Semantyka grzebowisk dla zwierząt na tle miejsc pochówków ludzi. Analiza porównawcza makroznaków

Abstract

The contemporary practice of creating official animal burial sites exhibits certain analogies with cemeteries, which function not only as burial sites for humans but also as complex symbols of remembering the dead. Both are macro-signs, manifested through verbal and non-verbal codes. Human cemeteries are characterised by greater symbolic complexity and diversity, deriving from centuries-old cultural and religious traditions. The linguistic and non-linguistic actions performed with respect to cemeteries, in the broadly understood situational context, are closely related to the sphere of sacrum, represented by the symbol of the cross. Although pet cemeteries are identical to human cemeteries in terms of certain code elements (including headstone inscriptions, photographs, and figural sculptures), such cemeteries are less complex and relate chiefly to the sphere of profanum, represented by symbols of the widespread myth of the Rainbow Bridge. However, the common denominator of both macro-signs are the linguistic and non-linguistic actions that are inspired by the feelings of sadness, love, and gratitude.