The Precious Lotus

A Lotus In Bloom - Pattaya, Thailand

The lotus flower, Nelumbo nucifera, is a very beautiful flower found throughout Thailand.  It comes in various colors such as white, blue, purple, pink, and red.

The seeds of the seed head, upper right hand corner of the above photograph are eaten raw or combined with sugar to form a paste that is used as the filling of various ethnic pastries.  I have enjoyed eating both the raw beans and the lotus paste filled pastries.  Other parts of the lotus plant, such as the roots, flowers, young leaves, and stems are also edible.  On our trip in January to Thale Bua Daeng (Red Lotus Sea) we purchased some treats made from the root of a similar water plant.

The lotus is an amazing plant.  It grows in the muck of ponds, lakes, and ditches.  Its roots are in the mud and muck of stagnant shallow water retention areas - murky turbid regions inhabited by leaches, amoebas, bacteria, and most likely some snakes. It grows in places that are not attractive to most people - which includes me.

A lotus plant can live for over one thousand years.  An over one thousand year old lotus seed was successfully germinated in 1994.

During roughly a week, the lotus flower blooms during the day above the water's surface.  As night approaches, the blossom folds back up into the flower bud and slip beneath the water's surface only to arise again in the morning.

Now that we are approaching the end of our rainy season, there are more and more stands along the roadside selling the dried seed heads.  The countless stagnant water features are now filled up with giant lotus leaves either floating on the surface with flowers about a foot above the water. Early in the morning the flowers set forth from the large buds,  The leaves are large - roughly two feet in diameter (60 cm).  The flowers are supported above the leaves on a thick stem.

Preparing Lotus Flower Offerings

The lotus has very significant symbolism in Buddhism.  It is one of the "Eight Auspicious Symbols" Every important Buddhist deity (god) is associated with the lotus - sitting on it, holding it, or each leg standing upon separate flowers.

The lotus springing forth from the mud represents purity of the body, speech, and mind - rising up from materialism, through the depths of experience, to bloom in the sunshine of enlightenment.  The two stages of the lotus flower are also symbolic of the stages of enlightenment - the tight flower bud symbolizing the time before person found Buddha or attained enlightenment with the full blossom symbolizing complete enlightenment and self-awareness.

There is a high demand and market for lotus flower buds.  There are farms that grow lotus to meet the need for fresh buds as well as people who harvest the buds that grow wild.

In March, during our trip to the Wat Suwannaram area, west of Bangkok, we visited a lotus farm.  We accessed the lotus farm by boat tour of the canals but could also had visited the farm by motor vehicle.  We were fortunate to arrive just as the workers were offloading their harvest at the land facility.

Female Worker Offloading Harvest of Lotus Buds

After slogging through the shallow muddy waters of the farm, the workers harvest the buds by cutting the stems about two feet below the water's surface.  The long stemmed buds along with lotus leaves which are also harvested for market, are then carefully placed in a flat bottomed wood boat that accompanies the workers.  The price paid by the agents for the markets is determined by the size, color, and condition of the buds and leaves at the nearby processing area of the farm.

A Second Female Worker Offloads the Harvest

The leaves and buds are carried up the banks of the flooded area and carried to the adjacent processing area.

Rinsed and Stacked Lotus Buds

In the processing area, actually a covered portico of the farm owner's home, the lotus buds are inspected, rinsed, and stacked by color and size to await the arrival of wholesalers later in the day.

Lotus Harvester

Having waded through murky waist deep water harvesting the lotus buds along with leaves, and hauling them to the farm house, the workers were covered with mud and perhaps with leaches.  Since the canal that we traveled on to the farm was relatively clean, the workers washed themselves prior to donning dry clothes to have their meal in the farm house.

Cleaning Up After Work

Duang Prepares A Bud For Offering

Duang and our boat driver showed me how the lotus buds are prepared to be offerings.  The petals are carefully peeled back from the tip of the bud.  Each petal is folded over and tucked into its base to expose the interior of the blossom.  This process continues until three rows are formed - three symbolizing the three gems of Buddhism - Buddha, Dhamma (The Teachings of Buddha), and the Sanga (Buddhist religious community).

Lotus Offering

During the special ritual for the dedication of the new statue for the "Outside" Wat for Tahsang Village, lotus buds were offerings at all three shrines as well as lotus petals were sprinkled upon the statues, roads, and devotees.  A special ritual apparently requires special offerings - a precious offering of precious lotus flowers -powerful and strong symbols of Buddhism.

Life is suffering ...some people suffer much more than others.

