In the News - Shanghai Burial at Sea

Families placing flowers on the
"mini burials" in Shanghai

Today I read in the news about a developing burial trend in Shanghai.  This new practice is a combination of cremation, sea burial, and internment. This new concept was designed to fill small vacant spaces in the Shanghai grave yards and to ensure less space was used in the future (China Daily 2011).  According to Zhao Xiaohu, the manager of Binhaiguyuan Cemetery, the new partial sea burial was introduced as a “mid-point between traditional burials and sea burials" (China Daily 2011). In Shanghai, 99.5% of the cremated body is released into the ocean; the remaining ashes are buried in a container about the size of a matchbox (China Daily 2011).  This allows for individuals to be cremated then dispersed at sea. However, this practice allows for their families to have a traditional grave marker and therefore a place to visit the deceased; in addition, families are able to continue burying the deceased together.  Furthermore, the sea burial is beneficial because it is more environmentally friendly than traditional practices and it uses less space.  This new practice not only dramatically reduces the cost of a funeral in Shanghai it also allows families to continue traditional practices.  Essentially, this new practice is a joining of old and new customs.

American Navy sea burial
off the USS Enterprise, 2003

Burial at sea is not a new concept.  It has often been used by sailors, the navy, and in regions reliant on the ocean, like Newfoundland.  It is commonly used in the Navy to redistribute the bodies of sailors lost at sea.  However, in Shanghai the individuals selecting sea burial often do not have a direct relationship with the ocean.  Individuals and families select the option for its cheapness, small environmental impact, and to be “one with nature” (China Daily 2011).   This makes the increasing trend in the region unique.

However, this new practices is really being implemented because of the shortages of land in Shanghai.  It is estimated by Xiaohu, that if cemeteries continue allotting 1.5 meter plots per grave site that the city will run out of burial spaces within ten years (China Daily 2011).  Therefore, it was necessary for the city to develop a new tradition of burial which used minimal space, was environmentally friendly, AND incorporated traditional customs.

  

I think this practice is a fantastic way to meet both the needs of the city and the traditions of its citizens.  This new custom allocates the continuity of traditional practices and for the preservation of the environment.  Furthermore, this new tradition allows for the individual select a popular burial method that also gives their family a place to mourn and honour them.  If I were to die I would want to be buried a way that not only comforted my family but also produced minimal impact upon the environment. I am personally an advocate for the practice of cremation because I like the idea of having my body become part of “the air and the wind and the trees and the earth and all the living things” (Pullman 1995).  I feel that this new practice would allow me to become part of everything AND give my family a place to remember me.

I think this is a fantastic new practice which incorporates the old and the new.  Other countries facing issues of overcrowded cemeteries, like Britain and Singapore, should consider implementing a similar customs.  This would reduce the pressure on modern cemeteries and may allow them to avoid moving old burials to make way for new ones.  Furthermore, it would allow for families to visit the cemetery and possible trace many generations of their ancestors.  

References:

China Daily, 2011. Wasted Space in Cemeteries Inspires Mini-Burials. [Online] 

(Updated 27 March 2011) Available at: http://english.eastday.com

/e/110328/u1a5809952.html (Accessed 27 March 2011)

Pullman, Philip, 1995. The Golden Compass. New York:  Dell Yearling.

Image Credit:

Wikipedia, 2011. Burial at Sea. [Online] (Updated 10 March 2011) 

Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burial_at_sea (Accessed 27 March 2011)

China Daily, 2011. Wasted Space in Cemeteries Inspires Mini-Burials. [Online] 

(Updated 27 March 2011) Available at: http://english.eastday.com

/e/110328/u1a5809952.html (Accessed 27 March 2011)

How Morbid is Building Your OWN Coffin?

It might just be me, but I find the apparently growing trend in building your own coffin or buying your casket well before your death a little creepy!  I came across this development for the first time while flipping through the channels on my TV two weeks ago during reading break.  I happened to stumble upon a do it yourself show instructing viewers on how to build your OWN coffin.  My immediate thought was who would WANT to build their own coffin?   What a morbid way to spend a perfectly good weekend. 

