A Lisu Child Waits For Her Mother to Complete ATM Transaction In Soppong |
Soppong - Lisu women wait for transportation to their village |
Lisu Women Selling Their Goods In Soppong |
A Lahu (Masur) Vendor |
Young Lisu Woman At Family Table in Restaurant |
An insight into an expatriate's life in Thailand with an emphasis on photography, culture, personal observations as well as some of my philosophy.
A Lisu Child Waits For Her Mother to Complete ATM Transaction In Soppong |
Soppong - Lisu women wait for transportation to their village |
Lisu Women Selling Their Goods In Soppong |
A Lahu (Masur) Vendor |
Young Lisu Woman At Family Table in Restaurant |
The procession on the last day of Poi Sang Long in Maehongson was restricted to circumambulation of Jong Kum Lake three times in front of the Wats. Once again a good number, 3, played a distinctive part in the ceremony. I am sure that the number 3 is representative of Buddha, the teachings of Buddha, and the Buddhist religious community.
Prior to the start of the morning procession, many families posed for photographs with their Sang Long. Mothers, Fathers, Grandparents, and siblings assembled around their jeweled Prince to be photographed by another family member or friend. Their sense of pride was very evident much like graduation photos in America.
Today was a little different in that some of the porters carrying the Sang Long around were very energetic. Some of them showed off their strength and agility by dancing around with the boy atop their shoulder. A couple men got into an impromptu competition to see who could bend their jeweled Prince lowest and most parallel to the ground. Yes - the acrimonious banging, clanging, and drumming music continued. There was quite a festive air to the morning event. After the procession, the boys entered the Wat and were ordained. We did not stick around for that and left that as a reason for having to return next year for Poi Sang Long.
After the procession we headed out to Baan Huay Sua Tao. As with the previous refugee camps there were few tourists visiting. As I was pulling over to park the truck along side of the road in the Shan village outside of the refugee camp, I spotted a very interesting sight. Three elephants were walking through the village. Rather than their handlers riding atop each elephant, there was a single mahout riding a bicycle besides the elephants. Occasionally he shouted out a command and all three elephants instantly obeyed. I jumped out of the truck and hustled ahead of the upcoming elephants to get some photos.
As we entered the refugee camp it was very reassuring. The wooden bridge over the stream that runs through the village had been upgraded. The village looked very much like it did two years ago only it had been maintained during the period to prevent deterioration. Soon we were recognizing familiar faces. We stopped by Khun La Mae and Khun Ma Plae's house and learned that they were not home but would return in a while. We headed to the higher portion of the camp and came upon Khun Mudan.
Khun Mudan was the young Paduang mother that I first photographed in October 2006 breast feeding her infant son. She now has a 5 month old daughter named "Peelada". Peelada was a very charming baby. She was very active and curious about all things. Hands, fingers, legs, arms, feet and toes were every where exploring her world. To all of her body movements she had a wide range of sounds. Khun Mudan recognized us and in no time at all Duang had confiscated little "Peelada". We both had a quickly passed 30 minutes playing with Peelada and to a lesser extent her brother. He is a grown up 3-1/2 year old now so he is very independent. This is it for Khun Mudan. She has had two babies by C-section and will have no more children. She lives with her mother-in-law and husband so she has help with the children. It seemed ironic that Duang's 12 week old grandson is named "Peelawat". I am certain between Peelada and Peelawat there is in deed a great deal of "pee".
As Duang continued her conversation with Khun Mudan in Thai, I headed off and took photos of a Paduang women washing and brushing her teeth. I also found an older Paduang woman straining tea into a thermos bottle. These were people that looked very different from all the other people that I have seen in my life all over the world. But they were doing what all other people do every morning every where. Personal hygiene or preparing meals is not much different around the world.
We decided to check in on Khun La Mae and Khun Ma Plae once again. It was not much of a surprise. They were expecting us and warmly greeted us. The camp grapevine had notified them of our presence in camp.
Khun La Mae is no longer the village headman. He was replaced by another man about a year ago. No matter the case, I told him that I still considered him to be a friend even though he was not "big man" any more. I had seen enough of the camp and observed the inhabitants sufficiently to tell in confidently that the state of the camp as well as its people was a testament to his and the new headman's leadership. The camp and its people were in much better state than the other two camps that we had visited. Khun La Mae informed me that the camp was going to butcher a pig that afternoon and that there would be a festival the next day. As tempting as the offer was to stay with them in the camp and to extend our trip by an extra day, we declined. It was getting tiring and we needed to get back home as scheduled. We promised to return later in the afternoon and returned to the hotel for lunch.