 

 

Luang Por Pohm Likit Administering to the Afflicted

Today I did not have anything specifically planned other than to bake two banana breads and to continue editing recent photographs.  Early this morning my wife, Duangchan, informed me that she was going out to Baan Mat to make merit by offering food to the forest Monk, Luang Por Pohm Likit.  After he had completed his meal, she was going to go with him as he went to bring food to an old woman who had no legs and was very poor.  She asked if I wanted to go and I declined.  She then called our friend to pick her up on her way to the Wat.

It could not have been more than twenty minutes later when Duang received a phone call.  It was Luang Por Pohm Likit inviting me to accompany him on his visit and to take photographs. He wanted me to take pictures that I could put on the Internet.  I gratefully accepted his invitation.  Duang and I drove out to participate in the daily merit making ritual of offering the Monks food for their only meal of the day.  Monks?  Yes.  A young poor local boy has left his home and become a semana (novice Monk) with Lunag Por Pohm Likit.  The Sanga (Buddhist religious community) even today offers refuge and education for poor boys.

After the morning ritual, Luang Por Pohm Likit joined us in our pickup truck for the drive out to the small village where the woman lives.  Two other vehicles filled with people from Baan Mat followed us.  We stopped at a market, a series of booths in a field, along the way.  Luang Por Pohm Likit went to buy two bags of rice. Duang compassionately paid for the rice rather than having the Monk do it.  One of the things that first impressed me about her was her devotion to her beliefs and her compassion for others.  She remains consistent and committed to both to this day

We headed north on Hwy 2 headed for the border town of Nong Khai situated on the mighty Mekong River.  We took a left hand turn on to Hwy 2021 and shortly afterwards a right to the small village.

I was shocked upon arrival in the village.  The narrow streets were made even more narrow by parked vehicles through the village.  The streets were also filled with people.  When we drove past the local Wat, there was a stage, music, people singing, and many women dressed up in fancy local ethnic clothing.

I started to think that this old woman was a very special person.

This was Luang Por Pohm Likit's third visit to the woman.  One day, two years ago, when he was meditating, he had a vision of a very poor young woman who could not walk and needed help.  He did not now who the woman was or where she lived.  He told people of his vision.

Here in Isaan dreams and visions are very important as well as powerful omens - communications from the spirits. They also link us to other worlds.  Some people from Baan Dum Nam Muang heard of Luang Por Pohm Likit's vision and told him that they knew of such a person.  They brought him to the village to meet the young woman.

Young woman?  What about the old lady without any legs?  Well sometimes, perhaps many times, things get lost in translation around here.  At times this can be frustrating to me; having worked as an engineer for 36 years, but it does make life interesting all the time.  Duang had gotten the story mixed up.

We came upon the home, I dropped the Monk off in front of the house where the other members of our group had already seated themselves on sahts, woven reed mats.  After parking a little further down the street, we walked back to the house, me carrying a bag of rice on each shoulder and Duang carrying my backpack of camera gear.

Still expecting to see an old lady without any legs, I was shocked, when after setting up my camera I entered the home, to find Luang Por Pohm Likit at the bedside of a beautiful young woman who had legs.

After asking Duang several questions which  she had to translate back and forth, I learned that the beautiful woman that I was photographing was 30 years old, a mother of two boys, and a shooting victim.

Five and one-half years ago she attended a large Morlam show with her female friend. Both of them ended up being shot that night.  Both women were paralyzed.  Duang told me that the woman's friend could afford a 200,000 Baht operation and can now walk.  This woman, whom we were visiting, is too poor for such an operation.  I told Duang that perhaps the other woman was not as severely injured as this woman and that after 5 and one-half years I did not think that any operation would allow her to walk again.

I have written several times about attending these shows and leaving when the first fight broke out.  We have attended many of these shows over the past 6 years, and it has been only two or three times when there has not been violence - typically alcohol fueled machismo or lady-boy fistfights.  At one show the police had confiscated two hand guns and at one show, as we were leaving, we came upon a group of young men who appeared to be hiding a weapon.  A couple years ago, two hand grenades were tossed at a show killing a couple of people.  When captured, the perpetrators apologized and explained that they were throwing the grenades at some rivals and did not intend to kill the victims.

There is no real social safety net or welfare here in Thailand.  The woman receives 500 Baht a month (the current minimum wage for one day's labor) from the government - in a region where the 20 kilograms that we brought costs 640 Baht.  The young woman was catheterized with her urine being collected in a plastic bag attached to the bottom of her hospital bed located in the front room of the house. Medical supplies were located across the narrow aisle of the small room.  I learned from Duang that the woman receives free medical supplies from the local small hospital. Assistance, and support, when necessary, comes from one's family and community.

