Naga - The Guardians

A Naga Guards the Entrance to Wat Si Bunruang 

Isaan is a very special place here in Thailand.  Readers of this blog have some idea about the people, beliefs, festivals, and places that make this area so interesting and special.

We are in the midst of Vassa (Buddhist Lent, Buddhist Rain Retreat).  The 90 day period of Vassa will end on Wan Awk Phansa (Wan Ok Phansa, Wan Awk Phansa), 19 October.  The end of Vassa is a time for merit making and celebration throughout Isaan.

It is also time for a very special and unique cultural event - Bang Fai Phaya Nak just north of us in Nong Khai Province along the banks of the mighty Mekong River.  In this area of Thailand the Mekong River separates Thailand from the Lao People's Democratic Republic as well as the ethnic Lao Loum people.

This year the Bang Fai Phaya Nak Festival will be 18 - 19 October.  The festival celebrates a local phenomenon of glowing balls of light that rise from the depths of the water into the night sky before disappearing.  This phenomenon are most reported during the full moon of Wan Ok Phansa, the last day of the Buddhist Rain Retreat.

A Lighted Ship Floats Down The Mekong River During Bang Fai Phaya Nak

The celebration occurs on both sides of the Mekong River, Northeast Thailand and Laos sharing a common heritage and culture.

The legend that explains the fireballs is that the they are caused by a large serpent, Naga (Phaya Naga) that lives in the river.

Naga is a mythological deity that takes the form a a very great snake.  Nagas are found in the traditions and legends of Hinduism as well as in Buddhism.  I have written before about the amalgamation of Animist, Hindu and Buddhist beliefs and traditions here in Isaan.  The area was once Animist before Hindu and then Buddhist believers arrived.  Today in Isaan traditions and beliefs from all three remain a very strong part of not only the culture but of individual daily life.

Back in May, I wrote a blog about the Bun Bang Fai Festival - the festival in which rockets are fired into the air at the start of the monsoonal rain season here in Isaan and neighboring Lao.

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

The tradition of firing the rockets is rooted in the Buddhist mythology in which Nagas play a large roll.

A Long time ago, during one of Buddha's many reincarnations, this time as a toad, the rain god (King of the Sky), Phaya Tan  (Taen) was angry with the people and animals. Buddha ( Phaya Khang Khok)'s, sermons were drawing people and creatures from earth and sky away from the King of the Sky.  He decided to punish them by withholding the necessary life giving and sustaining rains.  After seven years, seven months, and seven days of drought, the surviving people along with the animals got together and consulted with Buddha.  After much deliberations, they decided that Phaya Nak (Naga), the giant snake, would lead them in war against the rain god, Phaya Tan.  Phaya Tan defeated the giant snake and his troops.  After eventually overcoming Phaya Tan, Buddha rewarded  Phaya Nak (Naga) for his loyalty as well as service with the honor of being guardians.

Naga At Entrance to Sala Pha Bang, Royal Palace Luang Prabang LPDR

There is also another Buddhist legend involving nagas or snakes.  Today, young man who are participating in the ritual of becoming a novice Monk, after renouncing their worldly goods, are considered to be a "naga".

When Buddha was walking around preaching and teaching his disciples, Naga The Serpent King (Phaya Nak) took on human form, asked to become a Monk, and followed Buddha around listening to the sermons.

One day the naga fell asleep and reverted back to his snake form. Buddha told him that he could not be a Monk because he was not of this world - only humans could be a Monk. The naga agreed to leave the Sanga (religious community of Monks) but requested a favor. He asked Buddha that all young men who are about to be ordained as Monks be called "nagas". Buddha agreed.

To prevent a recurrence of this incident, all young men as part of their ordination are asked if they are human. Phaya Nak, despite leaving the monkhood, continued his devotion to Buddha and is often depicted in art as the seven headed cobra shielding Buddha from the rain.

Later on Buddha was traveling to perform a sermon during Vassa in the second heaven for Buddha mothers and the angels.  When Vassa ended and Buddha was returning to Earth, Phaya Nak and his followers made offerings and issued fireballs to welcome his return.  Since that time, at the end of Vassa fireballs rise from the Mekong although I did not see any when we attended Bang Fai Phaya Nak in 2009. The fact that I did not see them does not mean that they did not exist.  There have been times when others standing next to me, have seen "Phii" (ghosts, spirits) that I did not see
 and my camera did not capture - all more the reason that we hope to attend this year's festival.

Seven Headed Naga Guards Entrance to Sala Pha Bang, Royal Palace Luang Prabang LPDR



The Royal Barge "Anantanagaraj" - Seven Headed Naga Bow

Seven Headed Naga Guarding the Entrance to Wat Phra That Choeng Chum
Sakon Nakhon, Thailand

In our travels along the roads of this area, we became aware of a very interesting Wat in the village of Ban Kho Noi.  I have intended to photograph the Wat's grounds but it was not until two days ago that I had my camera and the weather was good.

