October

Tak Bat Thewo & Chak Phra Festival

I am going to tell you about the Tak Bat Thewo and Chak Phra Festival.

After delivering a sermon to this dead mother in heaven for three months, Lord Buddha returned to earth and he was greeted by his followers and disciples. Two public festivals are held at the end of Buddhist Lent or Oak Phansa: the “ Tak Bat Thewo “ in the central region and the “ Chak Phra “ in the South. The celebration of these two festivals may be different in preparation and practive according of the location.

Tak Bat THewo “ means “ offering food to Buddhist monks”. The celebration portrays the event of Lord Buddha’s return to earth. Thus, for a temple located on a hill like Wat Sangkas Rattana Khiri in Uthai Thani Province, Buddhist monks gather on the hilltop and form a single row in the early morning. Then they move to the ground below. For temples built on flat ground like Wat Sraket in Bangkok, the monks gather and form a row in the chapel and then move outside. Each monk holds a black alms bowl and when all is ready, the row of monks headed by the two white-robeb men representing God Indra and God Brahma, carry a standing Buddha image and move slowly along the path. People then offer food to the passing mpnks.

“Chak Phra” means “pulling a sacred Buddha image “. It is celebrated in many southern provinces such as Nakhon Si Thammarat, Pattani, phatthalung, Songkhla, Yala and Surat Thani. The procession is held both on land and on water. The Buddha image is placed on a decorated barge and boats then tow the blace where the Buddha image is washed and adome with a new robe. On the following day, the procession moves to another area so that people can worship and make merit. The Chak Phra Festival includes an exciting boat race and a traditional game called “ Sat Tom “ or : Throwing Rice Balls “ made of rice mixed with sugar and wrapped in leaves. On the following morning the Buddha image is taken back to the temple from which the procession began.

จากหนังสือ..”เทศกาล งานประเพณีท้องถิ่น” ระดับมัธยมศึกษา กรมวิชาการ กระทรวงศึกษาธิการ

เรียบเรียงโดย นางสาวนิธิ สตะเวทิน