I learned that the paralyzed woman is cared for by her sister who owned the house.  I was very impressed with the care that the woman had received.  The woman was clean, dressed very nicely, had no odors from the catheterization and the bed linens were also fresh.  These were poor people but they maintained their dignity and personal appearance despite many challenges. Sometimes I describe my wife as a survivor.  I suspect that most people here in Isaan are survivors - people were persevere despite many challenges and willing to do what is necessary to move on with their lives.  Upon leaving the home, I made sure that Duang told the caregiver how I was impressed with the good job that she was doing.

The paralyzed woman had a husband but he left to be with his girlfriend three years ago.  He contributes nothing to support his wife or children,  He does not even visit them.  The woman and the children live with her sister and her father.  They get some support from their family and neighbors.

Luang Por Pohm Likit is a special Monk in my opinion.  He went in and spoke to the young woman.  He reached into his Monk's bag and pulled out a wad of money and gave it to her.  I have written many times about the way things are supposed to be and the way they actually are.  This was just such an example.  Monks are not supposed to have money.  Monks are not even supposed to touch money.  People offer money and money is collected many times during the year to support the Wat - i.e. water, electricity, and maintenance.  Money is also offered to the Monks during funeral rituals, Monk ordinations, as well as for the blessing of motor vehicles and motorbikes.  Monks, as best I have observed, do not go about and initiate works of charity.  I confirmed this with my wife.  However you can go to the temples and eat the food that the Monks have not chosen for their meal of the day.  If you are a young boy you can enter the Wat, become a novice Monk and be given shelter, and an education.  At some Wats. if you are poor, you can go to the Wats and buy donated rice at a lower price. Note that in the above instances it is the responsibility of the individual to go to the Monks. Luang Por Pohm Likit was taking the imitative to help someone in need something that I respect even if it is not the way it is supposed to be.  Sometimes following the rules is not always the best way to live.

Luang Por Pohm Likit Has Completed His Donation

Luang Por Pohm Likit gave the woman some words of comfort and encouragement.  He told her that he would return when she ran out of food.  After he left the room the other people in our group came in to visit and offer food to the family.  The family made sure to thank the people for their offerings.  It was at this point that I left everyone to chat away in Lao while I went off to check out what the big event was that was taking place a couple of blocks away - but that will be the subject of another blog.

Listening to the Visitors from Baan Mat

To Buddhists, life is suffering.  We all suffer in this life from many things. It is truly tragic when our suffering is caused by others.

Today was a special day, a day that I am grateful for.  Today I witnessed compassion and charity, given not for personal gain, but because they are the right things to do. I have said that my wife makes me a better person and now it seems like Luang Por Pohm Likit is also working on that too.

There is the way that things are supposed to be and the way that they actually are.  It is up to us, as individuals, to ensure that our actions are always the right thing to do regardless of the consequences.

A Special Ritual

It has been a while since I wrote a new blog entry.  We had spent six weeks in the USA which was great for taking photographs of landscapes in Olympic National Park and Glacier National Park but not so great for taking portraits which is what I prefer to do now.

We have been back from our USA trip for one month now.  The past month has been very busy and my camera along with my preferred lens had to be sent to Bangkok for servicing.  They are back now and we are getting back to our "normal" life.

Yesterday we went out early in the morning to Tahsang Village to participate and document a unique religious ritual associated with the Naga.

The people of Northeast Thailand are predominately ethnic Lowland Lao.  The Lowland Lao of Thailand and neighboring Laos are Theravada Buddhists.  As I have written several times in this blog, the actual beliefs as well as practices of the Buddhists here are actually an amalgamation of Animist, Brahmin, and Buddhist traditions.

In this region there is a strong belief in Nagas.  Nagas are a deity that is in the form of a great snake although some Nagas are known to have transfigured into human form at times.  One of the Naga kings, Phaya Nak, is believed to live in the Mekong River just north of our home in Udon Thani.

Each day of the week has a statue of Buddha in a particular pose associated with it except for Wednesday which has two poses associated with it dependent upon the time of day.  The statue, or rather the pose, associated with Saturday is:  The Buddha Seated Under A Naga

The Buddha Seated Under A Naga

The pose depicts an event in Guatama Buddha's life.  Four weeks after Guatama Buddha began to meditate under a Bodhi tree, a large strong storm raged for seven days.  The King of the Nagas at the time, Mucalinda, a seven headed king cobra came up from his realm of the underworld and protected the Buddha from the ravages of the storm with his hood.  After the storm had cleared, Mucalinda, assumed a human form, bowed before the Buddha and returned in joy to his palace.

