Hmong New Years Festival 2013

Hmong Young Ladies In Luang Prabang, LPDR

Early in December, we flew from Vientiane to Luang Prabang for a holiday.  We typically go to Luang Prabang in December because it is dry season and the temperatures are very moderate, perhaps even on the cool side.  Most importantly, December is usually the time when the Hmong people of the area celebrate their new year.

Hmong New Year in Laos is a celebration that is the longest and most popular Hmong cultural event that is typically celebrated in December after the rice crop has been harvested and when the moon is darkest.  Traditional it was to start with the first rooster crow on the first day of the new moon in the 12th lunar month.  The celebration can last from four to seven days.  There are many festivals in cities and villages of all sizes.  The actual start day can vary each year as well as each locale and sometimes will slightly change at the last minute.  After stumbling upon the festival on our first visit in 2008, we use local contacts in Luang Prabang to determine the exact dates before finalizing our arrangements.

The Hmong New Year celebration consists of "in house" rituals and public festival.  The "in house" rituals are meant to give thanks to the ancestors and spirits along with welcoming a new beginning.  Duang and I have not witnessed these rituals ... yet.  The "in house" rituals include calling back home ancestor spirits to enjoy the celebration and the the making offerings to the spirits, that guard each home, with the living family members. The young members of the family pay respects to the old and in-laws - asking for blessings from the the elders of the home, elders from their clan, and the elder in laws of other clans.

Among other in-house rituals are offerings to the spirit of wealth, cleaning of the body, if a shaman is a member of the family - a special ritual to the spirit of curing allowing the spirit to have a vacation for 3 days at which the spirit is called back to do curing, a ritual to get rid of all problems, issues, misfortune that occurred to the family in the past year , some special feasts, and a ritual to release the souls of all dead family members.

Hmong New Years festival, the public celebration, is the only holiday shared by the whole Hmong community - an occasion where members of all the clans come together.  This is extremely important to know and understand a major function of the celebration - courting.

Young Hmong Maiden In Traditional Dress

At the Hmong New Year Festival, Hmong people of all ages dress in traditional clothing to eat traditional Hmong foods, drink, socialize, listen to traditional music, play games. and to enjoy themselves.

Young Hmong Play Pov Pob

A central part of the Festival is play a Hmong game called "Pov Pob".  At face value it is a rather simple game of two lines of people facing each other tossing a cloth ball or more typically these days, a used tennis ball, back and forth.  The ball is lobbed gently by one hand in an arc and caught in one hand.  If someone drops the ball, they are supposed to take an item from their clothing and give it to the player opposite from them.  The items can be recovered my singing a love song to the opposite player.

Young Man and Woman Pov Pob Players

The rules are rather simple.  But as in any game, it is the nuances, skills, and manner in which the game is played that define the game.  What one may superficially observe and know of the rules of a simple game often does not give a true understanding of the games subtleties and complexities.

In the case of Pov Pob, many of the players are playing a variation of a game of skill played for thousand and thousands of years by mankind - courting.

In the Hmong culture people are not allowed to marry within their clan.  Since the smaller villages typically inhabited by members of the same clan.  The residents of the villages have very limited access to potential acceptable mates.  However it is during the Hmong New Years Festival that the clans come together in a single location.

An Elderly Hmong Man Playing Pov Pob

Several games of Pov Pob go on at the same time.  Most of the games are played by adolescents or young adults younger than 18 years old.  However there are some games played by adults - much older adults.  Widows and widowers also have their own Pov Pob - a game of meeting, socializing, and perhaps courting leading to marriage.

Games of Pov Pob are relaxed and low key pastimes.  Although the games are meant for Hmong people, I was privileged to be invited to participate in a game and the young people were eager to teach me how to play.  There were some specific girls and sequence that I had to follow in tossing the tennis ball as well who would be tossing the ball back to me.  It was not, as the saying goes, "It's all Greek to me", rather it was all Hmong to me.  I did what I was told when I was told, laughing and enjoying it all just as the other players were.  Most importantly, for me and my pride, I made every catch one handed of balls tossed my way.

Just as most things in life there is the way that things are supposed to be and the way that they actually are.  I am convinced the same in playing Pov Pob.  I believe that some players purposely drop the ball in order to become better acquainted with some one that they are interested.  Many of the players were softly singing songs without having the need to retrieve an item of theirs - sort of getting right to the point.

One of My Pov Pob Playing Partners

In writing this blog I learned additional rules for playing Pov Pob - by the book.  Boys and girls in pairs set up two opposing lines about 5 to 7 meters (15 to 20 feet) apart.  Boys toss the ball to girls.  Girls can toss to either boys or girls.  However boys can not toss to other boys.  You can not toss the ball to members of your own clan.  You also can not date a member of your own clan - so meeting people at these festivals is extremely important in searching for a spouse.

