พิธีกงเต๊ก : ระบบสัญลักษณ์และระบบเครือญาติของชาวจีนแต้จิ๋วในเยาวราช / ธรรญาภรณ์ วงศ์บุญชัยนันท์ = Kongtek : Chaozhou Chinese symbol and kinship systems in Yaovarat / Thanyaporn Wongboonchainan
Kongtek as a rite of passage is an important part of Chinese funeral performance to express gratitude of the Chaozhou Chinese descendents to the departed one. Kongtek also reflects the family and kinship structure of the Chinese emphasizing the roles of its members in the structure. Chinese values and beliefs in the performing of Kongtek ritual express the good wish of the family members to the departed to live happily in the other world as it had been in this world. This can be seen through the performance of the 10 ritual steps as symbols of gratitude to the dead. Social and economic changes at present affect the performance of both the adaptation of steps and styles of the ritual. The decline of chinese extended family leads to the decarease in number of Kongtek performances among Chinese families in Bangkok. Social and cultural assimilation between Chinese and Thai, such as the use of Thai coffins instead of Chinese coffins and the Thai cremation instead of Chinese burial also play an important role in the decreasing member of the Kongtek performance adopted at present. However, although the performance has been decreasing and might be vanished eventually, it is still a symbol through which Chinese identity, value of gratitude and the importance of family and clan ideology are preserved and expressed.
