A Thai funeral

by Katrine Iversen and Christina Poulsen, Denmark

During out stay in Nongkhai we went to a funeral. It was very exiting to take part in and learn the Buddhist culture. We were invited by the family and everybody was very pleased that we were there.

During the first hour of the ceremony the monks were chanting about the way of life and some of the relatives gave speeches about the deceased. Everyone was given a rose made out of paper and laid it beside the casket. After that the deceased was taken out of the big air conditioned casket, and was laid in an open coffin. The family poured perfume on the body and afterwards put her in the oven. Everyone lit an incense and said a prayer for the deceased. That was the end of the funeral.

It was a really touching experience. One of the big differences between a Christian and a Buddhist funeral is that at a Buddhist funeral it is not appreciated that you show your feelings or cry. Some members of the closest family were crying but they tried to hide it.

When we left, the family was thanking us for coming and we were thanking them for the interesting experience. We found it hard to react to their thankfulness of our presence because we felt like it was us who should be thanking them because in our culture you just don't get invited to a funeral.