Main Entrance to Wat Si Bunruang

I find Wat Si Bunruang very interesting because of the statues located at the entrance gate, entrance road and along the the front perimeter wall of the facility.  Two large and very colorful Nagas flank the ornate gateway to the Wat, their heads rising up at the entrance and their thick blue boodies undulating along the top of the wall to their up raised tails some eight meters away.  Along the front perimeter wall and alongside the driveway into the Wat are several thepanom (thep phanom), Thai angels.

Inside of the platform that supported each thepanom was a internal space for the storage of bones.  Many of the platforms had the opening to the reliquary was sealed with a plaque which included a photograph as well as information about the deceased person.

The encounters with the Naga of Wat Si Bunruang and researching this blog, has piqued my curiousity to attend Bun Bang Fai Phaya Nak next month.  I have check with Duang and, as usual, she is prepared to go on anther of my forays into the culture of Isaan.  Perhaps this year we will actually get to see the fireballs.

I have also got her to buy into attending this year's Sakon Nakhon Wax Castle Festival which we attended last year.  Same same but different?  I think so.



"Same Same But Different"

A Young Boy Places A Daugchan On the Coffin

"Same, same but different" is an often used phrase used here in Thailand.  I have written about the phrase before but once again I am impressed with how meaningful and appropriate it is in describing a situation or condition.  Many falang here in Isaan detest the phrase but I actually embrace the expression.

In my life to date I have visited and positioned myself in many situations that I had previously experienced.  Some would ask, "Why go to Machu Picchu twice?", "Why go to Yellowstone National Park seven times?", "Why do this or that more than once" and "Why go there once again?"  The answer for me is simple.  My answer is "Same, same but different"  Revisiting or placing yourself in position to re-experience something allows a person to greater appreciate the original. The greater appreciation comes from the opportunity to more deeply understand and the opportunity to recognize the nuances that are often overlooked during initial exposure.

So what does this have to do with the photo of a young boy placing a "daugchan" on a coffin?

Two days ago, Duang and I drove out into the Isaan countryside to attend the cremation ritual of a family member - "Cousin of my father".  "Cousin of my father" was an elderly woman who died in the village near Ban Tahsang.  Many of my blogs have dealt with the strong sense of family and community that exists amongst the Lao Loum (Lowland Lao) people of Isaan.  Enjoying the sense of belonging and comfort of such a culture does not come free.  Just as saying goes "There is no such thing as a free lunch", appreciating the benefits of such a culture comes at a cost.  The cost, which I find nominal, is participating in the culture.  With such a large family, 23 Aunts and Uncles, as well as 93 cousins at one time, there always seems to be a wedding, Monk ordination, birth, or funeral that we are expected to attend.  I do not mind and enjoy accompanying Duang in the execution of her "family duties".

Food Offerings for the Spirit Placed On the Floor at the Head of the Coffin

The funeral that we attended the other day was the tenth that we have gone to in two and one-half years. Each funeral has been the same as the others but also different.  The ritual is essentially the same but there are nuances that make each one unique.  Since I am now well familiar with the ritual, there are certain photographs that I expect to take during the ritual.  Because I am familiar with the ritual, I am more capable of looking for and recognizing nuances that make each ritual unique and hopefully makes for more interesting photographs.

Since this was a family funeral, there were many familiar faces in the crowd.  Duang's uncle, the Buddhist Monk, an Abbott to be specific, was the senior Monk in attendance.  "Rocketman", the senior Monk from the "inside" Wat in Ban Tahsang, also participated in the ritual.  Many people in the crowd were people that I have photographed over the past two and one-half years here in Isaan.

Local Government Official Bringing An Offering of Kaithin  His head is bowed in a gesture of respect.

The cremation ritual had all the elements that I have come to expect - the body laying in repose at the family home, people coming to the home with offerings of cash or rice; all of which were duly registered in a ledger, food and drink for visitors, government officials paying insurance money and collections from neighboring villages of the sub-district, offerings of food to participating Monks, sons, grandsons, and nephews with freshly shaved heads and wearing new robes as novice Monks, the procession through the village, the school teacher reciting the deceased person's history and list of immediate family over a P.A.  system to the attendees, the washing of the corpse with coconut water and bottled water, the procession of attendees to the entrance of the furnace to place "good luck charms" (daugchan) on top of the coffin, the tossing from the elevated floor of the crematorium of colorful wrapped coins and candy to the attendees below as the body commences to be cremated, and the firing of three fireworks as smoke starts to rise out of the crematorium chimney.

