The lost souls of Melaka

Malacca is a small seaside town in southern Malaysia. It has many Chinese residents, a majority of whom are still quite poor. When the family members die, there is usually very little money to give them a grave in a graveyard, so there are a multitude of shrines and temples in which families erect these miniature tombstones, stacked deep in rows. There are thousands and thousands of them inside the Cheng Hoon Teng Temple. A photo is attached to each one, and most waste away with time. A few solitary ones remain behind.