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| Phi Ta Khon |
Phra Dhatu Sri Songrak, Dan Sai District, Loei
Phra Dhatu Sri Songrak in Dan Sai district , Loei province is an important place of pilgrimage in Thailand , housing relics of the Lord Buddha. It is host to an annual celebration on the full moon of the 6th Lunar month. After the merit making is completed , people propitiate the local guardian Saints , Chao Phor Guan and Chao Mae Nang Tiem at Hor Luang , Hor Noi.
Traditionally, a date for the accompanying Boon Phra Wet ceremonies or mahachat sermon is determined by Chao Phor Guan's spirit communicating via a medium and includes the renowned Phi Ta Khan festival.
Phi Ta Khan is a native performance of folk art. Most of the performers are young boys and teenagers , who dress up as different kinds of grotesque ghosts. The creative outfits are made from old rags, mosquito nets , bedding or even torn blankets. Each "ghost wears a mask fashioned out of a bamboo steamer. The bamboo is bound with coconut stalks to form a hat; painted with oil colors; punched with eye holes ; and as a finishing touch, a long nose like an elephant's trunk or bat wings is added.
Note: Phra Dhatu is the relics of the Lord Buddha.
The Phra Uppakutra Procession at Phone Chai Temple
The Boon Phra Wet is an important holy festival held annually in the Northeast, lasting 3 days. Before dawn of the first day, Chao Phor Guan's disciples invite Phra Uppakutra on the banks of the Man River to protect them from danger and bestow good luck. They offer knives, pikes and regal umbrellas together with a tray of flowers, joss sticks and candles.
Phra Uppakutra was a powerful patriarch born after the time of the Buddha. He resided on a jewelled throne in a jewelled castle made of precious stones located in the ocean.
When the disciples arrive at the river bank, the river symbolizes the wide ocean. One of the disciples will recite an incantation while another will dive into the river to retrieve a rock and ask "Is this Phra Uppakutra?"
Those on the river bank answer "No, it isn't." The diver repeats his question again, only to receive the same answer.
By the third time the answer returned is, "Yes, this is the real Phra Uppakutra."
The rock is then placed on a pedestal tray and brought back to Phra Uppakutra hall, to be laid next to the chapel of Phone Chai temple. The villagers circle the chapel clockwise 3 times as a salutation . When the ceremony is over, guns are fired, firecrackers lighted and the people celebrate joyfully.
Discarding ghostly costumes into the river
On the second day of festivities, there is a procession led by the Buddha image. The image is followed by 4 monks borne on a litter, in turn followed by Chao Par Guan gracefully atop a fire rocket. The procession is brought up by Chao Mae Nang Tiem and her disciples. Their destination is Pone Chai temple.
The procession circumambulates clockwise round the chapel thrice. Next, the stage is set for a fight between 2 factions of the masked Phi Ta Khan "ghosts", representing Dhamma and A-Dhamma (Virtue and Evil), making for thrilling viewing for the local audience. As always, Virtue emerges the winner.
Before sunset, the end of the Phi Ta Khan performance is marked by throwing away the ghostly costumes into the Man River. This is a symbolic act to represent discarding sorrow and bad luck into the river of no return.
The elders of Dan Sai villagers are most reluctant to allow the used ghost costumes into their homes. If it is truly necessary to do so, permission must be sought from the Phra DhatuSri Songrak (Relics of the Lord Buddha).
Children who perform in the Phi Ta Khan 3 consecutive years are considered to have become fully-fledged genuine Dan Sai folk.
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