Yesterday a new shrine featuring The Buddha Seated Under A Naga was being dedicated at the Wat outside of Tahsang Village.  This Wat is preferred by Duang's immediate family over the Wat inside of the village.

We arrived at the Wat amongst the sugar cane and cassava fields around 8:00 A.M.  Preparations were already well underway when we arrived.  Men and woman dressed in either white or very pale blue shirts and blouses were occupied sweeping up the vegetation litter throughout the Wat grounds.  In short time the litter had been consolidated into four piles to be burned later.  The ground was now bare sandy compacted clay with patches of mud from the daily rains that we have experienced for the past month (one day without rain since 9 August)

In the Northwest corner of the grounds, under the roof of a combination open kitchen/workshop area, women were busy preparing the daily food offerings for the Monks.

There was a large table covered with a white cloth over it and surrounded by a heavy red cloth with gold fringe in front of the new shrine.  People were busy placing food offerings on the table in preparation for the dedication ritual later in the morning.

We went directly to the Sala, the meeting place where daily merit making of offering food to the Monks is conducted, with our offerings of bottled drinking water and food that Duang had prepared earlier in the morning.

Preparing Lotus Blossoms For Offerings Inside the Sala

Many women in the sala were busy preparing either the offerings for the typical morning merit making ritual and offerings of food and flowers for the dedication ritual.  Duang quickly joined in preparing the offerings for the special ritual.

For the dedication ritual, "nine" was the requirement.  All the offerings had to be in amounts of "nine"- nine green coconuts, nine bunches of bananas, nine turban squashes, nine Lotus blossoms in each vase, nine apples, nine pineapples and so on.  As it turned out, there were three locations at the Wat where offerings would be made so there were several platters of offerings to be prepared.  Since this is Thailand with a great appreciation and dedication to form as well as style - the offerings on each platter had to be placed with care and precision to be visually appealing.

I asked Duang why everything had to be "nine'.  She explained to me "Not 5, not 7, not 10. 9 very good, very special - very good for Buddha"  Who am I to argue?  I don't have to understand to report what I experience, observe, or in this case ... what I am told.

Lotus blossoms, actually buds, are a very important floral offering during rituals.  The lotus flower has strong symbolism in Buddhism.  The flower grows in muddy and murky waters. From this environment it grows forth to be beautiful.  Therefore in Buddhism, it represents the rising and blossoming above the mud and murk of the human condition to achieve enlightenment, purification - purifying of the human spirit which is born into a world of suffering to become one with the Buddha.

The petals of the closed Lotus bud are carefully peeled away from the bud, gently folded back towards, and the tips tucked back into the bud.  This process continues until there are three rows of tucked in petals.  Three - more religious connotations.  Three is very significant in Buddhism - symbolizing the three gems - Buddha, the teachings of Buddha, and the Buddhist religious community (Sanga).

Prepared Lotus Blossoms Placed Into Vase

In addition to Lotus blossoms the women were very busy removing the petals from several large plastic bags of chrysanthemums.  When they were finished there were several metal food serving platters of high mounds of bright yellow petals.  There were also some platters with mounds of white Lotus petals.

Duang Participating In Merit Making Ritual Of Offering Food To Monks

After the merit making ritual of making food offerings to the Monks, the Monks ate their one meal of the day.  Upon finishing their meal, the three Monks left the sala and returned to their quarters.  The villagers then enjoyed a community meal out of the food that the Monks had not placed in their food bowls.

When the villagers had completed their meal, the Monks returned and the special dedication ritual commenced at the new shrine.  The ritual was conducted by a visiting Monk from a nearby village.  He apparently is better versed in those matters than the young Monk at the outside Wat.

The ritual was performed by the visiting Monk with the assistance of the Abbott of the "outside" Wat.  The other "outside" Monk and three "Tapahao" young men witnessed the ritual off to the side.

The villagers sat on sahts (woven reed mats) placed upon the ground.

The ritual consisted of lighting candles, the offering of the fruits and coconuts to the spirits with a great deal of chanting by the two Monks and the villagers.  At the conclusion of this portion of the ritual, the visiting Monk tossed handfuls of flower petals at the new statue before walking through the villagers and sprinkling them with flower petals.




