Poi Sang Long: an Ordination ceremony for Buddhist Novice Monks - Wat Pa Pao Temple, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Wat Po Temple grounds

The place is crowded. No, it’s jam-packed. People of all ages everywhere with no separation between sexes. There is no space to move. When I walk, I am pushing one person into another, so that they squeeze their space to let me pass. Its the Wat Pa Pao temple, Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, where the Poi Sang Long ceremony is held every April. The crowd is unbelievable. Apart from the oppressive heat, the noise and the sheer number of people is just unbelievable. I have never seen anything like it and god forbid if there is a stampede. 

An Akha elder having a smoke! 

The temple complex is large: nearly 3/4 size of Oval maidan, Mumbai. In it, there is the main temple plus shrines and dormitories for monks. The ceremony conducted in the main hall in the presence of many senior monks has musical accompaniment and announcements blaring forth from loudspeakers. The cacophony of sound from the crowd and the ambience on this auspicious occasion is awesome.

Each  family sits in a circular group. Visible groups. Each family to itself. They sit with the young boy as the centre of attraction in each group. He is their idol; he is the hero of the day. After all, in two days time, at the end of this ceremony, he will go away from their lives for the next ten years atleast. So, they sit; they share food, they talk, some consume alcohol surreptitiously as after all we are in a temple, whereas others stroll around the complex looking at the food and clothes stalls. There is even a TV seller here! There is an air of festivity and cheerfulness.. each family wants to make it a grand affair by which to remember their son. 

There are seven major hill tribes in the Chiang Mai area: the Meo, Lisu, Lahu, Yao, Akha, Lawa and Karen. April is the annual time of the Poi Sang Long ceremony. It reflects the precious culture of the Thai Yai people, which is best seen in Mae Hong Son province. This is a Karen ceremony and the temple is full of Karens who have left Myanmar and taken refuge in Thailand, mainly in Mae Hong Son province, and western areas of Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Phayao. The Karen number 300,000 in Thailand, and over four million in Myanmar. There are four main subgroups - the Sgaw Karen (the most numerous), the Pwo Karen, the world- famous Padaung or “long-neck” Karen (see my Myanmar article) and the Kayah.

Novice monks at work 

Poi Sang Long is unlike any other ceremony of its type in the country. Young boys aged between 7 to 14 are ordained as novices to learn Buddhist doctrine – popular belief is that they will gain merit for their parents. Actually, it is a unique Thai interpretation, which is a win-win situation for parents, the children and Buddhism. These children are from very poor families, mostly   farming families, who cannot afford education and the children are destined for the family farming tradition. This is their way out – the child is around 6 to 7 years of age when he is given to Buddha. He will be a novitiate with the monks till 16 years of age. Then, he can continue to be a monk or he can return to normal life.  So, the child escapes into a life where he  receives a good education, given food and boarding all free in return for service to Buddhism. The parents don’t have the burden of bearing these costs. In turn, Buddhism gains young children as prospect monks for the future but definitely novices who can learn the religion and in return give service to the monks and the temple by performing menial tasks on the premises.

The origin of this festival lies in Buddhist tradition.... it is believed that Prince Rahula, Buddha’s own son, gave up the worldly life to follow his father’s footsteps.  Prince Rahula became the youngest ordained monk and the first novice in Buddhism. Subsequently, it became a tradition that young boys should ordain to learn the teachings of Buddha. Due to the reverence given to Buddhism, the people believe that the celebrations should be as grand as possible.

In true Thai architectural design style, the temple precinct has a long hall under a multi-tier red tiled roof. The hall on the first floor has steps leading to it from both ends so that the vast crowd can enter easily. In the lower courtyard, there are big blue and white stripes tents providing shade to the families. Actually under this outer cover, there is a red inner layer with bright orange, yellow, red and green fabric buntings running around the border. 

Flower money!

Multi-coloured balloons hang all over. To the rear of the temple building are the food and shop courtyard. Tantalizing smells arise from the Bar-B-Q items. Many vendors sell plastic bags full of crushed ice with tea or coffee. Children eat sticky sweets like children the world over. There are an incredible number of teenagers present… groups of young girls mix with the young men in jeans and T shirts or lovers sitting quieting, talking together in whatever shaded area they can find.

