Saht Weaving Time

I have recently written about the diminished activity in the fields and waterways of Isaan coinciding with the rising temperatures as well as the dry season. This does not mean that there is not plenty going on to witness, observe or photograph in the rural villages of Isaan.

As you drive through the small villages that are scattered along the back roads of Isaan, you will find bunches of reeds laid out along side of the village streets drying in the sun. These are the marsh reeds, called "Ly" (?) that are used to weave the ubiquitous Lao Loum textile called "Saht". I read that the Khene musical instrument defines the essence of Lao culture. My opinion is that if the khene defines than the saht reaffirms the essence of Lao Loum culture. The saht is a scatter rug, a substitute for carpeting, an offering to Monks, a place to eat your meals, a place to drink, a substitute for a mattress, and a gift. People in Isaan villages place sahts upon the floor of their home to eat their meals. Sahts are placed inside of hammocks to create beds for babies and toddlers. Some people sleep atop sahts placed upon the floors of their home. Sahts are placed upon the floor of Buddhist temples for the worshippers to kneel and sit on. People place sahts on the ground for sitting on at outside shows as well as outdoors concerts. The body is placed upon a saht inside of the coffin prior to cremation.

Sahts are a multifunctional woven read mat that is typically around 39 inches wide and around 57 inches long. The width of the saht is restricted by the height of the Ly plant at harvest time. The Ly plant is cultivated very much like rice is here in Isaan however it does require more and a more reliable source of water than rice. It is harvested every four months - roughly Mid-March, Early-August, and December.

When the plant is about four feet high, it is cut using sickles that are also used to harvest the rice crop. The light heads are cut off the reeds and the reeds are laid out flat along the side of the street or in people's compacted dirt yards to dry out in the sun. Isaan villagers do not have lawns. Their yards are compacted dirt that they often sweep with long handcrafted brooms to remove leaves that fall from surrounding trees. Roving groups of chickens also assist in maintaining the yards.

During hot and sunny weather like we experience in March and April, the reeds are dry in three to four days. Later when the weather is not so sunny or dry, it takes one to two weeks for the reeds to dry out. After drying out flat, some villagers hang the sheaves of dried reeds over the top of their bamboo fences to protect the reeds from wandering water buffalo, cattle, dogs, as well as chickens. The local children seem to be well trained and avoid damaging or soiling the reeds along the street.

Most people dye the dry reeds before weaving them. I guess it is like any personal endeavor and enterprise, the villagers want to add some personal touch and style to their product. I have seen some plain dull brown sahts but not very many of them. Most of the finished sahts are very colorful. They typically are a mixture of orange, red, yellow, and blue. Just as with the local cotton and silk weavers, the saht weavers have the designs and patterns of their textile memorized. I have watched cotton and silk weavers here in Isaan as well as in Laos, and I am continuously amazed at how they can create such colorful as well as intricate patterns from only their memory. Saht weaving is a great deal easier for me to try to comprehend. The design and patterns are created using single reed of one color whereas in certain silk weaving some of the individual threads are multi-colored. Most sahts have no more than 4 distinct colors. I have seen some silk weaving involving 8 different colors.

Last week during one of our trips out to Tahsang Village we saw two of the village women busy with dying some dry Ly reeds. As so often is the case here in Isaan as well as in neighboring Laos, the Lao Loum people make do with what they have or with what is readily available. They were using a commercial water based dye that requires hot water. To heat the water they had built a small wood fire. In Thailand, as well as the rest of Southeast Asia, people are free to perform outdoor burning. Most people in the villages cook their meals outside over small wood or charcoal fires. The wood fire that the village women had built for dying the reeds was comprised of several logs each about 4 to 6 inches in diameter. As the wood underneath their pot of boiling by the small fire, the women maintain the fire simply by pushing the remainder of the logs to the center of the flames.



For a container to boil the water and dye mixture in and to contain the reeds, the villagers used a large metal container that had been used to store cookies. The container was about 4 to 5 gallons capacity. For stirring the mixture and removing the hot dyed reeds, the villagers used two pieces of readily available local bamboo. One of the women, gathered a sheave of dried Ly reed and twisted it together as she placed it into the pot of boiling dye mixture. She used a bamboo stick to ensure all and every part of the reed bundle was submerged into the red liquid. After about two minutes in the pot, the woman removed the reed sheave, now a shiny brilliant red, from the pot using the two pieces bamboo as a pair of long chopsticks. Carefully using the pieces of bamboo, she carried the steaming mass of stringy red reeds over to the other woman. The second woman was busy untangling the reeds and laying them out in the sun to dry once again. It is important that the reeds not be bent or twisted for weaving. After cooling the reeds will be hung to complete drying out.

