Post-funeral Services

Sea burial ceremony

Sea burials following cremation have become more common in Singapore, particularly if the deceased had a special connection with the sea.

Anyone can be buried at sea, and no permit is needed. There are no particular rules for the ceremony, which is simply carried out according to the wishes of the deceased and family.

A sea burial can be non-religious or based on religious beliefs. For instance, a Buddhist sea burial may include chanting and prayers by monks, while a Christian ceremony could include a minister to read a scripture or eulogy.

In a traditional sea burial, the ashes of the deceased are scattered into the sea, although biodegradable urns are now available.

An official site for sea burial ceremonies has been designated near Pulau Semakau by the Maritime Port Authority (MPA). And a new sea burial facility, that caters to ash scattering from land, is being built in Tanah Merah.

Eternity Funeral Service provides comprehensive post-cremation sea burial services, including:

• Collection of ashes and arranging transport to the seashore.
• Chartering a boat and coordinating memorial/prayer services.
• Conducting the sea burial ceremony.

100th-day funeral ceremony

After the 49-day period of funeral rites, mourning may continue for the family for 100 days – until the final departure of the deceased’s soul from this world.

100th-day services provided by Eternity Funeral Service include:

• Organising prayers at the columbarium where the ashes are held or at the cemetery burial site.
• Engaging the monk or priest.
• Providing joss paper and food offerings.

Gong Teck (功德) ceremony

Gong Teck (功德 or Kong Teck) is a Buddhist or Taoist grand ceremony to celebrate the peaceful passing of the deceased, clear of illness, onto the next phase of life; it’s done in show of deep respect and gratitude for the deceased. It can take place on the 49th day, 100th day, and 1 year or 3 years after the funeral.

High-ranking priests or monks would be hired for chanting of mantras not only to lift the sufferings endured by the deceased, but also lessen the hardships faced by wandering spirits. Merits are thus gathered for the ancestors, which would in turn benefit the lives of the descendants.

Besides a generous amount of food offering present, lavish paper replicas such as an elaborate 2- or 3-storey mansion, a stylish car, gold and silver mountains, clothes, and bags of folded joss paper representing gold and silver ingots are burnt for the deceased to use in the afterlife.

Eternity Funeral Service can meet all your needs for a Gong Teck ceremony, including services such as:

• Preplanning of the ritual, taking into account your budget, religion and dialect group, family size, and appropriate dates.
• Acquire a suitable space large enough to accommodate the Grand Prayer Altar and ceremonial items for prayers, extra-large paper houses, gold and silver mountains, other paper replicas, and attendees.
• Engaging monks or priests.
• Food offering services and joss paper offerings.
• Coordination of moving the paper house to the burning site, and transport of family to the burning location.
• Taking the ancestral tablet back to its original site.

A simple Gong Teck ritual can be performed in a HDB void deck, while an elaborate one is typically carried out in an open field with a marquee.

Prayers at columbarium

A columbarium is a special place in Buddhist and Taoist religions designed to display cremation urns as a celebration of the life of the deceased and provide a focal point for ancestral worship and filial piety.

Prayers at a columbarium are usually performed on the 100th day after death or during the annual Ching Ming Festival (Qingming Festival or Tomb-sweeping Day).

Services provided by Eternity Funeral Service in connection with columbarium prayers include:

• Provision of urns.
• Marble plaque carving and gravestone manufacture.
• Organising prayer ceremonies.
• Engaging the monk or priest.
• Food offering services and joss paper offerings.

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