Living as a Single Farang in the Jungle: Wan Song Ta Yai
Lung addie saw already last week that something was afoot. The clothesline here was full of white clothes. It happens more often that our Mae Baan empties the wardrobes and gives everything that hangs or lies in them an extra wash. But now it was only white clothes and that must have something to do with Buddha.
After some research, I had to determine that there were more things to do than one single fact. This weekend it was Wan Song ta yai and also the start of the 10-day Mang sa wie rat (also called kin tjee = vegetarian food).
Lung addie is going to talk about Wan song ta yai first. Wan “song” ta yai is a sequel to Wan “rap” ta yai. This is a Thai tradition: Buddhism or Animism?
About two weeks ago, the spirits of the dead came to pay their annual visit to the living. This is called “Wan rap ta yai”. They come to see if their surviving relatives are still doing well. After two weeks, the spirits return to their place of residence and call it “Wan song ta yai”. In order not to let the spirits leave hungry and above all in a good mood, people go to the temple in the morning on this day and food is donated to the spirits. The monks are praying so that everything goes well and the spirits can enjoy their rest for another year. Source: my neighbor ex professor (Gobbelijn)
Part two: Nang sa wie rat or kin tjee (vegetarian festival)
Unlike the previous one, this is a Chinese Buddhist tradition. Since there are many followers of this form of Buddhism in Thailand, this is followed and experienced very extensively.
From October 1 to October 9, 2016 is the Thailand Vegetarian Festival and lasts nine or 10 days. For some Thai people, who fully adhere to the regulations, it is 10 days. This festival officially starts on October 5, but some events start a few days earlier or later than this date. Here it started on September 30 this year. This depends on the organization from the temple that organizes this locally. The date is calculated on the 15th day of the waning tenth month of the Thai lunar calendar.
It is generally celebrated all over Thailand and is a spiritual festival with abstinence and purity as the central motif. Of course, vegetarian food is widely available during the 9 or 10-day festival and restaurants provide tasty dishes that are tailored to this. Vegetarianism also includes avoiding certain vegetables such as garlic and onions as they are seen to increase agitation. The festival has its roots in Chinese Taoist practices and has more or less been adopted by Thailand and welcomed by the Thai Buddhist population who (to some extent) also embrace vegetarianism.
The most famous, spectacular and sometimes gruesome is this from Phuket. There it is expanded with the “pearcing festival”.
www.thailandblog.nl/bizar/bizarre-fotos-van-het-groene-festival-phuket/
www.rtlnieuws.nl/nieuws/buitenland/pijnlijk-thai-laten-wangen-met-zwen-piercen ….(not for sensitive readers)
In most cities there is a Chinese-style procession: with drums and dancing dragons, fire eaters, people walking on a burning coal bed….
For the "believers" it is every day, for 10 days, gathering in the temple where prayers and meditation are done by monks who are often specially invited for this purpose. Of course there is always food, albeit strictly vegetarian.