After lunch and relaxing for a short period of time in our air conditioned room, we drove back out to the refugee camp. I did not know if I would have to pay admission to reenter the village. It turned out to not be an issue. I showed my receipt from the morning and was waved through.
When we got to Khun La Mae and Ma Plae's home, they were busy with some friends. The men were drinking Lao Kao - the infamous moonshine of the region. I was given a glass with two shots in it and downed it. I then made sure that everyone knew that I would not be drinking because I was driving. They respected my position and from then on only kept offering me and filling my glass with rice wine. There were three plastic garbage cans of the fermenting brew awaiting the festival to start the next day. The rice wine was exactly like the brew that we drank at the Khmu New Years Festival in Laos during our December trip except that it did not have vinyl tubing to suck on. Khun Ma Plae served the wine in a glass direct from the fermentation vat - complete with rice grains, chaff, hulls and assorted other debris. I quickly developed a techinque where I strained the drink with my teeth and then discretely picked and spit debris out of my mouth onto the dirt floor. Even so it was hours before the last of the debris was finally expelled from my mouth. All in all it was some pretty good stuff.
Writing of good stuff - Khun Ma Plae was also preparing food. She prepared the food and the men grilled it on an open wood fire. It was just as well that she prepared the food because some of the men did not appear to be in any condition to be handling knives. Although I refrained from drinking moonshine, there was no reason for them to refrain or even moderate their consumption. We ate with the people - the first time that I have eaten grilled pig intestines. Actually the first time that I have knowingly eaten pig intestines cooked in any manner or raw. It was not that bad tasting - sort of like eating a hot dog with very thick casing and nothing inside.
While we were eating and drinking, two Kayaw men walked by with a pig slung underneathe a bamboo pole that they carried between them on their shoulders. This was the "guest of honor" for tomorrow's festival. I ended up going to the back part of the village to photograph the children playing a game on the school play field. It was an interesting game. It appeared to be a fusion of cricket, dodge ball, bowling, and baseball. Lacking a ball to play with, the children had created a ball out of a plastic sandwhich bag and some small rocks and forest debris. A stack of empty metal "Birdy" drink cans was erected at one end of the field. A girl threw the "ball" at the pyramid and missed. The boys taunted her. A boy picked up the "ball" threw it and knocked down several cans. The girl ran and picked up the ball as he ran to a "base". He got off the base and taunted the other players to throw at him. While this was going on some of the other players were hustling to reerect the pyramid out of the cans. This action appeared to be correlated to the time that the boy spent off or on the base. It was confusing to watch but the children were enjoying themselves - except for when they were arguing over some fine points of the game - which was often
After observing the children playing and realizing that I would never understand their game, I headed over to where the pig was being butchered. The animal had already been dispatched when I arrived. The men with assistance from the women were busy shaving the hair off of the pig. The men used long knives to scrape the hair and bristles off of the pig. The women were busy in the houses boiling the water required to scald the hair and bristles. Children of all ages gathered around and watched with great interests. No doubt these children can answer the question of "Do you know where your meal came from?". I am certain that they can even tell you how it came to their plate. I photographed the process and left shortly after the insicision had been made and the men were pulling out the pig's entrails. I left just in time. Not that I was squeamish - surprisingly not but Duang had set out looking for me and was wondering where I had disappeared to. I guess she had her fill of intestines.
During our little get together, we were joined by a Kiwi (New Zealander) who now lives in Australia. Wayne had spent the night in the camp and was going to stick around for the festival the next day. He was an "alright and decent chap" as they say. He offered to burn some CDs of Ma Plae's music on his computer so that she had more copies to sell at the family's booth in the camp. Wayne is one of those people who are travelers and not tourists. He spends time to learn and experience the lives of the people that he encounters on his journeys. More importantly, he takes the time and makes the effort to help out in any way that he can. In our conversation about taking photographs, he mentioned about the things that you could do on the Internet. I told him that I had a blog as well as a photography site. He asked who I was, so I gave him my name and the name of this blog site. He exclaimed "I know you, I read some of your blogs and I have seen your photos!" It was a very pleasant surprise to meet someone who follows these efforts. I know that to date since February of this year this blog site has been visited 408 times from 43 different countries. The top two countries are USA (29 states) with 123 visits and Thailand in the lead with 139 visits. The associated photography site http://www.hale-worldphotography.com/ has had 307 visits from 41 countries. For the photography site, the leading country is the USA (33 states) with 132 visits followed by Thailand with 66 visits. It was a pleasant surprise to meet and talk to a human associated with some of those numbers.
