Representations of Martyrs in Village Cemeteries in South Lebanon

English

This paper focuses on the political uses of the “martyrs” group in present-day Lebanon. It is based on a semiotic analysis of cemeteries of the Shiite South of the country. Cemeteries as forming “lieux de mémoire” are regarded, in this paper, as a privileged site of observation to understand the processes of group construction. The article shows the work of homogenization orchestrated by political parties in permanent parallel with local forms of resistance.