epitaphs. (Vol. 2). Wiesbaden-Erbenheim: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag.
28.Halevi, L. (2011). Muhammad's Grave: death rites and the making of Islamic society. Columbia University Press.
29.HERAT, M. (2014). The final goodbye: The linguistic features of gravestone epitaphs from the nineteenth century to the present. International Journal of Language Studies, 8(4).
30.Kay, D. L., & Gitlitz David, M. (2002). Pilgrimage: from the Ganges to Graceland: an encyclopedia.
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32. Woodhead, A. G. (1959). The study of Greek inscriptions (Vol. 424). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
The Journal of Research in Humanities
Volume 24, Issue 2
August 2018
Pages 27-46