POI LAEN SIB ET FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS
October 16
Jong para procession

October 18
Tak Baht Devo merit-making ceremonies at Wat Phra That Doi Kong Mu and Wat Muay To temple perched on the hill-slope
Procession of a Thousand Lit Candles

One of the most arresting Thai temple mural scenes depicts Buddha descending a staircase whose three stringers are made of gold, silver, and crystal. It recounts his ascension to Tavatimsa, the highest of Buddhism’s 33 heavens, to spend three months teaching his long-deceased mother the tenets of his philosophy. Buddhists regard his return to earth after this heavenly sojourn as a stellar event, worthy of celebration.

Along Thailand’s western border, principally in Mae Hong Son, Thai Yai (Shan) people celebrate this event with a carnival-like rejoicing that has made the town a magnet for visitors each October.

This festival of many names (Jong Para, Poy Laen Sip-et, Duan Sip-et, and Hen Som Go Ja) is traditionally celebrated during the waxing moon of the eleventh month or duen sip et. (December was formerly regarded as the first month of the year.) This year Poi Laen Sip Et takes place between October 14 and 26.

As many as its names are the multiplicity of reasons to pay homage: to mark the end of the three-month Rains Retreat (Phansa), to welcome Buddha back to earth, to honour dead relatives, and to embrace the advent of the cool, dry season after months of monsoon rain.

The fete is of such momentous importance to the Thai Yai — who migrated to Thailand from their home in Myanmar’s Shan States — that they begin preparations long before the moon glows its fullest. On the morning of the big day, townspeople walk to the temples bearing beautifully-decorated trays holding food, flowers, robes and other daily necessities which they present to the monks and thereby gain merit.

In Thai Yai tradition, this is the time to visit family and friends to ask blessings and forgiveness for wrongdoings, a rite performed elsewhere in Thailand on Songkran in April. The Han Som Go Ja element of the celebration recalls Buddha’s mission to educate his mother so that in a future incarnation she would live a more exalted existence. Worshippers make merit for their deceased relatives for the same purpose.

But the day is not entirely solemn. There are floral processions; children dance and sing in the streets. In the evening, the faithful carry elaborate pavilions called Jong Para that serve as resting places for Buddha during his earthly stay. Later, these structures will be placed outside homes to bring blessings to the residents and their families.

PROCESSIONS
Afterwards, there are dances whose performers are dressed as mythical kinaree (half human, half peacock) and yak (giant demon). The kinaree is a composite of three creatures, the lion, the butterfly, and the naak (serpent) recalling that Buddha also returned to earth to bless the animals; these three were the representatives selected by the other animals inhabiting in the mythical Himaphan Forest. Lending warmth to the evening, dozens of glowing lanterns line the streets as townspeople make their way to watch staged dramas and play folk games.

Comprehending the event’s significance requires understanding the enduring power of an ancient ritual more than 2,500 years old. Buddha and his disciples lived on the largess of the surrounding villages whose inhabitants were generous in their support, with the disciples moving through the community each dawn to collect alms.

During the rainy season, they often accidentally trampled on the maturing rice stalks. Farmers, concerned for their crops, appealed to the Buddha, offering to carry rice and condiments to the temples for the three months that the rains showered the land. The advent of what came to be called Phansa (Rains Retreat) was celebrated as Khao Pansa (entering the retreat period) during the waning moon of the eighth month (July). The cessation of the rains was called Awk Phansa (leaving the retreat period) celebrated each October throughout Thailand but with particular enthusiasm in Thai Yai communities.

It is during Phansa that young men often choose to be ordained as monks, especially farm lads with little to do once the rice has been planted but watch it grow. Awk Phansa marks the completion of monastic meditations when novices shed their robes and return to lay life.

The day thus has the added significance of starting afresh. The air is clean and cool. Washed of their dusty coats the trees seem to stand in sharper detail. Water has long been regarded as a cleansing agent, washing away ill fortune. Thus, Thais emerge from this period spiritually and physically renewed.