Cemetery to get special Bhutanese area
An area of Spring Grove Cemetery is to be set aside for the burial of people of the Bhutanese Kirant and Buddhist faiths.
The Tasman District Council community development committee this month approved a request to provide an area large enough for the burial of 20 to 30 people at the cemetery along Mt Heslington Rd.
A letter of application for the designated burial ground, dated March 10, says there are about 260 Bhutanese people currently living in Nelson ‘‘and some more are still coming’’.
‘‘Of them, around 45 people are Buddhist or Kirant by faith.’’
The group requested the designated burial ground because its members believe the ‘‘human body originates from [the] earth and must go back to the earth after death’’.
‘‘They also believe the spirit of the dead person dwells on or around the graveyard until rebirth.
‘‘So, burial of [a] dead body is necessary,’’ the letter says.
In addition, members of the group believe the spirit of a dead person is disturbed if the body is buried in a place where people of other religious backgrounds are buried.
‘‘Such spirit does not get path for rebirth,’’ the letter says.
Cremation is not accepted because it is believed that fire destroys the spirit and prevents rebirth, the letter says.
In a report on the matter, TDC reserves and facilities manager Beryl Wilkes says the majority of the group live at Nelson.
However, it was recommended the group approach TDC because ’’Marsden Valley Cemetery could not accommodate their needs’’.
Wilkes told councillors she had not received a request such as this before.
However, she was aware that other councils had been providing designated areas for groups including Nelson City Council, which had made areas available for the Muslim and Catholic communities.
It was hoped the Nelson and Tasman councils could have a ‘‘cross-boundary’’ agreement so residents of one council area could use a designated burial site in the other council’s area without incurring an ‘‘out of district’’ fee.
‘‘People from Nelson with no family history of living in Tasman or family members in Tasman cemeteries pay an out-of-area fee and the same for people from Tasman district if they want to go to a Nelson cemetery,’’ Wilkes said.
‘‘We’re trying to set this up so the out-of-area fee is waived so that we can just cross over and hopefully, that will work.’’
Cr Trevor Tuffnell said he was happy to support the proposal.
‘‘If this gives these people comfort, I think that’s a great thing.’’