Recovery and Buddhist practices in the aftermath of the Tsunami in Southern Thailand

Abstract

For most Thai people, Buddhism serves as a base for explanations about life and death. This article focuses on Buddhist practices and the importance of ceremonies in the recovery process after the 2004 tsunami in Southern Thailand. The tsunami had devastating consequences for most people in the coastal regions. First, through the loss of life, and second, through the damage to and loss of houses, fishing boats and means of livelihood. This article analyses informants' experiences, narratives, interpretations and actions in terms of their Buddhist beliefs. The key findings of this article are that collective ceremonies form an important part of the recovery process. One finding revealed that, in cases of ambiguous loss, a Buddhist ceremony that was unknown to most people before the tsunami became an important element of the search for missing persons. Another finding is that the common Buddhist practice of communicating across the boundary between the living and dead became the most important ritual among the surviving relatives. The ethnography is based on a long‐term anthropological research project with in‐depth interviews, life stories and participant observation carried out in coastal villages located mainly in Phang Nga, the worst hit province in Thailand.

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