The little girl was four years old. She was quite the entertainer. She did her repertoire of songs for us. She had a very animated singing style and was obvious that she enjoyed being the center of attention. The adults joined us and it appeared that they were happy to have someone to talk to. Duang and the two women talked, and talked and talked some more. I suspect, as someone who had lived in a closed camp for awhile, that the people had grown tired of each others stories and were happy to listen to someone new with different stories. I was in my own world taking pictures so the time passed very quickly for all of us. The little girl's mother grabbed the guitar and performed some songs. The little girl joined in and was very thrilled to be able to sing with her mother. The girl also put on quite a show of animated motion to the songs - much like small children in America singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" or "Wheels on the Bus". We spent so much time with the families that the little girl ended up wearing herself out. Just like most children her age, she got a little cranky and ended up cuddling up on her mother's lap for comfort. It was a treat to see the child learning from her mother how to play the guitar and sing the songs associated with their culture. It was reinforcement for me of my goal in my photography to show how different we all appear but that we are all alike. These are extraordinary people in difficult circumstances doing exactly what other people do everywhere else in the world.
With the little girl drifting off to sleep, we said goodbye and promised to return later in the year. We walked up further into the village and came upon a Kayaw (Big Eared) woman that we met on our last trip. We recognized each other and sat to talk. She was eight months pregnant with her second child. Her daughter, about 8 years old was busy eating as we got caught up on the events of the past two years. She confirmed that Freida was now in the closed refugee camp.
Today unlike the previous parade there was a musical float - well actually it was a heavy industrial duty flat bed truck decked out with bunting. On top of the flat bed were four women dancers dressed in fancy outfits. The rear of the flat bed also contained the Shan band - four men - a drum player, a gong player, a stringed instrument player, and A LEAF BLOWER. No not a leaf blower machine to clean driveways but an elderly man who had a branch from a tree that he blew on the leaves to make music (more like squawking sounds). This is similar to the Hmong traditional music and communication technique using leaves that I had previously witnessed and wrote about in an earlier blog. Oddly enough the band put out some pretty good music. I am not sure that someone on the old Dick Clark TV show, American Bandstand", would have rated it very high because "It had a good beat and you could dance to it" but the female dancers had not trouble dancing to it.
Some of the relatives marching in today's procession carried long poles with decorations made out of tied handkerchiefs. I suspect that inside the handkerchiefs were some food offerings. Earlier in the trip I had sampled a Shan treat - a ball of popped rice in a caramel type binder. It was very to the Thai Cracker jacks that I watched being made in Isaan last Fall. Just as the treat was in Isaan, this was very tasty.
The parade got off more or less on schedule. We knew the route so we took a short cut and set up on the sidewalk awaiting the procession. As the procession advanced, elderly women would walk up to the various components of the procession and gently toss popped rice on the participants - including the horse. This was a sort of offering and blessings similar to tossing rice on newlyweds in the West.
One component of today's parade was a group of women who performed traditional dances. They were dressed in very pretty traditional Shan clothing. They were very graceful and like other groups in the parade, received popped rice offerings.
The jewelled princes were much more animated today. They bounced, waved fans in dance movements, and in general thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
After the procession passed by we returned to the truck and headed back to the hotel. We had breakfast, I showered, and we set out for the remainder of the day. The afternoon's activities will be in the next blog.
After awhile the excellent two lane paved road narrowed down to a narrow road winding through small settlements. At one point where the road had narrowed to a single lane we came upon two large stacks of dried garlic bundles along side of the road. Two men were walking up a steep hillside to road level with huge piles of garlic suspended on both ends of a long bamboo rod carried over their shoulder. We stopped to photograph the men at their work. They were Shan farm workers paid to harvest the dried garlic from the fields in the land below the road elevation, transport it up the hill and stack it along the side of the road awaiting transport by truck to a large drying barn like we had visited the day before. The men work from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 A. M. and earn 100 Baht ($3.50 USD) a day. This is back breaking manual work performed in a smoke filled atmosphere for $0.43 an hour. Of course there are no social security benefits, retirement plans, unemployment benefits, life insurance coverage or medical insurance available for these workers.
We spoke with the two workers and learned that they were happy because there was plenty of work available these days. I could not help but think that at $3.50 a day no doubt that there would be plenty of work available!The men told us about the area up ahead on the road to the border. We set out for the market town but never got there. We got close but not there. When we were about 5 miles from the border we came to a roadblock. The military man was undoubtedly surprised to see a falang driving a truck out in the middle of no where headed for the Burma border. Through Duang I found out that the area was closed beyond the road barrier and that photography was not allowed. He was friendly and pleasant so I informed him through Duang that if photography was not allowed, I didn't want to go there. We all had a laugh. We turned around and returned to the garlic worker's work location.
