Another day, Another Gallery

A gallery of 33 selected photos from the three day Yartung Festival in Lo Manthang, Upper Mustang is now available for viewing at the following link.

https://www.hale-worldphotography.com/2018-Yartung-Festival


The purpose of our trip to Upper Mustang, The Former Kingdom of Lo, in August during the monsoon season was to attend the three day festival.  Getting there was difficult as well as complicated due to weather as well as road conditions.  However, it was well worth the time and effort.

Once in Lo Manthang, we were able to unite with friends and to witness a unique cultural event.

Bun Khao Saht - Celebration of the Dead



Villagers Make Offerings to the Spirits of Family Members



Tuesday was a special day in Isaan.  September 5th, this year, is Bun Khao Saht also known as Boun Khao Salak or "Celebration of the Dead" in neighboring Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos).  It is the Mid-Autumn Festival or Moon Festival held on the day of the tenth Full Moon of the lunar calendar.  For Westerners the moon is called the "Harvest Moon".

On this special day, merit making is performed by offering food to the Phii (ghosts) of family members.  People also earn merit through offering a special treat called "Kao Tawtek" to their local Monks.  Kao Tawtek is a mixture of freshly popped rice, caramel, peanuts, shredded coconut and millet.  It is made in backyards, front yards, and side yards throughout Isaan just prior to Wan Kao Saht - typically in huge woks over wood fires. It is also traditional on this day for older people to give gifts of Kao Tawtek and money to children.

Like many things here in Thailand, Bun Khao Saht seems to be adapted and amalgamated from other cultures. The Chinese celebrate a Hungry Ghost Festival and "Ghost Day" around the same time.  In Vietnam, the second biggest holiday with an emphasis and focus on children is celebrated at this time of the year.

I drove out to Tahsang Village, my wife's home village, early in the morning to be able to participate in the daily merit making ritual of offering food to the Monks.  This has been one of the most wet monsoon seasons since I have been in Thailand, even more than last year.  Since we returned to Thailand from our trip to America on July 18th, we have had rain all but three days.  Mud is everywhere and some of the country roads have moving water flowing across them.  Of course the combination of rain and traffic is taking a heavy toll on all the roads.  Potholes and failing pavement are now the norm.

Just as I reached her village to make the turn to drive through the fields where the Wat is located a truck stopped in front of me.  The driver, who I recognized, motioned that he wanted to talk.  Through his limited use of English, my limited knowledge of Thai/Lao, and a great deal of pantomime, I understood that the normal route was closed and I should follow him.

After an even more circuitous route on an even more bumpy road covered with more mud as well as puddles through the towering sugar cane fields, we made it to Wat Pha That Nong Mat.

On Bun Khao Saht, in addition to earning personal merit, the participants earn merit for the spirits of their dead relatives.  It is especially important to make offerings to family members who died during the year since that last Bun Khao Saht.

In the Lao Loum culture, as well as other Southeast Asia cultures, the people have to take care of the spirits of their family as well as other ghosts.  Spirits need merit in death as well in life to assist them in their journey to enlightenment.  Merit is the basis for determining what form and status a person will be reincarnated as in a future life.

Villagers Make Offering of Food for the Monks

The villagers, in addition to the normal offerings of food for the Monks, had brought baskets of special foods wrapped in banana leaves.  The baskets were carefully placed on the floor of the newly completed Viharn (several years under construction but finished now) next to a concrete column.  A sai sin (sacred cotton string) was placed across the tops of the baskets.  The sai sin ran up the column, across the Viharn and ran down a second column near where the Monks sat slightly above the villagers.  The sai sin terminated in a ball placed on a plate at the side of the Wat's senior Monk.  The sai sin connects this world to other worlds, the laypeople to the Monks and conveys the merit making to the deceased people.

Many of the women were dressed in white uniforms like the attire that Duang wears just about every night when she conducts her ritual upstairs in our home where my roll top desk has been converted into a shrine.  The women, including Duang and her mother, were participating in a women's retreat at the Wat.  They spent the remainder of the day and most of the night reading and studying the scriptures and receiving lectures from the Monks.

Monks Select their Food from the Offerings Made to Them

The offering of food to the Monks was a typical daily ritual with one exception, while the Monks ate their one meal of the day, the women in the white costumes along with a couple of Brahmans chanted in Pali for most of the time.

Prior to Start of Daily Food Offering Ritual, Monks Bless Food Offerings to the Spirits

At the end of the daily food offering ritual, the villagers gathered up their baskets and went outside. The villagers scattered throughout the Wat grounds selecting specific trees to stop at before going to their family tat where the bones of their family are interned.  The offerings made at the trees were for family members who died prior to the family having enough money to buy a tat as a repository for their bones.

