Mists of mystique
Time seems to stand still while Sangkhla Buri's Mon community performs tradition rituals
Fog blankets the Mon community in Sangkhla Buri district, on the Thailand-Myanmar border in Kanchanaburi province, before dawn breaks. Visitors with cameras poised stand on the famous Mon Bridge, the longest hand-made wooden bridge in Thailand, all preparing to shoot the scenic moments of the sun rising over the Songkalia River.
Mon children sell flowers for visitors to pay respects to a Buddha image inside an ubosot of the old Wat Wang Wiwekaram, which is always submerged except during summer.
Fishermen ride their long-tail boats along the river, looking for an ideal location. You may hear the songs of birds and clucks of chickens while admiring the picturesque view of the river and the Mon community.
You are likely to see a Mon lady in traditional dress walking along the wooden bridge. She wears thanaka powder on her face and carries small bunches of flowers in her hands. Her name is Yen. She shows up every morning to ask visitors to come to her community. The flowers are for sale to those who want to make offerings.
"If you'd like to offer alms to monks, you may follow me. I'll lead the way," said Yen with broad smile.
Yen is very friendly, with a sweet smile. She does not mind if you do not want to buy her flowers.
If you follow her across the wooden bridge, you will be in the Mon village where people maintain their traditional way of living, speak their own language and the men wear longyi. You can find local food like dishes of fish curry with chopped banana stem and snacks called "nang paya" made of roti stuffed with salty boiled beans.
A short walk from the bridge, passing food stalls and souvenir shops, you will spot villagers of all ages waiting in the middle of the road to offer alms to monks. Women wear sarongs and cover their blouses with shawls.
When they see a line of monks walking in their direction, they squat on the concrete road and prostrate themselves to worship by facing down to the ground over their clasped palms. They take rice bowls, raising them up to their foreheads and stand to offer a spoonful of rice to each monk.
The practice is similar to the alms offerings of people in Luang Prabang in Laos and Chiang Khan district in Loei, where they offer only sticky rice to monks. In the Mon community, locals normally offer a spoonful of steamed rice to each monk.
"We later go to temples to offer other food to monks," said one villager.
Temples are at the centre of many activities for Mon people in Sangkhla Buri. For example, the recent Songkran festival was not only a time for fun, but for making merit. The whole village celebrated the festival together with a five-day ceremony in Wat Wang Wiwekaram, a famous temple which was built by the highly revered late abbot Luang Pho Uttama.
Monks walk on a human bridge, a way of making merit for the Mon community in Sangkhla Buri.
The original temple was built in 1968 and was inundated 16 years later because of the construction of Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand's Vajiralongkorn Dam. The temple was relocated to its present location on a hill.
Wat Wang Wiwekaram has a large Mon-style ordination hall which houses a wax figure of the late abbot, a large wooden prayer hall which can accommodate hundreds of people, a golden coloured Buddhakaya-style pagoda which houses Buddha relics, and accommodation for lay men and women.
''During the first three days of the Songkran festival, a large group of people stay in the temple to observe the precepts,'' said Phra Ajarn Maha Suchat Siripanyo, the present abbot. These people are normally the elderly.
''It is our tradition that younger family members will bring boiled rice to serve their parents in the morning for the whole three days while their parents stay in the temple.
''The young will also return in the late afternoon to bathe their parents and later they can have fun and throw water at each other at the temple grounds.''
Meanwhile, a group of villagers helped build a five-tier sand pagoda in the temple. They normally build the pagoda during Songkran on the belief that once a year they should replace the grains of sand unintentionally carried away from the temple. It is another way of making merit.
Locals pay respect at the sand pagoda by offering flowers, pinning colourful flags, lighting candles and praying with three incense sticks. Some bring their own sand. They put a bag of sand on their heads, pray, and disperse the contents over the pagoda.
The first three days of the Songkran festival were busy for another group of men who went into the forest to cut long pieces bamboo. They carefully split the bamboo and created a complicated network of water pipes for the fourth day of Songkran.
''The late abbot told villagers to keep our tradition and use only bamboo as a material instead of using PVC pipes. It is the wisdom of Luang Pho Uttama to make villagers work together in order to get the job done. The activity helps unite us,'' said Phra Ajarn Suchat.
Bit by bit, the split bamboo pieces were tied together into a network structure water could flow through. This network can serve hundreds of Buddhists who wish to join the water pouring ceremony at the same time.
Offerings are laid in a large prayer hall.
The event started about 4pm of the fourth Songkran day, which this year fell on April 17. It seemed as if the whole village was waiting for the ceremony because the temple ground was full of people. Women donned their beautiful traditional dress while some men wore red longyi. Each villager brought with them a large bowl filled with fragrant water and small flowers. They each took their place at the end of a bamboo pipe, clasping the bowls in their hands and waiting for a signal.
A village leader brought a highly respected seated Buddha image from the temple hall to the grounds. He placed the Buddha image under the tip of a pipe at the end of the bamboo network, through which the residents would later pour water.
