Funeral ritual of Mon National living in Hinthargon, Bago Township

Abstract

A ritual is a specific behavior or activity that gives symbolic expression of certain feelings or thoughts of groups and individuals. Funerals are `rites of passage' with three stages - separation, transition, and reintegration. In Mon funeral ritual, the deceased is placed on corpse’s shelter (Jaungnein in Mon) and a traditional spirit-basket (leikpyartaung) is placed at the head of the dead person. Mon funeral is supported by voluntary associations (Parahita). The Mon-nationals living in Hinthargone are found to be able to uphold their ethnic identity in terms of funeral ritual although their neighbourhood is occupied by non-Mons. The objectives of this paper are to elicit the celebration of Mon traditional funeral ritual in Hinthargon; to explore the influences of Mon identity on its funeral ritual; and to find out the relationships between funeral ritual and voluntary associations (Parahita). This study was conducted by ethnographic research method and descriptive study design. The study period was from 2009- 2012. In this study, interviews were made of Mon nationals who have knowledge and experience regarding Mon funeral, social welfare service associations' leaders and members through In-depth Interview and Key Informant Interview. Data were added to by the way of taking photographs and recording the talks.