The following are blog links to previous blogs that I have written regarding funerals here in Isaan.

http://www.hale-worldphotography.blogspot.com/2009/04/dying-in-isaan-buddhist-funeral.html

http://www.hale-worldphotography.blogspot.com/2009/10/isaan-funeral-24-october-2009-2552.html

http://www.hale-worldphotography.blogspot.com/2009/12/death-in-isaan-another-lao-loum-funeral.html

http://www.hale-worldphotography.blogspot.com/2010/02/another-isaan-funeral-same-same-but.html

http://www.hale-worldphotography.blogspot.com/2011/01/two-funerals-and-excorcism.html

http://hale-worldphotography.blogspot.com/2012/10/scenes-from-lao-loum-funeral.html

http://hale-worldphotography.blogspot.com/2012/10/another-lao-loum-funeral-here-in-isaan.html

http://hale-worldphotography.blogspot.com/2012/10/death-be-not-private-lao-loum-experience.html

http://hale-worldphotography.blogspot.com/2013/02/yet-another-lao-loum-funeral.html

Duang's Uncle, the Abbott, Accepting Offering of Robe (Kaithin)

Like all the funerals that I have attended here, there were many people taking photographs - any and all photographs.  I typically position myself next to and up against the heavy metal doors to the furnace at the foot of the coffin.  This position gives me fairly good perspective and keeps me from interfering with the ritual.  Doctors have a motto or oath to "Do no harm".  My guiding principle in taking photographs is to "Do not interfere"  This cremation ritual had more photographers than I have encountered previously - just about everyone in Isaan has a cellphone with a camera in it.  Now many of the younger people have smart phones with rather sophisticated camera capabilities built into them.

One of the older men who was helping to organize and guide the activities at the entrance to the furnace asked me where I was from.  I replied "America".  He then asked or rather pantomimed, if the ritual playing out before us was the same in America? I responded by my limited Thai and pantomime that this was very different in America and that taking photographs of the corpse as well as cremation ritual would not be acceptable and most likely start a fight.  He understood but seemed somewhat shocked.

A Young Girl Places Daugchan On Coffin

Prior to opening the coffin to pour coconut water and drinking water on the corpse, attendees walk up the steps of the Wat's crematorium to the coffin that is placed upon two metal sawhorses at the doors to the furnace.  They carry small paper and bamboo objects called "Daugchan", good luck tokens, and place them in metal trays on top of the coffin.  They first "wai", slightly bowing the head as the hands in the praying position are raised to the forehead, and then place their daugchan on the pile building up in the trays.  The wai is the Thai expression of respect that people use to greet each other or to say goodbye.  Some people will knock three times on the side of the coffin in a final farewell gesture.  Other people will call out in controlled voices words to the effect "Good luck to you, I will miss you, I hope to see you again soon."  The scene is always dignified and touching.

From a very age, Lao Loum people here in Isaan learn that this life is of a limited duration and that death awaits everyone.  Children are not sheltered from the consequences of life - death.  Young children attend and participate in the funeral ritual for neighbors, family friends as well as family members.  "Family members" here is not limited to immediate family.  It includes aunts, uncles, cousins and all those connected to them through marriage.

I have been to funerals where the local school had its students, all 36 of them, go to a funeral of a villager as a field trip.

Another Child Prepared to Pay Final Respects

Attending funerals is a civic as well as religious experience for the children.  Our grandson when he was three attended his first funeral.  He didn't fully understand the ritual but he did enjoy the dragon fruit that he was eating during the ritual at the deceased person's home.  He did understand some of the merit making ritual though.  Children at a very early age commence to learn the Buddhist rituals.

One of the first group of people to place daugchan on the coffin of the deceased person, are the young male relatives who have become Novice Monks for the funeral.  They have cut their hair and had their heads shaved as part of the ritual.  They wear Monk robes and are part of the lead contingent of Monks holding on to the si sin  (cotton cord) that is attached to the coffin which has been placed on a farm truck or pick up truck.  After the coffin has been placed on the sawhorses at the entrance to the crematorium furnace, a si sin connects the coffin to the Buddha statue in the open sided building where the Monks participate in the merit making ritual for the deceased as well as participants in the ritual.

After the last daugchan have been placed upon the coffin. the trays are removed, and the thin top of the coffin is removed.  Monks are the first people to pour coconut water on the exposed corpse.  Family members follow the Monks to pour coconut water or drinking water on the corpse.

Family Members Preparing to Pour Coconut Water

The hands of the deceased clasp offerings of special small flowers, small yellow candle(s), and currency.  The currency is for the spirit on its upcoming journey.  Metal coins that get melted in the cremation are recovered and used as talisman for immediate family members.  Men often have a small tube containing a piece of the melted coins or a tooth as part of their amulets they wear around their neck.  This funeral ritual was different because it was the first one where I saw a daughter, let alone a son, place coins in the mouth of the corpse.

The hands of the copse are bound together with cotton cord, very similar to butchers string.  The thighs and ankles are also bound by the same cord with all three bindings connected by cord running down the center-line of the deceased person.  Part of the ritual is for these bindings to be cut using a heavy cane knife or as occurred at this funeral - a rice harvesting sickle. Symbolism and ties to daily as well as religious life are very strong in these rituals.

After the body has been cleansed and refreshed, the blanket and saht that the corpse had been resting upon are removed and brought to an area next to the crematorium to be burned in a separate open fire along with the remaining possessions of the deceased.  Slits are then placed in the thin walled coffin using the heavy cane knife or in this case rice harvesting sickle to drain the coconut water and drinking water from the coffin. The body is rolled on to its side to gain access for making the drain slots.  The body is then rolled back on top of coconut halves that have been placed in the coffin. The daugchan are then placed into the coffin.