Duang's Mother Lights Two Candles for Offering to the Spirit of her Husband

The food was placed upon banana leaves and consisted of peeled fruits, sticky rice, chili sauces, dried fish, kao tawtek and other typical Isaan foods.  Off to the side was a banana leaf with betel-nut chewing items.  After the foods were laid out, water was poured over them as the family members communicated to the spirits.

Water Is Poured Over the Offering In the Act of Transference of Merit

The offerings to the spirits also included two lit yellow candles and two sprigs of "dogkhut" - I suspect Thai jasmine buds.  When offerings are made to the Buddha, three of each item are offered - one for Buddha, one for the teachings of Buddha (Dhamma), and one for the Buddhist religious community (Sanga).  For spirits the offerings are in pairs.

After the family spirits residing in the tats had been offered food and drink, the people hung filled thin banana leaf packets in the trees throughout the grounds.  The banana packets contained food offerings to the other family spirits whose bones were not interned in the tat.



Duang and some other women, made food offerings to the spirits of relatives whose bones are kept in highly decorated steeple or spire shaped structures called "Tats".  Tats are reliquaries for bone chips of departed ancestors.  More affluent villagers have a free standing tat and those less affluent will often have a niche inside of the block walls that surround Wats.

After a while, around ten minutes, one of the men rang the Wat's large bell three times signifying that the spirits had completed eating.  The small banana leaf packets were quickly removed from the trees and returned to the family baskets.  The packets will later be placed in the sugar cane fields, rice paddies, and other lands to feed the spirits (ghosts)  that inhabit them.  In return for feeding the hungry ghosts, the people ask that the spirits watch over the land and its crops bringing success as well as good luck to the owners.


The villagers returned to the Viharn to have a community meal with the food leftover from the offerings to the Monks.  There is always too much food offered to the Monks and since they are allowed to take only what they can eat that morning for their one meal of the day ensuring that there are always "leftovers".

Thanksgiving 2016 (2559 BE)

Today was Thursday November 24th here in Thailand; a day like every other day here.

Thailand does not celebrate or recognize Thanksgiving.

However, people do not need any government sanctioning of any specific day to reflect upon, give thanks, and to rejoice for all that is good in their life.

Yes, today was a day like any other day for me here in Isaan.  Every day I contemplate, appreciate, and take comfort for all that is good in my life.

Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays.

Thanksgiving is a time for families to gather together to feast and celebrate the blessings of the past year.

Some years are not as bountiful as others.

Some years are more challenging than others

Some years are not as happy as others.

However Thanksgiving Day is a day to be thankful for what we have and not to focus on what we wish that we had, or to focus on what we do not have. If for no other reason, being alive is reason enough to give thanks on Thanksgiving. With life there is hope; hope for a better tomorrow or some other day after.

This Thanksgiving I am once again thankful for the things and experiences that I have or have had. As much as I am thankful for my current situation, I am also thankful for the many blessings that I have had and some that I no longer can enjoy.  If it were not for the trials, tribulations, and challenges that we have endured, I believe that we would not be who we are today.

As much as what we have today brings us joy and contentment, it was yesterday and our past that have brought us to today. It is our past that has prepared us for today and for all the days to come.

Today, as well as for all other days, I am thankful for the love, experiences, and guidance that I have received from family and friends. They affected my life in ways that are impossible to quantify or for me to fully express in words. Shared experiences with them taught me and assisted me in developing my personal values. The memories of shared holidays, vacations, celebrations, and ordinary days with them remain both a comfort as well as inspiration. The gifts of family, companionship and friendship are reason enough to give thanks today as well as every day.

There is abundant reason to be thankful for having been raised in a country and during a time where excellent quality free public education was available to everyone. Even today in many parts of the world, children do not have access to a free quality education.

I am thankful for having been raised in a country where I was free to fail and much more importantly free to succeed to the extent that I, myself, determined. My position and goals in life were not restricted by anyone or any institution. My parent's education, occupation, economic, or social status did not limit my prospects. Today, this is not true for many people even in some Western countries.

Another reason to be thankful is for our families and friends that are part of our daily life. 

More and better possessions will not necessarily make anyone happy, more happy or even provide contentment.

Happiness and contentment are a state of mind.

It is the longing and preoccupation with what they do not have that prevents so many people from being happy.

My wish for everyone this Thanksgiving is that you can realize, and appreciate the happiness a well as contentment that the opportunity of life provides.

Thamnot Poo Papit Kanet

Siarn Ruesi - Ruesi Mask

The world that I find myself in now is very different from the world that I lived in for so many years of my life.  What I knew of Southeast Asia was dominated by nightly reports on television of the "body count" in Vietnam during the Vietnam, or American War, depending upon your perspective.

