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Halloween Costume Party Ideas: Customs around the World:
Thailand
The festival of Phi Ta Khon is a type of procession
with music and a parade of masks that accompany the
image of the sacred Buddha. During this procession
the young village men, dressed up as ghosts and
spirits, poke fun at the other villagers as they
recite the story of Buddha’s last reincarnation. The
procession begins in the city of Dan Sai, which is
located about 320 miles northeast of Bangkok.
The annual festival is celebrated on the first day
of the Buddhist holiday known as "Boon Para Wate"
and occurs in May, June or July.
On the first day, participants dress up as monsters
and wear very creative masks. The nose, painted and
made from coconut bark, is gigantic. The top part of
the head is made from sewn rice and many have bells
and charms on them that chime as they dance.
Although most dress up to frighten the crowd, the
procession includes entertaining skits and a variety
of lively dances. Many of the participants carry
large, red, phallic symbols with which they taunt
the women in the crowd. At the end of the parade,
the organizers award a prize to the person with the
best costume, mask and dance.
On the second day, they dance towards the temple and
put out their torches as a sign of the end of the
procession. On the third and last day of the
festival, the villagers congregate at the temple Wat
Ponchai to listen to a message from Buddha that is
read to them by the local monks.
The origins of this festival are not quite clear,
but it is tied into Buddhist folklore. Legend has it
that while in his penultimate life, Prince
Vessandorn was away from the country on his travels
for so long that his subjects forgot about him.
Apparently, they thought he had died. When he
returned, the people were so thrilled and celebrated
with so much fervor that the spirits awoke and
joined the celebration and so the festival of Phi Ta
Khon was born. |
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