Weaving of the Ly reeds into sahts is performed at people's homes and in covered areas at some village Wats. The weaving is a two person operation typically older women. They weave the reed upon a home made loom made from rough lumber and pieces of bamboo. The looms are set up on the ground. Plastic string is strung through a wide piece of wood with a series of holes drilled in it from one end to the other end of the frame. One person takes a colored reed to be woven into the saht. The selected reed is attached to a thin bamboo stick and pushed along the width of the textile between the two layers of the plastic string. The second woman manipulates the wide board to push the new reed up against the previously woven reeds. They talk and gossip all the while that they are working. Neighbors and family members often stop by to socialize with the weavers as they toil.

New Photos Added to Gallery, "Isaan Go-Go Girls"

New photos from this weekend's Mahlam Lao Show in Ban Non Makha have been added to my gallery, "Isaan Go-Go Girls"

http://www.hale-worldphotography.com/People/Isaan-Go-Go-Girls/8185157_q4YxR#534645833_s5QuD

In addition prices for all prints, larger than 4"x6", have been significantly reduced

Mahlam Lao Show - Ban Non Makha

Things have gotten hotter here in Isaan and it is not just the weather. Our daily weather high temperatures are now ranging from 95 to 100F (35 C to 38C) as we head for the hottest months which are April and May.

The sugar cane harvest is winding down. The next crop of sugar cane has been already planted. The limited second crop of rice, for those farmers who have access to water, is well established and it is a matter of waiting to harvest it when it matures. The same is true for the cassava crop. The water levels are very low so there is very little fishing available or going on.

This is the time of year when village women weave sahts. Sahts are woven reed mats that take the place of throw rugs and rugs in Lao Loum culture. They are also a substitute for indoor as well as outdoor furniture. The mats are placed on the concrete, tile or compacted earth floors of homes for people to sit on, and sometimes to sleep on. Sahts are placed inside of hammocks for babies to sleep upon. At concerts and shows many people bring a saht from home and place it upon the ground for sitting, drinking, and eating snacks during the show. When we went to Tahsang Village yesterday, a photographed some of the villagers dying the dried reeds in preparation for weaving - but that will be the topic of a future blog.

The rainy season will not start for another two months. With the limited amount of necessary work in the fields now, and with the coming of Thai New Years, Songkran, in a month there appears to be an upswing in the number of shows and festivals in Isaan at this time of the year. I questioned my wife about this to determine if there was a conscious effort to take advantage of the dry weather and lessened work load for the villagers to enjoy themselves more here in Isaan. She told me "No. People in Isaan like to have party all the time. People die all the time. People get married all the time. Boy become Monk all the time. People have party all the time. People in Isaan like to party all the time" It is difficult to disagree with that especially after my experiences of the past three years.

Yesterday there was a party at the Wat in Ban Non Makha. Ban Non Makha village is a neighbor to Tasang Village. The party was being held on the grounds of the local Buddhist temple. In Isaan, as well as the rest of Thailand, the Wats serve many purposes. Besides being religious and often educational centers for their communities, the Wats also are social centers for the people. The party in Non Mahka was being held to raise money to support the Wat. There was a Mahlam Lao show similar to the type that Duang's youngest brother performs at weddings, funerals, funeral anniversaries, house warmings, Monk ordination celebrations, some religious holidays, local festivals such as the recent "Mango Festival" and even sometimes "Thank You" parties sponsored by local politicians. Yes, Duang is absolutely correct in saying "People in Isaan like to party all the time". As we drove out to Non Makha village we saw several large trucks from at least two other different Mahlam Lao troupes traveling along the main road that connects the Lao border town of Nong Khai to eventually Bangkok. It still seems to me that the number of parties is increasing.

On March 30th, Duang's brother will be performing in Tahsang Village for Songpoo Day. The following two days after his show will involve shooting home made gunpowder rockets into the sky. This will be my third "Songpoo Day" in Tahsang Village and I still don't understand what it is all about. The previous two "Songpoo Days" came at the end of Songkran. I thought that because they came at the end of the extended Thai New Years celebration, it was like the official end of Songkran. That theory worked until this year when Duang told me that it was going to be held before the start of Songkran! It was being held before Songkran because the villages wanted it then. Another theory that I had was that Songpoo commemorated Thailand's most famous poet and was like a national education day. That theory was proven to be incorrect too. No matter the case, I have learned that I do not have to understand or to be able to explain everything. I know that I do not have to intimately and completely know about something to be able to enjoy it. Although I am not a Buddhist, I find comfort in the Buddhist belief that we should question everything. I, in my older age, have accepted that there may not be answers to all my questions but I should continue to question everything and seek all of the answers.