Shortly after my 15th birthday, I remember sitting next my grandfather as he drove his 54 Chevy not down to levee but over to Barn Island in Southeast Connecticut on one of our fishing and clamming expeditions.  There was a news bulletin on the radio regarding some ships from North Vietnam attacking one of our naval vessels in the Gulf of Tonkin.  I remember thinking that it was very serious stuff but also coming to the conclusion that it really had nothing to do with me.  Little did I, along with so many other people that day, realize how much that "incident' would affect their lives for the next 15 years or more.

I did not a very high regard for Southeast Asia and its peoples for many years due to the daily coverage of the war and related political events.

It was not until later in my life, when I went to work in Malaysia, that I began to learn and appreciate what a beautiful region and how interesting the inhabitants of the region are.  It is one of the motivational factors that I have in writing this blog and sharing my photographs.  The reality of this region is not what is so often depicted in film or on television.

Living here and being married to an ethnic Lao Loum (Lowland Lao), I have many opportunities to experience and witness unique peoples, cultural events, religious rituals, and traditions that are not available to the vast majority of visitors and tourists.  My wish is to share these with people who only know of this region from the traditional media.

I make a concerted effort to not judge what I see and experience.  I always check with my wife to ensure that what I report as fact is indeed fact and not my observations through the veils of my American experiences and perspective.  I write of what I see, hear, and what I am told.  There is the possibility of some inadvertent miscommunications and confusion.  Today's blog is perhaps one such example but it is my best effort.

Duang and I were invited by one of her cousins to attend a special ceremony on November 1 at her home in Kumphawapi.  Duang told me that her cousin was a special person, a person who was once the grand-daughter of "Papit Kanet".  After some further discussion, I learned that "Papit Kanet" is actually the Hindu deity "Ganesh" - the multi-headed Elephant with the potbelly.

The belief in reincarnation is an integral part of Buddhism and Brahmanism (the precursor to Hinduism).  Duang has been told by a Ruesi (sage, wizard) that she was once the grand-daughter of two Nagas.  Nagas are mythical serpent creatures sort of like dragons that live and rule the underwater world. She was the grand-daughter of "Si Phatoum Ma" (female) and "Si Suttoo" (male).

Many of Duang's family and friends believe that I was once Lao in a former life.  A Monk once told her that I was once a Naga.  However unlike Duang who is related to royal nagas, in a past life I was just an ordinary Naga.  Duang has forgotten my name as a Naga.  The Monk even told her where I used to live.

I have often marveled at how so many people, who believe in reincarnation, in the West believe that they were once royal, noble, or famous.  I have yet to meet someone who claims to have been a serf, slave, or vassal in a previous life.  Considering throughout history how many more slaves, serfs, vassals there were compared to royalty, nobility, or famous, I would suspect that there would be plenty of people today with not so desirable past lives.  Tonight I wonder if being a Naga in a past life here in Southeast Asia is equivalent to the West's preferred past lives.

Duang's Cousin's Home Shrine

We arrived at Duang's cousin's home and after being greeted, we sat down on the floor in the front room of the house.  The room was a shrine, a shrine of paintings, sculptures, offerings and masks associated with the Ruesi tradition, Brahmanism, Hinduism, Animism, as well as Buddhism.  This may seem somewhat strange to have a spiritual and religious focus on so many different faith systems.  However, although confusing to outsiders, the conglomeration of diverse faith systems is a reflection of regional history and culture.  Thai culture is known for its tolerance. 

The first belief system was Animism, the faith in the existence and power of diverse spirits such as the spirits of the land, spirits of the water, and spirits of the home.  As time progressed the region was exposed to Brahmanism which was a precursor to Hinduism.  Rather than discarding the Animist system, the people assimilated Brahmanism into their culture.  As time moved on Brahmanism evolved into the system of current day Hinduism.  Once again the old systems were maintained and the elements of the new system, Hinduism, were assimilated.  Buddhism, the faith of roughly 95% of Thai and Lao people arrived from Shri Lanka.  The tenets of  Buddhism were accepted and assimilated into today's faith system widely referred to as "Buddhism" but retaining much of the prior traditions, rituals, and practices.  It is important in attempting to understand Buddhism is to recognized that Buddhism evolved originally from Hinduism.

Loading Up - Betel Nut Chewing

In the room with us were several young people all of them dressed in white or very pale blue simple cotton clothing.  The simple vestments are worn by woman and men laypeople for participation in special merit making rituals.  The start of the special ritual was the commencement of betel nut chewing by Duang's cousin, her husband, and many of the lay people.  Betel nut is a mild stimulant and it is widely known and accepted that the spirits appreciate and expect the chewing of betel nuts to participate in the rituals.

