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Toh Chatah Chiwit |
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Toh Chatah Chiwit,
is the Thai name
of an unconventional ritual in which a Buddhist monk performs a symbolical
burial for a living person. It is done to break with one's old life, or at
least the intention to do so, and at the start of a new chapter in ones
life, e.g. on a special birthday. |
A lay person will lie down,
either in a coffin or on the floor underneath a
white sheet, thus symbolizing death. After the monk
has chanted an incantation and performed some rites,
the person involved rises again, and is symbolically
reborn as a new person. |
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Toh Chatah Chiwit |
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Toh Chatah Chiwit |
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First
the person undergoing the ritual will lit some candles
and three
incense sticks,
while kneeling down and saying a prayer, followed by an
aphiwaht
to show of respect.
Then the monk is offered some flowers and a monetary
gift. |
The person will then lie down
and is covered by a
white sheet, akin to a corpse, after which the monk
will chant an incantation and perform some rites.
Then the sheet is removed, the person reverses and covered once
again, and the monk repeats the ritual, now from the side of the
feet. |
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Toh Chatah Chiwit |
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Toh Chatah Chiwit |
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When
all is done, the person involved rises again, and is symbolically
reborn as a new person. Then a
kruad nahm
ritual, commonly used in Buddhist funeral ceremonies, is
performed, in which water from a small metal flaks is
slowly poured into a small corresponding bowl
(fig.). |
To finalize the ceremony, the monk will give some
nahm mon,
i.e. ‘blessed water’,
to the participant, who will pour it over the head
and wash the face with it.
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Toh Chatah Chiwit |
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