The colours in the room hit your eye as Karen women dress very attractively and in a distinctive style. Unmarried girls wear loose white V-necked shifts, decorated with Job’s Tear seeds at the seams. Married women wear blouses and skirts in bold colours, predominantly red or blue. Men wear blue baggy trousers, with typically red-striped shirts, a simplified version of the women’s blouses. The middle aged and elderly men wear sombre shirts with a red cummerbund or headscarf.

Each ethnic group has a unique range of styles and colours particular to it. Considerable time, pride and imagination are exercised in the design & production of clothes and jewellery as these are an expression of status, pride and art.  Many women still wear traditional costume, but the men and children are adopting western shorts, jeans and T-shirts for everyday wear.

The festivities last for three days. The Mayor officially opens the ceremony with a procession from Tha Pae West Gate to the Wat Pa Pao. This is essentially to create the hype for tourists and locals as well as to get the families together.  On the first day, the boys’ heads are shaved.  The tonsure ceremony is serious business, as after this, the initiate cannot stand on the ground. He has to be carried by somebody until the final ceremony on the 3^rd day. Whether it is for general walking around or going to the bathroom, he will be carried or has to stand on a chair. His feet must never touch the ground.  Just imagine that for three full days and nights, where ever he goes, his feet cannot touch the ground. It is an awesome responsibility on the family. 

Come on, I Am NOT that heavy! 

Tonsured and pre-bath

Luk Kaew or Jewel Son

The boys are then bathed and anointed with special holy water and dressed up elegantly and colourfully.. The piece de resistance is the facial make up which takes a lot of time as its complicated, using rouge, blush-ons, small bindies and decorative paint work. The faces are superbly made-up to resemble girls rather than young boys. The shaved head is covered with a red headband. The clothes consist of a red, pink or yellowish green robe with a lot of shiny embroidery. Looks rich even if it is not heavy expensive fabric.

Family Group for the Sang Long - a very auspicious occasion

On his head, the child wears a headdress with plastic flowers in white and pink. There is a desire that each child should outshine the other in dress and make-up. Bead necklaces and a waistband make up the rest of the glittering gear. Often the child falls asleep due to sheer exhaustion, as after all he is only around seven years old. By now, the boys are known as Sang Long or Luk Kaew or Jewel Sons. Its easy to understand why as the faces are really bejewelled.

The Long Drum 

  On the second day, a procession is held displaying the offerings for the monks. Around each family area, there are paper flowers full of money trees.  Gifts in brightly coloured paper are wrapped and kept on the side. These are for the monks as a donation to be given by each proud family. 

 

 At around 4.00 pm, to the sound of a long drum and a seven piece cymbal set, the dressed up children, each on the shoulder of an adult, are called to the central lower courtyard. The adults are dancing in a two-step style with the child swaying away. In addition, there is a large paper umbrella, with golden yellow designs on it, being carried by a family member so that the child’s head is shaded from the hot sun. The noise is simply unbelievable. The monks address them through the sound system, which competes with the drums, which in turn competes with the general conversation of the vast crowd. The monks read out the offerings and then the procession winds it way around the temple three times.

 Naturally the same adult cannot carry the child all the time so you find suddenly a child’s legs being heaved up and around a man’s shoulders followed by the body so that there is no break in the dance or in the child falling down. 
As the procession goes round the temple, the crowd throws rice on the group as an auspicious sign. 

The final round around the temple

After the third round, the place suddenly becomes quiet and the crowd fades away with the child and his family staying in their area in the tent. 

On the third day, there is an air of sombreness. This is the final day. The child now wears the yellow / orange single piece uniform of a novice monk. He has a black bead necklace around his neck. With his tonsured head, he looks very serious and no longer like the child of the day before when he entered the temple grounds.  The novices’ play enthusiastically with the gifts they have received from family members: some have battery-powered cars, others with hand held computer games. Others just run around chasing each other.  The procession once again proceeds through the town and the boys are taken to the temple for the formal ordination ceremony.  By the time it's evening, there is a general air of clearing up. Within the space of two hours, the families have totally cleaned up the garbage lying around and the decorations used for the ceremony. 

Novice monks ready to leave 

Thus comes an end once again to the annual ceremony of gifting one’s child in the service of the Lord Buddha. In this deeply religious country, it is a continuing act of faith from generation to generation. It is a wonderful way to keep the religion alive when other religions the world over face great difficulty in collecting a congregation. It is a sight worth seeing as one never knows how long such traditions will continue. 

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