Professional funeral services a friend in time of sorrow

Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Many cultures around the world cherish the belief that death is not the end but merely the beginning of another great adventure, a transition from this life to the next. As such, burial ceremonies are usually the most elaborate.

The Egyptians embalm their dead so that they can return to the body, the Chinese burn paper money so that their dead will have provisions in the afterlife and the Javanese sweep the road where the dead will be carried along to clear away any obstacles in the soul's path to the netherworld.

But regardless of whether the dead benefit from the rituals or not, these ceremonies are really aimed for the living, to assure families and friends that their loved one has received a proper burial.

It also provides an opportunity for relatives and friends who share in the loss to express their love, respect, grief and appreciation for a life that has been lived.

It is difficult for the bereaved to have to look into the preparation details of funerals, especially when the death was unexpected.

Depending on the culture and religion of the deceased and his family, these preparations may include choosing a coffin, the method and location of the final resting place -- whether by burial or cremation -- bathing the dead, arranging a cleric and transportation to the cemetery.

"Sometimes the family is just too shocked to be able to look into the preparations, and neighbors are very rarely able to help," Susan E., head of operations at the Bunga Kamboja Foundation (YBK), said.

A noble idea to help those in need prompted D. Walandouw, founder of YBK, and others to establish foundations that handle funeral arrangements. Many of these foundations are nonprofit, relying on those they help to be able to continue operations.

Bunga Kamboja Foundation (YBK)

The YBK, established in 1960, collects a small monthly fee to finance the funeral preparations of its members. For as little as Rp 1,500 (about US$0.148) to Rp 3,500 a month, members are entitled to a full funeral service for any religion in the event of death.

The difference in price only affects the amount of grief money received by the surviving family as a token of sympathy, Susan said, explaining that a Rp 3,500 a month membership entitles the member's survivors to Rp 80,000.

The privilege, however, only becomes effective after three months of membership.

For Muslims, funeral preparations include a white shroud, soap and rose water for bathing the body, a tub to bathe the body in, a body bathing service, boards to line the grave, a varnished teakwood grave marker, transportation to the cemetery and a graveside service.

Christian members receive a white shroud, gloves and socks, towel and soap for bathing the body, tulle for the cross, a varnished teakwood grave marker, transportation to the cemetery, and a 10 percent discount on the price of coffins.

"We don't give away coffins because they are so expensive, but we do sell them," Susan said.

Coffins on sale at the foundation range from Rp 8 million for a two meter long satin-lined coffin with a two-piece lid, to Rp 1.25 million for a white cloth-lined wooden coffin with a single piece lid.

The foundation also provides a funeral service for nonmembers for Rp 500,000 for adults and Rp 450,000 for children under 10 years of age.

"But we give priority to our members," Susan said, adding that the nonmember price excluded a Rp 160,000 ride in a hearse within city limits.

To date, the foundation has 85,231 members, including those from government offices, private firms, neighborhood associations and individuals, she said.

The foundation also provides cremation and embalming services that it coordinates with the Cilincing crematorium in North Jakarta for the former and the Medical Faculty of the University of Indonesia for the latter.

"We don't dare do our own embalming, we prefer to let the experts do it," Susan said, adding that the cost for an oven cremation was Rp 1.2 million while formaldehyde embalming cost Rp 650,000.

She said that besides Muslim and Christian burials, the foundation also does burials for other religions, although not as often.

With 26 hearses to transport the body to its final resting place, the foundation provides services for at least 10 burials a day, Susan said.

"You just have to call us and tell us the deceased's membership number and we will take care of everything for you."

Tabitha Consolatory Foundation

For those who like a complete Christian service, including a cemetery plot, then the Tabitha foundation in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, may be more suitable. Membership costs a little more than the YBK, but it includes a Rp 300,000 plot at the Pondok Rangon cemetery in Bekasi, West Java.

Membership comes in two schemes; the regular scheme costs between Rp 50,000 and Rp 150,000 with a monthly fee of between Rp 2,000 and Rp 6,000, while the Care scheme costs Rp 1 million for a lifetime membership.

Tari, Tabitha's membership administration staff, said that for the regular scheme, the difference in membership and monthly fees affects the type of coffin provided.

"The highest class includes a Rp 2.15 million coffin while the lowest includes a Rp 1.85 million coffin," she said, explaining that members joining the Care scheme were provided with services higher than that of the first class service in the regular scheme, including a Rp 3.9 million coffin.

Services provided by Tabitha include socks and gloves, veil, perfume, hand-held floral wreath, guest book, grievance card, a collection box and grave marker.

Tabitha also provides services for a standard cemetery plot, cremation papers, death certificate, a hearse for three journeys, and an announcement on Radio Pelita Kasih.

Cremations are provided by the Cilincing crematorium and Nirvana crematorium in Muara Tawar, Bekasi, and cost between Rp 730,000 to Rp 1.9 million.

As of July 2001, the foundation had 19,307 members registered.

Rumah Gadang Foundation

The Rumah Gadang Foundation in Rawamangun, East Jakarta, also handles funeral arrangements for the public. Established in 1978 by Sajuti Saman and several others from West Sumatra, the foundation was originally limited to Muslim Minangkabau, a tribe from West Sumatra.

"But knowing that we provided funeral services, neighbors started asking us to help with their funeral arrangements, and we really couldn't turn them down. They're neighbors after all," Jessy Sajuti, the daughter of the founder, said.

Unlike YBK and Tabitha, the Rumah Gadang Foundation does not collect membership fees.

"We used to, but we scrapped that and now the service is on a first-come-first-serve basis," Jessy said, explaining that membership from 1978 to 1980 used to cost Rp 250 a family per month, but was discontinued due to difficulties in collecting the fee.

She said that the service was based on pure charity and that it was carried out first before there was any mention of cost.

"Afterwards we request the clients to pay for the service and that is usually a minimum of Rp 500,000," Jessy said, explaining that the cost already included bathing the deceased and transporting the corpse to the cemetery.

With such limited funding, she admitted that the survival of the foundation after 24 years was nothing short of a miracle. "It's amazing really, we only have three hearses, and not even an office, but to date we have helped bury 10,000 people," she said.