My coaches for Pov Pob were young Lao men from the United States.  There was a diaspora of Hmong peoples to the United States and other nations in the 1970s.  They say that "Time heals everything".  I am not sure that everything is healed for the Lao peoples throughout the world but they are now welcomed back to their homeland.  We have met many of the original refugees as well as their children and grandchildren during their visits to Lao.

Elderly People, At the Periphery of the Pov Pob Field, Enjoying the View

During our two days at the Festival we saw many examples of four generations of family enjoying themselves.  Even young children and babies wear traditional Hmong clothing.  The clothing is very pretty - intricate patterns, multiple colors, heavy beading, faux fur or feather trim, silver coins, reflective metal disks, extensive embroidery, silver jewelry accents along with just as interesting hats. Some young men wore costumes covered with small highly polished thin metal disks.  The girls and young women also had excellent make-up with particular attention paid to their eyes.

Hmong Young Women Check Out Their Selfie

A Happy Attendee 

On one end of the Pov Pob field there was a line of booths selling all kinds of foods and beverages.  We had lunch one day at Mr Lee's booth.  Mr Lee?  "Lee is actually the name of a Hmong clan.  We and our driver dined on noodle soup, Qwetiou with sides of raw cabbage, fresh mint leaves, and small chili -just like the soup we eat in Isaan.  We also had some grilled sausages, Pepsi, and fresh pineapple.  Later as I was taking photographs came up with a cone of coconut ice-cream as a treat for me.

Hmong Girl Prepare Spicy Papaya Salad -"Pauk Pauk"

Past the food booths, there were several booths made from suspended tarps where people, more specifically young couples, could have their photo taken in front of many different back drops.  If the couple were not wearing traditional clothing, some of the booths had Hmong clothing that they could don for their special photograph.

There were also several booths that were selling Hmong music CDs and DVDs.  Other booths sold various sundries such as ear-rings, hair ribbons, hair clips, combs which were of great interest to the young girls.

A Grandmother Reads A Palm

Over at the area where the elderly people were congregating , at a table selling some herbal remedies, a grandmother was reading the palms of people - no doubt advising them if they had indeed made a "love connection" at the nearby Pov Pob games.

An Enthusiastic Toddler Plays Her Own Game of Chance

Gambling is a big part of culture in the Lao People's Democratic Republic.  Gambling is legal in the LPDR unlike in nearby Thailand.  From our experiences in Lao, it appears the game of choice is a dice game.  The game consists of a plastic cloth with various large printed and colorful pictures on it.  Grid lines separate the various characters on the betting cloth.  Players place their bets on the character of their choice or on the lines that separate the characters for a combination bet.  Three large dice with the same printed characters are placed by the game operators on a hinged shelf inside the lid of a wooden box. The box lid is partially opened to create a roughly 45 degree ramp down to the bottom portion of the box which lays flat either on the ground, platform or table.  After all the bets are placed, the operator or someone in the crowd designated by the operator pulls a string that releases the hinged shelf which sends the three dice tumbling down the ramp to the enclosed area of the bottom portion of the box.  The top exposed characters indicate the winning bets and combination bets.

The one time that I played the game at New Years Festival of the Khmu people near Muang Sing LPDR, I won several times ending up with 40,000 Kip.  I gave my winnings to Duang since she was still gambling.  She returned to where I was taking photographs with no money.  In 15 minutes, she had lost her money as well as my $5.00 USD of winnings.  No matter the loss, it was great entertainment to play and interact with the local people.

Most of the gamblers that played the game with us in the Khmu village were children mostly between the ages of 8 and 14.  Upon leaving the festival in Luang Prabang we walked through one of several gambling tents located at the entrance to the festival.  Each tent had several tables where many people crammed around gambling.  The action was load and very animated.  It was obvious that the people were really enjoying themselves.  At one table that was not in operation, a precocious toddler was imitating the gambling frenzy that was surrounding her.  She would select one of the characters printed on the cloth, pretend to place a bet on cloth, she would then shout out in joy as she celebrated winning.

Our third visit to Hmong New Year Festival had been very enjoyable.  We most likely will return once again this December.  On this upcoming visit, I hope that we are able to witness some. if not all, of the "inside rituals".  We have 10 months to see what arrangements can be made.  There is always something to do and this will be added to the list.

