Wealthy families in the larger cities would use a funeral home in the same way we would in the UK.

Poorer families, particularly those in the more rural areas, generally will not use a funeral home; instead relying on friends, family and neighbours to help with the funeral arrangements. The service will be performed in the home in most cases either through a lack of money to do it anywhere else, or simply through personal preference. The family will pool what money they can in order to buy the nicest coffin they can afford for their loved one and the supplier of this coffin will typically also include a basic vehicle service such as a station wagon. In cases of extreme poverty, the family will not be able to afford a coffin - in this case a very basic wooden coffin is supplied by the local government or similar group.

The family will then wash and dress the body ready for the funeral. As there is no embalming done, and with high humidity and temperatures, burial typically occurs on the day of the death; or if death occurs at night, the next day. When it is time to bury the person, there is a procession to the graveyard and if it is not too far, people will walk behind the vehicle.

Although headstones are used, another common feature in many of the rural village graveyards is the concrete mausoleum, which a family may have saved up for and bought as a way of interring their loved ones with more dignity [shown below].

Photo of a concrete mausoleum with 4 spaces remaining.