Building cemeteries, constructing identities: funerary practices and nationalist discourse among the Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka

Abstract

The present paper explores the importance of new burial practices within the process of nation-building in the Sri Lankan territories controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). In particular, the paper focuses on the perception that Tamil people, both civilians and fighters, seem to have of the Tigers' cemeteries as symbolic centres of Tamil Eelam, the new separate state claimed by the LTTE. This article analyses the reasons that have led to this perception. On the one hand, it discusses the functional analogies between the LTTE cemeteries and the war graveyards belonging to military western traditions. On the other hand, it emphasizes the peculiarity of the LTTE cemeteries of being perceived as holy places. The Tigers' cemeteries are called Tuilum Illam, literally in Tamil ‘Sleeping Houses’, and are often described as temples. The paper offers an explanation why the LTTE, in spite of their asserted secular nature, have decided not to reject this religious interpretation; namely, because it allows them to include the Tuilum Illam in the mainstream of Hindu tradition. In this context, the ability to integrate the religious dimension represents a crucial component in the process of nation-building. This article draws upon the findings of fieldwork carried out since July 2002, especially in the northeastern regions of Sri Lanka controlled by the LTTE.1 1. Fieldwork in Sri Lanka was conducted over the following periods: July 2002–September 2002, November 2002–January 2003, July–October 2005, December 2005–January 2006. Most of the research was performed in the LTTE-controlled area of Vanni, with some periods spent also in the districts of Batticaloa and Trincomalee, in Vavuniya, Jaffna and Colombo. I carried out participant observation, conducting both qualitative interviews and informal talks with civilians and fighters. Since 2000, I have interviewed Tamil Diaspora people in Italy.

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