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One Last Goodbye
Growing up, I never understood the significance of Chinese-Teochew rites and rituals, and the reasons why my family perseveres to an otherworldly manifestation of my grandfather. It was only in adolescence when I started to understand the familial ties that this/our tradition begets, and why my family still holds on to such sino-rooted beliefs.
From the age of two, I would accompany my family to Choa Chu Kang cemetery at dawn, for an annual Chinese-Teochew ‘afterlife’ ritual for my paternal grandfather. We light up joss sticks, burn paper offerings, pray in unison, and send our parting regards before leaving the site.
But this year was different.
My grandfather’s 15-year burial lease was up and we had to relocate his remains ‘somewhere else.’ Ironically, this is also the first and last time (from my memory) that I will witness a physical representation of my grandfather. From my own figment, it was supposed to be a sombre, bittersweet affair.
But my family’s boisterous celebrations during the three-day procession — as my grandfather’s remains were blessed, dug up, transported, cremated and then stored in an urn — felt surreal and gratifying. For the first time, I saw death and the afterlife as a celebration, and felt an unexplainable blood-affiliation to my family. This is the story of my grandfather and our family, this is my story.
Note: Since the introduction of the New Burial Policy (NBP) in 1998, burial periods are only limited to 15 years, after which remains of the deceased are exhumed and commemorated via other practices. Today, Choa Chu Kang Cemetery complex is the only burial ground opened for burials. This documentation took place before the circuit breaker / Covid-19 measures were enacted in Singapore. This set of ten images is part of a larger-scale visual documentation that was carried out in 2019-2020. More research and visual documentation to come.