The very heavy metal carriage and charcoal bed is pulled out along embedded rails from the interior of the furnace.  Flammable liquid such as diesel fuel or naphtha is poured on the charcoals. The coffin is lifted from the metal sawhorses and placed on top of the charcoal bed.  More flammable fluid is poured around the coffin with some being poured in the coffin.  The heavy metal carriage is then rolled back into the furnace.  The heavy bottom door of the furnace is closed and dogged into place followed by the upper half door.

A Monk will approach a small port in the upper door and place a burning candle or daugchan to commence the cremation.

A the smoke starts to flow out of the crematorium chimney, firecrackers are set off to scare away any bad spirits who may be in the area.  This facilitates the release of the deceased person's spirit on its journey.  As the firecrackers fire off, pandemonium breaks out in the area in front of the crematorium below the furnace platform area.  Handfuls of small denomination coins wrapped in colorful foil and candy also wrapped in colorful wrappings are tossed to the children and some adventurous adults below.

People Scramble For Falling Coins as well as Candy Underneath Si Sein Connecting Crematorium to Sala

It was another funeral - same same but different.  It was an occasion the learn and experience more of the ethnic Lao culture of Isaan.  It was a time to strengthen family as well as community bonds. It was also an opportunity to photograph a unique aspect of life here and to be able to share it with others.  All in all just another great day!

"Hey Kids, What Time Is It?"

Lao Loum Women Making Popped Rice

Back in the 1950's in the USA, there was a children's program named "Howdy Doody" which starred a puppet of the same name.  Each show would start with the host, "Buffalo Bob" saying "Hey kids, what time is it?"  The live audience of children would scream out "It's Howdy Doody time!"

Well it has not been Howdy Doody time in the USA since 1960 when the show went off the air.  To be truthful, I never liked the show.  However it is now "Kao tawtek time" here in Isaan and I love Kao Tawtek.

I first encountered the Isaan specialty, kao tawtek, almost five years ago to the day (6 September 2008).  I refer to Kao Tawtek as "Thai Cracker Jacks"

Early September is the time, when Lao Loum families gather together to make Kao Tawtek.  Rice is one of the main components of the delicious treat.  Last year's harvest of rice was stored in small raised sheds adjacent to the house.  Large 50 kilogram (110 pound) recycled fertilizer bags, sugar bags, and rice bags are filled with sun dried rice kernels each October and November.  The bags are kept in the raised granaries and removed as needed to feed the family or opened to obtain offerings at special events such as funerals, bone parties, 100 day death anniversary, weddings, and Monk ordinations.  Families who are unable to make offerings of cash, make donations of rice.  The cash as well as the rice are then offered to the Monks in merit making rituals.

The stored rice has its husk in tact.  In order to eat the rice, the rice is brought to a local miller to remove the husk, rendering the rice to the state that most people in the USA are familiar with at their grocery store.  Many bags of rice are not milled in Isaan because they are the seed stock for next year's crop.  Other bags of unmilled rice are saved to make kao tawtek.

I suspect that it is not by coincidence that the time to make kao tawtek is a month before the harvest of this year's rice crop.  Families now know how much rice they have as surplus from the last harvest.

Yesterday we had a family funeral to attend in the village near Duang's home village of Ban Tahsang.  We had also been notified that some of the relatives in Tahsang Village would be making kao tawtek.  Our plan was to attend the funeral after first watching the family make kao tawtek.

A Metal Pan Is Used To Contain the Popping Rice

After walking across the main farm road through Ban Tahsang we ended up at one of Duang's relatives house.  Alongside of the house underneath the shelter of an overhanging corrugated metal roof, there was a stove made out of a modified steel barrel. The barrel had been cut in half with a large notch cut into the side. The barrel was then placed upside down on the dirt so that the notch served as a door to the interior of the barrel. A small wood fire was burning inside of the barrel using long pieces of fire wood. As the fire burned down, people shoved the unburned portions of the logs deeper into the barrel. On top the barrel was a large and heavy wok type iron frying pan. A woman was popping rice in the hot wok. She would take about a quart of brown rice seed from a woven wood basket and sprinkle it into the wok. She constantly stirred the seed inside the wok with a broom made with a wood handle and reed bristles. In no time at all, the seed started to pop. With snap, crackles and pops the white interior of the kernel burst forth - much like popcorn.  She continued stirring the seeds despite the updraft of hot rice puffs. When the wok seeds were fully engaged in popping, another woman grabbed a large metal bowl and placed it over the wok to contain the rice puffs.

The sound of the popping rice seed, the swirling smoke, the swishing sound of the stiff reeds on hot metal, the sight of white rice puffs bursting upwards, and the smell of a wood fire all created quite a sensory explosion.  The shelter of the overhanging roof ensured that the pending rain would not interfere with the activity.

