On the Threshold between Different Worlds: The Symbolic Role of Gongs in the Final Mortuary Ritual of the Jarai (Central Highlands of Vietnam)

Abstract:This article examines the symbolic role of gongs in the final mortuary ritual of the Jarai, an Indigenous ethnic group inhabiting the Central Highlands of Vietnam (Tây Nguyên). After describing the gongs of the Jarai, I outline the final mortuary ritual as celebrated by the Jarai Arap subgroup, and I provide my own interpretation of the symbolic role of gongs within this ritual as well as that of several other elements and practices. My analysis points out that the music of gongs has the function of enabling the process of transmigration to the afterlife within the context of the final mortuary ritual.