Burial Traditions

As I traveled around the countryside near my friend's village, I was intrigued by the tombs (like the one above) that dotted the landscape. Almost every 100-300 meters or so there seemed to be another tomb, often in the middle of a rice or corn field or orange orchard. It was explained to me that these gravesites are placed in the middle of fields in order to bring the blessings of a bountiful harvest. Family members of the deceased bring not only flowers, but also food to place on the tomb. Most of the graves are quite extravagant as well, some with a tiled roof as large as a regular house (the above example is actually quite simple compared to others). In fact, it seems like these people often spend more money on these "houses for the dead" than they do on houses for the living. This seemed ridiculous to me, but as one friend explained it, that's because we Americans are future-oriented whereas Asians tend to be past-orientated. We primarily value and prepare for that which will happen in the future, while Asians value and remember that which has happened in the past.