After Death
Diong Fuhan In ancient Egypt, funeral practices and burial customs were based on the belief in the rebirth after death. By preserving the physical form of the body through mummification, the dead is immortalised and prepared for an afterlife. 1 Before the Old Kingdom, bodies were laid in desert pits and preserved naturally through dessication. The wealthier Ancient Egyptians laid their bodies in stone tombs. This led to the construction of the burial monument, The Great Pyramid of Giza, for an Egyptian Pharoah.2
and landscapes of death in Singapore? 1) Cemeteries in and around the valuable city area were exhumed. A stateowned public cemetery at Choa Chu Kang was offered as an alternative to deal with the disposal of the dead. 2) A 15 year leasehold on burial plots in Choa Chu Kang Cemetery is imposed. All graves are to be exhumed in 15 years. If one was not bounded by religious reasons, the remains will be cremated. A grid pattern is now imposed onto this state-owned cemetery to facilitate burial and exhumation.
During the Ming Dynasty, the people believed in the existence of an afterlife, so the rulers sought to build massive tombs for themselves. Over a period of 200 years, tombs were built at the foot of hills and protected by walls totalling 40 kilometres. These tombs cover an area of more than 40 square kilometres, northwest of Beijing, the capital city of China.3
3) Cremation is advocated. It is the preferred way of dealing with the disposal of bodies. 4) Besides temporary burial and cremation where you place cremated remains in an urn, you could also opt for the scattering of ashes into the sea, 2.8km South of Pulau Semakau, a landfill site.4
These ancient societies were built upon totalitarian values. More than 4000 years after the completion of the Great Pyramids of Giza and 400 years after the fall of the Ming Dynasty, how different are our policies regarding the remembrance of the dead
http://www.crystalinks.com/egyptafterlife.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_pyramids 3 http://www.crystalinks.com/chinartifacts.html 4 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_in_Singapore 1 2
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