The ritual was very much like the Korb Siarn Wai Khru ceremonies that I have witnessed and written about before. But as we say, say often, here ... "Same, Same but different"  I was confused that the ritual was being conducted by a women who seemed to be acting like a Ruesi.  From what I know about Ruesi, they can only be men.  I have questioned Duang about this and she confirmed that only men can be Ruesi but women can be like Ruesi (Same, Same but different?).  Women like her cousin can be spirit mediums - able to communicate to and from spirits.

Duang's Cousin, Wearing a Khata,, Chants a Kata

The ritual was very similar to the Korb Siarn Khru ceremonies that I have previously witnessed.  Devotees would kneel before Papit Kanet and listen to her chanting a Kata (mantra), a sort of invocation or spell.  Unlike previous rituals involving Ruesi, in this ceremony the devotees as well as Duang's cousin wore silk scarves around their neck.  The scarf is called "Khata" and is a traditional ceremonial item in Tibetan Buddhism - another element assimilated into what is accepted as Thai Theravada Buddhism.  I did not know about the need for a scarf or even have a scarf but that was not a problem,  Duang's cousin graciously opened a package and presented me with a beautiful red silk scarf and gave it to me as a gift.

Another difference between this ceremony and others was the incorporation of betel nut chewing into the ritual.  The vast majority of the devotees, except for Duang, chewed betel nuts.  All of the people, except for Duang, who actually had the Ruesi mask placed on their heads had chewed betel nuts.  Chewing betel nuts is a mild stimulant and is quite often used as offerings to the spirits.

Duang Receiving the Siarn Ruesi

Another difference with this ritual and previous Khru rituals, was the dancing of the devotees while under spirit possession - that is everyone except for Duang.  This spirit possessed dancing is a common element in Hindu rituals.  At other rituals of this type the people were possessed by animal spirits of their sacred tattoos.  They would become violent and had to be physically restrained by other laypeople.  To break their animal spirit possession, laypeople would have to lift the possessed person's feet off of the ground and rub his ears.  For the Thamnot Poo Papit Kanet ritual performed by Duang's cousin no intervention was required.  However in addition to dancing some of the possessed people would choke, make guttural noises and spit phlegm into small containers lined with plastic bags.  I don't know if the spitting up of fluid was a result of chewing betel nut or possession by spirits.

A Possessed Devotee

Devotee Dancing While Possessed

At the end of the ritual for each devotee, Duang's cousin drew a symbol on their forehead using a long wooden rod and a paste like substance.  An ancient symbol which is a Sat Yank representation for Buddha was the end result of the marking part of the ritual.

Duang Being Marked

My "Marked" Wife

Parts of the ritual were quite intense - chanting of katas, guttural sounds, loud Oriental music punctuated by reverberating drums, clanging cymbals, the odor of burning incense, and the high energy of the participants.  I could feel the energy of the ritual and started to immediately thing about experiencing a small glimpse of mass hysteria.  Eventually the energy level and its intensity subsided - a welcomed denouement.

Kali Standing on Shiva's Corpse

With everyone returned to normal, I was able to ask some questions regarding some things that I had observed - things that I had not seen before.  Off to the left of the raised platform where Duang's cousin was located for the ritual, there was a full sized grotesque black statue that had one of its feet resting upon a supine blue life-sized man. This statue was something that I imagined was related to some type of voodoo ritual in Haiti.  The standing figure was demonic with a long dark red tongue fully projecting from its mouth.  A wreath of skulls was worn around the neck of the statue. A ring of heads encircled the waist of the statue.  This was the substance of children's nightmares and perhaps even mine.

I asked Duang what it was all about.  She quickly informed me that the black statue was Pamet Gali - a good female spirit that takes care of people (OK ... who am I to cast doubts upon someone's believes and besides Duang is my wife BUT I was not convinced)  This good female spirit, Pamet Gali, was the sister of Mare Touranni.  I know about Mare Touranni - she is the deity that protected Buddha while he was meditating.  His enemies had massed to attack him but she came up out of the Earth and created a flood by wringing the moisture out of her hair that drowned the enemy forces.  She is highly revered in Lao and Thailand.  You will often find statues of her - a beautiful young maiden often topless twisting her long hair draped over her shoulder.

Duang went on to tell me that the blue statue under the black statue's foot was her husband, Si Wa Tet, who was in the Army and taking a rest.  I remember that there are some Wats in Thailand named or containing the words "Si Wa Tet" in it, so I was feeling somewhat more comfortable in Duang's explanation but then again there were those skulls and severed heads.

When I write these blogs, I truly want to write the story of the people that I encounter rather than writing my story.  Perhaps I am trying to be a living medium - communicating their story to others through me.  As such I always run what I saw, what I thought that it was all about, and its significance with my wife before I write a blog entry.  I also do Internet research to confirm, verify and better understand the elements and facts of my blogs.