A Monk Tosses Chrysanthemum Petals At Shrine

After blessing the people with the flower petals, I followed the two Monks as they walked from the new shrine out through the gate of the Wat and along the adjoining dirt road outside of the Wat.  As they walked, the Monks chanted, while the visiting Monk tossed flower petals along their path.

Sprinkling Flower Petals Outside of the Wat Grounds

Upon returning to the inside of the Wat compound, the Monks went to the Bot (ubosoth), ordination hall, of the Wat where they were joined by the villagers.  Offerings had been placed earlier in the morning in front of the statues.

Offerings To the Spirits Placed in the Bot

A much shorter ritual was conducted in the Bot which concluded once again with the visiting Monk tossing flower petals on the statues, offerings as well as other participants.

Sprinkling Flower Petals On Offerings to the Spirits

From the Bot everyone made the very short walk to the shrine next to the Abbott's quarters.  This shrine was the site of the Korb Siarn Khu Ceremony that we attended on May 1.  http://hale-worldphotography.blogspot.com/2014/06/korb-siarn-khru-ceremony-in-small.html

Offerings At the Ruesi Shrine

At the Ruesi shrine, the Abbott of the outside Wat took a large bundle of joss sticks (incense), 16 total, and lit them.  I joked to him about the need to be careful to not burn the place down.  After extinguishing the flames of the incense sticks, he placed them one by one in the offerings on the table situated at the entrance to the shrine.  The villagers then each lit up nine joss sticks each and like the Monk, set the smoldering sticks into the various offerings.  I was seated at the end of the table inside of the small shrine.  In no time at all the room was filled with smoke.

The Smoke Filled Ruesi Shrine

Perhaps you might be wondering ... why the young Abbott had 16 joss sticks when everyone else had nine and nine was supposed to be so important that day?  I wondered why too.  When I asked Duang why, she explained "It's alright.  He number one. Big boss".

The ritual ended with once again the offerings and the villagers being showered with Chrysanthemum and Lotus petals.  Duang ended up with a wad of petals in her open pocketbook and I was showered with several handfuls - so many petals that some fell out of the bottom of my shirt when I lowered my pants to go to the toilet upon returning to our home.  Duang said that it was all good luck for us!

I often get singled out for the special blessings - I am typically the only foreigner at the rituals.  Since I go to so many of the events the Monks have gotten familiar and used to me.  So when the blessings are given out, be it water or petals, I get more than my share - much to everyone's amusement.  Or perhaps they believe that I need more than the local villagers.

I was not quite sure exactly what I had observed so I ran my theory past Duang.  She listened and then said to me "Why you ask me?  You understand already"  I wanted to be sure that my theory was correct and did not leave anything out.

The offerings and blessing of flower petals at the new shrine were to welcome the spirits of the new shrine to its home.  The tossing of the petals along the road out of the Wat and onto the adjoining dirt road outside the Wat was for the spirits that inhabited the area.  This was like having the ritual when you move into a new home, start a new business , or in my early days here in Thailand - commence a refinery expansion!

The offerings at the Bot and Ruesi shrine were to their spirits so that they would be accepting of the new spirit inhabitants.

On our way out of the Wat, we stopped at the new shrine where people were removing the offerings.  Duang brought one of the green coconuts back to the truck so that we could enjoy fresh coconut water for our trip back home.  After determining that it was OK I had her also bring back one of the bunches of bananas.  Tomorrow I will bake some banana bread for myself and my little friends back in Tahsang Village.

It is good to be back home!

A Long Journey

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step" - Lao Tzu

Lao Tzu, the 6th century B.C Chinese philosopher and poet, is correct however in our household and for a journey of over 8,300 miles, the journey actually begins not with one step but with a special ritual.

In 24 hours we will commence our journey to America - a journey that will take 30 hours or more from our doorstep to the doorstep of my parent's home on the East Coast.  In America we will also be visiting Olympic National Park on the West Coast and Glacier National Park in Montana.

I have been very busy lately making all the necessary arrangements.  Thanks to the wonder and power of the Internet, researching and making the arrangements is possible - 8 flight legs, 5 hotel stays, and 3 car rentals.  I will be 65 years soon and I along with all the other baby boomers have witnessed a revolution - an information revolution.

When I was a young man, there was no Internet.  To plan, let alone research such a trip, people had to rely upon travel agents.  Like most of our trips, in doing the research I revise plans and arrangements as I discover more information.  With the Internet I can review photographs of the hotels as well as read reviews from recent customers.  I also can shop for better prices and ... better values. There is no worry about being surprised by "No Vacancy" signs during our travels - a distinct problem in and around national parks in July!

