Mortician: a profitable but stressful profession<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Mahanani does not have to worry about her clients blinking
\nwhen she puts on their eye shadow. After all, their souls have
\nalready departed their now cold bodies.<\/p>\n
Still, she will chatter and apply face powder and lipstick
\nsoftly and carefully -- a sign of respect for the dead, said
\nNani, as she is called.<\/p>\n
Nani is one of the not-so-many people whose task it is to make
\nthe deceased look as fresh and beautiful as they were when they
\nwere alive -- a job that would leave most people quivering.<\/p>\n
"It started with the father of a friend dying, and I had to
\ntake care of everything," she said recently.<\/p>\n
"I couldn't sleep properly for a month afterwards, I kept
\nseeing his face. But afterwards, when more people asked me to do
\nmake-up on corpses, I took it as my calling."<\/p>\n
Most morgues and mortuaries will clean the body, embalm it and
\ndo make-up as part of their package. But don't imagine that it's
\nanything like the Fishers' complete service in HBO's hit series
\nSix Feet Under. Most morticians do not use make-up specially
\ndesigned for corpses, and none has certificates to prove their
\nqualifications.<\/p>\n
Dea, a 27-year-old account executive, had the women from her
\nchurch come over and dress her mother when she passed away five
\nyears ago.<\/p>\n
"They did her make-up too; nothing much, just a thin layer of
\npowder and lipstick," she said.<\/p>\n
"We fixed her make-up from time to time ourselves. I didn't
\nlike touching her face, though. It was so cold," she added.<\/p>\n
Nani, whose clients include relatives of former president
\nSoeharto, imports the special powder she uses to smooth the skin
\nof the deceased from Germany, at a pricey Rp 2 million (US$200)
\nfor a small bottle. Unlike regular powder that needs to be
\nfreshened every two hours or so, especially in the sweltering
\nheat of Jakarta, mortician's powder will look better with each
\npassing day.<\/p>\n
For the make-up service, a professional mortician can get
\nbetween Rp 500,000 and Rp 2 million, depending on the client's
\ncondition. Bodies that need special reconstruction efforts, such
\nas burns patients or accident victims, require higher prices.<\/p>\n
Despite the relatively large sums -- Rp 500,000 will be enough
\nto get a make-up session, have the hair set in a French bun
\nelegantly, and a pedicure and manicure -- not many people are
\ntaking up the profession.<\/p>\n
"Would you do it?" Nani said with a small laugh. "It's a very
\nstressful job. You are in touch with other people's sadness
\nconstantly."<\/p>\n
"You also get called day or night," said the mother-of-four,
\nwho had just got called at 2 a.m. the night before the interview.<\/p>\n
For morticians who take the next step and become funeral event
\norganizers, the rewards are even bigger. Several morticians have
\nstarted such a business, arranging everything from flower
\narrangements, decorations, memorial services, to renting chairs.<\/p>\n
A complete package for upper-class customers, excluding the
\ncatering services and coffin, goes for Rp 30 million and can even
\nexceed Rp 100 million.<\/p>\n
The job is not as easy as it sounds, though. When Nani
\nreceived a phone call an hour after former finance minister
\nRadius Prawiro died on his hospital bed in Germany, she packed
\nher bags, rounded up her crew, went to his house, and stayed
\nthere for four days straight.<\/p>\n
"They wanted white roses everywhere. I used some 700 bunches
\nof roses, each with 20 stems, and had to search for them through
\nall the flower suppliers in Jakarta," said Nani.<\/p>\n
Perhaps for many people, a funeral is the last chance to do
\nsomething for the deceased -- to show respect, fix mistakes, make
\nperfect previous imperfection. Therein lays the market
\nopportunity for funeral supporting businesses.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/mortician-a-profitable-but-stressful-profession-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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