This blog was no exception.  I started researching the Ruesi, the silk Khata, and the chanting of kata.  Lo and behold I stumbled upon information regarding "Pamet Gali" and I even found a very similar statue WITH explanation.

Duang's "Pamet Gali" is actually the Hindu deity - Kali.  The story behind the statue is entirely Hindu and as follows:  Kali is the dark Hindu Goddess of time and change.  She killed a demon named Raktabija, an enemy of her husband - Shiva.  She ill-advisedly licked up the blood of the demon before it could touch the ground to prevent him regenerating.  The demon's blood messed up her mind and she went berserk - destroying everything and everyone that she saw - in THREE worlds.  Her husband Shiva wanted her to stop and snap out of her craziness.  Shiva took the form of a corpse and laid in front of her.  When she tripped over his body, she snapped out of her madness. She was concerned that she in her frenzy had killed her husband.  She placed her foot on the corpse of her husband, Shiva, to bring him back to life.  Shiva came back to life in the form of a crying child.  Kali was so moved with maternal instincts and love, that she shed her fierce form and became Gauri - the radiant mother and giver of life.  AHHH - it started making a great deal more sense ... to me.  Duang, as typical, knew exactly what she was talking about.  The problem is sometimes she "not talk English good" and more often "You English, not understand"  Fortunately we get it all straightened out - often with the help of Google.

Ruesi Papit Kanet and Laypeople

There are connections that tie things to the past, the present, and the future.  The connections are not always readily recognized, appreciated or understood but they exist.

It turns out that one of the sons of Kali and Shiva was Ganesh - the multi- headed elephant deity.  Another connection is that after killing the demon Kali celebrated by dancing wildly about the battlefield.

I was beginning to understand a little better the spiritual world of the people about me.  My learning and experiences into that spiritual world was to continue in November of this year.

Thanksgiving 2015

Today is Thanksgiving here in Thailand; a day like most every other day here.

Thailand does not celebrate or recognize the holiday.

However we do not need government sanctioning of the day to contemplate, give thanks, and to rejoice for all that is good in our life.

Yes today is a day like any other day here in Isaan - for me.  Everyday I contemplate, give thanks, and rejoice for all that is good in my life.  But it is on American Thanksgiving that I celebrate, share, and publicize it with people other than my wife.

Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays even more so than Christmas and definitely more so than New Years - specifically New Year's Eve.

Christmas carries too much emotional baggage to truly be appreciated.  After perhaps spending more money than you should have on gifts for your family, if you are fortunate you only get to witness their suppressed disappointment at the results of your efforts.  If you are less fortunate, you are told what they really wanted or asked when along with where they can exchange the gift.  You are also often put into the same situation of having to express gratitude and appreciation for receiving things that you neither wanted or needed all the while feeling guilty in recognition of the donor's efforts and generosity.

However, Thanksgiving is a time for families to gather together to feast and celebrate the blessings of the past year.  I believe that I am an optimist so a day of rejoicing and celebrating the good in life is not difficult.  Some years are not as bountiful as others.  Some years are more challenging than others.  However Thanksgiving day is a day to be thankful for what we have and not what we wished that we had or to focus on what we do not have.  If for no other reason, being alive is reason to give thanks on Thanksgiving.  With life there is hope; hope for a better tomorrow or some day after.

This Thanksgiving I am am thankful for so many things that I have.  As much as I am thankful for what I have, I am thankful for the many blessings that I had and some that I no longer can enjoy.

As much as what we have today brings us joy and contentment, it was yesterday and our past that have brought us to today.  It our past that prepared us for today and for the days to come.

Today, as for all days, I am thankful for the love, experiences, and guidance that I have received from family and friends who are no longer in this world.  They have passed on and I can no longer enjoy their presence. They affected my life in ways that are impossible to quantify or for me to express into words.  Shared experiences with them taught me and assisted me in developing my personal values.  The memories of shared holidays, vacations, celebrations, and ordinary days with them remain both a comfort as well as inspiration to me.  The gift of family, companionship and friendship is reason enough to give thanks today as well as every day.

I am thankful for having been raised in a country and time where excellent quality free public education was available to everyone.  Going to school in Groton, Connecticut in the 1950s and into the late 1960s was a blessing.  I often think back to those school years and believe that there was a unique group of teachers back then.  As students we were challenged by our teachers to do more than our best.  A quality free education is a blessing to be thankful for.  Even today in many parts of the world, children do not have access to free quality education.

I am thankful for having been raised in a country where I was free to fail and much more importantly free to succeed to the extent that I, myself, determined.  My position and goals in life were not restricted by anyone or any institution.  My parent's education, occupation, economic, or social status did not limit my prospects.  Today this is not true even in some Western countries.

