when a Thai person dies how long is it - assuming natural causes due to age - before the funeral (cremation of the body)?

thanks

Usually they are cremated on the fourth day,depends how much they can spend on everything though,we had a young guy kill himself down the road,but they only had the temple cremation,but usually cremation on the fourth day,then the family go back the day after to get the ashes,it may well be different in Bangkok or somewhere though.

My wife's will stipulated a three-day funeral before cremation. She died on a Friday morning. Funeral started Friday evening. Cremation Sunday afternoon. In short, it's as long or slow as you (or someone) wants it to be.

Here in Isaan it generally depends on the monks. They advise an 'auspicious' day for the cremation. How long that is, I'm sure depends on the wealth of the family of the deceased. If the're poor it usually takes place in a couple of days, if well off then it can often be a week or more.

The reason for this is of course money. Every time the monks appear at the funeral party to do their chanting it costs the relatives money, and the monks will often appear twice a day. Therefore the more times they chant the more mony the wat receives.

A German falang died in my village a few years ago and the cremation did not take place until 13 days after his death.

Note that they do not cremate on a Friday.

thanks for all replys

they like at leats 3 days for the dead person to rest as my wife says they dont know they are dead, its to let the spirit go or something like that,

thats why a lot of the time some family members will stay at the temple all the time so they, the dead person arnt alone,

then like many have said its down to money how long the bash will last, and all the loud music will last,

i only said the other day when some one passed away in our village and the music started at the temple, why do they have to have it so loud?

and im not thai bashing, but it wouldnt of been like that in years gone by before electric and speakers the size of my barn, it might of been a few gongs and bells, but now, wow the music and im 5 or 600 mtrs from the temple,

My grandmother was preserved for 2 weeks and then cremated. If I remember right a few years back the King's sister was preserved for 30 days. The entire country (not every person but many) wore black for that month.

There are also can be many days of a funeral. For grandma we were at the Temple for at least 3 nights. One night had a lot more people than other nights though.

My gf's dad died a month or so ago. It went 6 days. Extra long because of monk availability and waiting a little longer for the lucky day. Never thought it'd be over, ugh. They'd play the very loud funeral dirge starting at 6am. The family did pull in quite a pile of cash donations and none from me.

What happens to the ashes?

The normal period is that the body rests for three days and the cremation is in the forth day. The belief is that although the body is dead, the consciousness remains in the body for three days to gather all of the past karma, good and bad, and prepare for the next life. Sometimes this rest period is extended to 6 days to allow relatives that live far away, different countries, to come and pay their respects. Important people are "kept on ice" for longer periods of time out of respect.

The morning after the cremation, members of the family sift through the ashes and gather pieces of bones. Some are put in small urns and kept either at the temple or at home and, after a service, the remaining ashes are usually floated in a large body of water. My wife died in March and her ashes were spread in the Chao Phrya River in Chainat. Some were put in an urn which is kept next to her "funeral picture" which remain in my house awaiting the next blessing at 100 days after she passed.

my TWs dad died 2 days after songkran this year and it was the 9th or 10th day after that they cremated him ... she said they have to stay in the house for an ODD number of days and nights after death , he was just an odanary guy not hi/so , my mrs payed for everything as she had been paying " death insurance " from when she was in her 20s it cost about 250k , 2 days after the cremation the bones were put in a small thai house like a " dolls house " at the Wat .

Edited June 6, 201511 yr by theoldgit
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a few years ago my wifes mother passed on it was 4 days i asked wife speed it up as could come back

they belive can come back in next life as animal

now she down road and trys to bite me every morning when i ride my bike

Can also be 100 days.

A close relative recently passed away. There was a wake for 4 days then the coffin is stored in a special room in the temple. After 50 days there is an other ceremony and cremation is after 100 days.

And it's not uncommon as there was quite a number of coffins in the temple room.

Edited June 6, 201511 yr by JohnnyJazz

Yes agree with the 100 day thing,this is tambon,or making merit,for the dead person,with my wife's mother they never had the money until i married her,so it was again a four day thing,music,monks the whole works,but it was really important for them to put her to rest after 10 years,hocus pocus as far as i am concerned,i have always reckoned Thai buddism is about 20% buddist and the rest animism they had before,in the country anyway.