Bun Bang Fai Festival in Yasothon

At this time of year, the population in the northeast of Thailand (the Isan) are moving en masse to give the “rain god” a clear message. And it's a noisy, screaming and terrifying message too, because it happens with hundreds of handmade rockets, the "bon fai", that are sent into the sky from the still arid rice fields.

This good practice is observed in many places in Isan. I have already experienced it once in Nong Phok in Roi Et province, but the biggest event in this area takes place in Yasothon during the Bun Bang Fai Festival. The missiles are not intended to attack the neighboring countries of Laos or Cambodia, but are aimed at the sky and deliver an important message to the gods "Let the stir come for our rice fields”

Fun and crazy activities

As with other festivals in Thailand, the Bung Fai Festival in Yasothon means a week of fun and wacky activities, attracting more than 50.000 visitors. For some time now there has been an international competition in which Korean, Japanese and Laotian teams try to outdo the local population in making the most beautiful and impressive rocket.

The first days of the festival, the population leaves their normal work to work en masse at the temples on the production of the rockets, using a lot of gunpowder and other explosives. It doesn't really take much knowledge of quantum physics to get those rockets into the air, although I've seen launch failures. The local monks are often in charge of the production of long plastic tubes and tubes, into which the gunpowder is crammed, whether or not expertly. The way it does that is the secret to how high the rocket can go and not crash into the ground.

Once the rockets are all ready, they are loaded onto floats, after which a parade is held through the city for visitors to admire the sometimes gigantic rockets. Among the procession of floats are groups of white-powdered men in frog masks, who, while dancing, express an emotional expression of the local population.

(nuttavut sammongkol / Shutterstock.com)

Day of launch

On the day of the launch, thousands of people gather in the large municipal park of Yasathon, where the projectiles are fired. Smaller rockets are fired continuously and a large rocket goes into the air every half hour. Entire families are constantly strolling around the grounds, where, of course, plenty of food and drink has been provided.

The higher the rockets go into the air, the more rain will come, according to the population. The higher the rockets go into the air, the more the bettors will also earn on their bets. But a launch sometimes fails and then the team can count on special treatment. With much shouting from the bystanders, the team has to dance in mud for a long time until all members of the team are completely smeared.

Adapted from a recent article in The Nation