Ban Non Makha village has about 400 inhabitants and is located about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from Tahsang Village which has about 250 people and about 8 kilometers (5 miles) from Ban Non Daeng which has about 250 people. Throughout Isaan there are many of these small villages dispersed amongst the rice paddies, sugar cane fields, and cassava fields. Through word of mouth, mostly amongst relatives, word of the local shows travels far and fast. The shows are always well attended ... "People in Isaan like to have party all the time".

We arrived at the Wat around 10:00 A.M., the roadies were still setting up the stage for the show. A booth where you paid 20 baht ($0.60 USD) to get a short piece of a small diameter straw. Inside the straw, was a piece of rolled up paper with a number on it. The number on the paper corresponded to prizes on display. A young boy about 10 to 12 years old in front of me won an electric fan. Duang won a small container of scented powder. Off to the side, a man had set up a tub of water with several tiny gold fish in it with one fairly good sized black molly fish. Young children were trying to scoop the fish out of the aerated tub with a flat net about 3 inches in diameter which also had a 2 inch tear in it. The process brought into my mind the old saying "Like taking candy from a baby". I watched for awhile and never saw a fish captured however all the little children were thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Behind the fish game of "chance" (little chance?), several children were having a grand time bouncing up and down on two trampolines. I have chosen the words carefully. They were literally and figuratively bouncing up and down on TWO trampolines. Many of the children would bounce from one trampoline to the other trampoline. There were no spotters or protective padding or mats. It was groups of children absolutely enjoying themselves on a hot and sunny day.

At the far end of the grounds, small battery powered cars were available for toddlers to ride. In the center of the grounds there was a booth very similar to what we saw at the Mango Festival where children could race small battery powered remote controlled cars on an elevated plywood track. Vendors strolled around the grounds selling various creatures and objects created out of inflated balloons. As is typical at all these events, there were many booths, stalls, and push carts selling all types of food, soft drinks, and beer.

Sahts were set up to the side as well as the front of the stage. Through choice and selection, the areas were segregated unto women with young children, men heavily into drinking, mixed teenagers, young boys, and eventually Ladyboys.

We went to witness some of the villagers earn merit by offering food to the Wat Monks. We were joined by Duang's cousin and her young daughter, Kwan. At 11:00 A.M. the show commenced.

The show was excellent and followed the typical format for these performances. It started with a raucous rock and roll song (Mahlam Sing) with Go-Go dancers. That was followed by a young male singer and then a female performer who sounded very much like the famous Mahlam Morlam singer, Siriporn Ainphaipong. She was a performer because in addition to singing she also danced during many of the songs that the men sang. After the opening sets, the troupe performed several Mahlam Lao (traditional Lao music) songs. The Mahlam Lao songs are a tie to the past as well as a tribute to the Lao Loum culture that transcends the borders of Thailand and Laos.

Having paid tribute to the past and their ancestors, the troupe focused on more contemporary songs and arrangements. As the show continued on and the spectators drank more and more, many more people were moved by the music leading them to get up and dance in front of the stage. Dancing here in Isaan is more of an individual or group exercise than a couples event as shown on "Dancing With the Stars". People basically get up and start dancing. They may be alone, part of a group of same sex people, or sometimes in a mixed group. Very rarely can a single man and single woman be identified as dancing together.

As occurs at all these shows two groups dominated the area directly in front of the stage. Teenage boys, that I refer to as the "Young Bucks", many of them feeling the affects of beer as well as whiskey, form a sort of "Mosh Pit" at center stage. These guys are usually the best and definitely most energetic of the dancers. At times it appears to me that they will challenge each other to show off their best moves - sort of like the old style break dancing competitions.
Younger brothers and male cousins, 10 to 14 years old, hang around the edges of the Mosh Pit practising their moves and yearning to be part of the older group - some day, some day soon.

The second group are the Ladyboys. Today they took over stage right since the young bucks had previously set up at stage center. The Ladyboys stick pretty much to themselves and can be counted on to show some very animated dance moves along with their vamping. It all makes for some very interesting entertainment. Even out in these outlying areas, I am amazed at the number of Ladyboys. At this show, 10 Ladyboys attended. When they made their grand entrance, I heard some laughter from the other spectators but nothing derisive. The initial laughter only seemed to encourage the Ladyboys to do their thing.


