Thai Family Hires Scantily Dressed 'Coyote Dancers' At Funeral, Video Viral

A Thai family has come under scrutiny after it hired scantily dressed dancers to perform at a funeral. The incident took place at Wat Thepphanom Chueat, a Buddhist temple, located in the Ron Phibun district of Nakhon Si Thammarat province in southern Thailand on Tuesday (Apr 21). The family arranged for three women dancers, also called 'coyote dancers', to perform ahead of the cremation of the 59-year-old man.

Relatives stated the decision to go ahead with the dancers was taken to honour the dead individual's last wish to forgo sadness and ensure mourners celebrated his life with joy rather than grief, according to a report in the Bangkok Post.

After the monks completed chanting funeral prayers and returned to the temple, the three women stood in front of the casket and performed a choreographed tribute as mourners of all ages looked on. The performance was even live-streamed on social media.

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Social Media Reactions

The incident has ignited a heated social media debate, dividing opinions between those who found it a respectful tribute to the dead man's wishes and those who deemed it entirely inappropriate for a funeral.

"It's better than sitting around mourning. Some provinces even bring in dancers to perform, which helps to alleviate the sadness a lot," said one user, while another added: "I understand it was the deceased's last wish but is it appropriate to have young children at the ceremony. If you're going to hold it, you should separate the children from the adults."

Known for his cheerful and jovial spirit, the man passed away on April 15. He described death as an inevitable part of life in his final message to the relatives.