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Funeral providers said some customers chose the sea because they wanted their loved ones’ remains to be in a more natural resting place.<\/p>\n
“The main reason families choose sea scattering is usually because it reflects the wishes or personality of the deceased,” Ms Angjolie said.<\/p>\n
“Some people have specifically expressed that they do not want their ashes kept in a niche and would prefer to return to nature or be released into the sea.”<\/p>\n
Others do not want to burden their families with future upkeep.<\/p>\n
“We also come across individuals who make this choice because they do not want to become a burden to future generations. They may feel that having a niche creates an ongoing responsibility for their children or grandchildren to maintain it, visit it or eventually decide what to do with the ashes in the future. For them, sea scattering can represent a sense of freedom and completion,” Ms Angjolie said.<\/p>\n
Procurement manager Eileen Chua, one of her clients, chose the sea for her grandmother and uncle, whose ashes were scattered separately more than five years ago.<\/p>\n
“If we put the urn in a columbarium, do we really have time to keep going back to maintain? So maybe my generation, we still will, but the younger generation, I think they will not remember, or maybe they don’t even know where to find (it),\u201d said the 51-year-old.<\/p>\n
Mr Eugene Tan said some families believe all water bodies are interconnected, allowing them to pay respects and offer prayers at any beach or waterway around the world.<\/p>\n
Ms Chua felt the same way. “So with sea burials, I feel there is a different kind of freedom. So when I miss (my loved ones), I don’t have to go to a particular place. I can be anywhere in the world, even when I’m overseas.<\/p>\n
“I can just look at the sea, light a candle and talk to them. So I like to think that they are free to roam the world rather than being confined to one building,” she said, likening it to allowing her deceased relatives to “continue their journey”.<\/p>\n
“So even now, I still talk to my grandma, my younger uncle and even my dog when I miss them, because my dog also did a sea burial,\u201d she added. \u201cI know they are no longer physically here, but somehow knowing that they are out there makes me feel connected to them.”<\/p>\n
For the same reason, she would not have chosen land scattering even if it had been available at the time, as she felt it would tie her memories of her loved ones to a single location.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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