Sweeping Popped Rice Into A Metal Tub

Occasionally another woman would stoop down and tend the fire. Most of the time tending the fire was adding just a couple more inches of the small pieces of wood into the fire. Other times tending the fire involved splashing some water on the coals to maintain a desired temperature in the wok - too hot a temperature would end up quickly burning the popped rice before it could be removed..

As the popping came to a conclusion, another woman would approach the fire to take hold of the large metal bowl that had been used over the top of the wok. She held the bowl as the cook swept the hot rice puffs into it.

Sifting the Popped Rice to Get rid of Unpopped Kernels

The puffed rice was then carried to another woman who was tending a woven basket suspended from the overhead beams. The hot rice puffs were dumped into the woven basket that she rocked back and forth by hand to sieve the product. Unpopped seed and smaller puff pieces fell through the basket onto woven reed mats. The rejected product will used to feed chickens and cattle. The acceptable puffs were dumped into metal pots and eventually placed into clean empty fertilizer plastic sacks.

Laughter Is Always Abundant Here - Or At Least When I Am Around

I had hoped to be able to photograph and, better yet, sample some completed kao tawtek.  Unfortunately the plan for the day was only to pop the rice and to wait until another day to cook in the sugar, millet, coconut and package the delicious treat.

Our time at the family home was not over  after I had packed away my camera gear.  Inside the house was a two month old baby boy that we had to meet.  It seems that no matter where we go here in Isaan we encounter children of all ages.  It is always nice as well as entertaining to meet the new generation.  After holding the baby, feeding him some water, and "talking" as well as "listening" to him, we left for the cremation ritual in the next village.

We were told that other relatives in Tahsang Village would be making kao tawtek today.  We left our home at 7:00 A.M. to get out to Tahsang Village early.  The work is hot so the family was going to finish in the morning before temperatures got too high.

Duang's relatives, who live across the street from the "inside" Wat of Ban Tahsang had set up their "kitchen" on the Wat's grounds under the shade of a large tree amongst the chedi which contain the bones of past villagers.

Processing Popped Rice for Kao Tawtek

This morning there was not a threat of rain so the process could take place in a more exposed location.

Popping Rice

Duang's uncle, aunts and cousins all took part in this effort - true family effort.  Their plan was to pop three bags, 330 pounds (150 kilos) of seed.  Unfortunately their plan for the day did not include producing a finished product.  They did promise to call us when they will assemble and package the kao tawtek.


Separating the Chaff From the Popped Rice

The work proceeded with a great deal of laughing and talking - very little transpires here in Isaan without a great deal of talking and gossiping.

Uncle Guhyoi (Banana) Winnows Rice Seeds to be Popped

"Chef" Yupin, Duang's Cousin Stirring the Pot

The Kao Tawtek will be finished for 19 September - "Kao Patducdin".  Kao Patducdin, my spelling of what Duang told me, is the Mid Autumn (Moon) Festival.  On this day, the Lao Loum people of Isaan make offerings to the hungry phii (ghosts).  In making the offerings to the phii, the people ask the ghosts to watch over and take care of this year's rice crop which will be harvested in October and November.  This close to the harvest, the people want to ensure that there are no problems with the crop.  The kao tawtek is a special treat for the spirits.  Kao Tawtek is also offered to the Monks as they complete roughly 60 days of the 90 day Buddhist Lent also referred as the Buddhist Rains Retreat. Families can make extra income by selling surplus kao tawtek to people who want and need it but are not able or willing to make it themselves.  During today's activities I heard and understood the family talking about how much money they expected to make this year.

Cousin Yupin Uses the Cover of Rainwater Collection Urn to Contain Popped Rice
 

 

 

I will be photographing the remaining steps required to produce Kao Tawtek when we get the word in the next week and one-half.  I am looking forward to ... providing QC feedback to the family cooks!

Of course I will be sharing the photos and writing a blog on the activity.

I am not planning on sharing any of my Lao Tawtek though.

Harvest Time - Cassava



Lao Loum Farmers Harvesting Cassava In Isaan

The weather here in Northeast Thailand, Isaan, has become rather monotonous - hot (90-95F), humid, heavily overcast, and often wet.  The monsoonal rains that we have been experiencing since May will end next month.

Earlier this week we drove out into the countryside.  The day was heavily overcast but was dry.  We were not on a photographic expedition or foray.  Duang had been suffering for a couple of days with a stiff neck and shoulder.  Although I was willing to take her to the Army Hospital to see a doctor about it, Duang preferred to seek a traditional cure for her suffering. We had gone out to Tahsang Village two days earlier where Duang had gone a special massage treatment from one of the village women who had a reputation for helping people.  The massage did not give Duang much relief.

Undeterred by her failed experience with massage therapy, Duang wanted to go into the countryside to one of her aunt's home.  This aunt has a very good reputation of helping people who have various aches and pains.

Despite it not being an optimal day for photography, I brought along my photography backpack as I normally do when we head out into the countryside.  Although the weather or even the lighting may not be great, there usually is something interesting or unique to photograph.  This trip was no different.

