The students paid homage to the 325 “great masters” who donated their bodies. The service marked the beginning of a three-day ceremonies that ended today with the cremation of corpses, sponsored by the king. Since 2015, more and more Thais have enlisted in the registers of donors, following the example of an important monk.
Bangkok (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The medical students at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, the country's oldest and most prestigious university, took part in a solemn ceremony for the extreme greeting to the corpses who helped them refine their skills in dissection and knowledge of anatomy.
Two days ago, the students paid homage to the 325 “great masters” who donated their bodies to medicine, contributing to the training of the future doctors. Dressed in the university uniform, they offered flowers and incense to the memory of the dead, gathering themselves in prayer around the numerous coffins (photo).
“We do not really know these people but, for me, they are close friends ... We spent a lot of time together - said 21 year-old Paspimol Kositchaiwat, a sophomore student - We needed to study their bodies and today is the day when we thank them.” Rituals in honor of the corpses donated to medicine are a common practice in Thailand, a ritual that combines elements of Hinduism with the Buddhist faith.
During the ceremony at the King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, while a brahmin priest prayed, the second year students held jasmine garlands in their hands and prayed for their "anatomical helpers," whose remains were wrapped in cloth and plastic.
The service marked the beginning of a three-day cerimonies that ended today with the cremation of corpses, sponsored by the king. Tanvaa Tansatit, an associate professor in the university's surgical training center, reports that cremations was held in 26 different temples in Bangkok. "In the medical field, we need bodies donors, so it's important for us to thank the people who have agreed to do it," says the professor.
The number of Thais registered in the donor lists increased in 2015, after an important monk agreed to donate his body after death to a medical school.