After Someone Passes Away, Why Do Families 'Buy Water' for Their Final Bath? It’s Not Purchased at a Store — This Basin of Water Has a Special Purpose

After someone passes away, in addition to preparing clothing and coffins for the deceased, certain traditional Taiwanese funeral customs include a pre-burial ritual known as 'buying water' (also called 'begging water' or 'inviting water'). Although the term sounds like purchasing a basin of water with money, it does not involve going to a store to pay. Instead, family members travel to a stream, river, or well to collect water. In some local customs, they inform the water deity of their purpose, toss coins into the water, then bring the water home to perform the deceased’s final purification bath. With changes in living environments and funeral practices, some families no longer physically go to riversides to fetch water. However, the symbolic meaning behind 'buying water' — a gesture of farewell — continues to be preserved in certain traditional funeral rites.

What Is the 'Buying Water' Ritual in Funerals? It’s About Collecting the Last Basin of Purification Water for the Deceased

According to the Ministry of Education’s Revised Edition of the Comprehensive Dictionary of Contemporary Chinese, 'buying water' refers to a funeral custom involving drawing water from a riverside to wash the corpse. Historical records, such as Zhou Qufei’s Lingwai Daida from the Song Dynasty, indicate that similar corpse-washing customs using drawn water have existed since ancient times. Today, practices vary across regions in Taiwan. The Shalu District Office in Taichung City documents that 'begging water,' also known as 'buying water' or 'inviting water,' is specifically used to clean the deceased’s body. Traditionally, the eldest son (filial son) carries a bowl and, accompanied by family members, goes to a riverside or well. After burning incense and casting divination blocks to seek permission, two copper coins are tossed into the water as symbolic payment to the water deity, after which the water is brought home. Thus, 'buying' here does not refer to monetary value, but rather signifies that the water was respectfully requested through ritual acts — distinguishing it from everyday water used for laundry or cooking.

If Tap Water Is Available at Home, Why Go Through the Trouble of 'Buying Water'?

If the goal is simply to clean the deceased’s body, modern households can easily access water from taps. So why perform the 'buying water' ritual? The significance lies not in the water’s quality, but in the act of fetching it, which is an essential part of the funeral process. According to funeral customs documented by the Lanyang Museum in Yilan, family members go to a stream, river, or ditch, bringing a clay bowl and coins. They announce to the water deity that they are requesting water to bathe the deceased before returning home with it. For traditional funerals, 'buying water' represents the family obtaining a basin of water for the deceased’s final purification — a farewell rite performed before burial. Regional differences exist in the details. For example, Shalu District Office records mention 'drawing water against the current,' while the Lanyang Museum notes that in Yilan, water should be scooped in the direction of the flow. Therefore, there is no single standardized procedure for 'buying water' across Taiwan — practices vary according to local customs.

Is the Collected Water Actually Used to 'Bathe' the Deceased?

The phrase 'final bath' might evoke images of fully washing the body as in daily life, but in traditional funerals, 'bathing' is not always literal. According to Shalu District Office materials, after returning home with the water, family members or hired individuals use a white cloth dipped in the water to ritually wipe the deceased’s body — a process known as 'bathing the body.' Afterward, hair is combed, appearance is tidied, and funeral garments are put on in preparation for burial.

Lanyang Museum’s documentation of Yilan customs mentions that families may use new cotton cloths dipped in the collected river water, sometimes mixed with warm water or jasmine grass, wiping the body from head to toe before proceeding with dressing in funeral attire and performing rituals such as 'ci sheng' (farewell to life). Therefore, 'buying water' and 'bathing' are two interconnected steps: first, obtaining water with ritual significance, then using it for the deceased’s final purification and grooming.

Do Families Still Need to Go to Rivers to 'Buy Water' Today?

Traditionally, water was collected from streams, rivers, or wells. However, due to environmental changes, river pollution, covered urban waterways, and the lack of accessible water sources near homes, the ritual has evolved. As noted by the Lanyang Museum, because of pollution, covered rivers, or the absence of nearby rivers, some modern families now fill buckets with tap water and perform the 'begging water' ritual beside a nearby ditch. Even when tap water replaces natural sources, some families still maintain the practice of announcing their intent to the water deity and symbolically requesting water for the deceased’s bath. This explains why, at contemporary funerals, one may not always see family members carrying bowls to riversides. What has changed is the source of the water; what remains is the ritual act of obtaining water, purifying the deceased, and bidding farewell. While the form of 'buying water' has adapted to modern living conditions — shifting from river collection to tap water — the underlying meaning of cleansing, grooming, and respectfully sending off the deceased before burial continues to be preserved.