Funerals

Funeral traditions in Singapore are very different from those in the States.  We still have a lot to learn about the funerals of other religions, but we have observed some from a distance and will share what we have seen, and also describe Christian funerals.

Funerals here are held outside.  The first floor of each building, called the void deck, is left open to the outside.  This is where funerals and other events are held.  We have seen four funerals right by our place since we moved here.  I'll attach a picture of where the most recent funeral was set up so that you can understand the "void deck" concept.  This is the view from our living room window.

Funeral wakes go on for days (usually 3-4, it seems, although we've heard they can last up to 7).  Visitors are allowed to come at any time during the day, and the family is expected to cater food and drinks for those visitors.  To help with the expenses of that, those who come give a cash gift to the family.  Because the funerals are held outside, someone must be with the body 24 hours a day to guard it from vandalism.  When funerals are held for members of our church, the young men from church stay overnight to give the family a break.

The wakes for some funerals get very noisy.  In addition to the traffic that may be going past, the neighborhood noises, a building project going on at our flat during the last funeral, and maybe even a little white baby yelling "Hi!!" over and over and waving at you from his 6th-floor flat :-), Buddhist and Taoist funerals have rituals that include a lot of drums and other instruments.  Below is a video in which you can hear the noise of the latest funeral by us, including a little bit of the construction noise.  What you see is the view from our balcony outside our flat--I didn't want to videotape the people at the funeral.

The band leading the funeral procession at the end of the funeral

At the first funeral we saw by our building, there was a lot of chanting in addition to the instruments.  On the last night people in white shirts or white robes walked around in a circle, banging on instruments and chanting.  When we asked someone about that later, we were told that they were probably saying prayers for the dead.  At one funeral we saw an idol with offerings in front of it set up in front of the casket.

And then there are Christian funerals.  We've had one below our building, and what a nice change from the others!  At night we could hear faintly the singing of "Amazing Grace" and other hymns, and they also sang "Amazing Grace" as the casket was taken away.  When the casket is taken away (from all funerals, not just Christian ones), the family and friends follow on foot, with those closest to the hearse putting their hands on it and "pushing it" along.  Everyone else follows for a little ways.  Then the hearse goes to the cemetery (or to the place where the body will be cremated, I guess), and chartered buses take the funeral-goers to the cemetery.  Not only family goes to the graveside--everyone who was at the funeral goes, and stays after the graveside service until the backhoe has filled the grave with dirt.

The cemetery in Singapore is surprisingly large, with a Chinese cemetery, a Malay cemetery, a Muslim cemetery, a Christian cemetery, and other sections as well.  The gravesites are very, very close together.  We have heard that because of the large number of people in Singapore, you are promised your gravesite for only 15-20 years.  After that your body may be dug up and cremated to make room for others to be buried there. Because of this, many people (although not among the Christians that we've heard of) skip burial and are cremated right after death.

Notice how close together the graves are.

So, are there ANY similarities between funerals in the U.S. and funerals in Singapore?  Yes. Each night of the wake at funerals for members of our church, a service is held that is almost exactly like the funeral services in the U.S.  The same songs are sung, and the same Word is brought.  All these speeches are a good opportunity to bring the gospel to relatives and friends who may be living in idolatry.  Thanks be to God for the hope and comfort of the gospel!