Tombstones: a source for the onomastic search on the Jewish community of Nabeul (Tunisia) - with a slideshow
18
JULY
2012
The Jewish community in Nabeul in Tunisia has been exisingd for nearly 300 years until the second half of the 20th century. During my research on the families of the community, I have accumulated over 400 photos of tombstones of the Jewish cemetery of Nabeul, as well as photos of plates engraved in memory of defunct people in the synagogues of the city. Thus, although the sample which is in my possession is reduced, this documentation became an additional important resource and a database for additional onomastic research on this community.
The community having lived in seclusion for very many years with very few arrivals of new families, and new names, from outside the city, we will try to explain the reasons for the apparition on those graves of some of the names, which wrre not among those of the community of Nabeul.
In addition to this onomastic study, the research done on these tombstones allowed us to make exciting discoveries. They are written in Hebrew, Judeo-Arabic and French, sometimes one, two or three of these languages. But there are also texts, rich in details of the deceased, funeral orations written in prose and in rhymes, acrostiches, a rich vocabulary in Hebrew and Judeo-Arabic, engraved signs which reflect tragic events, or sometimes a short text with few details, which raises the question: why so few details? Why so short? However, these pieces of information are an important source for onomastic research, as well as for genealogy.
| Speaker | Location |
|---|---|
|
Victor HAYOUN |
Seine B |