Around 1:00 P.M. the show was going on in full force and swing. The Ladyboys were dancing up a storm. The Mosh Pit was hopping. The Go-Go girls were quite animated. The singers were in fine form. The band, as always, was great. The beer was cold and plentiful. The whiskey was great with coke. The local whiskey, a sort of moonshine, Lao Kao or Lao Lao, was in plentiful supply. It was a great afternoon under the hot Isaan sun. A great day without any policeman around. No police? That was strange. There usually are Police at these events.



As I was taking a break from taking photographs and showing how we used to dance in the old days, I noticed a vendor walking around gathering up and removing the empty bottles laying around the spectator areas. I thought this was very environmentally responsible and indicative of the people's sensitivity towards recycling. After my break I went to the edge of the Mosh Pit to take some close ups of the Go-Go girls. All of a sudden there was shouting, yelling, and a surge of people towards me - a fight had broken out. This was not unexpected - it happens at every show. This was the first time that I came close to being in the middle of the people surge though. I once was involved in a near panic surge of people at a soccer game in Brasil so I am very leery and familiar with the awesome power of a mob. I quickly got out of the way and immediately set about preparing my camera gear to leave the event.

Fights in Isaan are usually very short lived initial events. Typically they last no more than a total of more than 4 or 5 blows. The show immediately stops at the start of a fight. Once two people start at it, their friends separate the combatants. At the same time police, when they are in attendance get, involved to separate the people. Village Headmen and older men also help to restore order. People in general listen and pay attention to the Village Headman out of respect or perhaps due to the realization that he or she can make things difficult for you for a long time. Elderly men are also respected so they have some influence in stopping the fight(s). Since these a family events, the most effective peace making force is always in attendance - Grandmothers, Mothers, and Aunts! Grandmothers, Mothers and Aunts wage in and remove the initial battlers from the scene scolding the fighters as they lead them away.

After things calm down, the music starts up again. Typically there will be another fight. Yesterday the second fight started even before Duang and I finished our preparations to leave because of the first fight. It was during this second set of fights that I realized why the vendor had been picking up the empty glass bottles. I saw a drunk with an empty bottle prepared to throw it. Thankfully he did not. The second round of fights typically involves the first set of fighters and others who suffered some perceived slight or insult during the first go around. "Face" is very important so it leads to many confrontations during these events.

Why do people fight to begin with? It basically boils down to too much drinking and people not being able to handle their liquor. Just as else where in the world, some people get mean when they drink.

We learned today that there were actually 5 fights, 3 after we left, at yesterday's show. The show was stopped at 3:00 P.M. when the final fight broke out, the last straw - Ladyboys fighting each other!

Duang has told me that there will be Police at the 30 March show along with a big Police truck where they can lock up people.

A new photo gallery, "Muang Sing Market", is available for viewing on my photography web site

http://www.hale-worldphotography.com/Travel/Muang-Sing-Market/11495580_B6YHJ#808876502_aVSCi

New Gallery Available - "Ban Sopsim - Khmu Village"

A new photo gallery, "Ban Sopsim - Khmu Village", is now available for viewing

http://www.hale-worldphotography.com/Travel/Ban-Sopsim-Khmu-Village/11486319_sPc5g#808160675_CspZx

New Gallery - "Xieng Kok Market Day"

A new photo gallery, "Xieng Kok Market Day" is now available for viewing

http://www.hale-worldphotography.com/Travel/Xieng-Kok-Market-Day/11479047_BFvDq#807574397_MHN5V

New Photos Added - Isaan Go-Go Girls

Some new photographs have been added to one of the galleries, "Isaan Go-Go Girls", located on my photography website

http://www.hale-worldphotography.com/People/Isaan-Go-Go-Girls/8185157_q4YxR#534645833_s5QuD

Update to Photography Website

I have added some new photographs to one of the galleries, Children - Runny Noses and Dirty Faces, located on my photography website

http://www.hale-worldphotography.com/Children/Runny-Noses-and-Dirty-Faces/7422101_oLip3#478397481_nSuvY

The Mango Fair

Yesterday was the start of the annual Mango Fair in Non Wai about 20 miles from our home. We drove out to Amphoe Nong Wau Sor, where Non Wai, is located, in the early afternoon not quite knowing what to expect at the fair.


We arrived at the fair around 3:00 P.M. and found many of the booths still being set up. The fair was fairly typical for these types of events throughout Isaan. There were two large stages set up at opposite ends of the fair where elaborate stage shows would be performed. The shows typically start around 8 or 9 P.M. and conclude much later in the night with many shows going on into the early hours of the morning. I learned today that one of the shows for this fair ended at 5 A.M. this morning. There was a small area where children could jump on trampolines, slide down a large inflated multi layered structure, ride on a couple kiddie rides or ride on tiny motorcycles. There were also the ubiquitous "Pop The Balloons With Darts" booths as well as a couple booths where you could fire plastic ball from a rifle to knock down objects to win a prize. One booth was a race track where small radio controlled cars navigated through a series of painted obstacles. Along with the many booths selling local foods and soft drinks, there were some booths selling articles such as clothing and hats. A couple of beer gardens were set up where people could eat and sing karaoke along with their drinking. Best of all, for me, there was an area where local farmers were selling mangoes.