Going on such a grand journey also presents some challenges to my wife, Duang.  Besides traveling half way around the world, this journey is like traveling to the end of the world - her world.  Duang is a very devout Buddhist along with Animism as well as Brahmanism.  In America, she will be far removed from kindred spirits.  Thankfully she is very adaptable and has managed quite well on previous trips.

However, there is nothing wrong with properly preparing for such a journey.  For me the proper preparation is planning and scheduling the entire trip.  For Duang, proper preparation involves spiritual matters - which brings us to today's activity.

This morning we drove out to Ban Mat to visit Luang Por Pohm Likit, the Forest Monk. After the typical merit making of offering food to him, and eating the food that he did not take with the local people, we went to his quarters for a special blessing.

Duang sat on a plastic chair just outside of his quarters, half of which is a shrine.  The half of his quarters is open visiting space and a small enclosed area where he sleeps.

Duang About To Receive Special Blessing

After making some preparations which included some chanting and burning a white candle so that the melted wax dropped into a Monk's bowl filled with water, Luang Por Pohm Likit walked up behind Duang.

As Duang sat in the chair with her hands in the wai position, the Thai gesture of respect, he sprayed water upon her using a rough brush made of very thin strips of bamboo.

Luang Por Pohm Likit Prepares to Bless Duang

As he sprinkled the water on Duang, the Monk was softly chanting in Lao words to the effect of "Good luck to you.  Have a good and safe journey.  Buddha take care of you.  Ghosts and spirits do not go into you.  Don't be afraid.  Good luck for you"  Since Duang and I are inseparable during our travels I am assuming that I am also covered by the blessing.

As the ritual was proceeding, Duang was inwardly focused on thanking Luang Por Pohm Likit as he chanted, thanking Buddha, thinking about good luck for us, and our safe as well as happy return"

The act of sprinkling water on Duang was the transference of merit and blessing from Luang Por Likit to Duang -  a process and belief that I wrote abut in a recent previous blog entry.

Upon completion of this blessing, Duang with wet and wax flaked hair, went to the shrine in the Monk's quarters to perform additional merit making - three different locations at the shrine.  The "three" locations and separate offerings were not by chance.  It is a dominant theme in Buddhism - showing respect and devotion to the three "gems" of Buddhism - Buddha, the Teachings of Buddha, and the Sanga (the Buddhist religious clergy)

Duang Making Offerings At Luang Por Pohm Likit's Shrine

Upon completing her offerings at the shrine, Duang and I bid Luang Por Pohm Likit a traditional farewell and promising to see him upon our return.  On our way to our truck we received the best wishes from the local people for our grand journey.

Earlier in the morning, Luang Por Pohm Likit gave us two special talisman to carry with us on our journey.  The talisman were from India and were anatomically correct images naturally occurring out of tree bark of Buddha as a man and as a woman in his previous lives before attaining enlightenment.  Upon our safe return, and the completion of their task we will return these precious objects to Luang Por Pohm Likit.

We returned home and Duang commenced to pack her suitcase with enthusiasm.  Fortified with special blessing and the talisman, she is prepared to take her journey to the end of her world.

Korb Siarn Khru Ceremony In A Small Village

Back in March, my wife and I went on a special trip to the area west of Bangkok.  The main purpose of our journey was to observe and experience the Wat Bang Phra Tattoo Festival.  As I learned, the main purpose of the Wat Bang Phra Tattoo Festival is to conduct a Wai Khru ceremony.

In a Wai Khru ceremony, devotees pay homage and demonstrate their respect for their teachers and the deities associated with their art or practice.  The term, "teachers", is not restricted to the people who are employed to teach reading, writing, and arithmetic.  Teachers in this sense of the word includes all those that have instructed, inspired, and trained others in a wide variety of matters.  Buddha is considered to be the greatest of teachers.  There are teachers of many things such as music, dance, martial arts, astrology, traditional healing, and magic.

The Wai Khru ceremony is not a Buddhist ceremony although Buddhism is often involved in the ritual.  The origins of the Wai Khru ceremony are in the Animist and subsequent influence of Brahmanism.  Animism was the original religious belief system of the native peoples of Thailand and in particular the inhabitants of the region referred to as Isaan (Northeast).  The history of Southeast Asia is fraught with migrations, wars, invasion, and subjugations. One of the consequences of the turbulent past was the spread of different religions and philosophies.  One of the religions that spread to Thailand was Brahmanism, the precursor of Hinduism, originating in Northern India but most likely spread in Thailand from Cambodia as part of the Khmer Empire.