Vientiane Talad Sao

The Busy Vientiane Morning Market

Two weeks ago, we took a special trip to Vientiane, Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos).  Vientiane is a short 60 miles north of our home in Udonthani.  A forty minute drive transports us from our door step to the Thai border crossing.  After passing through the Thai Border Checkpoint, we take a 15 Baht (0.45 USD) bus drive across the Friendship Bridge to the Lao Border Checkpoint.  Duang has very little to do in crossing into the LPDR.  However, I must fill out an additional form, supply a passport photo, and pay $35 USD to obtain a visa to enter Laos. However once you get off the Thai bus you are approached by men offering to help you in crossing the border and drive you into Vientiane - for a fee.  The fee varies based upon a variety of factors - but is only a little more than the cost of a taxi into town.  The men fill out the forms for you, and shepherd you through the process.  After entering into Laos, they break from you to bring their car to you.  They drive their car up to you and load your luggage as you get into their vehicle.  They then drive the roughly 20 miles into town and deliver you to the door of your destination.

This trip was special in that I was having a reunion with a friend, a direct link from my distant pass, from my home town. We had attended junior high school, today's middle school, back in Connecticut.  We attended high school together and went on to the same university.  We had not seen my friend since 1971 and was excited to catch up life long experiences.  Duang was anxious to meet someone from my long ago past and from my far away boyhood home.

We stayed at a hotel that was a hop, skip, and jump from the current location of the American Embassy (That Dam monument).  The hotel was walking distance from the central city restaurant district, main tourist attractions and entertainment venues. Although not a hop, skip, and jump away from the central markets, the hotel was no more than 4 or 5 blocks form the them.

The reunion was great.  It is always reassuring to learn once again that we are not alone in our accomplishments, disappointments, challenges, and even our failures.  Despite taking very different paths, we share many common experiences and more importantly survived them.  We often feel that we alone and have suffered but if we reach out to others we quickly learn that our experience has not been unique.  Of course to Buddhists the realization and acknowledgement of our sufferings is no surprise.

Our time in Vientiane was limited to two days because Duang had to return to her home village to care for our grandson for the next two days while her mother went on a religious retreat commencing the evening of our second day in Vientiane. Given our limited time day, we spent our morning, the second day, at the morning market, Talad Sao.

We walked the short distance from our hotel to the morning market along deserted streets.  We arrived at the morning market at 7:00 A.M..  Although the area around our hotel was very tranquil, just 4 or 5 blocks away, it was extremely busy, bordering on chaotic.

A Very Small Portion of the Outside Morning Market

I estimate that the Morning Market is about two square blocks in area.  The market is a combination of small shops opening on to a large central open area filled with stalls, booths, and blankets where vendors sell all kinds of  prepared foods, live foods, vegetables, and dry goods.  There is a very large covered structure which was partially walled with a combination of tarps and block.  Adding to the confusion of the market were many passageways and stalls created by attaching tarps and sheets of plastic to anything that would support them.  Where existing structure elements were not available, the vendors had erected wood poles or bamboo to attach the sheets.

Organized Porters Are Used to Transport Goods From Market To Vehicles

To access parking areas for both vehicles and motorbikes, motorbikes, trucks, and cars jockeyed for position with pedestrians along the informal access lanes into the morning market area.  Adding to the confusion were many long two wheeled push carts propelled by organized porters.  Many of the patrons of the morning market are people buying goods for the much smaller markets that they run in their neighborhood or village markets.  I know that porters were organized because just about all of them wore colored vests that had a unique number on the back - just like organized motorbike taxis in Thailand.

Vegetables For Sale In Vientiane

During our foray through the Talad Sao, Duang and I were amazed at the amount and variety of vegetables available for for purchase at the market.  Although we live 60 miles south and and in a larger metropolitan area, our local markets have neither the quantity, variety or quality of vegetables as Vientiane.  During our journey to Luang Prabang Province in December, we saw many vegetables gardens. I have yet to a single large garden here in Isaan.  Many of our vegetables as well as fruits are from China.  I suspect both the closer proximity to China and the flourished commercial ties between Lao and China may also contribute to the quantity and variety in Laos.

Fresh Corn On the Cob

In Isaan, even along country roads, corn for sale has been cooked, typically boiled but sometimes grilled.  However at the morning market in Vientiane, the vendors shucked the corn at the market and sold it by the kilogram.

Egg Vendor

In the large covered structure there were countless vendors selling just about everything including eggs, beef, pork, chicken, canned goods, dry goods, clothing, cloth, toys, household goods along with booths where you could purchase and consume a meal.  It was quite busy and congested.

A Vendor Preparing More Pork To Sell

A Beef and Pork Vendor Tends to Her Stall

Meat vendors were mostly located in the large covered structure.  As is typical in Lao and Isaan the vendors sit upon a raised platform with a small spring scale at their side and behind the cuts that they are offering for sale.  Customers approach the vendor most likely engaging in some small conversation before inspecting the various pieces of meat before selecting their cut and informing the vendor of how much they desired.  Shopping is not an impersonal or quick process.  There is a great deal of interaction between the vendors and their customers.  I suspect that a great part of the effort is to build relationships.  At the market there are always several vendors offering the same goods for the same price.  Quality between the vendors appears to be the same across the market.  Given the lack of distinction between the vendors establishing personal relationships and providing better customer service is paramount for a business's success.  It also makes for a much more pleasurable and rewarding shopping experience for all.