The best mangoes, large, unblemished, and uniform in color were for sale from 30 to 35 baht a kilogram ($0.48 USD a pound). In addition to the sweet mango there were also plenty of the hard green mangoes that are used in cooking as well as for eating either with a chili dip sauce, dry chili along with salt, or just as they are. We ended up with three plastic bags filled with delicious mangoes - $1 USD worth.

During our wanderings about the fair we came upon a small booth where some been were drinking beer. Since, as is often the case, I was one of very few foreigners at these events I tend to attract attention. They invited us over to their booth to have a drink with them. I drank a glass of beer and told them that I could not drink much because I had to drive the truck back to our home. They then showed me and I realized that THEY WERE THE POLICE!

They had a karaoke system set up and were singing. They had me sing some songs in English. After awhile and some more beer, we were singing songs together in Thai or my feeble but earnest imitation of Thai. We were having such a good time that some of the performers from the nearby stage area came over to investigate. They had been putting on their make-up and costumes in preparation for the start of their show.




These were not the typical female singers or Go-Go girls that I photograph backstage. These were female impersonators. They were not Kathoeys (Lady Boys) who strive and for the most part succeed in transforming themselves into appearing as females. These performers were more "campy" with their outlandish makeup and over the top movements. They made no effort to disguise their low voices or to even ensure that they had recently shaved their face. I took several photographs and they were faithful to their representations as performers. They were very photogenic. I viewed the experience as a good opportunity to work with a different type of people under different, if not challenging, conditions to create interesting photographs.

Life Along the Water - It Is All About Water

It is already March here in Thailand. Today is a holiday - the start of Buddhist Lent. It is also the start of the four day Mango Fair in nearby Non Wai in Amphoe Nong Wau Sor. We will go to the fair later this afternoon.

February went by so quickly. It doesn't seem all that long ago that we were returning home from our trip to Luang Namtha. Perhaps because the trip was so enjoyable that our memories and thoughts over the past month numbed our consciousness to the passage of time.

Throughout our trip, I was impressed with the importance that water played in the day to day life of the minority people of the Luang Namtha region. For many of us, water is taken for granted. It is readily available and at our disposal by merely turning a faucet open in our kitchen, in any number of our bathroom sinks, flush one of our toilets, our bath tub or tubs, our shower or showers, and the valves outside our home for watering the lawn and plants in our yards. Many of our refrigerators automatically create ice from the water that is hooked up to the appliance. We have no reservations about pouring a glass and drinking straight from the tap. The water is always there. The water is always potable.

That is the way that it is in our world. We may have concern regarding the availability of oil and its associated products. We are definitely concerned about the price of oil and its associated products. Seldom and perhaps never, are we concerned about the availability or cost of water. But this is not the way it is in most of the world.


We can live without oil albeit not as comfortably as we do now but all people, all creatures as well as plants, must have water. Unfortunately, for many people in the world access to water is not often reliable, convenient or even potable. To address some of the water issues, many people have settled alongside sources of water.

Every village and settlement that we came upon in the Luang Namtha region was along the banks of a river, stream, or spring. These sources of water were heavily utilized. In the late afternoon, we could see the villagers bathing in the flowing water. Typically in the morning, clothes were washed in the water although some people multi-tasked by washing clothes as part of their bathing ritual. No matter the time of the day for bathing, buckets of water were gathered and carried back home. At the Boat Landing Guest House and Restaurant, small pumps take water directly out of the adjacent Nam Tha River and lift the water to elevated storage tanks to be used as required. In some of the settlements the source of household water was nothing more than a slow flowing drainage ditch between the road and the house. The same water used for washing clothes, and bathing is often is also used as a food source and for drinking water. The same water is often used by children as a playground. The same water is also used by the villager's livestock. What water is readily available is well utilized.

There was photographic opportunity that most likely will forever be fixed in my mind. Outside of Xieng Kok on the road back to Muang Sing, we came upon a mother standing in a shallow ditch in front of her home no more than 12 feet from the edge of the main road. She stood ankle deep in the water, having completed her bathing, wringing the water out of one side of her sarong that due to some semblance of modesty she was still wearing. Joining her in the ditch were three little boys and a little girl - all under three years old. Watching over the scene were three other little children. I often write about the lack of privacy here in Isaan but this scene often repeated during our Lao trip exceeds what is the situation in Isaan.

