Rebecca S Hall

Colorful cloth banners are visually embedded components of Khmer life. They appear at Buddhist monasteries for ritual purposes, including to announce a festival to passersby, make merit for the donor, or honor the Buddha. Other banners made entirely with white cloth are a necessary component of Cambodian funerals. This article explores the diversity of Khmer banner types and the significances these banners have in contemporary Cambodian communities. Rich details of their use and those included in commonly recounted stories of the banners’ origins reveal how Cambodians engage with this textile type in a way that is simultaneously unique to the Khmer while showing strong connections to other Asian banner traditions.

Visual arts maintain a colourful presence at Buddhist funerals in Northern Thailand. These arts are not made for mere decoration but serve an active and essential role in the ceremonies that take place after death. They echo funerary themes of the impermanent nature of life and the importance of a life filled with merit. This article examines cremation structures and funeral banners of Northern Thailand and argues that these arts not only hold significance for the living and the dead, but that in giving form to abstract concepts they have the power to guide observers in their beliefs regarding the dynamics of life and death.