抄録
In the ritual complex of Don Daeng village, the funeral rites accompanying normal death are the most complicated of merit-making (tham bun) ceremonies, involving four stages of ritual: (1) rites held while the body is kept at home, (2) cremation rites, (3) collection of bones, (4) collective rites for transferring merit to the dead. Although these rites are household-centered, close kin and many other villagers collectively participate with material donations and cooperation. For the relatives of the dead, the hosts of the funeral rites, the main object is to make a lot of merit and transfer it to the deceased in order to ensure a good rebirth. They fulfill a moral obligation to the dead, because villagers believe that the average person cannot accumulate enough merit during life to ensure a good rebirth.
Many other villagers participate in funeral rites, by helping the deceased's relatives, in order to make merit for themselves. By their definition, every participant in a merit-making ceremony gains a share of the merit. They help the host of the funeral rites in various ways, especially in the ‘feast’ held at the house of the dead. In this situation they gain merit through the host of the rites, who donates material and monetary gifts to the monks of the temple. The transferring of merit to the deceased by relatives and the sharing of merit among other villagers are interwoven in these rites, and this leads to the social circulation of merit.