Once in Peru, my wife at the time remarked about the personal hygiene of the local people in Cusco, Peru. Shortly after she made that remark, I saw out of the train window, a small girl, perhaps 6 years old, struggling to carry two filled yellow Prestone Anti-Freeze containers of water from the small community water tap in the middle of a flat compacted bare earth area at the edge of the village. I pointed the scene out to my wife and remarked that the child was bringing water back to her home for cooking as well as bathing. I asked my wife how many baths would she take and further pointed out the water was cold. Again, for much of the world bathing is not as convenient nor as private as is our experience. Most people do not have the luxury of closing a door, turning a faucet or two, and enjoying an unlimited amount of hot water upon demand. Our Lao experience reminded us of our fortune - a fortune that we should not take for granted.

So today as I wind up reviewing and editing the photographs from our Luang Namtha journey, so many of them having water in them, I reminisce about the experience mostly of life along the river.

Life along the river, life along the stream, and sometimes life next to the ditch - I can almost hear once again the sounds of clothes being slapped against rocks, the soft ruffling of clothes being hand washed, the occasional plop of a fish as it reentered the water after catapulting upwards to snare a meal, the sharp staccato of rocks hitting upon each other as village women wade upstream overturning them in their search for food to bring back for the family meal, the sound of wet clothes being beat with a wooden club to clean them, the excitement as well as exuberance of young boys and girls exploring the banks together - each discovery evoking a conference as well an animated discussion with one child naturally evolving to be the group's leader, the sounds of community gossip in a six tonal language by village women as they congregate in mid-thigh high water to bathe, the soft crescendo of mono filament fishing nets being flung over the waters as the sun sets and a full moon rises ... Yes it is all about the water. - Life along the river in Laos.

We will hopefully never take our water for granted again.

A new photo gallery, "Lao Loum Funeral - Same Same But Different", is available for viewing at my photography website.

http://www.hale-worldphotography.com/Travel/Lao-Loum-Funeral-Same-Same/11344625_ErGFA#796749917_JWSc9

Laos Day 7 - Corporate Generosity

After completing my walk with the Monks in the mist, I returned to the hotel. Rather than wake Duang from her sleep by entering our cottage, I stopped at the reception/dining area first to have my breakfast.

As I ate my breakfast, I was joined by Khun Thone. We talked about our stay and discussed Duang and I returning at some time in the next year. Duang and I had enjoyed all aspects of our trip and look forward to coming back at another time of the year to experience a different perspective. Mr Thone indicated that he wanted to take us to two different area that we had not visited to photograph some of the other minority peoples of the region.

After awhile, we were joined by Khun Kreiengkrai Nakapong from the Thaioil group that I had played volleyball with the previous night. He was the leader of several Thaioil employees that were traveling together through Laos.

My last project in Thailand, was at the same refinery in Sriracha where Mr. (Khun) Kriengkrai is a Shift Manager. Even today, three years after I left that project, Duang surprisingly and peculiarly in my opinion when she introduces me to Thai people proudly points out that I had worked at Thaioil. Just as surprisingly and peculiarly are the people's reaction. Invariably they are very impressed. I can not imagine a similar reaction in the USA if a person was to be introduced as having worked on one of the major oil company's projects. I would expect that polite people would ignore the comment and less polite people might comment as to the major oil company's performance in regards to "corporate responsibility", "environmental stewardship", "social responsibility", and so forth through the litany of today's politically correct issues. Admiration for being associated with such a major corporation would be a definite shock.

During our conversation we were joined by the Village Headman of Ban Khone. He had arrived for a special ceremony outside of the hotel. I found out that the Thaioil employees were not on a holiday but were actually on company business for their travels through Laos. Thaioil, through its "Thaioil Group Without Borders" campaign had donated school supplies, treats, and sporting equipment for Lao school children. The Thaioil employees were distributing the items to the preselected villages.



As our conversation was wrapping up, I noticed many small children arriving at the hotel grounds. Most of the children were walking organized by class groups but some arrived in small farm wagons that are so common in the area. The children were bundled up in heavy jackets to ward off the morning chill of 60F (16C). The children were well disciplined and had an air of expectation about them. Khun Kriegkrai invited me to join in the ceremony. This was an opportunity that I did not want to miss. This was an opportunity that I wanted to share. I raced back to our cottage , a short ways away to fetch my camera and to bring Duang to witness the event. After getting dressed, she joined the celebration and enjoyed watching the children's joy at receiving some much need items for the school life.

