Author:

Vikas Rana, Rajni Devi
Ph.D. Scholar
Panjab University
Chandigarh,Panjab,India
Email: rajnirrana1518@gmail.com

Assistant Professor
School of Hospitality
GNA University
Phagwara, Punjab,India
Email: rajnirrana1518@gmail.com

Abstract::Abstract:Memorial stone are a part of the social, spiritual and philosophical memory of the society.
As the earlier research in the world mainly discusses hero memorial stone, but lack study pertaining
to memorial stone of individuals other than heroes. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to give in-depth
investigation of the vernacular memorial stones, known as Murra, which are associated with
individuals other than heroes. These Murra stones which are located in the villages of Malahu and
Bhoura in Himachal Pradesh, India have been carefully analysed. The methodology used for this
paper is based on the extensive field visits, ethnographic interviews, photographic documentation,
and semiotic analysis. As a result Murra’s are situated within a multifaceted framework of
anthropology, archaeology, history, and ecology. Apart from this the paper explores how these stones
concretize existentialist’s issues of life, death, memory, and communal identity within the sociocultural and environmental milieu of the Himalayas. It is important to note that Murra are not only
the archaeological artefacts but are the part of dynamic cultural texts which reflects the interplay of
vernacularism, ritualism, cosmology, and social stratification. The study of Murra’s highlights a
nexus of collective memory, kinship, and sacred geography based on phenomenology, semiotic, and
postcolonial approaches.

Key Words::Archaeology, Anthropology, Cultural Heritage, Memorial Stones, Semiotics etc