House of Ashes

I've had my first real blip-dilema, deciding between two images I shot today, but in the end I went with this one, taken in a House of Ashes in North Jakarta. Read on to learn more...

This morning I went on a cultural tour around an area of North Jakarta called Cilincing (pronounced Chil-ing- ching). Archeologist have discovered of continuous settlement dating back to 3000 BC, and it was the coastal area when, on 4 August 1811, 12,000 British Troops launched a coastal attack on what was then the dutch city of Batavia. The city fell to the British soon after and was then governed by them, under the now famous Raffles, from 1811 to 1816.

Located in Cilincing are a number of cultural sites including the Vihara Lalitavistara Buddhist Temple, the Clincing Krematorium, Pura Segara - one for four Balinese Hindu Temples in Jakarta, and a bustling kampung (village) that is overspilling along the coast.

In addition there is the House of Ashes - Rumah Penitipan Abu Jenazah, which dates from the 1960s, and contains the ashes of several thousand people.

As can be seen in the photograph above, the interior of the buildings there are lined from ceiling to floor with glass-doored boxes. Each one contains one or more ceramic urns of the deceased, mainly from Jakarta's Chinese-community, and sometimes an old photograph.

Apparently the boxes vary in prices depending on height, with prices decreasing the lower or higher you go from standing level - hence the ladder.

Inside the House of Ashes, there are many paper effigies for sale (including houses, cars, airplanes, appliances, money) which are burned in honour of the dead to was their life in the afterworld.

I took over 200 images this morning on what was a fascinating exploration of a small corner of Jakarta, and liked the geometry and poignance of this one the most.