Before that process could begin, another ritual, reserved only for men, took place. About 50 devotees lay face down on a concrete floor to form a human path.
According to the present abbot, the action started in the time of Luang Pho Uttama. It came about because villagers had such strong faith in the late abbot they wanted him to step on their backs as a blessing. Since then, it has become a tradition.
''I believe this ritual can take away my bad luck,'' said Boonchuay Ongsasatitwong, a local man who has joined the procession for the past two years. He persuaded two of his friends to join the ceremony this year.
About 15 monks were invited to walk over the men. Every monk was accompanied by either one or two helpers who held their hands to maintain balance. Each monk stepped onto the middle of the back of those devotees. No cries of pain were heard.
''When the monks stepped on my back, I didn't feel much weight. It was quite light,'' said Boonchuay. When asked if he felt the floor was too hot to bear, he quickly answered: ''Not at all. I am very happy.''
Then it was time to pour water over the Buddha image and the monks. A man showed up with two flags in hand, one green and one red. He waved the green flag and shouted in Mon: ''Jao! Jao!'' People started pouring water from their bowls into the bamboo pipes. The water quickly flowed together, carrying the small flowers with it, toward the other end, falling over the seated Buddha image. The red flag was waved. ''Taidae! Taidae!'' People stopped pouring water.
Next was the moment for watering the monks, one by one. The green flag was waved again, and soon all the monks were soaked. The participants threw the leftover water at each other. The fourth day of Songkran ends only when everyone gets wet.
On the fifth day, after offering alms to monks, villagers gathered at a ground near the market to join a parade. The process is called the Thod Phapa ceremony, and residents decorated artificial trees or large paper swans with banknotes or items such as spoons, plates or notebooks to offer to monks. A marching band started playing before 8am as a signal for people to show up. Many carried cooked or dried food along with what they wanted to offer to monks.
They danced and slowly walked to the temple. Some had candies and coins and threw them into the air for children to collect and to have fun. The parade was about a kilometre long and it took about an hour to walk from the market to the temple.
''We normally have this kind of parade twice a year. The first ceremony is this Phapa procession which we always do on the last day of the Songkran festival,'' said Prapan, a villager. The other time is the krathin ceremony which is held shortly after the final day of Buddhist Lent which is around October.
''Come and visit us again. We are always pleased to see visitors,'' he said.
The Mon community in Sangkhla Buri still keep their traditional way of living, culture and strong faith in Buddhism. Although the world seems to be moving fast nowadays, when you cross the Mon Bridge, you will feel like time stands still.
~Info courtesy of Bangkok Post~
Time seems to stand still while Sangkhla Buri's Mon community performs tradition rituals
Fog blankets the Mon community in Sangkhla Buri district, on the Thailand-Myanmar border in Kanchanaburi province, before dawn breaks. Visitors with cameras poised stand on the famous Mon Bridge, the longest hand-made wooden bridge in Thailand, all preparing to shoot the scenic moments of the sun rising over the Songkalia River.
Mon children sell flowers for visitors to pay respects to a Buddha image inside an ubosot of the old Wat Wang Wiwekaram, which is always submerged except during summer.
Fishermen ride their long-tail boats along the river, looking for an ideal location. You may hear the songs of birds and clucks of chickens while admiring the picturesque view of the river and the Mon community.
You are likely to see a Mon lady in traditional dress walking along the wooden bridge. She wears thanaka powder on her face and carries small bunches of flowers in her hands. Her name is Yen. She shows up every morning to ask visitors to come to her community. The flowers are for sale to those who want to make offerings.
"If you'd like to offer alms to monks, you may follow me. I'll lead the way," said Yen with broad smile.
Yen is very friendly, with a sweet smile. She does not mind if you do not want to buy her flowers.
If you follow her across the wooden bridge, you will be in the Mon village where people maintain their traditional way of living, speak their own language and the men wear longyi. You can find local food like dishes of fish curry with chopped banana stem and snacks called "nang paya" made of roti stuffed with salty boiled beans.
A short walk from the bridge, passing food stalls and souvenir shops, you will spot villagers of all ages waiting in the middle of the road to offer alms to monks. Women wear sarongs and cover their blouses with shawls.
When they see a line of monks walking in their direction, they squat on the concrete road and prostrate themselves to worship by facing down to the ground over their clasped palms. They take rice bowls, raising them up to their foreheads and stand to offer a spoonful of rice to each monk.
The practice is similar to the alms offerings of people in Luang Prabang in Laos and Chiang Khan district in Loei, where they offer only sticky rice to monks. In the Mon community, locals normally offer a spoonful of steamed rice to each monk.
"We later go to temples to offer other food to monks," said one villager.
Temples are at the centre of many activities for Mon people in Sangkhla Buri. For example, the recent Songkran festival was not only a time for fun, but for making merit. The whole village celebrated the festival together with a five-day ceremony in Wat Wang Wiwekaram, a famous temple which was built by the highly revered late abbot Luang Pho Uttama.
Monks walk on a human bridge, a way of making merit for the Mon community in Sangkhla Buri.
