[DrunkSmurf]

I'm planning to devise a smurf cemetery for the upcoming halloween smurfs. Anyone have any ideas? Bunno? I'm thinking about avoiding tombstones, though, and using barrow mounds instead. Or something. No tombstones. Maybe I'll design a giant pyre.

Anyone been to India? You can watch dead bodies drift down the Ganges. Maybe the smurfs send their dead to the river. Remember the smurf cartoon in which Papa Smurf commemorated (Smurfette?) by throwing flowers from the dam?

[Bunno Smurf]

Hmmm I'd have to think about it, Tim. Dunno how you can do a "cemetery" without the gravestones. I like the pyre idea though. Was the idea to do a sort of wooden platform?? Would it burn or would they be wrapped up mummy like?? or just left to rot?

I quite like the India idea too or like a Viking funeral....float the burning boat down the river. I think the smurfs would probably do that kind of thing...send their own back to nature rather than bury them.

But then again maybe you could create some kind of burial chamber/building along a smurfy theme? Like a pyramid or like where they keep all the dead popes etc or the Lincoln Memorial?? Just a thought. You know where you see those movies where they have these great halls or chambers with statues of the dead people....though they usually end up coming to life and chasing the hero in those movies!

Anyway do smurf's die? They sure seem to live for a heck of a long time but does that make them immortal? Geez look what you've started me thinking about now, Tim. I will be pondering it for days now!

[Rachel]

Can't wait to see what you come up with Tim, nice ideas.

It has been a long time since I had a go at a Christmas display so I am hoping to have a go at that over the next few weeks, I shall let you know how I get on.

[DrunkSmurf]

I think the smurfs would probably do that kind of thing...send their own back to nature rather than bury them.

Hi Linda!

Don't mean to turn into history wonk, but did you know....



Actually, burial is one of the oldest forms of disposal. The "mythic interpretation" was to return the body to the womb of mother earth. Granted, the practical motivation was to remove the rotting corpse from the living area and to save people the discomfort of watching scavengers get to it (though in Tibet and among Zorastrian traditionalists, feeding the body to birds is still practiced).

The pyramid probably evolved from the barrow mound (the earth stacked upon the burial site--originally for practical reasons, but later for ornamentation).

Christianity gave it a new spin, believing the souls would return to their bodies and emerge from the grave after judgement day.

(Disposing of a body in a river had similar practical purposes (it carries the body away from the site)).

Mainly I want to avoid a flat cemetery with tombstones because I want to shoot for the unusual.

[Bunno Smurf]

Hey Tim,

How's this going? Am interested in seeing the progress or is it in the too hard basket for now??


Linda

[DrunkSmurf]

Looks like the cemetary didn't quite pan out. I ran out of room on smurf island, though when I inevitably reconfigure the place, I'm going to try harder.

I have mummy smurf emerging from the windmill.
Ghost smurf is on the pirate ship.
Dracula Smurf is with Emperor smurf in the castle (his brother).

The rest were distributed arbitrarily.

Yes, this isn't my brightest hour. But, I still have faith and hope.

Has anyone tried something? I admit, after the ghouls and devils that came out of the Halloween contest, the new smurfs actually seem more cute than scary. But, I'm still impressed with the detail. Somebody at Schleich still loves smurfs...