Fish Vendor Along "Fish Alley

In our random wanderings through the inside market place, we eventually found ourselves outside in a very narrow alley that I like to refer to as "Fish Alley". "Fish Alley was set up on the side of the exterior wall of the inside market with tarps covering the overhead of the alley bounded on the other side by more open faced stalls created by poles and tarps.  Fish Alley was lined with vendors selling all kinds of fish.  The ground where it was not covered by pieces of wood, randomly placed concrete pavers or tiles was muddy from the run off of water from the stalls selling fish.  The fish was fresh and there was no odor that one would expect in such a location.

Preparing A Customer's Fish

Duang and I took advantage of the relative quiet and much less confusion of "Fish Alley" to talk to and joke with the various vendors. It was and is always enjoyable to learn about the work and life of the local people.  I also enjoying sharing with them about life in America which they are always very curious and interested in.

A Fish Vendor's Daughter Cooks Breakfast - Fish

As is often the case, the older women asked me about finding a foreign husband.  I am often requested to do so.  I do not know that many single men back in the United States.  I stopped at 98 with the number of requests that I have been given.  I now handle the situation by telling the women how many requests are ahead of them but that I will put them on the list.  I then tell them about some of the expectations the foreign men would have on them.  That always gets them laughing and we are able to move on to other matters.

Fish Still Life or Rather Dead Life

After one and one-half hours at the market, at 08:30, we left the market along with the vast majority of customers. Morning Markets typically become much less crowded by 09:00 or 10:00.  After an intense shopping adventure, the customers and their goods stacked on the two wheeled carts headed to their vehicles or motorbikes for the journey back to their home to complete the rest of the day.

Porter Transporting Goods Out of the Morning Market

Duang and I returned to our hotel carrying a large shopping bag filled with Khong Kao, woven containers to stored cooked sticky rice or to serve the sticky rice.

Additional photos of this visit can be viewed at the following gallery of my photography website:

http://www.hale-worldphotography.com/Laos/Vientiane-Morning-Market/36736541_rxMrB9

Backyard Smelter Revisited

Aluminum Ingots Melting In Backyard Smelter - 2007

A while back on Facebook, some people shared a link which showed the results of pouring molten aluminum down an ant hill.  The result once the aluminum cooled down, the ant hill excavated, and the resultant mass of metal cleaned up was a very intricate and modern art type sculpture.  The molten aluminum had filled all of the small underground tunnels exposing the complexity and industriousness of the tiny ants.  In response to the link I replied, rather fallaciously, that I would have to give it a try the next time that I was melting aluminum in my back yard.  I had melted lead in the backyard of my parent's home but that was in the days before the EPA and OSHA.  Since my father was a plumber, we had all the equipment required to make cast lead joints in soil pipe (cast iron sewer pipes) or in my case, cast lead sinkers for fishing and lead weights for skin diving.

Although I have neither the intention, need, or equipment to melt aluminum in my backyard, there are people in Thailand who do.  I have written about people here in Thailand who weave cloth, weave reed mats, make fishing nets, weave baskets in their yards.  I have written about the experience of watching people in Laos making knives, moonshine whiskey, bird snares, and rat snares in their yards.  Well this blog is about having your own aluminum foundry in your yard.

Samut Sakhon Home With Casting Cores - 2007

In March 2007, Duang and I visited the Samut Sakhon area.  One of our visits was to the home of Duang's granddaughter.  It was nice to see the child and there was an added bonus - the operating family run aluminum smelter in their backyard.

Samut Sakhon is a province south west of Bangkok.  The area is dotted with many industrial sites ranging from food to chemicals.  There are also many orchards that produce fruits as well as farms that cultivate shrimp.  The land is low and flat.  Just as Thai food is a mixture of flavors, colors, and textures, Samut Sakhon is a mixture, a melange,  of heavy industry and agriculture with the borders of each often touching.

Duang's granddaughter lives with her other grandparents in an elevated wood house down a very narrow rutted dirt road in an area that is crisscrossed with many canals.  They have the family run aluminum smelter in their yard.  The smelter produces various items under contract to many different clients.  It is a small smelter that uses sand casting method to produce various items such a roof drains, heating plates, and equipment parts.

Preparing to Remove Cast Plate From the Mold

On our trip back in 2007, I was excited to see the foundry operation.  It brought back some memories of the summer of 1970, when I worked at ITT Grinnell in Cranston, Rhode Island.  During part of that summer while attending university I worked in the labor pool that filled in for absent workers who were involved in producing cast iron fittings mostly for sprinkler fittings.

