You experience everything in Thailand (76)
We are far from finished with the beautiful travel stories of blog writer Dick Koger, which he previously published in the Newsletter of the Dutch Association of Pattaya.
This time he is in Roi Et, the capital of the province of the same name in Isan. A friend of his, Louis Kleine, and his wife, from that province, act as his guide. He becomes acquainted with an interesting Thai custom and that is what the next story is about.
Pig's head
In the center of Roi-Et is a great square with a large lake, where all social activities take place. The provincial house is also located on this square, an aquarium and many cafes. In the middle of the lake behind a statue of Rama V is an island with a temple. A curious custom takes place in this temple.
Let's say a Thai would like his father to heal, for her to find a good husband, for him to find a good job, then of course he or she expresses this wish to Buddha. One goes even further, one promises Buddha that when Buddha fulfills the wish, one will sacrifice a pig's head.
Every Wednesday, satisfied Thais go to the above temple with a pig's head or when he generously promised several heads, with several pig's heads. This offering does not require everyone to slaughter a pig in order to obtain a head. They are available ready-made at the butchers in Roi-Et.
The floor of the temple around a generously decorated statue is therefore covered with pigs' heads every Wednesday. I would like to see that. Unfortunately, my spokesman says that you have to be in the temple at six in the morning for this. Unfortunately, this time cannot fit into my busy travel schedule.
At nine o'clock in the morning I decide to pay a visit to the temple with Louis to soak up some local colour. The temple looks very new which is strange for such an ancient custom. Presumably an old temple used to stand here, which had to make way for the modern cityscape.
We climb the stairs and it turns out that I am lucky. Two pigs' heads are still lying there, and the generous donors are sunk in deep prayer. Smoking incense sticks are stuck in the heads. Of course I ask where the other heads have gone. It turns out that they have just been taken home again and there they can be used for the soup. Buddha is not greedy, after all, it is about the gesture. I think why now, at this late hour, there are still two people who have brought a cup. I suspect they suffered from chronic insomnia, a disaster for a Thai. They asked Buddha to help them get rid of this and Buddha generously granted that wish. They can't be woken up in the morning.
Of course everyone will now ask, why on earth a pig's head. The answer is very simple. Over the centuries it has been experimentally proven that promising a pig's head leads to the best results. A pig's tail or a beef leg worked considerably less. The next day I buy a ticket from the state lottery. I solemnly promise Buddha that if I win the grand prize, I will bring five pigs' heads.
Experienced this ceremony in 2017 in Roi Et and even dedicated an article on the blog:
Lung addie: 'Living as a Single Farang in the jungle: From the South to Isaan (day 7) Roi Et 3'.
It was also through Louis that I got to know this. It is really something unique that pig head offering. I have often met Louis and his wife 'Mautje' and even spent several nights at their house. Louis was truly a CREAM of a human being. Unfortunately he passed away at the beginning of this year, two months after I visited him this year. On the way back home I thought: this was probably the last time I could meet Louis in the flesh because he was visibly deteriorating. Unfortunately, due to the Corona Lockdown, I was unable to attend the cremation.
Unfortunately, Louis passed away not so long ago.
Nice to experience, but Buddha has nothing to do with it, sacrificing pig heads is a Brahmanistic custom. In this way they indeed thank the gods for the happiness that came to them, Buddha was a human being of flesh and blood, so he does not receive a pig's head as a gift. As with so many things, Buddha's teachings (which revolve around reaching the state of enlightenment so that you are no longer reborn on this planet), Brahmanism and animism are intertwined. It is not uniquely Thai either, as all kinds of 'Christian' customs such as Christmas and Easter are largely pagan (Germanic).
Dear RobV,
of course this ritual has nothing to do with Buddhism but is purely an interweaving with animism. But that doesn't matter to the Thai people…. for them it is what it is and it makes them happy. It's just nice to see and I don't know that the sacrifice of a pig's head is done in other places in Thailand. Finally, in Roi Et it is not only pigs' heads that are sacrificed, other things are also discussed, such as: dancers who dance ritually as long as the incense sticks are burning. Each region has its own customs and rituals, which makes it interesting in Thailand. Here in the South it is also different from, for example, in Isaan.
These heads are displayed every day at the market in Pattaya. Sometimes even with an apple in their snout.
You can buy already cooked pig heads almost everywhere, of course, but there in Pattaya they are not sold with the intention of offering them but to throw them in the soup….
It certainly doesn't just happen in Roi Et or Isaan. Here (in the south of phetchabun) it also happens regularly. My wife recently for a good recovery, sister-in-law in planting the new crop, neighbor for his new business (sound for funeral etc). Just at home with your own prayer and then a meal of the pig's head.