Phi Ta Khon Festival - Loei province - July 10 - 12 2013

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Phi Ta Khon Festival


Each year, the old community of Dansai in the northwestern Loei province holds the Phi Ta Khon festival. The Local people are very proud of this unique and colorful traditional merit ceremony which has been passed on from generation to generation.

Phi Ta Khon is part of Bun Luang festival which is the most important local celebration. The people of Dansai have combined two festivals, Bun Phra Wet – the festival of the fourth lunar month, and Bun Bang Fai – the festival of the sixth lunar month commonly know as the bamboo rocket festival. Bun Phra Wet is a religious ceremony where the local people congregate to listen continuously to as much as thirteen Buddhist sermons. It is believed that participants will “make merit” and be brought closer to meeting Lord Si Ariya, the next Lord after Lord Buddha, in their next life. Bun Bang Fai festival is held to worship spirits, the protectors of the village, and to ask for sufficient rain to arrive in time for the coming farming season.

On the first day of worship, activities begin as early as 3 or 4 in the morning. Led by Saen and a group of men, the procession moves from Phon Chai Temple to the Man River. There, before the sun rise, they perform a sacrificial rite to invite Phra Up Pa Khut (a white marble) from below the water to ceremony. The procession brings Phra Uppakut back to the Phon Chai temple where the sacred worship in his honor begins.

Phra Up Pa Khut is a monk with supernatural powers. After having reached the highest stage of meditation and having become so powerful that he has lived an eternal life, Phra Up Pa Khut could be transformed into anything he chose. He decided to become a white marble and live solitary and peaceful existence below the water. Because of his supernatural powers, the villagers believe that Phra Up Pa Khut is the only one who can protect the village from evil spirits.

At dawn on the second day, local people disguise themselves as Phi Ta Khon figures and cheerfully perform the masked dance around the village. In the afternoon, the Phra Wet worship procession commences with a group of Saen and villagers carring the offerings and the ceremonial objects, followed by a reserved image of Lord Buddha and four monks. While Jao Por Guan sits on a bamboo rocket on a colorful decorated float accompanied by Jao Mae Nang Tiam and Nang Taeng. The group of Phi Ta Khon figures create joy and excitement along the way. Late that day, bamboo rockets and launched into the sky in the hope of bringing rain.

In the past, as a gesture to rid of bad luck and misfortune, those who had disguised themselves as Phi Ta Khon figures threw their costumes into the Man River after the ceremonial walk. Nowadays, participants keep their costumes for the following year or as decorations.

In the early morning of the third and final ceremonial day, the villagers return to the temple to listen to Buddhist sermons for one last time, bringing an end to Dansai’s most important festival of the year.

Characteristics

Phi Ta Khon figures wear costumes made of rags and colorful scratches of cloth. Hung on their necks or tided around their waists are tin cans and a mak-ka-lang to create ratting sounds when they move and dance. A mak-ka-lang is a traditional wooden bell worn around the neck of cows and buffaloes that creates a tinkling sound, therefore enabling their owners to keep track of their location. Some of the Phi Ta Khon figures carry symbolic weapons made from soft wood carve in the shape of an oversized penis with a splash of red paint of the tip. The figures carrying these phallus often interact with the crowd who are highly amused by their antics.

How to make a Phi Ta Khon mask

The Phi Ta Khon mask is a traditional folk craft unique to the Dansai area in Loei province. Although, subject to the maker’s creative and imaginative interpretations, each mask adheres faithfully to traditional Phi Ta Khon style.

The Phi Ta Khon mask consists of three major components: the hat, the face, and the nose. The hat is made of a “huad” – a traditional woven bamboo container used for steaming sticky rice. The huad used for the Phi Ta Khon mask is folded up like a hat in order to fit on a person’s head. The face element of the mask is made from a coconut leave sheath with small openings cut for the eyes. The nose is made from soft wood. In the past, the nose was quite simple. However, over the year it has become more elaborately shaped and details. Sometimes, two horns made of dried coconut lobes are also added to the mask.

The various elements are joined together using string and nails, before the mask is elaborately painted. To complete each mask, narrow swatches of shoulder length cloth are sewed and glued to cover the back part of the mask.https://twitter.com/phitakhon
 
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