In Samut Sakhon, just as in Rhode Island, the casting process involved starting off with a pattern - a metal three dimensional representation of one half of the object to be made.  A wood frame is placed on top of the pattern, and filled with sand or special sand mixture.  The sand is pressed and compacted in the frame which is on top of the pattern.  When the frame/compressed sand assembly is lifted off of the pattern, the pattern has created an impression in the sand for one-half of the object to be made.  The process is repeated for the send half of the object to be made.  The two frames are then stacked and attached so that they create the mold,complete volume, of the object between them.  If the object is to have hollow sections, special inserts, called cores, are placed in the bottom half frame before assembly so that the molten metal will flow around them rather than forming a solid section.  Often the pattern will also contain channels and features to ensure that the poured liquid metal properly flows into and completely fill every aspect of the mold. A pour hole and vent hole at the other end of the mold allows the molten metal to completely fill the mold and provides visual indication the the mold if filled.

For the backyard smelter in Samut Sakhon this molding process occurred in the front section of the ramshackle structure that constituted the foundry.  The structure was single story built out of wood, timbers, and corrugated metal and not necessarily weatherproof - there were many gaps, holes, and voids in the walls.  There were no doors or windows in the structure.  There were door and window openings which provided access and some natural cross ventilation. All surfaces of the structure were covered with a thick layer of fine black dust from the casting sand and smoke of the furnace.  The roof above the furnace was much better maintained for obvious reason - water falling into molten aluminum would definitely ruin several people's day.

Loading Aluminum Ingots Into Furnace

Smelting of the aluminum was conducted in a small open topped furnace about the size of a 55 gallon drum - a 55 gallon drum that had been heavily lined with refractory.  Off to the side of the drum connected by a pipe was an electric fan which created the forced draft for the burner beneath the furnace.  There were other drums containing what appeared to be recycled motor oil.  The contents of the barrels were pressurized by a small pump and fed into the burner beneath the open refractory lined drum.  Do to the lack of pollution controls and adequate burner management, heavy dense black smoke billowed from the short chimney that stuck up above the roof directly above the furnace.

The Smelter's Granddaughter

Whereas the front section of the building was filled with three workers, two or three soi dogs (street dogs), an concessional wandering chicken, children playing, and a visiting falang (foreigner), the back section where the furnace was located and partially separated from the front by a half wall was occupied only by the owner of the business.  The combination of heat from the melting and molten aluminum, retching acrid smoke, and obvious danger kept others out.  Once the aluminum was melted and the furnace was throttled back to keep the metal molten, workers from the front entered the area routinely to fill their ladles to pour into the molds located in the front.

Pouring Molten Aluminum Into Mold

 Wearing rubber flip flops, polyester shorts and cotton tee shirts and no eye protection, gloves or any expected safety equipment that you would expect for handling 1200F molten metal, the workers filled the many assembled molds for the day's scheduled pour.  Their clothing and exposed skin quickly becoming caked with sweat, casting dust, and smoke residue - all reminders of my days at ITT Grinnell ( I was fond at the time of saying often "Who put the "grin" in Grinnell?) for, unlike the smelter in Samut Sakhon, it was not a happy place or was there much smiling let alone laughing.

Completed Castings Cooling

The poured molds were left strewn about the cast sand layered concrete floor of the front of the foundry to cool sufficiently before the the frames were removed to expose blocks of hardened casting sand, baked cores and aluminum.  Rods and hammers were used to manually break away the hardened casting sand to expose the aluminum castings.  This work added to the dust already in the air from previous activities.  Metal rods with a hook shape on the end were employed to remove the castings from the casting sand debris on the floor and to relocate the still very hot castings to piles in another area for further cooling.

After cooling completely the workers trimmed excess metal to be recycled in the next charge of the furnace. Hand files and electric grinders were then used to clean up the castings for delivery to the customers.

Well that was then and this is now.  Buddhists believe that every thing changes and nothing exists without change.  We returned to Smut Sakhon after seven years and there had been some changes.  The grandfather, the owner of the business, had died.   His wife was now running the business but not doing the physical labor as her husband had.  The granddaughter who was 4 years old at the time is now a lovely 11 year old doing very well in school.  Most of the workers had been replaced.  The narrow dirt road is even more rutted now and vegetation has encroached upon it making it even more narrow.

As many changes as there were, there were some things that had not changed or rather - had not changed yet.  One of the workers that I had photographed in 2007 was still working there.  Dogs and chickens still wandered about the work area.  The building was no worse for wear but no better either.  The round concrete table and bench seats were still located at the front of the building.  Various materials and items associated with the casting business still were strewn about the property.

