Festive Family Funerals in Rural Thailand
Posted by Non Nam Thaeng Primary School on Sunday, February 13, 2011
Under: Local Culture
There is always something new in our small village, like funerals for example. It is for our people here yet another occasion to engage in collective festivities.
All starts when the person dies; the body is put to rest in his/her house where it will remain for 2 to 4 days/nights in a coffin under an ornamental and colorful shrine. Next to the coffin the family places a table with a picture of the deceased, flowers, candles, and a large pan of sand with incense sticks. Right away festive preparations are under way. From a renting outfit, tables and chairs are set up under a removable canopy right in front of the deceased's house. Since we have no sidewalks in our village, the entire set-up takes half of the small street.
At the same time, the ladies of the village gather together at the house of the deceased and start cooking enormous quantities of food. All the relatives, friends and neighbors of the deceased will soon arrive to pay their last respects and at the same time will expect to be greeted and entertained with generous food offerings and drinks. This can last up to 4 days and nights until the body is brought to the temple for cremation. Local monks will also come to the deceased's house to perform Buddhist rites for the departed. Except for some very close relatives of the deceased, I have never seen anyone shedding a tear for the departed. Unlike the rather morbid tradition of the West, a Thai funeral is not a sad event. According to Buddhism, the person will go to another (better or worst) world before being reborn according to his/her "karma/merits". Lamentations are definitely not a part of our village's culture or collective emotions. While the body lies in the house, everybody is welcome to be entertained with plenty of food and drinks. It is also an occasion to have an ongoing small gambling party inside the house to bring some excitement (and money) to the whole affair.
But like every good thing, it has to come to an end when the day of cremation arrives. The gasket and its ornamental shrine are placed on the back of a pick-up truck and transported to the temple where it will be cremated. Everyone will walk in front or behind the truck holding a single white thread attached to the coffin. At the temple, the monks will perform another ritual ceremony and all the people will pour water from coconut shells over the deceased for a last purification rite. The gasket is then re-sealed and the cremation takes place after everyone had a chance to throw a lighted match on the pyre.
The cremation of the body according to Buddhism is the final release of the soul from the body. Three days later the ashes of the deceased are collected by the family in a urn which will be later embedded into the outside walls of the temple property.
Written by: Chris Aupretre & Mr. Suryan
All starts when the person dies; the body is put to rest in his/her house where it will remain for 2 to 4 days/nights in a coffin under an ornamental and colorful shrine. Next to the coffin the family places a table with a picture of the deceased, flowers, candles, and a large pan of sand with incense sticks. Right away festive preparations are under way. From a renting outfit, tables and chairs are set up under a removable canopy right in front of the deceased's house. Since we have no sidewalks in our village, the entire set-up takes half of the small street.
At the same time, the ladies of the village gather together at the house of the deceased and start cooking enormous quantities of food. All the relatives, friends and neighbors of the deceased will soon arrive to pay their last respects and at the same time will expect to be greeted and entertained with generous food offerings and drinks. This can last up to 4 days and nights until the body is brought to the temple for cremation. Local monks will also come to the deceased's house to perform Buddhist rites for the departed. Except for some very close relatives of the deceased, I have never seen anyone shedding a tear for the departed. Unlike the rather morbid tradition of the West, a Thai funeral is not a sad event. According to Buddhism, the person will go to another (better or worst) world before being reborn according to his/her "karma/merits". Lamentations are definitely not a part of our village's culture or collective emotions. While the body lies in the house, everybody is welcome to be entertained with plenty of food and drinks. It is also an occasion to have an ongoing small gambling party inside the house to bring some excitement (and money) to the whole affair.
But like every good thing, it has to come to an end when the day of cremation arrives. The gasket and its ornamental shrine are placed on the back of a pick-up truck and transported to the temple where it will be cremated. Everyone will walk in front or behind the truck holding a single white thread attached to the coffin. At the temple, the monks will perform another ritual ceremony and all the people will pour water from coconut shells over the deceased for a last purification rite. The gasket is then re-sealed and the cremation takes place after everyone had a chance to throw a lighted match on the pyre.
The cremation of the body according to Buddhism is the final release of the soul from the body. Three days later the ashes of the deceased are collected by the family in a urn which will be later embedded into the outside walls of the temple property.
Written by: Chris Aupretre & Mr. Suryan
In : Local Culture