The original temple was built in 1968 and was inundated 16 years later because of the construction of Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand's Vajiralongkorn Dam. The temple was relocated to its present location on a hill.
Wat Wang Wiwekaram has a large Mon-style ordination hall which houses a wax figure of the late abbot, a large wooden prayer hall which can accommodate hundreds of people, a golden coloured Buddhakaya-style pagoda which houses Buddha relics, and accommodation for lay men and women.
''During the first three days of the Songkran festival, a large group of people stay in the temple to observe the precepts,'' said Phra Ajarn Maha Suchat Siripanyo, the present abbot. These people are normally the elderly.
''It is our tradition that younger family members will bring boiled rice to serve their parents in the morning for the whole three days while their parents stay in the temple.
''The young will also return in the late afternoon to bathe their parents and later they can have fun and throw water at each other at the temple grounds.''
Meanwhile, a group of villagers helped build a five-tier sand pagoda in the temple. They normally build the pagoda during Songkran on the belief that once a year they should replace the grains of sand unintentionally carried away from the temple. It is another way of making merit.
Locals pay respect at the sand pagoda by offering flowers, pinning colourful flags, lighting candles and praying with three incense sticks. Some bring their own sand. They put a bag of sand on their heads, pray, and disperse the contents over the pagoda.
The first three days of the Songkran festival were busy for another group of men who went into the forest to cut long pieces bamboo. They carefully split the bamboo and created a complicated network of water pipes for the fourth day of Songkran.
''The late abbot told villagers to keep our tradition and use only bamboo as a material instead of using PVC pipes. It is the wisdom of Luang Pho Uttama to make villagers work together in order to get the job done. The activity helps unite us,'' said Phra Ajarn Suchat.
Bit by bit, the split bamboo pieces were tied together into a network structure water could flow through. This network can serve hundreds of Buddhists who wish to join the water pouring ceremony at the same time.
Offerings are laid in a large prayer hall.
The event started about 4pm of the fourth Songkran day, which this year fell on April 17. It seemed as if the whole village was waiting for the ceremony because the temple ground was full of people. Women donned their beautiful traditional dress while some men wore red longyi. Each villager brought with them a large bowl filled with fragrant water and small flowers. They each took their place at the end of a bamboo pipe, clasping the bowls in their hands and waiting for a signal.
A village leader brought a highly respected seated Buddha image from the temple hall to the grounds. He placed the Buddha image under the tip of a pipe at the end of the bamboo network, through which the residents would later pour water.
Before that process could begin, another ritual, reserved only for men, took place. About 50 devotees lay face down on a concrete floor to form a human path.
According to the present abbot, the action started in the time of Luang Pho Uttama. It came about because villagers had such strong faith in the late abbot they wanted him to step on their backs as a blessing. Since then, it has become a tradition.
''I believe this ritual can take away my bad luck,'' said Boonchuay Ongsasatitwong, a local man who has joined the procession for the past two years. He persuaded two of his friends to join the ceremony this year.
About 15 monks were invited to walk over the men. Every monk was accompanied by either one or two helpers who held their hands to maintain balance. Each monk stepped onto the middle of the back of those devotees. No cries of pain were heard.
''When the monks stepped on my back, I didn't feel much weight. It was quite light,'' said Boonchuay. When asked if he felt the floor was too hot to bear, he quickly answered: ''Not at all. I am very happy.''
Then it was time to pour water over the Buddha image and the monks. A man showed up with two flags in hand, one green and one red. He waved the green flag and shouted in Mon: ''Jao! Jao!'' People started pouring water from their bowls into the bamboo pipes. The water quickly flowed together, carrying the small flowers with it, toward the other end, falling over the seated Buddha image. The red flag was waved. ''Taidae! Taidae!'' People stopped pouring water.
Next was the moment for watering the monks, one by one. The green flag was waved again, and soon all the monks were soaked. The participants threw the leftover water at each other. The fourth day of Songkran ends only when everyone gets wet.
On the fifth day, after offering alms to monks, villagers gathered at a ground near the market to join a parade. The process is called the Thod Phapa ceremony, and residents decorated artificial trees or large paper swans with banknotes or items such as spoons, plates or notebooks to offer to monks. A marching band started playing before 8am as a signal for people to show up. Many carried cooked or dried food along with what they wanted to offer to monks.
They danced and slowly walked to the temple. Some had candies and coins and threw them into the air for children to collect and to have fun. The parade was about a kilometre long and it took about an hour to walk from the market to the temple.
''We normally have this kind of parade twice a year. The first ceremony is this Phapa procession which we always do on the last day of the Songkran festival,'' said Prapan, a villager. The other time is the krathin ceremony which is held shortly after the final day of Buddhist Lent which is around October.
''Come and visit us again. We are always pleased to see visitors,'' he said.
The Mon community in Sangkhla Buri still keep their traditional way of living, culture and strong faith in Buddhism. Although the world seems to be moving fast nowadays, when you cross the Mon Bridge, you will feel like time stands still.
~Info courtesy of Bangkok Post~
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