Thai ceremony for the dead brings good karma and emotional closure

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - A volunteer places a gold leaf on a human skull during a Lang Pa Cha mass cleansing ceremony for unclaimed bodies. — Reuters

BANGKOK, Dec 22 — When two month old Bibeam died in November 2023, the temples in her district would not cremate her, considering her too young for such a ceremony.

Instead she was buried without any religious rites in a cemetery in Rayong, about two hours southeast of the Thai capital Bangkok and one hour from her family’s home.

Volunteers dig up the remains of unclaimed bodies. — Reuters

It was only this year that Bibeam was given the Buddhist cremation her parents had wanted when she was included in a rare Lang Pa Cha cemetery cleansing ceremony, a ritual that originated during China’s Song dynasty and was brought to Thailand by Chinese immigrants.

“I am very satisfied and happy that my baby can have her funeral rite like others,” her mother, 26-year-old Paikaew Thaijaroen, told Reuters.

A volunteer cleans a human skull with holy water known as ‘tea water’. — Reuters

Lang Pa Cha ceremonies take place every year at cemeteries throughout Thailand’s 77 provinces and are organised by a small group of non-profit organisations.

The ritual involves exhuming remains and conducting Buddhist and Taoist rites in a ceremony that is now unique to the Southeast Asian country, said Sayomphu Kiatsayomphu, president of Thailand’s Cemeteries Cleansing Network.

Volunteers clean human skulls with toothbrushes in holy water known as ‘tea water’. — Reuters

Cremation is widely practised in Thailand, but people who die without being officially identified, perhaps because they moved a lot of were a migrant worker, are usually buried.

Bibeam was included in the ceremony because when the volunteers exhumed her grave, which was in the same section as those who were unclaimed, her body was discovered to have been unusually well preserved.

Paikaew Thaijaroen, 26, mother of two-month-old Bibeam who lost her life in November 2023, walks three rounds and pays her respects near funeral pyres on the cremation day. — Reuters

“The ultimate aim is to ensure the ascension of these unclaimed souls to heaven,” Kiatsayomphu said.

Once exhumed, the remains are cleaned by Buddhist volunteers before a medium determines their gender.

A volunteer rests beside human skulls. — Reuters

A preserved body is adorned with gold leaf by volunteers. — Reuters

For some of the volunteers the ceremony helps in “merit making” - a Buddhist concept where performing good deeds contributes to that person’s own happiness and well-being.

“I first started Lang Pa Cha around 20 years ago as a volunteer,” said Tonploy Boonporn, a 63-year-old masseur. “After that, I found real spiritual fulfilment in this ceremony, so I kept going.”

Volunteers collect human skeletons inside fabric bags after they were cleaned with holy water known as ‘tea water’ and then dried. — Reuters

Tonploy Boonporn, known as Ploy (front), 63, holds human skulls as she poses for a photo with her friends. — Reuters

As the day of cremation draws near, the volunteers use toothbrushes and holy water to gently wash the mud from the remains, before adorning them with gold leaf.

The decorated remains are then arranged in two separate pyres - one for men and one for women.

Volunteers carry bags containing the bones of unclaimed bodies to place them inside a funeral pyre for cremation. — Reuters

Bank notes are laid beside an unclaimed body after the remains were dug out from a graveyard. — Reuters

The cemetery in Rayong, where Bibeam was cremated, had not been cleansed for nearly two decades and contained about 1,000 unclaimed bodies, according to Pakkhapoom Boonchothirun, an executive member of the Sawang Pornkuson Foundation that runs the graveyard and organised the ceremony.

The Lang Pa Cha took place between March and May.

Retired teacher Termsuk Rongmarut, 67, pays respects to a skull from an unclaimed body. — Reuters

Smoke rises from funeral pyres. — Reuters

On the day of the cremation, Bibeam’s body was placed on top of the funeral pyre, symbolically leading the souls of the departed on their journey to heaven.

“Seeing her preserved body placed on the top of a female funeral pyre makes me feel more complete,” Paikaew said. — Reuters

A pile of human skulls burn after a funeral pyre was lit. — Reuters