Isaan Funeral of Khun Da Part 1, Thailand.

A few weeks ago we had to attend Noot’s gandfather’s funeral. In the village the temple is very basic, it is not anything elaborate like many Thai temples you see.

At Khun Da’s house there was a crowd gathering, there was plenty off food available, water and soft drinks. I refused to buy alcohol as Da didn’t drink and I would have been throwing people out as there are always loud mouth drunks at Thai funerals.


Straight across the road is the Mekong River, not a bad view to look out across each day.

A Thai funeral can be a little daunting if you have never been to one. I have sadly been to too many since moving to Thailand. When you die your body is placed in your house for a number of days, people will come to pay respect, pray, eat and drink known as Gnan Sop.

I was present at Noot’s other grandfather’s death, he was brought back to his house from hospital, he was having oxygen pumped into his lungs manually. We took him out of the ambulance and placed him in his house on his mat that was prepared. A short time later the air was stopped being pumped and he passed on.

Then all so quickly, we took his body outside to be bathed, then friends started arriving and pour water over one of his hands. Then we brought his body back into his house and he was placed back on his mat. Then the oddest thing I have ever had to do happened.

A senior guy from the village had bottles of formalin, he puts in an IV style needle and then I am stuck helping this guy pump this liquid into the body, I keep handing him syringe filled needles, while he slowly pushed the liquid into the veins. This was a little freaky I can tell you.

Back to Khun Da’s funeral. Remember Thais think that only birth and death are important, a funeral isn’t meant to be sad but just a passage for the soul or spirit to pass onto its next life.

I ended up having to take a lot more pictures than I wanted to. I had already told Noot that I didn’t want to be made the photographer for the funeral. I took a few of the family members; this is Joom, Ja, Da’s daughter, Noot and Beer. Then others started to wander in for a picture and I took a few and then excused myself.

This is Khun Da in his coffin, this is the standard Buddhist coffin, some are very elaborate especially for wealthy Thais.

Each morning and evening monks would come to the house to chant from the Abhidharma (Buddhist scripts), in the mornings food is offered to the monks known as Matakabhatta (Mataka “one who is dead”)

This will happen for one to seven days or even longer for rich or very important people, some will be embalmed in a glass case for years. Da was in state for 3 days. People would light an incense stick, say a prayer then bow one time with hands in a prayer like manner.

On the day of the funeral, you should dress in black or dark colours. Here we have two of Da’s daughters, five granddaughters and two great grandkids being Ja and Beer.


On the left is one of Khun Da’s friends and on the right is his great grandson. They are becoming monks for the day to pay respect to Khun Da. They receive their robes as if Khun Da was giving them to them. From what I have read a long time ago, monks used to get the deceased clothes to make robes from but now this obviously doesn’t happen.

All day food is cooked, people arrive to pay respect and have a cold drink. Mostly the local ladies and family ladies look after all this and the men drink, sing songs and gamble.

Here the monks are arriving on the final day, the abbot of the temple leads them into the house.


The monks chant from the Abhidharma (Buddhist scripts), when they are using Buddha’s direct words they use the thing that looks like a fan.

Finally it was time for Khun Da’s finally journey, they started removing wreathes and his belongings to take to the crematorium area.

Then the coffin is removed, it is passed onto a back of a pick-up truck. Then it is time for the walk to the cremation area, and I will cover this in part 2 at a later date.

Brunty