CEREMONIES FOR THE DYING AND THE DEAD.
Death is essentially awe-inspiring and mysterious, and in the case
of a people whose lives, from the cradle upwards, are lived in an
atmosphere of superstition, it is only to be expected that the
ceremonies for the dead should be duly and respectfully performed.
[Illustration: A ROYAL FUNERAL PROCESSION.
_Page 245._]
When a person is at the point of death, those by the bedside endeavour
to fix the thoughts of the dying one upon the "Great Teacher," whose
words are their hope and guide at such a time. Loudly and rapidly, at
least eight or ten times a minute, the watchers exclaim, "Pra Arahang,
Pra Arahang," this being one of the many names of the last Buddha.
With the mind dwelling upon the precepts of the ancient sage, the sick
one passes from this world of men, and the body lies stiff in death.
Still the cry goes forth, louder and more rapidly than before, "Pra
Arahang, Pra Arahang," so that the departed soul may not forget the
teacher as it takes its flight into another world. The cry ceases not
until the spirit has passed so far away that all hope of it hearing
the voices of earthly relatives must be abandoned. Then loud wailing,
the natural world-wide expression of uncontrollable grief, is heard
all over the house. Even the visitors, the domestics, the slaves and
others who might not be supposed to be so deeply affected by the loss
of the one who has passed away, join in the mournful chorus, as a
fitting way of showing their respect for the dead. If the person is
of high rank the body is bathed with great ceremony. The king himself
comes to the bedside to pour water over the corpse. Other princes
follow his example, after whom come the nobles present, according to
their rank. The corpse is dressed in pantaloons and a tight-fitting
jacket, wrapped in a winding-sheet and placed in a sitting posture
in a copper urn. A tube is placed in the mouth, and a mixture of
quicksilver and honey poured into the body. The copper urn, which has
a grating at the bottom, is next placed inside a golden urn richly
studded with precious stones. At the bottom of this urn there is a
stop-cock through which the products of decomposition are drained away
day by day, in the interval that elapses between the death and the
cremation of the body. As the urn is placed on a high pedestal a loud
blast is blown upon the trumpets, the ancient conch shell is sounded,
the wailing of relatives and friends bursts out afresh, and the band
plays sorrowfully a weird funeral dirge. This noisy demonstration is
known as "the invitation to the corpse to sit upon the platform."
All the insignia of office belonging to the deceased are arranged at
the foot of the urn, together with those articles he has continually
used in his daily life, such as his cigar case, his golden
betel-nut box, his spittoon, his jewellery, and his writing materials.
At dawn, at noon, and again at early evening, the women relatives and
domestics gather round the base of the pedestal to indulge in loud
and tearful moans. In the intervals between these demonstrations of
sorrow, the priests occupy the room, chanting the prayers for the
dead and other stanzas from their religious texts appropriate to the
occasion. The remains are kept for a long time, sometimes for several
years before they are burned.
All people are not cremated. If a man has committed suicide, or died a
sudden death, as by lightning, cholera, or small-pox, he is held to be
deficient in "merit" and not worth burning. Such people are buried. It
may here be noticed how little wood is really required to burn a body.
About two armfuls of fuel will reduce a corpse to ashes.