After the formalities were completed, candy as well as some other food treats were distributed to the children. The children then went up to the tables heavily laden tables to inspect the school supplies and sporting equipment. The children were just as excited at receiving notepads, pencils, ball point pens, crayons, and erasers as they were about the edible treats that they were busy eating.

The sporting equipment - volleyballs (one slightly used, futbol balls (soccer balls), kataw ball, badminton birdies, and badminton rackets were divided up and hauled away by representatives from each school.




Duang and I said goodbye to the Thaioil people and wished them a safe return back to Thailand when their work in Laos was completed. They still had school supplies and sporting equipment to distribute and kilometers and kilometers to travel as well as promises to keep before they could sleep - back in Thailand.

I now had an insight and appreciation for why people in Isaan as well as other parts of Thailand are impressed to learn of my former association, as minor as it had been, with Thaioil. I had seen a corporation help improve the lives of children. I had witnessed the generosity of a major corporation - a generosity that transcended national borders and political divides.

I left Laos proud to have worked with Thaioil and perhaps a little disappointed that I had not actually worked for them. I now understand that their widely held esteem and reputation has been well deserved and earned.

Another Isaan Funeral - "Same Same But Different"

Yesterday, Monday 22 February, my plans and intentions for the day were interrupted. It was my intention as well as plan to complete a blog about our experiences on our last day in Laos during our recent trip to Luang Namtha. However, we needed to take care of family business and obligations. One of Duang's uncles, 82 years old from Tahsang Village, had died three days previously and his cremation ritual was to be held at 13:00 yesterday afternoon in Tahsang Village. Duang and I were going to go out to the village after I had my lunch at 11:00 A.M., but we got a call early in the morning from her cousin asking why we had not arrived so we ended up leaving our home earlier in the morning. Duang had 23 Aunts and Uncles but they are all getting to the end stage of this life. This was the second funeral for a close relative that we have attended in the very recent past. Another Uncle has been in the hospital three times in the past week and a half so we suspect that there will be another funeral soon.

I have written about Isaan funerals twice before so for this blog I will focus on the generalities and unique aspects of this particular ritual.

Upon arriving at the Uncle's home, we were greeted and invited to sit down. Food from the the outside kitchen set up in the side yard was brought to us as well as all other guests upon their arrival. The loudspeaker system announced the offerings that each guest had made to be given to the Monks as part of the merit making ritual associated with the funeral. Next door and up against a low cinder block wall, in a neighbor's weed strewn yard, a group of 10 people were busy gambling. The gambling was similar to the game that we had observed in Laos late last month. It was a combination of roulette and dice. However in this game the dice were not released to tumble down in an open wood box. For this game the dice were placed on a plate and covered with a small woven reed bowl. After all the bets were placed on the plastic pictorial betting sheet, an elderly woman shook the plate-bowl assembly once, placed it carefully back on the ground, and slowly removed the bowl to reveal the results. The action was hot and heavy. One woman had won 3,000 baht the previous day - almost $100. Although gambling is illegal in Thailand, according to Duang everyone plays cards (gambles) in Isaan at a funeral and the police do not complain. I asked her why they gamble at funerals and she told me because there isn't live music. At the anniversary of a person's death, there is typically a stage show and at those occasions there is no gambling. If people gamble and it is not a funeral, the police will arrest or "fine" the people. Just as many aspects of religion, this can not be fully explained, or fully understood. It is what it is and you are left to accept or not accept it.

This was the first Isaan funeral for a man that I have attended. Funerals for men and women are structurally the same however most differences are related to the social and economic status of the deceased. People in Isaan buy life insurance. When a person dies, the insurance company immediately pays the proceeds of the policy - typically around 100,000 baht ($3,000 USD). The money is used to help pay for the funeral. Besides paying for the rental of the refrigerated coffin used for the three days that the body lays in state, the money pays for food, drink (alcohol and soft drinks), cash offerings to the Monks, and other offerings to the Monks such as robes, blankets, candles, and the ubiquitous plastic pails filled with personal hygiene and personal care items for Monks. Some money is also placed in envelopes for selected guests to offer to the Monks in the name of the deceased thereby making merit for themselves as well as the deceased.