I am most thankful for the way that my parents raised me.  Too often today, people blame their problems on their parents.  They blame their current behavior on their parents.  Blaming their parents, to them. absolves them of their individual responsibility and accountability for their own actions.  I know that my parents did their very best in raising their family based upon what they knew and could at the time.  Should we expect any less or demand anything more? I suspect that most parents do the same.

I was taught manners. Manners and etiquette allow individuals to function, interact and thrive in a society with minimal conflict.  Manners and etiquette help to define our value and standing as an individual and to society.  The manners and etiquette that I learned as a child have allowed me to integrate into different cultures easily where I have worked and lived.  While these may not be a blessing, they are things that I am thankful for.

I was taught that I was not special.  I am not certain how well I learned that lesson.  I suspect that most people have not completely learned that lesson well.  However I learned to not expect or demand special privileges or preferential treatment.  I expect to treated the same as any other person.  An off shoot of this lesson that I was taught throughout my youth was the realization that as an individual I had certain responsibilities to the group.  I have the responsibility to not demand that the group conform solely to appease my wishes, practices, or beliefs.  I do not necessarily have to conform but that choice is mine to make and I should be prepared for and accept the consequences.

I was taught that I could have anything that I wanted; as long as I first had the money to pay for it. I was taught and more importantly demonstrated each day.  I was taught that anything worth having was worth working for.  I was also taught that I wanted something bad enough I would work for it.  If I was not willing to work for something, I did not need it.

Today I am also thankful for my families and friends that are part of my daily life.

I am most thankful to having, recognizing and appreciating my peace of mind.

Thank You - all of you.

Bun Bang Fei - Ban That 2015 Gallery Is Available

A new gallery of 22 selected photographs from this year's Bun Bang Fei event in Ban That, Thailand is now available for viewing and for your consideration.

During the Bun Bang Fei event, hundreds of homemade PVC-Gunpowder rockets are launched into the sky.  The event is a Lao cultural tradition which is celebrated on both sides of the Mekong River.


                         http://www.hale-worldphotography.com/Bun-Bang-Fei-Ban-That-2015

Songpoo Day 3 April 2015

This is my sixth year here in Isaan.  Every year I have participated in a grand event called Songpoo Day.  Try as I may, I have not been able to figure out exactly what Songpoo Day is.  Despite my questioning, perhaps bordering on interrogation of my wife I do not understand much more about the day than when I first arrived.

From my wife I have learned ... "Songpoo Day, very good day, good day for Buddha, People take care Buddha, Happy happy - good for everybody, have party."  Well I do know and accept what she says.

Part of my difficulty in understanding Songpoo Day is the day that it is celebrated.varies from year to year.  Some years it is before Songkran and other years it is at the official close of the Songkran Festival.  The one thing for certain is that Songpoo is associated with Songkran.

Laymen Offering Food to the Monks

My latest theory on Songpoo Day is that it is a special event that is determined by each Wat as to when to celebrate it during the Songkran season.  During Songkran, respect is demonstrated to the elders by pouring scented cool water over their hands and and rubbing the back of their necks with the water to help cool them off during the hottest month of the year.  On Songpoo Day the people have a big party at the Wat.  Part of the ritual of the day is when the people walk around the Ubsoth (Ordination Hall) three times clockwise bearing money trees - actually banana stalks with bamboo skewers holding paper money stuck into the stalk.  The money trees are late offered to the Monks. The money is intended to help pay for the utilities and maintenance of the Wat.

Special Foods to be Offered to the Monks

The event starts off with the daily ritual of offering food to the Monks.  Because of the festive nature of Songpoo Day, there was more and a higher quality of food offered to the Monks than on regular mornings.  There were also more Monks at the Wat than a typical day.

Songpoo Day was celebrated at the "Outside" Wat, Wat Pha That Nong Mat.  Wat Pha That Nong Mat is located in the sugar cane fields outside of Tahsang Village.  The "Outside" Wat and the "Inside" Wat are Theravada Buddhist temples however they are of two different monastic orders - Mahanikaya and Dhammayuttika.  The Monks of the outside Wat are Dhammayuttika, a more restrictive order, than their Mahanikaya brothers of the inside Wat.

Although Duang's family prefers the Dhammayuttika order, Monks from both orders typically participate in family events.  This is yet another example of the Thai expression of "Same, Same But Different".

On special days such as Songpoo Day the Monks of both Wats will join together for the ritual. An example of another popular Thai saying "Good for me, Good for you"

Because this is also the school recess season, the Monks were joined by four "Nens" semanens (Novice Monks) school boys attending a sort of religious summer camp.