We arrived in the early evening after the casting had been completed.  I went in the back to the idle furnace and observed nothing new or even changed.  My stay in that portion of the facility did not last long due to the extreme heat radiating from the furnace and molten aluminum that it still contained.

Removing A Core From Casting

In the front of the facility, men, as the day was coming to an end, were occupied freeing the castings from the hardened casting sand and removing the cores from the castings.

Cleaning Up Aluminum Castings

Chipping Away At A Core

Getting To The Core of the Casting, Chipping Away

It always interesting for me to see how people make their living here as well as the other countries that I have been to.  I especially like to witness people exhibiting their independence and self-sufficiency.  It always astound me how people can get by with so much less than I am accustomed to or have been exposed to.  A principle that drives their efforts is "Fit for purpose"  However I am also very grateful to not have a smelter in my backyard or even in my neighborhood.

New Gallery Available - "Knife Makers of Laos"

Knife Maker, Ban Hat Hien LPDR

I have finally have caught up on the editing and post processing of my photographs from the past three months.  I am not complaining because having so many photographs to work on indicates that there have been many interesting experiences during that time period.

There have been two funerals, an elementary school field day, rice harvesting, rice threshing, reunions with old friends, reunions with family, and some travels - all milestones for us as time passes.

One of our travels was to the Lao People's Democratic Republic ("Laos" or "LPDR").  We went to Luang Prabang as a respite from the emotional environment created by the death of Duang's father. It was a relief to get away from all the commotion back in Tahsang Village.

One of our destinations in Laos, was to revisit the knife makers of Ban Hat Hien, a small village across the road from the Luang Prabang International Airport.  Three years ago we had watched knives being created by the villagers out of recycled motor vehicle suspension leaf springs.

During this trip we also visited a Khmu village in the highlands outside of Luang Prabang where we encountered a 90 year old blacksmith making knives.

A new photo gallery of photographs on my photography website, documenting the knife making, is now available at the link below

http://www.hale-worldphotography.com/Laos/Knife-Makers-of-Laos/36637899_hmCg4d

My 500th Blog Entry

This marks my 500th blog entry of "Allen's World".  Some how I feel obligated to mark this milestone with some type of profound entry.

I started writing a blog in July 2008 to share observations and experiences of living and travelling in foreign countries.  I was motivated, just as with my photography efforts, to show extraordinary people doing ordinary things.  In so doing, I wish to show how different people appear, to provide a glimpse of other cultures, to celebrate the diversity of mankind and to demonstrate that despite our appearances we are so much alike.

The Buddha is quoted as saying "Everything changes, nothing remains without change"

There have been many changes in the five years that I have been writing this blog.  On personal levels there have been births, deaths, marriages and all the other life events that mark the progression of our lives.  We have observed and, at times, participated in many festivals and cultural events which, through enriching our experience, have changed our life in giving us alternative perspectives of life.

We have observed other changes in our world.  The small and rather funky Luang Prabang International Airport which provided an intimate introduction as well as departure to the area has changed into a stereotypical airport now.  It now as sky-ways to access airplanes rather having to walk on the exposed tarmac to reach your plane.  Airbus A320 twin jet airplanes now regularly use the airport in addition to the small twin engine turboprops that service the airport.  The terminal is now large and spacious - a monument to progress but at the cost of lost intimacy..

Throughout Udonthani Province, rice paddies are being filled and commercial structures as well as homes.  Even some of the farming methods have changed.  Up to this year, I had not observed any mechanization in the harvesting of rice.  This year I observed six separate locations where combines were harvesting and threshing the rice crop.

Life is about choices - choices of what we do or do not do.  Every action or lack of action that we take has it own set of consequences.  These consequences are sometimes intentional but often are unintended.  The lack of experience and the lack of knowledge increase the likelihood that our actions or lack of actions will have unintended and definitely unforeseen consequences that will affect our life as well as the lives of others.

I do not like being told by others, especially those who believe that they know better than me what is best for me, how to live my life.  In my blog I try not to tell others how they should live their life.  The choice on how they live their life is their decision.  What I strive to do with this blog is to share, to educate, with others the ways that others live their lives, often quite different from living the way that we are accustomed and most comfortable with.  In sharing with others I am providing information and perhaps if others decide for themselves, alternatives, for their lives.

This blog is meant to be non-judgmental. Our reality is shaped by our experience and perspective.  "Allen's World" is not my confiscation of the world, your world, but sharing of my experiences and perspectives which define my reality and in so doing define my world.

In sharing aspects of other cultures, my hope is raise awareness and appreciation of how other people live, and what they believe.  My blog and associated photographs are not meant to deride anyone or any culture. "Allen's World" is meant to inform so that others can make their own assessments and to make better informed decisions.

