FROM CEMETERY TO COLUMBARIUM: NAVIGATING CREMATION IN SINGAPORE FROM 1950

Abstract

Singapore’s cremation rate rose drastically from 10% in the early 1960s to 68.8% in 1996.1 As the government needed land for housing developments, it closed numerous cemeteries in the 1970s, compelling many to switch from burial to cremation when disposing their loved ones. However, for the Chinese who have traditionally buried their dead, this shift presented several challenges. Some found the practice cruel, and many felt that it violated principles of fengshui, or Chinese geomancy. This thesis looks at how this transition played out, examining practical, logistical, cultural, and religious considerations on both individual and communal levels. I show that community leaders negotiated with the practice as early as 1939, gradually relaxing their stance over a course of thirty years. I also examine newspaper articles and show how some individuals came to terms with cremation - sometimes through an abandonment of tradition, other times through its reinterpretation. I suggest that there were broader religious changes that were just as significant as state-driven encouragement in popularising cremation. Lastly, I tell the story of how one clan-based organisation - the Kwong Wai Siew Peck San Theng - transformed its cemetery into a columbarium. I highlight religious considerations surrounding exhumation and important cultural adaptations at its columbarium. I argue that clan associations like Peck San Theng acted as crucial intermediaries between the family and state to facilitate this transition.