Villagers Building their Money Trees in the Vihear to Parade Around the Ubsoth

After the Monks had completed their meal in the Vihear, the lay people enjoyed a community meal. Upon completing their meal and cleaning up, the people went outside to participate in the festivities.  At these big festivals there are many booths set up with food, soft drinks, and drinking water.  You can eat and drink as much as you wish to ... for free.  My lunch was a bowl of Thai noodles with pork and chicken called "Rattna", an ice cream cone, to go along with the bottle of Coke, package of cake, and a banana leaf filled with rice/coconut milk concoction offered to me by one of the Monks.  It seems that they always take care of me on my visits.  It has gotten to the point now that they will stage direct me during the rituals - letting me know when and where to set up for a good photograph during the rituals.

Pare Enjoys One of  Her Many Ice Cream Cones - I counted three

Never Too Young to Enjoy Ice Cream

Or Too Old to Enjoy Ice Cream

Peelawat Enjoys Some Free Watermelon

Families provide the food, drinks and ice cream for the people in attendance.  It turns out they earn merit for providing offerings that attract people to donate to the Wat and to enjoy themselves.  The food is always good and everyone is in good spirits.  Some people are in better spirits than others but they have to provide their own ... and I am not talking about phi (ghosts).

Although you can drink beer and whiskey on the Wat grounds ("Up to you"), alcohol is neither donated or offered for sale.

Offerings to the Monks In the Ubsoth

Another ritual was conducted inside of the Ubsoth, the Ordination Hall.  Actually it was more like an Ordination Room than a Hall - a roughly 10 meter by 10 meter free standing building.  Because of the festival when statues will be washed, several statues from the Wat had joined the statues of the Ubsoth for the day.

Praying Hands Connected to Sai Sin (Sacred Thread)

Duang's cousin, the Abbot of a Wat out in the woods, presided over the ritual in the Ubsoth.  This was a great ritual.  Besides the lengthy chanting by the Monks, the Abbot burned two white candles over some water held in a pressed metal decorative silver colored bowl.  The water as part of the ritual this sacred water was sprinkled over the laypeople and poured on the statues.

Pouring Water On a Statue

Besides families offering food and drink, other people offered their talents.  Duang's youngest brother is a morlam performer.  He stages shows through out the province.  Duang's father, who died a year ago, was also a well known local morlam performer who taught many of the older traditional performers in the area.  To honor Duang's father and to make merit during Songpoo Day many of his compatriots and students agreed to perform for free at the Wat.

Morlam Show

As always, the music and dancing was great - a strong link to the Lao Loum ethnic roots of the people of Isaan.  People placed woven reed mats, sahts, on the ground underneath the tall trees of the Wat's ground.  The area was sprinkled with groups of grandmothers with their grand-babies, young people drinking alcohol, families, and the guys that you can always count on being drunk at these events.  Everyone was well behaved and there were not any problems.

Just Because You Are Not in the Band Does Not Mean You Can Not Play the Cymbals

Enjoying the Show With Yai (Grandmother)

Songpoo Day 2015 in Tahsang Village was a joyous occasion spent with family and friends. It was another example of an event that strengthened people's bonds to their faith, family and community.  It remains a cultural event that has been usurped and polluted by tourism.  My hope is that it always remains that way.

The Buddha Statue - The Rest of the Story

Two months ago, 1 February, I photographed and documented the casting of a new bronze statue of Buddha for the new Vihear (Wihan) at the Wat in the forest outside of Ban Maet.

http://hale-worldphotography.blogspot.com/2015/02/casting-wats-new-buddha-statue-day-2.html

After being cast here, the casting traveled to Loei where another larger statue was cast.  Later both castings were transported one day south to the factory in Chonburi for final assembly and finishing.

At first it was my understanding that the completed statue would return in a week.  It then became two weeks and was actually returned after two months. Returning yesterday was actually very good timing whether intended or not.  We are now entering into the Songkran, New Year, season.

Songkran is officially  April 13 to 15 ... Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  That is the way things are supposed to be.  However there is the way things actually are:  There is the Saturday and Sunday before the official start of the festival and there are the two days after the official closing of the holiday.  The Songkran Festival is also known as "Thailand's 7 Deadliest Days" due to the number of traffic deaths.

Although it is the first week of April, many preparations and rituals related to Songkran Festival are underway.  The placing of the new Buddha statue fit quite well into the spirit of the season - a season of joy and happiness.

The celebration of the arrival and placement of the statue was supposed to start at 8:00 A.M.  Based upon the issues of scheduling and timing that we experienced for the casting of the statue, we decided to get out to the Wat at 7:30 A.M. to ensure that we did not miss out on anything.

Well the law of averages does exist - even out in rural Isaan.  Nothing really happened until 8:30 A.M. when I was asked to haul a bunch (10+) people in our truck out to Highway 2410 which passes along the front of Ban Maet.  It turned out that many vehicles and people were assembling alongside the highway.  Soon Luang Por Pohm Likit arrived in a decorated truck bearing the new statue on the flat bed.  The Monk was also accompanied by a truck bearing a large speaker system and several musicians playing joyous ethnic music.  It turned out that the plan was for the truck bearing the statue to lead the procession of the people walking and dancing the 2 KM of dirt road back to the Wat.