Upon the death of a king, it is the duty of his successor to make
preparations for the cremation. The royal burnings take place on an
open piece of ground in front of the Royal Palace in Bangkok, called
the "Pramane Ground." The word "Pramane" is the name of the structure
erected for the ceremony. A square is marked out on the ground, with
its sides about forty feet long. At the angles of the square are
placed four huge pillars of teak about two hundred feet long. These
pillars must be straight, of the finest timber to be found in the
kingdom, and must never have been used in any previous ceremony. They
lean towards each other at the top, forming a truncated pyramid, and
support a pyramidal structure which ends in a tall tapering spire
and is profusely decorated with gold-leaf and tinsel. A large fence
of newly cut bamboo is erected to enclose the central erection--the
pramane. In three sides of the fence, gates are placed midway. Inside
the fence there are a number of temporary buildings, one for the
priests, one for the king and royal family, and another for specially
invited visitors. The king's pavilion is easily distinguishable from
the rest by its wealth of crimson drapery and cloth of gold. The floor
of the enclosure is covered with a carpet of split bamboos, which has
been specially made for the occasion and may never again be used for
a similar purpose. At many points in the fence, royal seven-tiered
umbrellas of cloth of gold reflect the powerful sunlight with dazzling
brilliancy. Outside the enclosure another set of buildings is provided
for the use of the officials, while over the rest of the ground are
scattered theatres, puppet-shows, shadow plays and other forms of
amusement. Under the central pagoda is a royal throne richly draped,
and an eight-sided pyramid which rests upon a firm platform. From the
centre of the roof hangs a circular awning, from which long strips of
crape, white silk, and cloth of gold are carried to the four corners
of the pramane. The eight-sided pyramid is the resting-place of the
urn, and has a special canopy of cloth of gold. Floral wreaths and
other decorations, made with marvellous skill and taste, are displayed
in every available spot, while bits of glass and porcelain adorn the
pillars and reflect the light of the sun by day, and of the torches
and lamps by night. After sunset a general illumination of the whole
place occurs. It is produced by thousands of torches, oil lamps and
Chinese lanterns.
At dawn, on the first day of the celebration of the funeral rites,
the corpse is taken in a car to the scene of the ceremonies. The
first carriage in the sad procession is occupied by the high priest.
As it moves slowly along, he reads from the Buddhist scriptures the
passages on death, and fixes his thoughts upon the fleeting nature of
this earthly life. The second carriage contains the favourite children
of the deceased monarch, while the third is the funeral car. The
high priest holds in his hands, pressed closely against the sacred
book, one end of a long strip of silver ribbon. The ribbon is carried
backwards, passes through the hands of the children, and is fastened
at the other end to the golden urn which contains the remains. As
the priest reads, holy influences pass from the sacred words through
the ribbon to the living bodies of the children and the dead body of
their royal father. Other carriages follow the funeral car, one of
which contains sticks of fragrant wood, with gilded ends--the fuel
for the burning. Another is filled with representations of fabulous
animals made in bamboo and covered with tinsel. The head and tail of
the funeral procession are formed by the white-robed Brahmins in their
usual conical hats. The throbbing of the death-drums falls upon the
ear with a dull regular boom, boom, boom.
On arriving at the Pramane, the urn is placed upon the pagoda, there
to remain for seven days. The silver ribbon is fastened in the middle
to the urn, and at the ends to the east and west sides of the room,
thus indicating the path traversed by the sun in his daily round,
and symbolising the life of man in its passage from the cradle to
the grave. The priests assemble in great numbers to recite stanzas
bearing upon life and death, and upon the mysteries of Nirvana and the
hereafter. When their recitations are finished, they sit for a little
while, with bent heads, in silent meditation upon the things they have
spoken. They retire for a time, but return a few hours later to repeat
their solemn chants.
The mourning colour is white, and every subject must wear it when the
sovereign dies. Unfortunately black is being gradually substituted for
white. It is a very hot and ugly colour to wear in a tropical land.
Every subject must also shave completely the hair of his head, and
keep his head in this condition of baldness as long as the Court may
command.
Thousands of priests are on such occasions fed, and presented with
new robes, and books, and a crowd of miscellaneous articles, such as
clocks, boxes of cigars, trays of betel-nut, and umbrellas.
Here and there on the Pramane Ground are placed the "trees that
gratify the desires of men." They have no likeness to any tree at
all, but are hollow wicker baskets on the ends of long poles. Tied to
the "branches" are a number of fresh limes, each of which contains
either a small silver coin or a lottery ticket. They are supposed to
represent the four trees that will blossom at the four corners of the
city in which the next Buddha will be born. They will then produce all
kinds of delicious fruit in fabulous quantities. In the evening men go
up the wicker 'tree,' pluck off the limes and throw them to the crowd.
The greatest excitement prevails, and the people shriek and shout,
and tumble over each other in their endeavours to obtain one of the
coveted souvenirs.
A display of fireworks follows the distribution of limes. Birds,
water-spouts, "bellowing elephants," and many other fantastic forms
blaze, fizz, and explode. When the last spark has disappeared the
first sound of orchestral music is heard, and free open-air theatres,
puppet-shows, and shadow plays offer their several attractions for the
amusement of the people.
