Culture, they say, is passed down the generations. In addition, culture is learned.
It encompasses human beliefs, ideas, taboos, customs and other related components.
In that case, Singapore has progressed a long way from death houses in the past to cemeteries and crematoriums now. A death house consisted of a living space on the first level, with a funeral parlour below. In the past, aged and sick Chinese people were left at death houses in Sago Lane. Left there to wait for their time to be up, along with others who were dying too. The duration of the “stay” there varied with the severity of one’s condition.
Slowly, while it was recognized that some cemeteries had to be kept open for burials, cremation was still encouraged by the state. Singapore has two cemeteries that represent the largest burial area reserved for the Muslim community. This shows that the different customs among the races that reside in Singapore are respected.
The culture of how we deal with death, is partially shaped by the social climate that we are in, and our land constraints. As such, I feel that we have adapted our culture according to the environment we are in. Therefore, specific to us.
I know talking about death here is a pretty morbid thing, but then again, that is because Singaporeans do not actually have the habit of talking about it openly. It is surprising actually to find that there has been an increase in the number of Singaporeans pre-booking their niches, choosing the spot they want to be placed at.
Seems like our culture is slowly evolving with the times and changing mindsets.
Thank goodness death houses are no longer around.
3 comments:
sounds a little morbid too, but i've always wondered what it is like to be dead. after all, each person only experience it once, well technically, there's no experience to speak of after dying, but you get my point.
without digressing further, i will just like to say that our culture is indeed evolving with the times to be more liberal. things that used to be taboo, such as death in this case, is no longer considered as such. maybe it could be due to the influence of the propagation of religious beliefs as well?
Hey trixia ~
Talking about death is pretty morbid, but for some reason, it is one that my morbid friends love to talk about. It's not because we're morbid (at least not me), but out of plain curiousity. For example, my friend told me that Muslims do not burn their bodies after death, which is why they have such a huge burial area reserved for them. On the other hand, we Chinese don't mind doing just that. Probably that's why we take up uhm, lesser space.
It is pretty interesting, don't you think? Hmmmm. The idea of a death house is appalling though, but like you said, thank god there isn't such a thing anymore.
It was bright and sunny this morning! but by the afternoon, dark clouds had gathered, and before long it was pouring. Cats and dogs, raining, that is.
I do not think it is morbid to talk, or plan for one's death. Hmm, actually, it's not an easy thing to do, but the cloud of taboo surrounding this topic due to reasons like superstition is slowly being lifted.
With our society (and perhaps the world too) facing the prospect of an aging population, the development of palliative care and advancements in the field of geriatrics has replaced the appalling (on hindsight) situation of "death houses". I guess it's more about people who care, the carers filled with compassion and empathy who will help ease the final days of those facing life's end. If this comment sounds very matter-of-fact, i guess it's because we can always talk about, or even seek to plan for death, but when it does dawn on us personally, maybe you really can't prepare for it.
How about our loved ones? How badly are they gonna be affected? Is anyone ever really prepared for something like this?
I don't know. Maybe when the surprise does hit me one day, i could say, "I knew i was always gonna be unprepared", despite my prior thoughts on this subject matter.
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