In the past seventy years, Mon musical practices have completely replaced Thai music at
funerals. Death ritual is perhaps the rite of passage, yet the performance practices surrounding
death are always deeply tied to worldly concerns. Why, then, do Bangkok
Thais use a (seemingly) foreign music in their own funerals? This article focuses on the
three-day funeral of a musician’s wife. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in 1994,I situate
this event in terms of contemporary funeral practice in Bangkok and its historical
development. Many Thai dance-drama traditions and much of its music is closely tied
to ritual in general. For centuries Thai Buddhist funeral practices have included many
forms of entertainment and performance. I examine a clear but gradual change in funeral
music practice, and suggest that this change is directly linked to the growth of the Thai
middle class. I also suggest that a convergence of the past, present, and the Other within
the performances at funerals is at the heart of contemporary Bangkok funeral practice.