Theft of human bones from Cuban gravesites spurs increase in cremations

Theft of human bones from Cuban gravesites spurs increase in cremations

Fear of tomb desecrations — generally for use in religious rituals — is
one of the main reasons many Cubans are now opting to cremate their
loved ones.
MARIO J. PENTÓN
mpenton@elnuevoherald.com

Ernesto doesn't like cemeteries, but on that day last year he arrived
early at Havana's famed Colon Cemetery to clean out his father's grave
and prepare it for the remains of his mother, who had just died.

He was shocked to find just an empty casket where his father's remains
had been placed five years before.

The gravestone had been shattered to pieces when an tomb raider broke
into the grave. The valuable Carrara marble, imported by his bourgeois
ancestors early in the 20th Century could not protect the family's remains.

Fear of tomb desecrations — generally for use in religious rituals — is
one of the reasons many Cubans in Havana province are increasingly
opting to cremate their loved ones.

Official records show that 6,131 of the 23,641 deaths reported in Havana
in 2015 led to cremations, compared to just 90 in 2006, the year in
which the first of three crematoriums went into operation at the
Cementerio Nuevo de Guanabacoa.

"We had to cremate my mother after seeing that mess," said Ernesto. "We
planned to cremate her and leave the ashes in the family pantheon, but
then a friend of a niece who knows about religious rituals warned us
that the process of stealing remains starts as soon as you give notice
that you're bringing them in, even ashes, and that's why we finally
decided to throw the ashes into the sea."

The theft of human bones for religious rituals has become a way to make
ends meet for employees at cemeteries, not just in Havana, but across
the island.

"People who work in government stores steal, like those who work in a
warehouse. Those of us who work in cemeteries have to eat, too," said a
state-employed gravedigger whose monthly salary totals about 350 pesos,
or $14.

Among the illegal cemetery schemes are the resale of tombs owned by
families that have left the country and the sale of tomb ornaments,
especially the coveted Carrera marble that has not been imported for
decades. Fences, crystal ornaments and even flower vases at grave sites
also often disappear.

The use of human remains in the Afro-Cuban religion Palo Monte is widely
known in Cuba. A priest in the religion, who spoke on condition of
anonymity, said the bones "are essential. Without human remains there is
no spiritual work.

"For the work, we generally use the head, the arms and the legs," the
priest explained. "You can have a full skeleton, but those three
elements are the ones used most often. The head to think, the hands to
work and the feet to move."

Experts say that although there are no precise statistics, the last 20
years has seen an increase in religious rituals, especially those linked
to Afro-Cuban beliefs, apparently fueled by the deterioration of living
conditions on the island.

"Right now a lot of women are coming to us to 'tie up' their husbands or
resolve a health issue," the priest said, explaining that 'tie up' means
keeping husbands from straying. "But we're also seeing a substantial
increase in the number of people who come to us because they want to
leave the country."

He explained that for people who want to leave the island, bones from
the hands and legs are used: "I can't say how they are used because
that's a secret, but for example if the person is going to be walking
across borders he will need bones from the feet," he added.

The priest said the Palo Monte religion is misunderstood.

"Most people believe we work with evil, and that's not so. You can
choose to work with evil or good," he said, adding that the use of human
bones in rituals "is not exclusive to us."

The price of the raw materials for the religious rituals also has been
increasing over the past decade.

"The price of the bones can vary. For example, a cranium can cost $80 to
$103. The rest of the bones cost less, but we have to keep in mind that
whoever does the work also has to eat," said the priest.

Se Vende, a popular Cuban movie from 2012 focuses on the issue of
stealing human bones from the dead: "If we have to sacrifice the dead to
feed the living, we'll do it," said one of the characters in the movie.

Ernesto, who asked that his last name not be used for fear of
retribution, never learned what happened to his father. A gravedigger
tried hard to persuade him that bones disappear with the passage of
time. Inquiries to Colon officials and even attempts to bribe them for
information on the whereabouts of the remains also were unsuccessful.

The basic price of $21.50 for cremations may seem inexpensive when
compared to other countries, but it must be accompanied with a hefty
bribe to speed up the process in a country where the average monthly
income is about $20.

"We had to pay $23 to put mother at the top of the incineration list.
When we went back for the ashes, we found them on a shelf, in a very
rustic vase that had no identification," said Ernesto.

When he asked the funeral service officials how they could be sure those
were his mother's ashes, Ernesto said the official responded: "It's the
only one we have, so there can't be any confusion."

Source: Theft of human bones from Cuban gravesites spurs increase in
cremations | In Cuba Today -
http://www.incubatoday.com/news/article80905522.html