After further consideration, I realised that much of our lives are spent considering, dreading and preparing for our own deaths.  Not only do people pre-purchase their own coffins, some people build their own.  Furthermore, most people write and maintain wills for the passing and protection of their possessions, wealth and land. It is not even uncommon for people to sign an agreement for the plot of land they will be buried on well before their death (my own grandmother has done this!). The potential benefit to this is possibly the savings provided for the deceased family; building your own casket and purchasing your land is bound to save thousands of dollars.

BUT

Can we really find comfort in knowing where we shall eventually rest and what will happen to our belongings?   Is it beneficial to spend so much of our lives preparing?   

 

Later I realised that the trend in planning our burials is not modern.  Egyptian Pharaohs began constructing their pyramids within a few years of gaining leadership.  It was essential that the pyramids be completed so the Pharaoh was assured his transcendence into the afterlife.  I feel assured that the Pharaohs found relief in knowing that the buildings which would protect and guide them into the afterlife were complete.  Furthermore, I doubt they felt concerned about knowing their pyramid’s exact location.  So why do I not feel the same?

In the Northern Hemisphere, the Vikings buried their dead in mounds on property lines to signify their ancestral right to their land and its borders.  How different is this from the modern writing of wills?  Wills in reality represents the protection and passing of wealth.  How does this differ from the mounds which represent the family’s right to the wealth of the land?

A further thought…

A web search today offered me a reason for building your own casket, the option to creatively designing it!  Why should all coffins look the same, why not have a personalized one?  Constructing your own coffin gives you total creative control over its exterior and interior appearance.  This gives individuals the chance to express themselves through their own death.  Really the options for design are endless:

How strange would it be for an archaeologist to uncover a casket shaped like an ear of corn?  How would it be interpreted?  Would the individual be considered an attribute to society … or a social outcast?

Despite this I find all these trends to be a little too morbid for my liking!  Really I wonder why you would waste so much of your life over thinking your death.  Life’s just not worth wasting!  In reality “Every man dies - Not every man really lives.” - William Ross Wallace

References:

A., 2011. How To Build Your Own Coffin [Online]  (Updated 17 January 2011) Available at: http://www.squidoo.com/coffin [Accessed 12 March 2011].

Morell, V., 2001. The Pyramid Builders,  National Geographic 200(5), pp. 78-85.

Patch, C., 2006. How to build your own ‘fancy coffin, Toronto Star.

Images From: http://miscellaneouspics.blogspot.com/2009/10/creative-coffins.html

Evaluating the Importance of Kinship

Kinship is arguably the primary force that follows many individuals into their death.  It is primarily families that attend funerals and visit the graveyards.  In many cultures, families are taught to worship their ancestors to bring good blessings.  Many family groups even have their own graveyards, mausoleums, or shrines; to ensure that the family stays together in death.  These relations to our past kin are maintained either through curiosity, tradition or belief. 

In our Monument Analysis there were two occurrences of individuals who were possibly related.  The first was of a baby girl buried beside what are assumed to be two of her relatives.  The three graves were surrounded by a stone border inscribed with the family name.  However, the two adult burials have a different identical crucifix shaped headstone where as the baby girl has a square shaped headstone.

 The second occurrence of kinship in our Monument Analysis is far endearing.  This burial contained two twin brothers who were buried side by side.  One was buried when he died as a young child; while the other was buried when he died as an old man.  These two individuals’ deaths were separated by about 60 years.  However, the older individual chose to be buried beside his childhood twin who had predeceased him.  This demonstrates the true importance of kinship and the way it follows individuals into their death.  The reunion of these two brothers shows the important values marked by family.  The final inscription upon this grave read “In memory of Twins” – a sentiment I thought beyond appropriate.

There were other burials in the Cemetery that revealed the importance of Kinship.  The one that affected me (and my group) the most were the Japanese burials found in the South Eastern part of the cemetery.  Many of the Japanese individuals had died very young after migrating to Canada, possibly due to disease. The individuals had all been buried together as if to show their union in Victoria.  Later we read an inscription that informed us the graves had been badly vandalized during the Second World War, which we all found appalling.