Bidadari Cemetery
Encyclopedia
Bidadari Cemetery is a defunct cemetery
in Singapore
. There were two sections: the Muslim
section was at the base of Mount Vernon
, bounded by Upper Aljunied Road, Upper Serangoon Road, and Bartley Road
; the Christian
section was across Upper Aljunied Road from the Muslim section, and bounded by Upper Serangoon Road as well.
Apart from being a place of remembrance, the trails inside Bidadari Cemetery used to be very popular as a running route for members of the Gurkha Contingent
. Bidadari Cemetery is no longer in use, and most of the graves have been exhumed for redevelopment. Woodleigh MRT Station
now occupies part of the former site.
The cemetery was a burial site of Augustine Podmore Williams
, an English sailor, on whose life writer Joseph Conrad
based his novel Lord Jim
. Burials were not permitted after 1972, the same year that the Mount Vernon Crematorium and Columbarium was opened, which too eventually closed in 2004 due to redevelopment plans drawn up by the Urban Redevelopment Authority
(URA).
word widyadari, which means a nymph
of India
's heaven or a houri
of paradise. The bidadari are depicted as kindly fairies and genie
s that preside over the union of flower
s. In the local context, the name is a reference to the beauty of the wife of Maharajah abu Bakar of Johore who had a house
there. The cemetery took the name after the sultan
's wife ceased to reside there. The grounds were leased to a Japanese
person who built moat
s with typical Japanese wooden bridge
s and a teahouse.
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. There were two sections: the Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
section was at the base of Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon, Singapore
Mount Vernon is a small hill in central Singapore west of Potong Pasir and north of MacPherson Estate. Officially named in 1956, it is circumscribed by Bartley Road, Upper Aljunied Road, Upper Serangoon Road, and Upper Paya Lebar Road.-Features:...
, bounded by Upper Aljunied Road, Upper Serangoon Road, and Bartley Road
Bartley Road
Bartley Road is a major road in Singapore extending from Upper Serangoon Road to Tampines Avenue 10. The road has a distance of 5.8 km. En route, it passes through the areas of Serangoon, Bartley, Paya Lebar, Defu, Kaki Bukit and Bedok Reservoir...
; the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
section was across Upper Aljunied Road from the Muslim section, and bounded by Upper Serangoon Road as well.
Apart from being a place of remembrance, the trails inside Bidadari Cemetery used to be very popular as a running route for members of the Gurkha Contingent
Gurkha Contingent
The Gurkha Contingent is a line department of the Singapore Police Force. Members of the GC are trained to be highly-skilled and are selected for their display of strong discipline and dedication in their tasks...
. Bidadari Cemetery is no longer in use, and most of the graves have been exhumed for redevelopment. Woodleigh MRT Station
Woodleigh MRT Station
Woodleigh MRT Station ' is an underground Mass Rapid Transit station of the North East Line, located on part of the former Bidadari Cemetery. When the North-East Line opened, it was one of the fully completed MRT stations in the entire system that was non-operational. The Art In Transit artwork in...
now occupies part of the former site.
The cemetery was a burial site of Augustine Podmore Williams
Augustine Podmore Williams
Augustine Podmore Williams was an English mariner who gained notoriety in the 1880s as the result of a scandal on the high seas. Williams' story served as the inspiration for Joseph Conrad's novel Lord Jim...
, an English sailor, on whose life writer Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist.Conrad is regarded as one of the great novelists in English, although he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties...
based his novel Lord Jim
Lord Jim
Lord Jim is a novel by Joseph Conrad originally published as a serial in Blackwood's Magazine from October 1899 to November 1900.An early and primary event is Jim's abandonment of a ship in distress on which he is serving as a mate...
. Burials were not permitted after 1972, the same year that the Mount Vernon Crematorium and Columbarium was opened, which too eventually closed in 2004 due to redevelopment plans drawn up by the Urban Redevelopment Authority
Urban Redevelopment Authority
The Urban Redevelopment Authority is the national urban planning authority of Singapore, and a statutory board under the Ministry of National Development of the Singapore Government.-Mission:The authority was established on 1 April 1974, and is of especially critical importance to the city-state,...
(URA).
Name
The word bidadari means "fairy" and is probably derived from the SanskritSanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
word widyadari, which means a nymph
Nymph
A nymph in Greek mythology is a female minor nature deity typically associated with a particular location or landform. Different from gods, nymphs are generally regarded as divine spirits who animate nature, and are usually depicted as beautiful, young nubile maidens who love to dance and sing;...
of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
's heaven or a houri
Houri
In Islam, the ḥūr or ḥūrīyah are commonly translated as " companions of equal age ", "lovely eyed", of "modest gaze", "pure beings" or "companions pure" of paradise, denoting humans and jinn who enter paradise after being recreated anew in the hereafter...
of paradise. The bidadari are depicted as kindly fairies and genie
Genie
Jinn or genies are supernatural creatures in Arab folklore and Islamic teachings that occupy a parallel world to that of mankind. Together, jinn, humans and angels make up the three sentient creations of Allah. Religious sources say barely anything about them; however, the Qur'an mentions that...
s that preside over the union of flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s. In the local context, the name is a reference to the beauty of the wife of Maharajah abu Bakar of Johore who had a house
House
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
there. The cemetery took the name after the sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
's wife ceased to reside there. The grounds were leased to a Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
person who built moat
Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
s with typical Japanese wooden bridge
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
s and a teahouse.
Notable burials
- A. P. WilliamsA. P. WilliamsAlfred Percy Williams was an Australian cricket Test match umpire.He umpired one Test match, between Australia and England, played at Sydney on 19 December to 27 December 1924...
- Douglas Campbell - British advisor in Johor
- Lim Boon KengLim Boon KengLim Boon Keng, OBE was a Chinese doctor who promoted social and educational reforms in Singapore and China. Lim was of Chinese Peranakan descent, with ancestry from Hai Teng district in Fujian, China.-Early life:...
- Regent Alfred John Bidwell - British architect of Swan and MaclarenSwan and MaclarenSwan and MacLaren Architects is the oldest architectural firm in Singapore. Formerly known as Swan and MacLaren, it was the most prominent architectural firm in Singapore when Singapore was a British colony in the early 20th century.-Early history:...
- Syarif MasahorSyarif MasahorSayyid Mashhur bin Muhammad Al-Shahab was a famous Malay warrior of Hadhrami descent in Sarikei, Sarawak state, Malaysia during the Brooke White Rajahs era in that state.- Background :Before the arrival of James Brooke, he was a powerful member who ruled and, in the past,...
- Sarawak warrior
See also
- Former cemeteries in SingaporeFormer cemeteries in SingaporeA number of former cemeteries in Singapore were cleared of graves with the land redeveloped during the second half of the twentieth century. The cemeteries had closed when they were either full or were relocated...
- British Association for Cemeteries in South AsiaBritish Association for Cemeteries in South AsiaBritish Association for Cemeteries in South Asia is an organisation founded in 1977 that seeks to maintain and record for posterity European cemeteries in former South Asian territories of the East India Company such as India, Pakistan and Malaysia....