Spiritual Thais
Story by Jim Algie
In one mystical legend of yore, the festival of Ok Phansa, which brings the rainy season’s grey curtain of drizzle down for this year, was initiated in homage to a trip the Lord Buddha made to heaven after his mother died. There, he spent three months (the same period as monks are supposed to spend quietly contemplating the scriptures in their temples) consoling her and preaching. When the Buddha returned from the great beyond, along with a retinue of other deities, a jubilant celebration was held to mark his return; and offerings of food, gifts and flowers were made to him and the other monks who had accompanied him on his spiritual odyssey.
Each region in Thailand puts a local spin on this yarn, embroidering it with processions of wax candles and ornately decorated boats in the northeast, or, down in Surat Thani province, with a sunrise procession of waterborne Buddha images.
For the sake of excitement and exotica, many tourists and Thais find the allure of Isaan irresistible. Right up near the top of your itinerary should be a trip to Nakhon Phanom (literally, “City of Hills”). Snuggled up to the border with Laos, the year’s main event in this town of 30,000 is a nocturnal procession of splendidly illuminated boats. Usually, they are crafted from bamboo or banana trees and, from stern to prow, measure around 10 metres. The watercraft in this 50-strong armada are lit up with candles and paraffin lamps which hurl serpentine shadows across the rippling black waves of the Mekong River. Each boat is laden with a cargo of incense, sweets, and flowers.
These festivities generally run in October, and are augmented by a street procession and performances of local dance and music. Perhaps the most fun part of any festival in the northeast is the part-burlesque/part-cabaret shows of lukthung (Isaan-style country music). Your first aural impressions of this strident music, however, could very well be that the vocalist is in the midst of having a root canal without the benefit of anesthesia. But if you can get in the groove, and let the mesmerising beat work its way up into your hips, you’ll find that the rhythms have the primal pull of American blues. (Though you probably wouldn’t see many 80-year-old women or little tykes dancing at a BB King concert). Likewise, the mournful vocals that tell tales of romantic betrayals, and desperate poverty, also echo the blues tradition. Given the flashbulb grins of the performers and the provocatively attired female dancers, these revues are a strange dichotomy, which tell you a lot about the complexity of the Thai mindset.
Just down the road from Nakhon Phanom is the hamlet of Sakhon Nakhon. Evidence that this was once a Khmer stronghold is abundant in the 10th-century prang (a stubby tower) of Wat Phra Thad Choeng Chum. But the 25-metre high chedi was built from a Lao template around the 16th century.
This temple serves as the centerpiece of the Wax Castle Procession, also held in October. In order to make some good karma for themselves, the denizens of this province sculpt beeswax into shrines and scaled-down replicas of Buddhist places of worship. They then parade them around the temple while grinning, joking and gossiping, as holy days are never sour-faced studies in solemnity here in Thailand.
The town’s other main temple, Wat Phra That Narai Cheng Weng, originally constructed as a Khmer act of obeisance – set in stone – to the Hindu faith, also attracts devotees for Ok Phansa. But if you’re having a surly, “bad hair day”, well, the lintel, which depicts Shiva, the one-god wrecking crew of the Hindu trinity, trampling on a lion’s head should appease your anger.
Adding some shots of adrenaline, and chasers of river water to the occasion are boat races and yet more cultural performances that are becoming rarer as the country’s youth are being programmed to dance to a different drum machine.
If you’ve ever seen the famous photo shot taken near the Thai-Lao border of about 15 American Marines holding up what appears to be a sea serpent that must be at least 20-metres long, perhaps the old folk tale about Naga (the lord of the serpents who supposedly dwells in the Mekong River) doesn’t seem so far-fetched. This deity, who, in the form of sinuous balustrades with crested figureheads, and other such renderings, serves as a guardian spirit at temples, is feted in appropriately aquatic fashion in Nong Khai province during the “Illuminated Boat Ceremony” in October. During the annual rite, a fleet of boats bedecked with Naga images, lights and various offerings, sails down the Mekong River at night.
Heading south? Then don’t miss the region’s best-known finale for Buddhist Lent, which actually consists of two events beginning at sunrise on the Tapi River in Surat Thani province. The first part of the ceremony consists of floating Buddha images down the river. Afterwards, robes and other essential items are given to the monks. A number of other events (both sacred and mundane) are also held near the river. As with all such Thai festivals, it’s best to confirm exact times and dates with the local branch of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
For the monks who have specially ordained for the three-month retreat from the downpours and material concerns a glorious homecoming awaits them. Said teenager Somsak Panphum, who ordained at a Bangkok temple, “It’s been a difficult experience for me, but very worthwhile, because I finally attained some peace of mind… never easy in Bangkok,” he laughed. “But it’s also been an opportunity to make some good karma for myself and my parents. In one old folk tale, it’s said that parents can ride to heaven on the robes of their sons, if they have ordained as monks.”
Regardless of whether or not you can make it to the more fanciful celebrations of Ok Phansa, you will see Thais all across the country queuing up to give alms to the monks, before heading down to the local temple to listen to special sermons. And in many parts of the nation, a special cart (resplendent with a Buddha image) is brought down from a hill. Surrounding the cart is an entourage of monks, while the faithful flank each side of the road to fill their alms bowls, in an attempt to recreate the spiritual scenario when the Buddha returned from the realm of the angels.