Just as the diversity of flora and fauna is considered to be desirable, I believe the the diversity of human cultures and traditions are treasures to be protected within their nationalistic environments. Just as there are many routes to travel on a journey to a specific destination, these cultures and traditions provide choices along our life journey.

The willingness to inform others of your culture by living it and setting a good example is admirable.

A willingness to explain, and teach others about your culture is commendable.

A willingness to incorporate desirable aspects of other cultures into your life or culture is wise - change that you can choose.

Starting and maintaining a blog has had one unanticipated consequence for me.  Through the blog, I have literally and figuratively met many interesting people who have influenced as well as enriched our life.  Duang and I cherish the friends, old and new, that we have connected with through the blog.

Life is a journey which is marked with changes. The changes, good as well as bad, shape and define our individual realities.  I hope that this journey will be interesting and informative as I continue to share it on this blog.

Isaan Alternative Medicine

Shaman Applies First Treatment to Duang

Living here in Isaan provides me with many unique experiences and interesting opportunities.

"Allen's World" is a more spiritual world than the world that I lived in prior to coming here to Isaan.  When I write the word "spiritual" I am not using the connotation of Judeo-Christian beliefs, or Judeo-Christian practices.  The spiritual nature of "Allen's World" is the beliefs and practices of a belief system that predates the birth of the major religions of our time.  Here in Isaan and in particular, my wife and the other ethnic Lao people, is a strong faith and fear of the Animist faith.  Animism is the belief in spirits and their power to affect every aspect of our daily lives - for good and for bad.  The commitment to Animism is that it has survived the arrival of Hinduism and subsequent  arrival of Buddhism to the area.  Rather than eliminating the Animist beliefs and practices, the Hindu and Buddhist faiths tolerated and often incorporated the indigenous Animism into their system.

Animist believes provide answers to all questions great and small as well as solutions for all problems.  It binds the community and provides reassurance as well as stability to the ethnic Lao society.

A large part of the Animist faith deals with matters of health.  Ceremonies are often held to ensure that the 32 spirits required in one's body to ensure good health and good fortune are bound to the body to ensure that they can not escape.  These ceremonies are also performed to bring missing spirits back to a person's body.  The ritual involves making offerings to the spirits, invoking their help through chanting, and tying short pieces of string around a person's wrists to bind the spirits.

A Shaman Treats Peelawat's  Blood Infection

 When our grandson was just a toddler he developed a blood infection in his foot.  The family brought him to the local hospital in Kumphawapi for treatment.  Peelawat was given intravenous fluids and antibiotics to fight the infection. The family also summoned the local shaman to come to the hospital to treat Peelawat.  The shaman came to the hospital and proceeded unabated to treat Peelawat.  His treatment involved examining the foot, chanting, saying some prayers and spraying the affected area with red betel nut chewing saliva from his mouth.  Peelawat instinctively understood what was going on and pointed several of his other "boo-boos" to the shaman for treatment.  The shaman smiled but did not feel it was necessary to treat those old injuries.

Duang spent last week end in Tahsang Village, taking care of Peelawat while her mother was in Laos on a religious retreat in Vientiane.  We had discussed it and agreed that it would be best for Peelawat to remain at his home with all his friends that to spend the weekend with us.  Duang returned Sunday night to our home Sunday night with a very runny nose, very tired, and with a sore throat - all of which we attributed to her stay out in the village.

Monday she was still sick with what we believed to be a bad cold.  That evening we went into town for a great meal with an old friend and a new friend who were on their way to Laos from the USA.  We went to bed around 11:00 PM with Duang complaining about having pain in her abdomen and pain in her back.  She also indicated that she was hot, as in burning, inside and outside at specific locations on her torso.  She had great difficulty sleep and at 03:00 she went to the Emergency Room at the Military Hospital three quarters of a mile from our home.

Duang was diagnosed with shingles, herpes zoster, by the doctor.  She returned home with five different medicines to take and an appointment to return to the doctor in seven days.  The next morning, Tuesday January 21st, as is my habit whenever we get medicine, I went on the Internet to determine just exactly what were the medications as well as what are the treatments for shingles.

From the Internet I determined that Duang was to take antivirals for shingles.  Duang had told me that she had like a snake inside of her that would spread and if it had completely encircled her she would die. In questioning her the previous night about the condition she told me that she had gotten it from food in the village.  I had immediately though of liver flukes from unpasteurized pla daak (fermented fish  - 6 months minimum). I was definitely confused and was preparing to go back to the hospital and find someone who could explain to me in English what was going on.  By the time that I finished my research on the Internet, Duang's condition had developed to the point that I could see the red welts on both her abdomen and back. The skin eruptions looked exactly like the photographs on the Internet for shingles.  I felt much better and then explained to Duang what she had and that she was not in any danger of dying.  She told me not to talk about the progression of the welts on her back because that would accelerate their migration - a request that I could comply with although I did not believe in its efficacy.

