An emotional day

An emotional day

Rather early, around 8 am, we went to the temple and everything was ready to welcome all the expected visitors. Huge amounts of food were prepared and all plates, water bottles, ice, glasses etc etc were ready to be brought out. Until about 9.30 people trickled in but than a steady stream kept coming until about noon and it was hard work for all people tending the various tables, about 20 - 25 tables each seating 8 people. Grand sons/daughters, sons in law (like myself), girlfriends, nephews, cousins et all, everybody helps tending the tables, cleaning the dishes, preparing the food and you name it.

All people (groups, families) attending bring an envelope with some money and in return they received a small Buddha figure. The amount in the envelopes varies on how good you know the deceased person or the family and can vary from 100,- Baht to a couple of thousand Baht.



Around noon the monks started their chants for about an hour and a half. When that was over, an event takes place that excites everybody, small, wrapped coins are being thrown into the crowd, 1, 5 and 10 Baht coins and some have numbers on them which connect to prices, like a rice cooker, a blanket etc. Everybody is full of anticipation and enjoys grabbing the coins off the floor.

Here people are grabbing the coins and are looking for them on the ground.

When this cheer full event was over, the body, which all these days was in a refrigerated casket, as shown on this picture above, was brought over to the place where the actual cremation took place, a couple of hundred meters away from the temple. With a last farewell from the people who followed along, the casket is placed inside and cremated. This last part, bringing the body over and actually starting the cremation seem always to pass by really fast and is rather emotional.

This is the actual place where the cremation took place, a little bit outside the actual temple grounds.

I'm really drained from all events today and will see you tomorrow again.

Camille