Wooden Grave-Posts

Hungarian wooden grave-posts are of ancient origin — some survived from pre-Christian times. Originally, the posts had no inscriptions; the personal details of the deceased were revealed by the size, shape and the paintings on the carved, symbolic grave marks. Later, the carvings grew more stylised and the posts gradually lost their references to individuals.

The film, without narration, depicts the most beautiful wooden grave marks in Hungarian church yards; the three folk laments on the soundtrack were collected by Bela Bartok.