Niche Relocation Services

Grave Exhumation | Niche Relocation

What is Grave Exhumation?

Grave Exhumation involves removing human remains from a burial plot. In Singapore, this may be necessary for various reasons, including niche relocation or changes in burial policies.

Nirvana Memorial Garden offers professional exhumation services to help families work through the complexities of this procedure.

“Shi Jin” or “Ancestor Relocation”, is also known as “Jian Gu”, “Qian Zang” is the ritual of exhuming remains for the purpose of internment in a different location. In Yin House Feng Shui, “Shi Jin” is fondly regarded as an act of honoring the deceased with an auspicious funeral in a more favorable environment and also blessed with excellent Feng Shui.

Ancestor Relocation ceremonies are carried out as a mark of respect for our ancestors. The exhumation of the remains is affectionately referred to “Shi Jin”, literally means “picking gold” and placing the bones in an urn.

Technically, it relocates our ancestors to a Feng Shui optimized environment for added prosperity for posterity.

Various Reason for Grave Exhumation and Niche Relocation

1. Fulfilling a wish
Ancestors who migrated to seek their fortunes and eventually passed away in distant lands may have expressed their wish to have their remains returned to their homeland to be laid to rest.

2. Government policy
Singapore’s only burial ground, allows 15-year burial, after which remains are exhumed, cremated, or re-interred.

3. Logistic convenience
Given the fact that our ancestors are occasionally not laid to rest at the same location, this usually creates a logistical issue during Qing Ming. By relocating their ancestors to a single location, it makes it easier for their descendants to carry out their obligation.

4. A display of filial piety
Ancestral graves that are dilapidated due to aging may require an Ancestor Relocation Ceremony in order to preserve and honour the memory of their loved ones in a more presentable setting.

5. Unfavorable Feng Shui
Graves located in sites with unfavorable Feng Shui would adversely affect the descendants. To rectify this, an Ancestor Relocation ceremony has to be performed.

What are the steps for Niche Relocation?

1. Select your preferred columbarium niche prior relocation.
2. On the selected date, prayer service will be conducted at the existing temple before transporting the urn to the new columbarium.
3. A Final Prayer service will be conducted before the installation of the urn into the new niche to ensure the deceased will rest in peace in their new home.

What are the steps for Grave Exhumation?

1. We will initiate the process by visiting the site to ascertain its recoverability.
2. We will provide a few auspicious dates to select for grave exhumation.
3. We will help with applying for a grave exhumation permit with NEA.
4. Before the day of grave exhumation, a groundbreaking prayer session will take place.
5. The exhumation will take place after sunset, and the remains will be washed with rice wine. Subsequently, they will be sent for cremation.
6. After the exhumation, we will clear the debris and fill it with new soil.
7. The cremated ashes with the urn will be delivered to the preferred columbarium.
8. A Final Prayer service will be conducted before the installation of the urn into the new niche to ensure the deceased will rest in peace in their new home.

Choa Chu Kang (CCK) Cemetery is the only active burial ground in Singapore. The New Burial Policy, introduced in 1998 to address the issue of land scarcity, limits burial to 15 years. After this period, graves will be exhumed and the remains will be cremated and placed in columbarium niches or re-buried.

Should your loved one’s remains need to be exhumed, we can assist and advise on the process