I parked the truck off of the road and we walked over to better view the work. We climbed down the hill about 200 feet to a narrow bamboo bridge spanning a clear stream. I set up and photographed the men crossing the four bamboo stalk wide bridge with their loads of garlic on their journey to and from the garlic fields to the staging point high above along side the paved road. The land from the road to the stream was filled with long yai fruit trees. The long yai fruit is very tasty and refreshing. The long yai trees are also the favorite habitat of the red ants that the people of Isaan are fond of eating. It turns out that the Shan people also eat the ants and ant eggs.
In no time at all, Duang had charmed them and I had sufficiently amused them so everyone was comfortable as well as relaxed. My previous photographs at the bridge were facing the sun. Now that we were on the other side of the bridge, it was possible to have the sun at my back. I made my way back to the bridge over the flowing waters. Carefully selecting where to place my feet, I was able to make it to a large rock in the middle of the stream - safe, sound, and dry. I did have to share my perch in the stream with many small butterflies as well as many flying insects. The flying insects were annoying but apparently not health endangering.
I spent a good amount of time in the stream taking photographs of the men transporting the garlic across the bridge. I went back to the harvesting site to see that Duang had joined the team in harvesting the garlic. Since I was wearing my pakama on my head like Lao Loum men in Isaan, the Shan people decided that I needed to try my hand at harvesting garlic. After an initial failure in harvesting grass rather than garlic which created a great deal of laughing, I was able to make some progress harvesting the garlic. It was back breaking work. I joked that with the way I worked, I would make about 5 baht a day. The Shan people were not done with me yet. I had harvested a good handful of dry garlic on their stalks but not enough to create one of the many bundles required to be placed on the bamboo poles to be hauled up the hill. My picking partner gave me her garlic. A man came along and tied the stalks together with one of the many strips of bamboo that he had on his back. One of the porters that we had spoken to earlier came up to me with his loaded bamboo rod. My new bundle was added to the load and the bamboo pole with garlic bundles was placed over my shoulder. The bamboo rod is about 4 to 5 inches in diameter and about 6 feet long. Each end of the rod is loaded with approximately 25 pounds of garlic. It was definitely a load. I may have been able to make it to the bridge but there was no way I could have climbed the four bamboo rungs to get up on to the bridge. On a very very good day, if some how I had managed to get across the bridge with the garlic, I possibly and just maybe may I would be able to get the garlic up the 200 foot high 35 degree slope to the paved road. To do this for eight hours a day - no way! To do it for $3.50 a day and not complain - as they said in the 1939 classic film -"Gunga Din" based on the Rudyard Kipling poem - " You are a better man than I am, Gunga Din" The Shan farm workers have my admiration and respect. Once again the reality of the world collides with our past experiences and perceptions - another reason why I enjoy living in S.E. Asia learning and experiencing life from a different perspective.
We returned to the hotel around 5:00 P. M. exhausted, satisfied, and content with the day's activities as well the insights into other people's lives that we had witnessed.
After all 40 boys had been prepared, they ate a small breakfast of fried rice and plain water. They were carried outside to be organized into parade formation. Outside family members congregated awaiting the start of the early dawn parade. A small Asian breed of horse was waiting outside to lead the parade. The horse was immaculately groomed - to the extent that its mane had been cropped where a large garland of flowers had been carefully placed around its neck. Two men wearing traditional Shan clothing tended and led the horse. Another man who appeared to be some type of shaman led the parade along side of the horse. He was dressed in white pants and tunic with his head covered in a white turban. He carried a ceremonial offering bowl.
The boys were carried on the shoulder of a man and was surrounded by men in waiting - waiting to have their turn at carrying the boy on their shoulders. Each boy is also shielded by a large ornate golden umbrella attached at the end of a long wood pole carried by a man walking to the side of the elevated boy. The umbrellas were very ornate and decorated with flowers, garlands, and intricate decorations. The umbrellas are also heavy and unwieldy
, so just as in the case of the boy, men take their turn in carrying the umbrella and ensuring that it shelters the specific boy.
Some families also hire "professional" musicians to bang gongs, clang cymbals, and play the unusual drum in the same style as we had been hearing since arriving in Maehongson. Some of the "bands" had long mechanical racks that played several cymbals at the same time. Two men carried the rack and a third man "played" the cymbals by moving a lever back and forth. The din of the amateur musicians along with the professionals created quite an atmosphere.
