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FUNERALS
When death is imminent, monks and/or an achaa are called to the house to recite Buddhist prayers and texts; and certain ritual
objects are prepared by the achaa and kinsmen or friends of
the dying person. (The following account of funerals (which does not include all possible
ceremonial details ) is based upon observation of the only funeral that
took place in Svay during my residence and upon information from informants)
After death the corpse is bathed (with water blessed by monks
) by the achaa and the deceased's children, and dressed in white
clothing with a scarf worn over one shoulder (as is customary when one attends
the temple). An old coin is placed in the corpse's month; a folded banana leaf containing
areca, betel leaves, and incense is put between its hands that are folded as if in
prayer; a cloth is laid over the face; and thread is bound around the neck, waist, and legs. The
monks recite prayers for the dead and continue to chant throughout the night
following the death.
In the meanwhile there is bustle and noise outside the house A funeral is,
next to weddings, the most elaborate of all life cycle ceremonies; and because it
cannot be planned and organized well in advance as for a wedding, the necessary preparations
must be compressed into a day or two of hurried activity. News of a death
spreads rapidly throughout and beyond the village, bringing kinsmen and friends hurrying
to the scene to pay their respects and aid in the various predations (Note
that much of the preparation and even important parts of the ritual are
performed by persons who are but distant kinsmen or simply friends of the
deceased.) Messengers are immediately dispatched to fetch close kinsmen who live
in other communities; a coffin is purchased in Kompong Kantuot and is as sembled
and decorated with colored paper; an elaborate funeral pyre is constructed of bamboo
and banana stalks that
are carved with delicate designs; a loudspeaker and phonograph records are rented
or borrowed; and quantities of food are bought and prepared to feed the monks,
numerous guests, and helpers.
Cremation is the usual means of disposing of the dead (except for
those who commit suicide who are buries). Among the upper social strata the
corpse may be kept several months or even years before cremation, but in the
village the body is usually cremated a day or two after the death in some open
area near the deceased's home (in other communities, the local temple may have a
crematorium). The coffin is borne from the house to the pyre in a procession
led by the achaa. After him come musicians with muffled
drums, a gong, and perhaps other traditional instruments; a kinswoman who
scatters rice upon the ground from a basket of rice that had been placed at the
feet of the deceased while he was dying (This basket of rice srau ponle or
srau nciéng tbong is also used in birth ritual according to
Porée-Maspero et al 1958:75, 22, it symbolizes the continuing rebirth of life
just as seed produces seed, although villages view it simply as
"custom" ) the coffin carried by four to eight sturdy men; a monk;
members of the immediate family who have shaved their heads and donned white mourning
clothes; and assorted relatives and friends who wish to join the cortège. After
the group circumambulated the pyre three times (The circling of the
funeral pyre is similar to the circumambulation of the temple that is performed
in many Buddhist festivals, except that in a funeral the procession proceeds
counterclockwise with the left side of the body toward the pyre rather than
clockwise with the right shoulder to ward the temple as in Buddhist festivals. )
the coffin is placed on the pyre. Various kinsmen and friends come forward to
stick incense on the pyre, then join the achaa and monks in
reciting prayers (In contrast to other familial rituals in which perhaps half a
dozen monks are incited for a brief recitation of prayers and blessings, a number
of monks are in almost constant attendance at funerals. Four to six monks are present
shortly before and after death, and throughout the nigh following the death; while a
greet crowd of monks are invited for the cremation (e.g., more than 30 monks from
both local temples attended the funeral I observed in East Svay). The importance
of monks in funeral rituals is, of course, understandable because death is the
time of passage to a new reincarnation and should be attended by numerous
prayers that may ameliorate the lot of the deceased ) The achaa
and several men who will start the cremation fire, carrying incense and the candle
that was lit at the moment of death, again circle the pyre. The achaa
then removes the coffin lid, opens the mat and shroud encircling the corpse, cuts
the threads birding the body and ignites the coffin.
The body is slowly consumed over several hours as both traditional and
popular music is heard over the loudspeaker. While the incineration proceeds, the
guests are saved food, liquor, and betel. There is no air of mandatory gloom and
solemnity throughout the funeral observances. The immediate family and close kin
of the deceased do feel a grief that is manifested by periodic tears and sad
reminiscences about the deceased (an old legal code which states that deceased's
parents siblings, and children must lie weeping upon the ground (Leclée 1898
:
234 ) But the sorrow of death is, of course, tempered by the thought that the
deceased will pass into another, and hopefully better, reincarnation. So members
of the mourning family and the guests chat and joke amiably with one another
(even indulging in occasional horseplay ) children run about as usual; and men
may get a bit drunk.
After three or four hours the corpse is virtually reduced to ashes and the
fire is extinguished with water. Relatives and friends look though the ashes for
remnants of bone and teeth that are collected and washed with coconut milk and
perfume. These fragments will eventually be placed in an urn that is kept either
at home or placed in a cheday monument at a temple (Wealthy
persons may have a special tomb or chedy constructed for the
remains of one or several members of the family, but ordinary villagers usually deposit
the ashes of family members in a cheday at the local temple
that receives the remains of may persons in the area.) Monks recite more
prayers (as they will again that evening ) and a final meal is served to all
(The different parts of the funeral ritual may occur at different hours and on
different days depending in the time of death, the rapidity with which various preparations
can be carried out, and auspicious days for cremation. E.g., Poo in East
Svay died on a Monday morning; she could not be cremated on Tuesday which is an
inauspicious day for funerals, so her coffin was simple taken to the pyre on
Tuesday afternoon; and the incineration was held on Wednesday
morning. In other funerals, however, the cremation might take place on the very
next day or even on the same day as death. ) There are no strict mourning injunctions,
and members of the family resume their usual routine after the funeral.
The expense of a funeral can be considerable, ranging from about 3,000 to
10,000 Rirls for various items such as the coffin, decorations for the coffin and
pyre, rental of a loudspeaker, food and beverages for monks and guests, payment for
the services of an achaa and monks, and miscellaneous purchases such
as candles, incense, betel, and cigarettes. The immediate family of the deceased
(i.e., the family of procreation if the deceased is a married adult, the family
of orientation if the deceased has no offspring or is still
unmarried ) bears the major expense of the ceremony, aided by contributions
of money and services from kinsmen and friends. Guests bring small monetary gifts
(as they do for weddings ), and frequently musicians will play without recompense
or a temple may lend a loudspeaker free of charge for funerals .
(It should be noted here that children do not receive the full pomp of adult
funerals. Monks are invited to pray at the house of a
deceased infant or child, and after another simple ceremony of prayers at
the temple, the
child is cremated. The death of a body or youngster creates hardly a ripple in
village routine and passes almost totally unremarked except among the
immediate family and close kin; for the child has had little time to create a
definite place for himself within society and hence does not cause a notice able
sense of loss when he dies. The death of an adolescent however, may well
occasion a funeral similar to that for an adult although it may not be as elaborate.
)
Ceremonies in honor of the dead are held on the seventh and one hundredth days
after death, and ideally upon the yearly anniversary of the death. For the
villagers, these observances consist mainly of inviting some monks to recite
sacred texts and chant prayers in the evening, and offering them a midday meal on
the following day.
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