This aunt lives in a very small village somewhere out in the countryside.  I dutifully followed Duang's instructions for the route out to the village.  To get there we drove almost to Ban Tahsang (Tahsang Village) and took a small road off of the local farm road.  Eventually we ended up driving across a small dam and then across some levees followed by narrow blacktop roads, narrow concrete roads, some roads that were heavily eroded, and even some heavily damaged dirt roads on our journey out to the village.  No matter the construction or state of the roads, they shared one common condition;  there was more water buffalo shit on the roads than other vehicles.

Out in the countryside, water buffalo as well as cattle are "free range".  Early in the morning the animals are driven, well more like walked, out of their pens in the villages to forage the countryside until late afternoon when they return to their pens typically adjacent to the owner's house. The animals are tended by a lone man or woman who follows them as they eat the thriving vegetation wherever they find it.  Unlike American westerns where the herds have hundreds or even thousands of animals, the herds in Isaan are small - typically three to five animals.  The largest herd that I have encountered was twelve animals.

Cassava Tubers Awaiting Gathering

Duang got her massage from her aunt with instructions to return for another treatment on Sunday.  We then headed back home along the same route we had traveled earlier.  Along the way we came upon some farmers harvesting cassava - a photographic opportunity.

What is cassava?  Cassava, Manihot esculenta, which is also known as manioc and mandioca, is a woody shrub originally from South America that has a starchy tuberous edible root.  The edible root is very much like a potato.  It is more fibrous and more mushy than a potato prepared the same way.  Cassava.  Unlike the potato, it is important to properly prepare cassava.  There are two varieties of cassava, sweet and bitter.  The bitter variety is typically used for industrial purposes. The sweet variety is the kind most likely to be eaten by people.  Both varieties can expose people to cyanide if not properly prepared.  The bitter kind has 50 times the concentration of cyanide compounds than the sweet.  Proper preparation of the sweet variety involves peeling and boiling the tuber ensuring to throw the water away.  the industrial variety needs to be soaked in water for 18 to 24 hours.

When the root is dried to a powdery or pearl type extract is known as Tapioca. Cassava can be eaten as "french fries", "potato chips", or "boiled potatoes".  In Brasil the tuber is dried, powdered, fried with butter, packaged and sold as "Manioc Flour" or "Farofel"  It is sprinkled on meat or beans for flavor and to thicken the consistency of the dish.

Cassava is a good source of carbohydrates but a poor source of protein for people.  It is grown because it does not require fertile soil or a great deal of water.  The cassava shrub is also very drought resistant.  Because it can grow in poor soil and without a great deal of water, cassava is a natural choice for a cash crop here in Isaan.  It is called "mahn falang" by the Lao Loum farmers.  Cassava is used in rotation with sugar cane.  Of the three cash crops of rice, sugar cane, and cassava, cassava brings the least amount of money to the farmers.

Gathering Up Cassava Roots Exposed By Previous Day's Plowing

The first step in the harvesting of cassava, is to cut down the woody stalks.  Later the stalks will have their leaves and branches removed.  The bare stalks will then be bagged up and removed to the farmer's home.  At the farmer's home either underneath the shade of a large tree or under the protection of a corrugated metal shelter, the villagers will chop the stalks into approximately 25mm (10 inch) pieces.  After soaking in water the stalks will be stuck in the prepared ground to commence the next crop.

The second step in harvesting the cassava, is to plow the field to expose the elongated tuberous roots.  The plow pulls the root clusters up from the ground and leaves them on top of the soil for the farmers to collect.  The farmers are working against the clock to harvest the tubers.  Since the farmers are paid by the weight of the delivered crop, they need to get the tubers to the nearby processing plant as soon as possible to avoid weight loss due to dehydration.  The crop also starts to deteriorate quickly too so speed is of the essence.  Since they had exposed the tubers the evening before, the farmers that we encountered were working hard to gather up all the roots and get them to the processing plant that night.

Cutting Up The Tuber Cluster To Save Space

As you will see throughout the fields of Isaan, men and women work side by side pretty much equally sharing the divisions of labor.  Most of the people are working their family land.  If the family needs extra help, they typically hire neighbors or friends - the minimum wage has been raised from 150 Baht ($5 USD) to 300 Baht ($10 USD).  Employers also feed their workers two meals a day along with supplying beer and Lao Lao (moonshine whiskey) at the last meal of the day.

Tossing Cassava Roots Into the Farm Truck

After taking many photographs and Duang having a good conversation with the farmers as I photographed them, we got back into our truck for the ride to Kumphawapi to get the truck washed.  It has been a long time and too many muddy roads since the last time the truck had been washed.

Moving Down the Line to the Next Bunch of Roots

All Along the Back Roads

Harvesting Peanuts In Isaan

These are busy times along the back roads of Isaan.  The monsoon rains have transformed the countryside. The rice paddies are verdant rectangular patches dotting the land.  Farmers are still engaged in transplanting rice stalks from the nursery paddies to the paddies where the plants will mature and give rice kernels for harvesting in October.

