You are currently browsing the category archive for the 'Thai Music' category.
With the time change on Sunday night, I actually drive home in the dark now, and I saw a full moon tonight. This made me think of Loy Krathong, I knew it was that time of the year and sure enough many places in Thailand celebrated their Loy Krathong over the weekend.
The Loy Krathong Festival takes place in all parts of Thailand, and in Laos, it is called Lai Heur Fai Nam, this takes place on the full moon night of the Twelfth Lunar Month. The Krathong or Heur Fai is made of banana leaves that contains flowers, candles and incense sticks, as well as some food and coins placed in there.
When I was little living in Thailand, I was told that Loy Krathong is a traditional Thai way of life, it is widely believed that these are offerings made to Mae Khongkha (mother of waters) either to please her in an expression of gratitude for providing life-sustaining water throughout the year, and to ask her for forgiveness for man’s carelessness in polluting the water that nourishes all life. Many also believe that by setting adrift the krathong, one symbolically casts away one’s grief, misery, and ill fortunes. Coins are also placed in the krathong as offerings. For the romantic at heart and young couples, Loy Krathong is the time to make wishes for happiness together and success in love.
The Lanna (Northern Thai people) use sky lanterns all year round for celebrations and other special occasions. And on Loy Kratong festival, lovers and partners gather on the riverbanks to float flowers and candles, launch fireworks and release sky lanterns together, also known as Khom Loy or Khom Fai. It is considered good luck to release a sky lantern, and many Thais believe they are symbolic of problems and worries floating away.
This year’s event, Loy Krathong Sukhothai.
More information on the Lanna celebration.
- Paya Soke
When you’re in the presence of a sacred place, I think you could feel it, I know it happened to me. I’ve been in many holy places before, but the one place that has such a strong force to me was the road to Vang Vieng and heading towards Luang Prabang Laos, and might be that it was the guilt that I feel, we didn’t stop to pay our respect.
This place was nothing fancy, it was a place that lies behind the curvy road, and as we drove up the mountain road of Hwy 13, I saw several cars parked along side of the road, and a group of people paying their respect to a spirit house. The smokes from their incense sticks were forming clouds above them, I asked my cousin what they were doing. He said it was Sarn Jao Pou (The Shrine of a Sacred Spirit), they’re paying their respect and asking him for a safe journey .
Our vehicle climbed up the road slowly and we passed without stopping since we didn’t have any incense stick with us, I was mesmerized by the image in front of me that I forgot to take some pictures. I silently said my prayers as we passed Sarn Jao Pou. The name of the road made me feel uneasy and might be that I grew up in the Western society where number 13 is considered unlucky, but I didn’t have a chance to ask my cousin if Lao People living in Laos feel the same way.
I’m a Buddhist, and why do I worry so much about Animism you might ask because worshiping Sarn Jao Pou is an Animistic belief. If I were raised in Laos, this would have made perfect sense because Buddhism in Laos is often closely tied to animist beliefs and belief in ancestral spirits. And here I was raised in the US, but the feeling and belief is equally as strong as Laotians living in Laos, and I’m not sure why. I often thought that having six senses is a gift, but to some that actually have it might think differently, more like a curse I would say, and at that moment as we traveled on this mountain road, I was glad that I don’t have six senses, Hwy 13 looks so treacherous and I couldn’t imagine what I would see along the way.
A long introduction to my next post, I found an interesting article written in Thai language titled “Be careful If you asked for a child from a Sacred Place.”
- Nicole Theriault-Bootsabah
Friday was a beautiful day with Carolina blue sky, I stopped by the rice paddy after work, and the lady that owns the middle paddy was harvesting her rice crops. I saw her 2 weeks ago and gave her last year’s photos that I had developed for her, and it was this time last year when I first met her.
The hot summer sun really speeds things up, her rice crops are beautiful.
She said that some of the rice pods started to die and couldn’t figure out why, I noticed that a while back also, and it’s kind of odd because the rice plants still look very healthy.
- Dao by Loso
It was 2 weeks ago since I last updated my Hmong neighbor’s rice paddy. I stopped by after work on Friday and the couple were getting ready to leave. His wife told me that her dog is missing, someone must have took it last weekend, either Saturday or Sunday and she really missed her dog now. I do have to say that she is too friendly, a picture of her that I took awhile back.
Her husband said that we need some good rain, we’ve not had a good one in over a month or so now. The paddy is thriving but the one that they planted in their back garden is not doing too well, apparently Na Hai or dry paddy is not as good as wet paddy in our area especially when we have a dry spell like this one.
Our family attended the annual July 4th celebration at Wat Lao Buddhavong in Catlett Virginia this past weekend, this year turnout on Saturday was not bad but Sunday was very few and far in between since it drizzled some. I think it was a disappointment for many that went to see their favorite singers and they weren’t there, several Thai ladies that sat behind me asked if Mike Piromporn was performing, and I knew earlier from a Thai performer, Gorvidt that he was the only one from Thailand. I think they were very disappointed and left shortly after that, it’s ashamed that the Wat (Temple) didn’t post any poster of the event like the previous years. I didn’t get to stay and watch the whole concert, the music was too loud and I had a migraine headache so I left after I saw Gorvidt.
This is Voradeth Ditthavong, a famous Lao musician.
One of his songs Mayurie that he sang at the concert.
Jonny Olsen was playing his Khaen demonstration.
I heard from my GI Joe sister that Takkaten is coming to Wat Lao Buddhavong July 4th, 2009 concert. I’d love to see her in person, also that Mike Piromporn is also coming, (but not officially confirmed). The person that is coming for sure is Jonny Olsen.
Video by Suryap, France, June 28th 2009. Interview by LAOFR-TV, Suryap.
Recent Comments