The creation of a mirilo

A mirilo is a simple stone structure built on the exact spot where the body of the deceased person was measured during the funerary ritual. It was constructed using the dry-stone technique — stacking stones without mortar — utilizing stone found in the immediate surroundings.

It was built several days, weeks or months after the ritual. Mirila were crafted by local master stonemasons or by the members of the clan themselves. When a family could not afford to hire a master, the mirilo would be made by one of their close relatives — though more modest and rustic, it lost none of its weight or significance.

Regardless of the level of execution, each mirilo preserved the measure of the body and remained as a permanent sign of the deceased within the landscape.

The shape in stone

The headstone, the footstone and the stone paving between them together form a mirilo.

Its shape remains permanently linked to the person to whom it belonged. As part of the mountain landscape, the mirilo stands as a visible trace of human presence — a stone sign of a life that ended its journey here.

 

 

HEADSTONE

The headstone is a vertically placed stone slab marking the spot where the deceased’s head lay.

It can be found in various shapes:

  • rounded
  • triangular (gabled shape)
  • rectangular
  • irregular, natural shape

The headstone often features carved symbols, inscriptions or personal marks.

FOOTSTONE

The footstone is a stone slab placed at the spot of the deceased’s feet.

It closes the space of the mirilo and, together with the headstone, determines the actual length of the body — its mira, the measure after which the mirilo is named.

STONE PAVING

The space between the headstone and the footstone is filled with flat stone slabs.

This area marks the final resting place of the body upon the earth during the ritual. Its length corresponds to the actual height of the deceased person.

The stone-paved section preserves the measure of the body in stone.

Orientation towards the sun

In many sites, the head of the deceased was laid towards the west, so that the face looked towards the east. Oral histories interpret this orientation as a final farewell to the rising sun. In the traditional culture of the Dinaric region, the sun appears as a powerful symbol of the life cycle and light, which is also reflected in the interpretations of mirila.

Nevertheless, the orientation of mirila was not identical everywhere. In numerous cases, it was determined by the configuration of the terrain and the direction of the path between the mountain settlement and the cemetery. Thus, mirila bear witness to the blend of practical circumstances of mountain life and a symbolic understanding of space.

The clan and the builders

The appearance of a mirilo also depended on the means of the family or clan. Families that could afford to pay a master had more carefully shaped headstones and more ornate symbols. Poorer families built the mirila themselves, using natural stone slabs without much refinement.

While examples of multiple use of the same mirilo have been recorded in northern and central Velebit, on southern Velebit each person had their own individual mirilo within the shared clan (family) cluster called mirilište. This reflects the belief that every deceased person has their own soul — and their own place.