Duang's Uncle had quite a bit of land so there much more offerings given than I had witnessed at the previous two funerals. During this ritual, approximately 30 orange hand towels were to be offered to the Monks as part of the ritual. The towels along with other offerings were placed on a table at the foot of one of the stairways leading up to the furnace entrance of the crematorium where the closed coffin was placed. The ritual was overseen by the man's cousin who is an Abbott of a local Wat. For protection from the strong sun, the Abbott carried a large silver umbrella which had "Some people know the difference". "Some people know the difference"? A Buddhist mantra? A Buddhist belief? Noooo ... it was a marketing statement that was related to the logo on the other side of the umbrella - "Jack Daniels No. 7". Just as Thai food is a melange of taste, textures, and sensations, life in Isaan is also a melange of opposites juxtaposed to create a vibrant mosaic. In this case a pious Monk carrying an umbrella advertising an international brand of liquor while participating in an ancient merit making ritual.

As a person's name was announced, they went up to the table, where a granddaughter of the deceased man presented them with a towel placed on top of a pressed metal ceremonial bowl. The recipient performed a wai (Thai sign of respect), accepted the offering, and walked up stairs to the coffin. They then placed the towel along with the previous towels on top of the coffin. A couple of the deceased man's sons ensured that the towels were laid out in an orderly fashion. There were also three dignitaries at the merit making ritual. The head man of Khumphawapi Province is related to the deceased so he attended along with the No 2 man of the province. A third dignitary was the headman from another village. After the close family members had presented the towel offerings, the dignitaries were given other offerings rather than towels to present. I know that one offering was a large box containing two intricately carved yellow candles to burn in the Wat.

Some of the guests, both male and female, wore what appeared to be military uniforms. They were not members of the armed forces but were teachers. Apparently on Mondays and Fridays, teachers wear their uniforms. All this time I had thought that Thailand had a huge military! It also turns out that many civil servants also have formal military style uniforms that they wear at certain occasions. However this was not the end of me learning something new for the day.


After the offerings had been placed atop the coffin, they were removed by some of the approximately 32 Monks that participated in the ritual and brought to the area where the formal offerings to the Monks as well as chanting was being performed.

The formal merit making ritual lasted two hours. I wandered around taking photographs of whatever I pleased. This may sound strange to other cultures - a stranger, let alone a foreigner, talking photographs of a solemn family event, but I have grown accustomed to the Buddhist and Isaan attitude towards death. Death here is a life milestone not all that much different than birth, marriage, ordination, or moving into a new home. Yes, it is restrained, and dignified. But it is not overly somber and definitely not emotional. I was not the only photographer at this ritual. The deceased man's grandson spent most of his time documenting the event using his camera flash much more than I was comfortable using mine.

After the offerings had been removed, the other guests went to the table at the foot of the stairway to pick up woven bamboo and paper objects, talisman, to place on the closed coffin. After the last guest had placed their talisman on the coffin, several were removed and distributed throughout the furnace on its floor. The remainder of the talismans were placed on the pile of the Uncle's personal possessions on the bare ground outside of the crematorium to be burned in an open fire as his body was cremated.

The thin top of the coffin was removed so that family members could say their final good bye to their loved one. This was also the time for the family to pour coconut water and scented water on the corpse. The corpse had its hands in a wai position but unlike the previous funerals there were no candles, joss sticks or other offerings in his hand. After awhile, a young man came up to coffin with one of the heavy knives used for cutting sugar cane and for chopping meat into paste. With extreme care and reverence, he used the knife to pry the hands apart. He and another man then pushed the corpse's hands to the side of the body. I had not seen this before during Isaan funerals. The justification for this unexpected action became quickly apparent. Family members as they poured the coconut water or just as they finished pouring the water, grasped a hand in a final lingering farewell gesture. Other members gently and affectionately touched the decease's forehead or cheeks as they poured their portion of either coconut or scented water on to the corpse typically on the face.

Whereas death seems to be an embarrassment, a fate to be largely ignored and definitely an event to dread in western cultures with funeral guests often uncomfortable as to how to behave or how to react with the decease's family, here in Isaan it is a community gathering, one of many opportunities to make merit. It is an milestone that people understand and accept without reservation. They know that it will come. They plan on it coming. All members of the community young and old participate in the very public funeral rituals.

This funeral was very similar to the other funerals that I have attended but there were some unique aspects to it which merited the common Thai expression of "Same Same but different"

The Lao Loum family and community structure in Isaan basically eliminates the concerns for the survivors. The youngest daughter is always responsible for supporting her parents so widows or widowers have a certain measure of security. Children are loved and cared for not only by the members of the large families but also by the other members of the village. Older siblings understand their responsibilities, duties, and obligations to their younger brothers and sister.


I learned my last new item of the day as we were leaving the Wat, I noticed a woman with a heavily bandaged thumb. Duang spoke to her and determine that part of her thumb had been amputated - amputated when one of the cattle that she was tending decided to take a run while the rope leash was wrapped around the woman's thumb.