One hot afternoon this last April (right before the Thai New Year) my neighbors called to me to photograph something.I didn’t realize I would be observing an annual ceremony held at their house.
I went in and the family, which made up of twelve people, was sitting down in their front room.They had put a satong, which is a box made from the trunk of a banana tree, between them and an elderly man who was leading the ceremony.The older gentleman was a friend of the family and a former monk.
I had a neighbor who lived just down the road from me.This man was sick.He had wrapped sai seen (white string) around his house.He didn’t get better.So some friends sought out a medium to find out what was wrong with him.
After they explained to the medium their friend’s dilemma, he decided to go and visit the man via a spirit entering his body.The medium never left his house but through a spirit’s power he was able to travel and see the sick man.Once he got there he said, “I can’t visit your sick friend.The sai seen is preventing me from entering the house.”
Even though it was still dark, there was a bustle of activity happening by the time we got there.A constant stream of ladies deposited packets of sticky rice in offering bowls.Many people were walking around the stupa and pouring water on figurines shaped in the form of demi-gods, tigers, goats, and dogs.Wads of sticky rice were placed near the statuettes as well (see photo). Others were lighting candles and setting them at the base of the stupa.A light cacophony of prayers could be heard as my neighbors made there way around the shrine.
My family just moved to a new location about 60 miles from our old place in Northern Thailand.We are now in a Lue village that has a similar dialect to the one we were studying before.The new village has about two hundred homes and is located near a major river.We do live in a flood plain and the neighbors keep pointing out five foot high flood lines from a deluge that came through four years ago.Yikes!
I asked a couple, “Suppose your daughter wanted to marry a Thai man. How would you feel about that?” Their answer helped shed light on whether they see themselves as culturally distinct from the mainstream population. If they said, “It would be her choice to marry whoever she wishes,” then that might be a clue that the culture is shifting to the prevailing customs and away from their own (usually this was the answer given).
On the other hand, if the parents had answered, “She should only marry a Moklen man,” that might be a clue that they still uphold different values than the popular view.
