They Live By Us
They Live by Us presents the Black Tai funeral through an emic perspective—from within the community’s own understanding of how life, death, and ancestry are interwoven. This compact online exhibition interprets the Black Tai cosmology as a continuum where the living and the dead coexist in morale and emotional proximity.
Through the sequence of chanting, telling the way to heaven, cremation, and calling the spirit home, the exhibition follows the movement of the soul and the transformation of life into ancestral morale. Seen through this internal lens, ritual becomes an epic of continuity—the summit of Black Tai folklore—where death refines life and goodness endures as the morale that sustains kinship.
Here, the ancestors do not vanish into the past; they live by us, shaping the strength, dignity, and compassion that bind generations together.
Background of the Black Tai in Thailand
The Black Tai, known in Thai as Thai Song Dam (ไทยทรงดำ), represent one of the Tai-speaking ethnic groups whose cultural and linguistic characteristics remain distinct within mainland Southeast Asia. The Black Tai originally inhabited central China before migrating southward to settle in Muang Thaen—present-day Dien Bien Phu in northern Vietnam. Subsequent waves of migration brought groups of Black Tai into Thailand at different times, initially establishing communities in Phetchaburi Province before dispersing throughout other regions, particularly the western part of the country.
The Black Tai possess distinctive cultural markers including their language, traditional attire, architectural forms, cuisine, and kinship systems, all of which are bound together by foundational beliefs in Thaen (celestial spirits), ancestral worship, lineage consciousness, and a shared sense of homeland. These beliefs and daily ritual practices serve as key communicative symbols of their ethnic identity and social cohesion.
...the Black Tai identity illustrates a layered and dynamic ethnonymic system, shaped by both internal self-identification and external recognition within different times and spaces.
The various ethnonyms used—such as Thai Song, Lao Song, Lao Song Dam, Phu Thai Dam, or Tai Dam—all refer to the same group. The diversity of names reflects situational and contextual identifications that shift depending on who names, who is being named, and under what social or geographical circumstances. Thus, the Black Tai identity illustrates a layered and dynamic ethnonymic system, shaped by both internal self-identification and external recognition within different times and spaces.
Funeral Tradition
When someone in the village dies, every household joins in to prepare for the cremation. All daily work ceases as everyone helps organize the funeral. On the first day of death, relatives wash and dress the body in colorful clothes, decorating it according to local custom, and place it under the house while waiting for an auspicious time determined by a Brahman priest (mor phram) or ritual specialist. Families with means will construct a “ruean sop” (funeral pavilion) to enclose the body. This pavilion is large and covered with silk fabric or made into a canopy hung around the corpse. Above the body, white cloth or garlands are hung as decoration, which will later be offered to the temple. At the feet of the body, offerings are placed.
In the past, relatives would keep a fire burning beside the house at night, symbolizing the presence of the deceased’s spirit. The following day, the ritual priest (mor kheoy) performs a ceremony known as “bok tang” (telling-the-way) to show the spirit the way to the ancestral homeland, which today is interpreted as heaven.
When someone in the village dies, every household joins in to prepare for the cremation. All daily work ceases as everyone helps organize the funeral.
After this, the funeral proper begins in accordance with Thai custom. Relatives and acquaintances gather widely to attend. The Monk conducts the chanting rites for the deceased. When the cremation day arrives, the coffin is elaborately decorated, and a procession forms to carry it to the cremation ground. Four poles are erected at the cremation site, each adorned with flags shaped like smoke plumes.
On the following day, bones are collected, and a ritual for prolonging life (suep chata) is performed. The cremation fire is believed to send the soul to heaven. The cremation pavilion (ruean sop) that housed the body is then dismantled and burned to ensure cleanliness and to dispel grief. It is believed that any house where death has occurred becomes impure and must be purified before returning to normal life.
Black Tai (Tai Dam) Funeral Protocol
Step 1:
At Home – Cleansing and Dressing the Body
The deceased is washed, purified, and dressed in three layers of the Hii shirt, clothing made specially for the dead. This act of care prepares the body for its spiritual journey. This ritual act expresses love, respect, and preparation for the spirit’s journey toward Muang Thaen, the ancestral heaven.
Step 2:
The Priest Guides the Spirit to Muang Thaen
The mor kheoy (ritual priest) performs the “telling-the-way” rite, instructing the spirit to travel to Muang Thaen—a heavenly land believed to be near Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam. The chant reminds the spirit to share its belongings with others along the journey.
Step 3:
Procession and Cremation
Family members carry the body in procession to the cremation ground (pa cha). Through the cremation fire, the soul is released from its physical form and begins the transition toward
Muang Thaen.
Step 4:
Next Day – Bone Collecting
On the following day, relatives return to collect the bones and ashes, bringing them home as part of the continuing connection between the living
and the dead.
Step 5:
After 10 Days –
Invite the Spirit to the House
Ten days after death, the priest performs the invitation ceremony (boh phi baan phi ruan). The spirit is invited to return from Muang Thaen to reside within the Kalo Hong, the sacred household room that holds the family’s ancestral spirits.
Step 6:
Spirit Resides at Kalo Hong
The mor kheoy (ritual priest) performs the “telling-the-way” rite, instructing the spirit to travel to Muang Thaen—a heavenly land believed to be near Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam. The chant reminds the spirit to share its belongings with others along the journey.
Step 7:
After Three Years –
Sen Huaen Ceremony
After three years, the family holds the Sen Huaen ceremony, a great merit-making feast to honor the deceased. This rite marks the spirit’s full transformation into a revered ancestral guardian (phi sen ruan), completing the cycle of death, return, and protection.
Death refines life.
It takes away the body but leaves behind goodness
as memory, as virtue, as the spirit of ancestors.
That is the story of the Black Tai people’s life:
to live with dignity,
to die with grace,
and to let goodness become the morale of their kinship,
binding generations through remembrance and care.
Acknowledgment
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Professor Dr. Somsonge Burusphat, who tells us the way to the world of the Black Tai and exemplifies the academic morale that continues to inspire our work.
We also thank the elders and members of the Black Tai (Tai Dam) community—especially Mrs. Tanom Kongyimlamai and Mrs. Bussabaprai Mahaphol—for sharing their wisdom, stories, and faith, guiding us to understand the journey of the spirit and the essence of this living heritage.
Curator Team: Jitjayang Yamabhai, Patoo Cusripituck, Teerawan Mingbualuang
Photo Credit: Patoo Cusripituck, Pattama Patpong, and Natchapol Krongboonying
Reference
Burusphat, S. (1997). Encyclopedia of ethnic groups: Tai Song. Nakhon Pathom: Research Center for Languages and Cultures of Southeast Asia, Research Institute for Languages and Cultures for Rural Development, Institute for Language and Culture for Rural Development, Mahidol University.
Patpong, P. (2016). The continuation of Sen Huen ritual as cultural wisdom heritage of the Tai Song/Tai Dam ethnic group. Research report on Tai Dam’s journey after death: a reflection of intangible cultural heritage leading to an understanding of the ASEAN way. Bangkok: publisher.
Yamabhai, Jitjayang. Cusripituck Patoo. (2019) Rebel vs. reformer : A cultural struggle in the black tai society. Silpakorn University journal, 39(3), 48-62 in Thai