The Chanting Text in the Funeral of the Ethnic Taidum in Thailand: Beliefs, Traditions, Rituals and Meanings

Abstract

The research aimed to study the cultural dimension in the aspects of beliefs, traditions, rituals and meanings conveyed through the chanting texts used in the ethnic tribe Taidumin Thailand, to examine beliefs, traditions, rituals and meanings and to preserve and restore the culture of the ethnic tribe Taidum in Thailand.

            The study found that meanings were communicated through the different aspects. The ritual communicated thankfulness. It conveyed beliefs in the misery or agony, beliefs in spirit and soul. It showed different beliefs that Taen or heavenly god created humans; the soul of humans was divided into parts after their death; the misfortune was preceded by a bad omen. Other aspects related to the ritual included  a livelihood depending on the surroundings available,  a feeling for a homeland, a route record by ancestors, an ideal town or place of the ethnic group, a corruption, a nostalgic feeling, a tradition of betel chewing, a concept of the afterlife world, a different world for the death and the living.