On the seventh day the urn of gold is taken from under the canopy,
and the copper one removed from it. All the inflammable drapery, and
all articles of any value are carried away to be beyond reach of
flame. A pile of fragrant wood and spices is neatly arranged, and
then the urn is placed thereon. A quick-burning fuse or train of
gunpowder is laid from the funeral pyre to the king's pavilion. At the
proper time, about sunset usually, he ignites the fuse with sacred
fire from the royal temple. Everyone who is permitted, goes at once
to the pramane, lights a candle, and lays it in the fire, thereby
increasing the brilliancy and intensity of the fire. Great care
has to be taken to prevent the whole structure and the surrounding
buildings being consumed in a general conflagration. Many people are
engaged in extinguishing the fire at places where it threatens to
exceed its proper limits. In about an hour the cremation of the body
is complete, and the fire is everywhere carefully extinguished. The
charred bones are placed in the golden urn once more, the original
pyramid rebuilt, and the draperies replaced as before. The ashes of
the fire are collected, wrapped up in muslin, placed on a golden dish,
taken in a procession of state barges some distance down the river,
and there thrown into the waters. For three days after the burning the
festivities are kept up, and general rejoicing prevails amongst the
crowd. The charred remains are kept in a room in the palace, specially
set aside for the reception of the royal remains. The timber used in
the construction of the pramane or of any of the attendant buildings,
can never be used again for funeral purposes. It is distributed to
the priests to be used by them in the erection or repairing of their
dwellings.
Such then is the ceremony that attends the death of a king. Other
members of the royal family and all princes and nobles of high rank
are also cremated with great pomp and with a lavish expenditure of
money. As the king's household is a very large one, and as a few
deaths occur every year, it would involve a fearful waste of time and
money if a separate funeral service were held for each of them in
turn. One by one as deaths occur, the dead bodies are placed in the
copper urn, and this again in the golden one, until a fairly large
number await their cremation. In 1895 a royal funeral ceremony was
held that lasted for a week, several bodies being burnt every day. The
illustration, "A Royal Funeral Procession", was made in connection
with this particular ceremony. The boxes seen passing through one of
the city gates were the coffins of the least honoured or distinguished
of the dead. Such a cremation, though performed with great state, is
not nearly so imposing as that connected with the death of a king.
[Illustration: THE POOR MAN'S FUNERAL.]
The poorer classes cannot afford the money to pay for fireworks,
theatres, and processions, but they do all that they possibly can to
show their respect for the dead, with becoming ritual. When a man is
thought to be nearing his end, the priests are called to his bedside.
They read to the dying man of his future births, of the blessed
Nirvana, and endeavour to drive all fear from his mind. When life is
extinct they sprinkle the body with water, and join the relatives
in the chorus "Pra Arahang, Pra Arahang". The body is washed, and
wrapped in a clean cloth, and money is placed in the mouth. It is then
put into an urn, if the friends can afford to buy one; but if not,
it rests simply in the coffin. The coffin is an oblong wooden box,
covered outside with wall-paper and tinsel, and has no lid. Food is
placed inside, and very often the body lies face downwards so that the
spirit shall not find its way back again. The coffin is removed from
the house through a hole in the wall, and not through the door, for if
the spirit of the deceased should be lingering near, it might refuse
to pass through the doorway into the outer world, and would then
remain to haunt the house and disturb its inhabitants. The coffin is
carried round and round the house three or four times, so as to baffle
the spirit that it may not be able to return to its former home. For
it must be remembered that these people believe that it takes the soul
seven days to reach its final destination, and there is always the
possibility of its being re-called from its onward flight by earthly
attractions, or by non-observance of the ceremonies that should be
performed.
The bearers next proceed to one of the temples which possesses a
public "Pramane" or crematorium. After the burning has taken place the
bones, or charred objects that look like bones, are collected from
the ashes, to be reverentially preserved by the relatives. As they
have no gold urns in which to store these relics, they keep them in
common thick glass tumblers of foreign manufacture, over which they
place a pagoda-like covering made of red lacquer and gilded by some
native artisan. On very particular occasions these remains are brought
out and distributed about the rooms, perhaps as a reminder to the
pleasure-seekers that death is ever with them.
