On a boat to the other world

There is not a single record of the beginning. The origins of the more than a thousand uniquely boat-shaped headstones in the cemetery are still the subject of speculation and ethnographic research. There are no prototypes, no patterns. Does it invoke some ancient custom that has faded away everywhere, but only survived here? Some people think that they have ancient Hungarian elements in them. Others believe that thepattern on the headstones, the profile of the “boats”, is reminiscent of the “typical Hungarian moustache” motif still used in decorative art and carpenter patterns. For others, they resemble not to boats, but the profiles of elderly women in black shawls. One thing is for sure: when you see these two-metre-high black headstones lined up side by side, you can be sure you are in Szatmárcseke. It is the only place in the world where you can find something like this.

The graveyard is the Reformed cemetery of Szatmárcseke, where the relatives of the deceased still accompany their beloved on their last journey. There is an assumption that when the nearby Tisza River flooded, the dead could only be taken to the cemetery on the high ground of the village by boat, across the floodplain of the river. After the burial, the boat was originally placed on the grave as a marker headstone. Considering the common sense of the peasants in Szatmár, it is hard to imagine this: boats were great treasures; they were difficult to make, common to use. Practical items needed for subsistence and transport were highly valued and difficult to replace. Though, we are not sure as there is no written record of the cemetery's origins. All that is certain is that it has been in use since 1776 and is protected, so apart from a few stone tombs, only the characteristic boat-shape headstones remain still today. Since at least 1776, there has been a tradition of selecting and carving headstones in this village. The oak tree was marked, cut down and dried in their own gardens by the locals during their lifetime, to be carved for them by a local carpenter after their death. Today it is done by István Korpás, the carpenter who made his first headstone here in 1969. He lives on a small street in the cemetery, where he has made more than 600 headstones in 50 years.

Each headstone bears a few lines of a unique farewell poem, and in addition to the usual details, it also indicates the number of years the couple lived happily married. Surprisingly, in Szatmárcseke, at least according to the headstones, everyone got married well. Pista says that the only person who did not want to write the word “happily” on her headstone was a local old lady. We can even visit the carpenter's workshop, a few steps away from the cemetery with a gate easy to recognise: the carved headstone in the courtyard is the coat of arms of István's craft. Here, they have a shop called “Kis Ház” (Little House), which is a model ofresponsible tourism: it is exclusively dedicated to local woodcarvings, embroideries and jams made by his wife Margó. The headstones are made in the backyard. István carves the hard oak to the right shape with a hand axe. When this is done, he does not draw first but immediately engraves the inscription. He could get the correct font size and proportions blindfolded. It is good to see the harmony and continuity that characterises their lives. And even visitor can experience this as Pista and Margó invite everyone happily in, tell stories or walk out to the cemetery to show the oldest, most interesting headstones.