Duang After Being Treated the First Time of Nine Times

Duang took her modern medicine all day Tuesday - anti viral pills five times a day, anti-viral ointment three times a day, an anti-seizure/pain medicine once a day, Tylenol. and Valium for sleeping at night.  Of course as is the case here, a great deal of time was spent throughout the day consulting with family and friends.  Many people confirmed that if the welts from the "like snake" inside of Duang met up to form a complete circle around her torso she would die.  On the brighter side, Duang's condition was not a rare one.  Many of the people had either had or knew of some one who had had the same problem.

One of Duang's best friends. Madame Gei, had had the condition as well as her husband.  She knew of a special man, a shaman, who had cured her, her husband, and two of her friends.  This was great news ... to Duang.  Wednesday morning we drove out to Madame Gei's home and followed her to the shaman's home.  Madame Gei did not know exactly where he lived but when we stopped and asked people they knew exactly who we were looking for.  We parked are vehicles there, crossed the main road, and walked a short distance down a narrow street to his home.  He was not home but a call was made by his wife for him to return home.

After a while, the middle aged man returned home.  In addition to being a shaman he is also a policeman!  I knew that he had cured people of the condition before but I was not sure what his qualifications were.  Duang asked for me and I learned that his deceased father had been a shaman with healing knowledge and powers.  The policeman had watched and learned from his father.

He had Duang sit on a plastic chair out in the street.  He placed some betel nut chewing material in his mouth but without the leaf or lime.  After a few chews and making an offering prayer to the spirits. he sprayed the semi dry material forceably on the welts on Duang's body.  This was the first treatment of three for that day to be followed by two more days of three treatments each.

That evening Duang returned home in much better spirits and in much less pain as well as itching.  It was a vast improvement over the previous day and the morning.  Was it due to the antivirals that she had taken and continued to take?  Was it due to the shaman's treatment?  Perhaps a combination of the two?  I don't know and it really didn't matter.  She was feeling better and in better spirits which is all that mattered.  The shaman called that night to check on her condition.

The next day when she went to be treated, he checked her welts and told her that she had been scratching them which he had told her not to do.  After being caught and called out, Duang no longer scratched the eruptions.

Duang's abdomen after two days of treatment

After two days of treatment, Duang is feeling better and confident that tomorrow will complete her treatments.  She continues to take her modern medicine too.  I call to ensure that she maintains her prescribed schedule for taking anti virals.

Duang's back after today's treatment

Tomorrow Duang will receive her last three treatments from the shaman.  On the 28th she will return to see the doctor at the hospital.  The good news, for what ever reason, is that she is able to sleep. the burning is gone, the pain is much less and she is in good spirits.

In Isaan there are more than one way to live and more than one way to be cured.  Personally though I will stick to modern medicine if my body is not able to first heal itself.

Allen's World, 2013 In Review

Now that just about everyone has gotten out their "Year In Review" or "2013 In Review", I thought that I would share some of my favorite photographs for the year that just concluded.  Staying here in Thailand gives me the opportunity to actually have two years in review, 2013 as well as the Buddhist Era year of 2556.

Life here in Isaan continued to be very interesting as well as fulfilling.  There were more than a year's share of festivals, family events, travels, and ordinary daily activities to keep me both satisfied and more importantly happy.

So let's see what the past year brought forth.

January - Udonthani
http://hale-worldphotography.blogspot.com/2013/02/for-love-of-king-and-country.html

February - Ban Chiang
http://hale-worldphotography.blogspot.com/2013/02/ban-chiang-weekend.html

March - Si That
http://hale-worldphotography.blogspot.com/2013/03/a-rare-day.html

April - Maehongson
http://hale-worldphotography.blogspot.com/2013/04/poi-sang-long-festival-wednesday-03.html

May - Ban That
http://hale-worldphotography.blogspot.com/2013/05/ban-that-rocket-launches.html

June - Yellowstone National Park

July - Ban Nong Han
http://hale-worldphotography.blogspot.com/2013/07/road-of-opportunity-plenty-of.html

August - Ban Tahsang
http://hale-worldphotography.blogspot.com/2013/08/all-along-back-roads.html

September - Ban Nong Han

October - Sakon Nakhon
http://hale-worldphotography.blogspot.com/2013/10/wax-castles-of-sakon-nakhon.html

November - Ban Tahsang
http://hale-worldphotography.blogspot.com/2013/11/another-rice-harvest.html

December - Luang Prabang

It had been quite a memorable year as every year is.  It was filled with joy, sadness, challenges like all the previous years.  It had been a year of many opportunities just as all previous years and as I know this new year, 2014, will be - for everyone.