The parade left the Wat complex at sunrise and headed through downtown Maehongson. The entourage stopped at a local temple in the center of town. The purpose of the stop was for the boys to let the spirits know that they were becoming Monks and to ensure that the boys had been forgiven. The parade then moved through the airport on the edge of town to visit a Buddhist temple. At this location the boys requested forgiveness from the Abbott. It was at this point that we decided to move on to our hotel to shower and have our breakfast. It had already been a long and tiring morning even though it was 8:00 A.M.
An older man was busy walking around and dancing as he exuberantly played a drum. Some of his enthusiasm apparently came from alcohol as well as religious zeal. The drum was very unique instrument. It was about 6 feet long with an approximately 30 inches diameter drum head. There was a resonating chamber at the other end of the drum tube. The drum was suspended from the player's shoulder by a long saffron strap. The sound produced from tapping on the drum head with fingers was very similar to a bongo drum but a little more bass.
Other men as well as an elderly Monk were busy producing bamboo strips and weaving them into lattice works. The lattice works were later used to decorate some floats for the parade. The men and Monk took split pieces of bamboo and used a long knife to split narrow strips off of the bamboo. The tile floor of the canopy was covered with shavings and strips. The people used their bare feet to hold the lattice in place as they used their hands to weave additional strips into place. As they worked the clash, clang, and pounding of the music continued unabatted only being interrupted in sporadic interludes of increased frenzy. There were times that I got the impression that it was a sort of jam session but with only cymbals, gongs, and a single drum the range for creativity was quite restrictive.
Around 2:00 P. M. nothing different happened. We asked around and were told that it would be at 2:30 P. M. As 2:30 P. M. approached the music continued. The men continued their activities. Nothing else was started. We were told that the ceremony would actually start at 4:00 P. M. A little before 4:00, some of the younger Monks arranged forty plastic chairs into a large u shape in front of the Wat. This was a hopeful sign but also a sign that nothing was going to happen at 4:00 P.M. Around 4:15 P.M., the Head Monk, the Abbot, came out and seemed to take charge of the preparations. This was a very very good sign. At the same time, pickup trucks started to arrive with young boys, family members, and more cymbal, gong, and drum players. The volume and intensity of the music increased greatly. There was definitely an air of excitement and anticipation throughout the area.
At 4:30 the ceremony actually got started. A young boy was seated in each of the plastic chairs - 40 boys in all. Each boy was surrounded by his family. After a little speech from the Abbott and a blessing, the ceremony started. The first part of the ceremony was cutting the boy's hair.
The boys wearing their colorful super hero or cartoon tee shirts and short pants sat rigidly in their chair. These boys were about to take a very important step in their religious and temporal life. They were now the center of attention and the representatives of their family. Although these boys were seven to fourteen years old, it was obvious that they were trying their best to bring honor to their family. It was also entertaining to see some moments when the boys were busy being boys such as sharing their hair clippings with their friend, or grimacing at the irritation from their shorn locks.
The boys sat with a large lotus leaf in their lap. Using regular scissors, relatives take turns snipping off locks of hair and placing them into the lotus leave. It is considered an honor to cut the hair and the relative order in which a person cuts the hair is indicative of the respect as well as esteem that is held by the family for the participant.
The Abbot patiently made his rounds ensuring that he cut some hair from each of the young boys. Many people were mingled amongst the family members photographing or filming the ritual. I was a little surprised how few foreigners there were at the event. I estimate that there were no more than 25 foreigners. The impact of the world economy on Thailand's tourism industry was very apparent on this trip. The local Shan people were very accepting and gracious at the outsiders photographing and filming their special event. As is the case at all of these religious events, people's manners are very good.
After family and friends had their opportunity to cut some hair, it was time to shave the boy's head. Prior to shaving the boy's head, family members usually a mother of grandmother poured water on to the boy's head. Some waters were scented with flowers or perfume. There was no shaving creme, gel, or foam in sight. A couple boys had some soap rubbed into their hair. It was during the head shaving portion of the ritual that the demeanor of the boys changed. It could almost see in their face a look of seriousness and in some cases trepidation. These feelings were visibly mitigated by the close and tender attention given to the boys by their family and the Monks. It was a special ceremony that reinforced family, religious, and community ties.
After their head had been completely shaved, inspected and accepted the boys were washed off with buckets and bowls of scented and unscented water. Many boys had a pomade of powder and water applied to their newly bald heads. The boys retired to the inner areas of the temple complex to spend the night and await the next step in their ordination the following morning. Snippets of hair and shavings were gathered up and removed by some younger Monks.
The forty boys, soon to be Monks, had completed the first step in demonstrating their renunciation of their worldly possessions by having their heads shaved. They had started their individual journey in following Prince Rahula's footsteps.