Cremation site during a Thai funeral in Yen Bai Province, 2000. Mai Thihong Nguyen

More than a million Thai people live in Vietnam, mostly in the northwest. Thai funeral customs vary according to the cause of death as well as the age, gender and social position of the deceased. The design of the tall funeral structures called chao pha and heo "trees" erected at the tomb reflects these differences. In the past, only Thai nobility could have funeral trees and cremate their dead.

The trees also create what Thai people call a ghost forest or a village of the spirits. Every Thai funeral may be seen as a journey from home to tomb and from this world to the sky world of the ancestors.

"The chao pha tree is a bridge so that the spirit of the dead can go to heaven and live with the ancestors."
–Mr. Quang Van La, Chau village, Son La Province

When nobleman Cam Van Oai died in 1933, in Mai Son, Son La Province, mourners from surrounding villages erected several funeral trees as a sign of respect. Colani collection, Musèe de l'Homme

Steps in a Thai Funeral
On the first day of the lengthy ritual, the family washes, grooms and shrouds the body before putting the coffin in the main room of the house and serving the deceased his first meal as an ancestor. On the second day the eldest son-in-law recites stories intended to aid the deceased on the journey to the ancestral homeland.

At the conclusion of the ritual the spirits of the dead are called from the grave to the home, where they take up residence on the ancestral altar. The three-year mourning period ends with a party for kin and neighbors.