Crop rotation is practiced here in Isaan and is a necessity due to poor soil conditions and lack of money for fertilizers or soil amendments. Dependent upon the time of cycle, the same piece of land is used to raise rice, cassava, sugar cane, and peanuts.

The sugar cane has undergone a rapid growth spurt due to the almost daily rains and is now as high as an elephant's eye.  The cane will continue to mature until December when the annual sugar cane harvest will commence.  In anticipation and in preparation for the upcoming harvest, the Kumphawapi Sugar Company is expanding and improving their truck staging area.  Three years ago the area where loaded sugar cane trucks waited their turn to enter the refinery to be offloaded was a large dusty field with huge billows of choking red dust rising from the winds or passage of trucks.  That area has now been paved over with concrete and surrounded with grass covered earthen berms to contain any run off as well as to restrict traffic.

Just down the road from the refinery entrance, the company is busy preparing the land to receive the huge amounts of organic waste from the sugar extraction process.  The sickening sweet smelling black waste material is sold to local farmers who spread it on their land in an attempt to improve the soil.

Cassava plants have also experienced a rapid growth.  Large trucks filled with cassava tubers are starting to travel along the back roads transporting the cassava harvest from the fields or interim gathering points to the processing facilities.

The heavy vehicle traffic from the sugar cane harvest earlier this year and the heavy monsoonal rains of the past four months are starting  to have a deleterious effect on the local roads.  Potholes and alligator-ed pavement are becoming more of a challenge when driving along the country roads.  Typically the roads will remain or get worse until after the next sugar harvest when the roads will be repaired only to be repaired in two or three more years.

Roadside Stand Outside of Tahsang Village

Now is also a time of abundance along the back roads.  Sweet corn is being harvested.  Peanuts are also being harvested.  Many fruits such as mangoes and custard apples are in season.  There are many roadside stands now where farmers sell their corn, fruit, and peanuts.  We stopped at one of the stands and bought mangoes, peanuts, and sweet corn.  Unlike the USA, you buy cooked corn at roadside stands.

Duang Selecting Bag of Peanuts to Buy

In one of the fields along side of the road, a man and woman were harvesting peanuts.  I had not photographed peanut harvesting yet so I found a convenient as well as relatively safe place to park the truck. Duang and I got out of the truck and commenced our cautious walk out to the harvesters.  It was quite a challenge due to the amount of overgrown weeds, the mud, and puddles.  The woman saw us cautiously approaching and yelled out to Duang with directions for the best route out to her location.  We arrived out to the woman without any incident.

Removing Peanuts From the Bush

The woman was seated on a pile of stripped peanut bushes under the makeshift shade of net cloth and two umbrellas - some protection from the hot sun but no relief from the oppressive humidity.  She removed the peanuts from the bushes and placed the peanuts in a plastic bucket placed off to her side.  Her fingertips were caked with mud that adhered to the peanuts as the bushes were pulled from the muddy field.  Like all the other farming activities here in Isaan the work was monotonous and oppressive.  In no time at all sweat was pouring down my forehead into my eyes and I was doing little but taking photographs!

Harvesting Peanuts

Not far from the woman, a man, I assume to be her husband, was pulling peanut bushes out of the soft moist ground.  The bushes came out of the ground with ease.  After he had accumulated several bushes, he walked them over to the woman's location and added them to her pile for processing.

Gathering In the Peanuts

More Peanut Bushes to be Processed

As I have found on my excursions out into the fields of Southeast Asia, the farmers seemed to appreciate the break in their monotony with my interest in photographing them.  I suspect that they find it amusing that a foreigner would be so interested in them that he would risk limb and dignity to go out to where they are working in order to take photographs.

My Mom used to often admonish me with the question "Who do you think that you are, someone special?".  Well, I know that I am not "special".  I don't believe that anyone should consider themselves to be special. However, just about everyone is "interesting" and along the back roads of Isaan there are many of interesting places as well as things and plenty of interesting people.

Isaan Hospital Care

Duang Bathes Her Father In the Hospital

 

Duang's father was hospitalized on Wednesday and remains there.  He has been in failing health for a while and I hardly recognized him on Monday when I was out at the village for Mothers Day.  He has lost considerable weight and his face now sports sunken cheeks.

On Wednesday he went to see the doctor at the Kumphawapi Hospital.  Duang knew that the hospital would be busy so she ensured that they would arrive relatively early at the hospital.  Apparently the family entourage did not arrive early enough because they were #125 in the queue.  After consultation, x-rays, and other tests, Duang's father was admitted to the hospital.

According to Duang, "Inside of my father no good".  Upon questioning her further to better understand what could be her father's problem, I learned that she has seen an x-ray of his lungs and she said that there were "big white spots that are bigger than before".  Duang's father is also short of breadth which sounds like lung cancer to me.  Why doesn't Duang know the diagnosis and prognosis of her father's health?  This is Thailand.  In general, doctor's communications, especially with the local people, are similar to that in the USA in the 1950s. Similar in that the doctor does not feel obligated to explain and ensure that patient and their family fully understand the situation. One of Duang's fears regarding her personal health issues is that the doctors would not tell her everything or even worse ... lie to her regarding her diagnosis as well as prognosis.

