Nobody dies alone in Jakarta anymore
The Jakarta Post | February 28 2016 Moses Parlindungan, Ivany A. Arbi, Viriya P. Singgih, Winny Tang, Winda A. Charmila, M. Reza Zafiruddin, Fachrul Sidiq, Radhitya Diva Putra andSepsha D. Restiananingsih
The city’s graves are filling up, and more than a few people die
every day. A team from The
Jakarta Post recently visited cemeteries
across Greater Jakarta, meeting mourners rich and poor, as well as
organizations providing funeral services, to see how the capital and its
surroundings meet the needs of the deceased and their grieving families. The
following contributed to this report:.
San Diego Hills Memorial Park in Karawang, West Java, was busy one day with two
simultaneous funerals. In the Christian section, a family gathered under white
tents to bury a husband and father.
Around 50 people sat on folding chairs beside the coffin of the 43-year-old,
who had died, relatives said, of cancer. The ceremony proceeded with hymns, the
reminiscences of loved ones and prayers for the deceased, before proceeding to
the burial.
Down the hill in the Buddhist section, another group of white tents sheltered
mourners dressed in white for the burial of mother, grandmother and great
grandmother Kheng Tjin Kwai, 82.
Almost 40 people knelt before the altar set in front of the grave. A Buddhist
monk led the ritual, while a grief counselor assisted mourners in following the
prayers, the burning of joss paper effigies and other traditions.
Three mourners said Kheng’s descendants — who included both Buddhists and
Christians — wanted to honor her ancient Chinese beliefs and traditions.
A day before, at the Tegal Alur II Cemetery in West Jakarta, which primarily
serves Muslims, a man sat across from a flower kiosk, where mourners can buy
petals and other burial items.
Hajair, a gravedigger who digs resting places for the unidentified dead, said
he had just finished preparing a final resting place for his cousin, Titin
Sumarni, 41, a teacher.
Titin’s mother, Rokyah, said her daughter had, shortly before dying, fulfilled
the teaching requirements for a Bachelor’s degree.
“We never thought that God would call her so soon,” she said.
Nobody in the family, including Titin’s husband, Erpin, was prepared to face
the challenges of burying someone in Jakarta without assistance.
“As it turned out, our community chief assisted us by arranging for chairs and
tents for guests at our home, and for the hearse to bring the body to the
cemetery,” Erpin explained.
Dying in Jakarta is a complicated process, even with the bureaucratic reforms
introduced in the 2007 bylaw on cemeteries. Yet all of the above families found
someone willing and able to assist them in their time of grief.
The difference in levels of service for the dead, as for the living, depends on
social status, wealth, religion, land availability and access to information
about regulations, services and costs.
Land scarcity presents a challenge to the Jakarta administration, as the
capital’s already large population continues to grow, with 27,375 people dying
annually.
The bureaucracy of death requires relatives of the deceased to present the
following documents: death certificate from a medical facility, the deceased’s
identity and family card, ID of the family member in charge of burial, a
subdistrict reference letter to funeral authorities and proof of payment from
Bank DKI. All of this is required just for a burial plot.
According to Tegal Alur Cemetery administrator H. Suaeb, funerals no longer
entail illegal fees solicited at cemeteries, though people often give tips to
the gravediggers and groundskeepers.
Religion and tradition further complicate the funeral process.
Kasman Sukandar, a grief consultant from Anugrah Jasa, said he had been
providing advice to mourners since the 1990s.
“Even people of the same religion may practice different rituals, depending on
what ethnic group or traditions they have inherited,” he said.
Jakarta Cathedral parish priest, Stefanus Bratakartana SJ, explained that some
Catholics of Chinese descent might not adhere to church rituals. “If a Chinese
family wants to cremate their relative, it is up to them,” he said.
Confucians, Buddhists and sometimes Protestants from various ethnicities may
also opt for cremation. Only Muslims of all ethnic backgrounds refuse to
cremate their dead, insisting on burial within 24 hours.
Pastor Ainul Nurul said that in the Protestant tradition, the focus was on how
to comfort the grieving family. Prayer services “can be held at any time that
is convenient for the family and friends”, she said.
Buddhists and Confucians generally hold processions before burial, which may
mean the dead are not buried immediately.
In Hinduism, the rituals following cleansing and shrouding occur simultaneously
with the preparation of the body for burial and possible later cremation.
Nevertheless, nobody dying in Jakarta needs to worry about having someone there
to lay them to rest. If the government does not help you, the community will,
and commercial services are always available.
Under the cemeteries bylaw, all burial costs are borne by the municipality. The
only charges imposed are burial plot rents, ranging from nothing to Rp 100,000
for three years.
In Jakarta, each subdistrict has a One-stop Integrated Service Center, which
assists with various permits — including access to burial plots.
When someone dies, his or her loved ones receive a death certificate to take to their community or neighborhood chiefs, who then gives them a referral letter for the one-stop center determining their payment status based on family income. If the deceased is unidentified or has no next of kin, he or she is buried in Tegal Alur Cemetery. For families of the deceased categorized as poor, burial plots are free.
If the family is considered able to pay, the rental fee for a burial plot
depends on their level of income. The one-stop center then provides a letter to
Bank DKI, which calculates the rental cost and provides three receipts, one
each for the family, the cemetery and the one-stop center. Once proof of
payment has been established, the deceased can be buried.
What the government does not do, the community — religious organizations,
foundations, freelance counselors, neighbors, etc. — can.
The Pesantren Islam Al-Azhar Foundation, through its funeral process unit
founded in 1992, assists with transportation, cleansing and shrouding of the
deceased for fees between Rp 1.5 million and Rp 3 million for non-members. For
members, who pay a monthly fee of
Rp 5,000 each, all services are free.
Religious organizations also offer services — counseling, prayer recital,
cleansing and cosmetic procedures, coffin procurement, hearses, grave-keeping
and administrative assistance.
The business sector also provides funeral-related goods and services for anyone
requiring them at costs ranging from affordable on a small budget to extremely
expensive.
The Cilincing Crematorium provides coffins and cremations for as little as Rp
3.3 million, or less if the bereaved can provide proof of poverty.
For those with deeper pockets, Heaven Funeral Home and Crematorium in Gedong Panjang
provides coffins, funeral service space, cremation and administrative service
for total fees ranging from around Rp 40 million to Rp 103 million.
The Cikini Funeral Home provides preburial and precremation services, covering
cleansing, embalming, make-up, coffins and funeral service space. Total fees
can reach Rp 43 million.
Richer families can also take a luxurious route to laying their loved ones to
rest.
Lestari Memorial Park in Karawang, West Java, offers burial plots ranging from
Rp 58 million to Rp 10 billion, as well as cremation services ranging from
cremation alone at Rp 5.5 million, to cremation and the scattering of ashes at
Rp 8 million.
This cemetery complex also provides a columbarium for the storage of crematory
urns or boxes.
San Diego Hills Memorial Park and Funeral Homes, meanwhile, offers burial plots
ranging from Rp 26.7 million to Rp 10.1 billion. This 500-hectare funeral and
burial complex in Karawang also provides chapels, Islamic prayer rooms, other
funeral service spaces and a multipurpose building.
With such a range of facilities and services, it is no longer necessary to fear
the age-old adage: “Don’t die in Jakarta."