Rather than eliminating the former Animist practices, beliefs and rituals with the arrival of Brahmanism, the old traditions were assimilated into the new system.  The same thing occurred later when Buddhism arrived from Ceylon.

This all makes for a very interesting and quite often confusing religious system which is practiced here in Isaan today.  Today, 95% of the Thai people are Theravada Buddhists but a vast majority of the Thai people's religious beliefs, practices, as well as rituals are vestiges or heavily influenced by Animism and Brahmanism.  The Wai Khru Ceremony is one example.

Table of Offerings for Wai Khru Ceremony - Tahsang Village

At the Wai Khru Ceremony conducted at Wat Bang Phra, the energy and powers of magical tattoos, called "Sak Yant" were renewed.  The former Abbott of Wat Bang Phra, Luang Phor Penn, was world famous for the powers of his tattoos.  Thousands of his devotees and thousands of foreigners make the pilgrimage to Wat Bang Phra for the Wai Khru ceremony.

My ambition and goal in photography is "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"

Attending large and well known events such as the Wat Bang Phra Tattoo Festival provides opportunities to meet my ambition and achieve my goals in regards to photography.  However I prefer the smaller, more intimate venues where there are not television cameras, reporters, or thousands or even hundreds of tourists.  These events and venues, where the people are conducting rituals for their own benefit offer much better opportunities to experience and better understand the event and its impact on the people.

Living in Thailand and being married to an ethnic Lao, gives me many opportunities to experience and photograph "extraordinary people doing ordinary things."  Often I have opportunities to experience and photograph "ordinary people doing extraordinary things"  Often my wife will get a phone call from the extended family notifying her of some ritual, event, or thing that they believe that I would like to photograph.  Just as new religious systems have been assimilated, I have been assimilated into Duang's extended family.

Such an opportunity occurred on May 1.  Duang had gotten a call earlier in the week that a Wai Khru Ceremony was going to happen at the "Outside" Wat in Tahsang Village.  We drove out to the Wat under the bright and hot sun through the parched sugar cane fields to the "Outside" Wat (the Wat outside of the village as opposed to the Wat inside the village)

Pig's Head Offering

At the perimeter of the Wat's grounds, near the small huts were the Monks sleep, we went to the small shrine.  We had gone to the small shrine a few times for special rituals where Duang and her friend would be doused with buckets of water by the Monk in a special ritual and when Duang's brother received some special blessing while wearing an ornate mask.  Visiting this shrine is not a common occurrence.

Three pavilions had been erected around the shrine with plastic chairs set up for people  to sit out of the strong sun light.  In front of the shrine a large folding table covered with a white cloth had been set up.  Upon the white cloth covered table there were many objects associated with the upcoming ritual.

There was a Pahn Sii Khwan, a centerpiece made by local women out of fresh banana leaves, jasmine buds and chrysanthemums, along with a smaller handmade arrangement on the table along with food offerings to the spirits and deities. The main food offering was a  cooked pig head.  Offerings of a pig head are not common and typically reserved for special occasions. There were also offerings of eggs, pineapple, cooked prawns, sweet potatoes, coconut, cooked duck, oranges, limes, bananas, mangoes, prepared bananas, sticky rice and coconut wrapped in banana leaves, and some bowls of special desserts.

Ruesi Mask - "Siarn Ruesi"

The table also had a silver colored pressed metal ornate tray upon which rolled up sii sein string, a tiger skin cloth and a full life sized Ruesi mask (Siarn Ruesi) and a pumalai of chrysanthemums along with jasmine buds.  The items all symbolize things for and in the ritual.  Pumalai symbolize and celebrate beauty of this life but as they age and deteriorate they remind people of the impermanence of this life as well as the fate that awaits all of us.  The tiger skin patterned cloth is symbolic of Ruesi, hermits of the forest some of who make Sak Yant (magical tattoos). In another  silver colored pressed metal ornate tray containing the sweet potatoes were lotus flower buds, white candles and joss sticks. There was also a large tray of chrysanthemum petals on the table along with an ordinary serving tray of pumalai.

The young Monk of the Wat performed an typical offering ritual outside at the white covered table while devotees sat in chairs underneath the pavilions.  After completing this part of the ritual, he went inside of the shrine for the remainder of ceremony.

Devotees At the Wai Khru Ceremony

Ruesi Shrine

The Ruesi shrine was very congested.  One wall of the room was covered with statues and masks related to Ruesi.  Ruesi is a hermit sage that is prominent in several legends as well as stories in Thai folklore.

