An ontology-based knowledge modeling for the rite of Bai Sri Su Kwan: a ritual of the Greater Mekong Subregion

Abstract

The development of ontologies is crucial in digital humanities research. This study focuses on creating a system to extract meaning from knowledge related to the Bai Sri Su Kwan ritual. Addressing semantic gaps, the second phase of our research outlines methods for developing an ontology for Bai Sri Su Kwan rituals. To fully understand this significant ritual in the Mekong Basin, we employed a theoretical framework with seven ontology development steps, using the Hozo Ontology Editor. Our ontology includes nine main classes: Bai Sri Su Kwan (A ritual subclass), persons, chants, belief, purpose, wish, literature, locations, and equipment. The Bai Sri Su Kwan subclass connects with all other classes in the ontology. This ontology forms the basis for a meaning search system for the Bai Sri Su Kwan ceremony in future research stages. The ontology was evaluated syntactically through human assessment and the OOPS! Ontology Pitfall Scanner. Validation results for the Bai Sri Su Kwan Ontology show no pitfalls in critical dimensions, indicating high integrity and reliability.