Those who have died of cholera or by lightning, and who have
consequently been buried, are dug up a few months later, and what is
left of them committed to the flames.
Paupers and criminals are disposed of in a barbarous and revolting
manner. At one of the city temples a flock of vultures, numbering over
a hundred, is kept. The vultures are repulsive, dirty-looking birds
who sit stolidly hour by hour upon the roof or walls of the temple,
apparently without life or motion except when a body is brought for
their repast. Then they become keenly excited at the prospect of the
coming feast, for which, however, they must first do battle with the
crowd of pariahs that also haunt the vicinity of the same temple. They
flock down with noisy croaking and great flapping of wings, but are
beaten off by the attendants, who first prepare the body for the feast
by cutting it open in different places with large sharp knives. They
cast a few pieces of flesh to the dogs and then retire. In a second
the body is hidden by the birds, who settle upon it from head to foot.
Nothing is to be seen but a compact mass of quivering feathers. The
vultures gorge themselves with the flesh, never ceasing as long as
anything remains to be consumed, unless it be to make a vicious grab
at the head of some venturesome pariah who dares to interfere with
their enjoyment of the feast. It is a sickening spectacle, and its
only merit is that it is safer from a sanitary point of view to allow
the flesh to be eaten in this way than to bury it beneath the damp
soil near some human dwelling.
The meal over, the feathered cannibals return to their perches upon
roof and wall. The relatives gather up the clean white bones, put them
loosely in a wooden coffin, light wax tapers, and bearing the coffin
with them, march three times round the funeral pyre. They then light
the fire, place the coffin on the burning fuel, and scatter sweetly
smelling incense in the leaping flames.
There are two spirits who watch over and take charge of all
burning-places. They are familiarly spoken of as the "Grandfather
cocoa-nut shell," and the "Grandmother cocoa-nut shell."
To neglect the cremation ceremony would be as fatal to the happiness
of the departed soul in its future existence, as to neglect the
shaving of the top-knot would be to the success of a child in this.
The soul of the man whose body has not been consumed with fire passes
into everlasting and fearful servitude. It becomes the bond-slave
of a horrid master whose distinguishing personal characteristics are
a dog's head on a human body and a ferocious temper. He sits for
all time with his feet in the fires of hell, enjoying the infernal
heat, but as his enjoyment would cease were his extremities to be
consumed, he requires a body of servants to cool them. The souls of
the uncremated are his slaves, and it is their duty to carry through
the long years of eternity, water in open wicker baskets. Their way
to the wells lies across a long and perilous bridge, but over it they
must pass day by day without end as they perform their thankless task.
When the body is burned the soul is liberated from this terrible
bondage. There have been times when some frightful epidemic has
ravaged the city, and when the attendants in fear and trembling have
left the sick to die alone. Then the soldiers have been sent to gather
up the dead and cast them into the public graves. When the scourge
has spent itself and the minds of the living have become calm again,
the relatives of those who have not been burned begin to reflect upon
the awful fate that has overtaken the departed souls. Were they to go
to the public grave and dig up a body and burn it, it might not be
that of him they seek, and their efforts would be of no avail. But
they free the fettered soul in another manner. They believe that the
horrid monster of the nether regions knows all the names both of the
living and the dead, so that if they endeavour to perform any act
of propitiation he will know by whom and for whom the deed is done.
They obtain the release of the soul by promising to call themselves
in this life the relatives of the demon. It is merely a nominal
relationship, but it pleases the fiend with the burning feet, and in
return for the homage thus paid to his power he allows the captured
soul to go its way.
The worldly relations of the infernal spirit acknowledge their
relationship by getting from the priests several red and yellow
strings and binding them upon their necks, wrists and ankles. They
also make a little cart, and model two clay oxen which they harness
to the tiny shafts. In this they put clay images, one for each member
of the family. Round the chief joints of these toy images, red and
yellow strings are fastened by their owners. Offerings of flowers and
fruit are put in the cart and then it is taken to the rice-fields and
deposited in some convenient spot. The cart and its contents are soon
destroyed by the birds, the wind, and the little field-mice, but they
are never restored.