Waxing Poetic
Story by Jim Algie
Devotees circling temples while holding candles that cast halos of light on their faces is one of the most magical sights on Thai holy nights like the beginning of Buddhist Lent. But in some northeastern provinces they take the spectacle to a new peak of pageantry.
Of these processions, the Ubon Ratchathani Candle Festival waxes the most poetic. Slated for July 20-25, the main attractions are parades of floats decked with flowers, topped with beauty queens dressed in traditional regalia of silk, and outfitted with waxen representations of supernatural deities like Naga, the king of the serpents, and the winged Garuda, who is also a symbol of the Thai Monarchy.
What makes this year’s candle-crafting competition so special is that for the first time ever there will be a host of international competitors from Japan, New York, the National School of Arts in Vientiane, Malaysia, Los Angeles, Singapore, and the Philippines, along with Vietnam, Cambodia, and the New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute.
It should be fascinating to observe their takes on Hindu mythology and Buddhist folklore. These creations, and the many images of the Buddha that also adorn the floats, are made from beeswax. The molding and carving of the wax sculptures is painstaking and laborious work.
Back in 1939, the first such candle contest was held in Ubon Ratchathani after a local artisan with a spark of genius engraved folkloric scenes in a stone mold. He then filled them with soft wax. By attaching these waxen images to bigger candles, Bodhi Songsri really broke the mold and invented a new kind of sculpture.
Nobody had to tell the northeasterners back then that “size matters” because they were soon trying to top each other with loftier and more ornate candles. Today, some of these artworks stand head and shoulders above an American basketball player and weigh more than a sumo wrestler.
Liberated from dusty museums, dry textbooks, and moldering professors, history is best served fresh. And one of the most interesting aspects of the festival is the way that it sheds light on more than 2,500 years of Buddhist teachings. For the origins of Khao Phansa came about when the founding father of the faith decreed that monks should remain at their temples for the three months of the rainy season, rather than venturing outside to trod on paddy fields and hordes of insects.
Thus, the giving of candles helped monks to read the scriptures at night during this gloomy time of year, just as they do today.
Spirituality tends to flourish in the most poverty-plagued of places (a case in point being the fervent Catholicism practiced in the Philippines), partly because it provides a meaning to suffering, and partly because it promises rewards — in heaven, or the next life — for enduring such hardships.
Mired in poverty, northeasterners bring a real sense of fervour and joy to such religious rites. Through offering candles and other necessities to the monks, they are striving for selfless wisdom and spiritual enlightenment.
Because only about 10 percent of the tourists visiting the Kingdom each year venture into Isaan, northeasterners are very welcoming to outsiders. And since they have yet to become jaded by the influx of big-baht tourism, it’s practically a tout-free region. Unlike the area around Phuket’s Patong Beach, for instance, you won’t feel like a sentient ATM machine in Isaan, or have to listen to a chorus of tuk-tuk drivers hailing you with, “Hey boss.”
Ubon Ratchathani is located some 600km northeast of Bangkok, and straddles the banks of the country’s second longest waterway – the Mun River. Joe Cummings, Lonely Planet’s guidebook writer here for the past two decades, and a long-time resident of the realm, says, “The town hasn’t lost its distinctly Isaan character, which is more than you can say about some of the region’s other cities. And its National Museum I would rank in the top five of all the national museums in Thailand. The curator has done a really great job.”
In this tranquil town (pop. 100,000), the Candle Festival is the grandest event of the year, attracting visitors from all over Thailand.
“All the floats and the entourages of dancers and musicians surrounding each one while they parade around town for several days reminds me a bit of Chiang Mai’s Flower Festival,” says Joe. “But obviously there’s much more of a religious element, and it’s the only festival of its kind that I really know of in Thailand.”
Some of the other key events include a ceremony to welcome the candles donated by His Majesty the King, which will later be distributed to temples under Royal Patronage around the province. Meanwhile, the locals gather around the City Pillar to venerate and propitiate the town’s Guardian Spirit in another ceremony.
Combining the yin and the yang of the Thai spirit — piety and merriment — in equal measures, the festival goes into overdrive with some exuberant displays of local folk music in concert with traditional dances, and plenty of partying. So definitely bring a good supply of film, videotape, and Aspirins.
The zenith of the festivities is sure to come on July 25, when the colorful floats wend their way through the crowded streets, accompanied by a battery of percussionists, musicians, and dancers, to arrive at Sri Muang field in the late afternoon, where the winners will be announced. Cash awards are given for the most beautifully carved and molded candles, as well as the most eye-catching float. Other hotly contested prizes are given to some of the beauty queens (known as “Candle Goddesses”).
In the damp gloom and daytime twilight of the rainy season, the Candle Festival provides a welcome respite of colour and illumination.
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