I determined that the best place for photographs would be back at the corner just before the Wat.  It was another hot morning here and the sun was very bright - not particularly good for photography and definitely not good for standing out in the sun.  I walked out to the corner from the Wat and waited, and waited, and waited even some more.  I eventually walked back to the Wat and returned with a plastic chair that I set up under the shade from the small farmer's hut at the corner ... and waited some more.  Eventually a saamlaw, a three wheeled transport, arrived filled with some dancers.  The dancers, I can not honestly call them "girls", were excited to see my camera and posed for a group photo.

The Dancers Waiting to Join the Procession

After a while we heard the energetic music of the approaching procession.

Buddha Followed By the Dancing Villagers

Villagers Following the Statue

The dancers joined the procession to walk the short distance to the Wat.  Their arrival was punctuated by whooping and hollering that typically is associated with a wedding procession here in Isaan. It was a definite joyous occasion.

Arriving at the Wat

Upon entering the Wat grounds, the procession was joined by people who had been waiting for its arrival.  My wife is very reserved and somewhat shy ... except for things related to her faith.  Duang managed some how and some way to grab a prime spot to accompany the statue on its three time clockwise circumambulation of the Vihear.

Duang Escorts the Statue Around the Vihear

After three times around the Vihear the truck, transporting the statue, stopped at the edge of the building to the left of the raised platform where it would be placed at its final location.  I was curious s to how the statue would be rigged in to location.  I did not see a crane or even a boom truck to lift and place the statue.  I did not even see a ramp, rollers or even metal pipe to facilitate moving the heavy object.  Just how did the people move and place the statue?  Similar to the famous slogan of the investment firm, Smith Barney, "We make money the old fashioned way.  We earn it."  In the case of moving the heavy statue - They moved the statue the old fashioned way.  They lifted and moved it by hand. - many hands!

Some Say "It takes a village to raise a child" - It definitely takes a village to set a statue

Many of the village men surrounded the statue and grabbed a hold of it.  Under the commands of one of the men, they slightly lifted the statue and tilted the statue to a horizontal position.  Perhaps a concession to safety - one man placed a mon, small rectangular pillow, at the base of the statue's neck.  All went well and without much struggling, the statue was placed and slid into its final location.

Once  the statue was set, men poured some water on it and gently wiping the water. squashed bugs, and hand prints from the surface.

It was now time for the daily ritual of the people offering food to the Monks.  Yesterday because of the special nature of the day, there were more Monks participating in the ritual.  Some Monks from a more established Wat in the vicinity attended the ritual.  I suspect that the Abbot from that Wat was necessary to ensure that the process of enshrining the statue was properly done.  The Abbot always sits to far left of the lines of Monks - sitting in the front row and to the right of the others. Luang Por Pohm Likit sits to his immediate left.  There were two rows of Monks yesterday including several semanans (young boys on their school break as novice Monks).

After the Monks had completed their only meal of the day, the gathered laypeople ate the remaining food - a sort of community breakfast that strengths and reinforces the community as well as family bonds.

After the lay meal had been completed and the area cleaned up, a special ritual was conducted for the new statue.  There was a great deal of chanting by the Monks as well as by the laypeople.  As is typical for the rituals, the laypeople were lead by a man called a "tapakhao"  Tapakhao, the same as a  Brahman, are elderly men who were once Monks for a considerable time and have received advanced training in spiritual as well as ritual matters.

I especially enjoy the chanting of the Monks.  They chant in the language of the people who first brought Buddhism to Thailand - Pali.  The chanting is rhythmic and energetic to the point that is almost hypnotic. The voices of the various Monks seem to compliment if not harmonize with each other.  The Senior Monk leads the chanting almost always uses a microphone along with an amplifier.  Typically another of older Monks or a younger Monk with greater training will also chant using a microphone and amplification.  I have not figured it out yet but every time I witness the chanting, the Senior Monk will pause either to catch his breadth or to check on the chanting of the other Monks.  After a short pause he will resume is chanting as if he never skipped a beat.  For me, this hesitation and pause adds to the drama and atmosphere of the ritual.

I often reflect and appreciate as I photographing and witnessing the ritual that this has been going on for almost 2,500 years.  There is a connection to people for over 100 generations that is repeated every day.

As I look upon the laypeople participating in the rituals, I see babies and toddlers being taught the ways of the ritual - ensuring another generation will be connected.

The new Buddha statue, like all the other Buddha statues, serves as a reminder and focal point of the middle way that Buddhists believe will lead them to liberation ... enlightenment.