I have written several times about the strong social fabric of Lao Loum culture here in Isaan - the latest being early this week related to Mothers Day.  Another circumstance where strong family bonds and obligations come into practice is when a family member is sick.  Duang is the youngest daughter so she has the burden of ensuring proper care.  Her sister and brothers also help out and other family members also help out.  However it is up to Duang to ensure that her father is physically care for and lacking any help, she has to provide the care.

Physically care for a patient?  In Thai hospitals, not the international hospitals that have many foreigners as patients. but district and small town facilities that service the local population, nurses only provide medical care.  Bathing, cleaning, feeding, and assisting with bodily functions is the responsibility of the patient's family and friends. Hospital wards that I have visited in Isaan are very crowded - besides the closeness of the beds, it seems that just about every patient has two to four visitors attending to them or just socializing.  Outside of the ward, more family members and friends are located in the hallways and balconies awaiting their turn.

A Family from Bangkok Camped Out On the Ward's Balcony

During my visit at the hospital today, I left the ward to sit out on the balcony to provide more space in the ward.  There was a family camped out on the balcony - camped out literally and figuratively.  Through Duang I learned that the family has been living on the balcony for four days.  They took the bus from Bangkok to be with their father/grandfather who is in the same ward as my father-in-law.  The two children do not sleep at the hospital.  They sleep at another family member's home in Kumphawapi but the adults sleep outside on the balcony to ensure that care is available to the patient and to ensure that the patient does not die alone.

In the pediatric wards, the child patient typically has a mother or father sleeping with them in the hospital bed and often a grandmother sleeping on a saht (woven reed mat) underneath the hospital bed.

Typical Kumphawapi Hospital Adult Ward

Besides the beds in the ward, there were also beds in the outside corridors of the hospital.  Kumphawapi Hospital recently under went a major expansion.  Duang's father is in the old part of the hospital.  Some of the rooms and facilities of the old part of the hospital are being renovated or modified.  This undoubtedly is adding to the congestion at the facility.

Most of the patients were wearing adult diapers.  Stainless steel bedpans were also available for patients who could not use the common bathroom facilities.  I checked out the common bathroom facility and I was impressed with its cleanliness.  I was relieved to see that there were western sit down toilets - I could not imagine being hospitalized and having to use a squat toilet.  The bathroom also had shower cubicles.  Emptying and cleaning bedpans is a responsibility of the patient's family and friends.  The cleaning station was outside of the bathroom area on the balcony where I was sitting.  Duang used the utility sink to wash and rinse the cloths that she used to clean her father.

When I reentered the ward, I met the father/grandfather of the Bangkok family.  He had a distended abdomen that I suspect was due to cancer.  He was on oxygen and told Duang that he was on oxygen because he could not breathe and that he would soon be dead.  This attitude towards one's fate was not unique to this patient.  Duang's father has been saying good bye to family and friends for about two weeks now.  This morning, he told his sister that when he died he wanted her to contact an old friend of his so that the person could sing at his funeral.

Doctor Making His Morning Rounds

Duang was remaining at the hospital for the day, her older brother and sister would stay at night.  Before I returned to our truck to drive back home, Duang and I visited the maternity section of the hospital.  We enjoy visiting the new borns and it is good therapy after dealing with the stress of hospital visits. The maternity ward remains in its original location.  Unlike all previous visits to the ward, the door was closed.  We checked with the adjacent nurses station and were told that visitors were being restricted to protect the new borns from an outbreak of sickness.  The nurses did say that we could visit upstairs where sick babies were located.

We climbed the stairs to visit the ward where our grandson has spent some times for treatment.  There were two babies both five months old were being cared for by their families.  The babies were hooked up to IV bottles.  I stopped and spoke to and consoled each of the babies in Thai.  I am not sure if it was a sense of peace or fear, but both babies seemed to relax and be calmer from my attention.  When it was time to leave, one of the parents asked Duang for me to take care of their child before I left.  Duang asked me and I knew exactly what she meant.  Here in Isaan, Monks will puff air three times (Buddha, the Teachings of Buddha, and the Buddhist religious community) on people's injuries or pains to heal them.  I have also seen an Animist Shaman do the same to our grandson, Peelawat.  I often do the same for Duang's as well as Peelawat's hurts and pains. Tonight I asked Duang why the people asked me to take care of their baby.  She said that the family said that I loved babies and that they wanted me to take care so that the child would get better and be able to leave the hospital tomorrow.  I asked her how they knew that I understood what it meant and could do it.  She had no answer.  Perhaps the only answer is "This is Thailand" .  Many things happen here that can not be explained but can only be accepted for the way they are.

Kumphawapi Hospital, New Addition In Background