Pictures of the Year International

The Rite of the Second Burial

The Lang Pacha ritual (cemetery cleansing in Thai) is a seldom-seen ceremony deeply rooted in the ancient rite of the second burial, which originated during the Song dynasty in China and brought to Thailand with the influx of Chinese immigrants after World War II. The ceremony, which rarely takes place, involves the cremation of remains from exhumed graves at times when cemeteries run out of burial space, with Buddhist volunteers playing a pivotal role. Driven by the belief in accruing good karma, these volunteers engage in the meticulous process of cleaning the remains of the deceased. They clean skulls and bone fragments using toothbrushes and a tea solution before adorning them with gold leaf. The cleaned bones are then assembled and subjected to a dramatic cremation ceremony in burning pyres. This rare ritual not only addresses practical issues of cemetery space but also serves as a religious journey for the devoted Thai Buddhist volunteers and is the remainder of this centuries-old Chinese ritual that no longer exists elsewhere.