Ruesi was and are hermit sages who spend their time meditating and developing their psychic powers - sort of like wizards.  They collect magical herbs, and minerals.  Using magical ingredients they produce love charms, spells and powerful amulets. The goal of the Ruesi is to help others have a happier life by telling fortunes, conducting rituals and making spells to reduce the effects of bad karma.  Ruesi also are able to ward off evil spirits.  They also help people by protecting them from enemies.  Certain rituals performed by Ruesi can bring good luck and fortune to their devotees.  Some of the Ruesi make Sak Yants, the magical and powerful tattoos know throughout this world.

I was about to dip my toes, if not enter, into a new world, the world of the occult in Thailand - "Saiyasart" (waes -magical spells).

As Dorothy said in the Wizard of Oz - "Toto, I've a feeling that we're not in Kansas anymore" or at least any parts of Kansas that I visited some 20 years ago!

One of the most important Ruesi rituals is performed once a year is the Korb Siarn Khru - laying the Ruesi mask of the master teacher, Ruesi Por Gae, on the devotee  The Korb Siarn Khru is performed during the Wai Khru Ceremony.  The Siarn Ruesi mask is a full sized mask with head dress with an open mouth, three eyes, two teeth sticking out of the mouth, a moustache, and a beard.  There are also masks of other deities within the Ruesi pantheon - some of them being tigers, elephants, yaks (giants) and other creatures.

 

 

Inside of the shrine there was a matrix overhead formed by stringing sii sein  across the room in a checkerboard pattern.  Where the sii sein intersected, separate lengths of sii sein were coiled up.  As the devotees entered the shrine they uncoiled the sii sein and wrapped the free length around their head connecting them physically and spiritually to the Buddha image in the coroner of the room, the Ruesi image and the items used by the Monk in the ritual.

As their turn arrived the devotees would place themselves in front of one of the two Monks involved in the ritual.  Once in place they would make an offering and give it to the Monk.

Making Offering

After accepting the offering, the Monk would start chanting.  It was a special chant called a "Kata".  Chanting a Kata is necessary to cast a spell.  As the Monk was chanting, he selected a Ruesi mask and placed it over the face and head of the devotee.  As the Monk's chanting became louder and more animated, the devotee tensed up with his arms and hands becoming rigid as if going into a cationic state or becoming possessed.

Placing a Ruesi Mask On A Devotee

Monk Chanting A Special Kata To Cast A Spell

The devotees would grunt, howl, and screech the sounds of the animal or deity that was possessing them - their spirit.  The devotees would then start to writhe, crawl, jump, and hop as the spirit took control of their body.  To prevent damage to the devotee, Monk, observers and the shrine, layperson assistants flanking the devotee, would restrain the devotee as the possession reached its apogee.  The Monk would then blow upon the devotee to energize the Sak Yant tattoos and to complete the transference of the spell.  The Monk would then remove the mask.  The devotee, physically and emotionally spent, would then perform a wai (bowed, raised hands clasped in prayer position - Thai demonstration of respect and gratitude) before leaving the shrine.

So what was that all about?

In the Korb Khru ritual, devotees believe that they receive very powerful blessings, are rid of evil influences and black magic is eliminated,  In addition, the merits and strengths of the ancient Ruesi Por Gae, the master teacher of all Sak Yant practitioners.  The Master Teacher, Kroo, protects devotees of his teachings that have passed through the ages amongst the teachers from word of mouth.

I learned from Duang that the young Monk at the "Outside" Wat had studied under Luang Pi Nunn at Wat Bang Phra.  People often remark that it is a small world obviously referring to this physical world but apparently the spirit world is also somewhat finite.

Unlike the Wai Khru Ceremony at the Wat Bang Phra which lasted approximately one hour, the Korb Siarn Khru and subsequent Wai Khru Ceremony at Tahsang Village lasted from 9:30 A.M. to 3:00 P.M.  People, all of them from local villages, arrived by motorbike or pick up truck.  There were no tourist vans or tour buses. It was a event for ordinary people - local people.  It was an extraordinary event - a great opportunity for photography and a special opportunity to experience a unique aspect of Thai culture.

This was just a glimpse into the realm of the occult here in Isaan.  Interestingly the occult here is related to doing good and benefiting people whereas my previous view of the occult in the West was that it was related to doing evil.  My goal now is to learn more about Ruesi and the associated practices from the young Monk at Tahsang Village.

There is always something to learn and experience no matter where you are or how old you are if you are only willing to get off the beaten track and interact with the ordinary people.