Parade of ghouls
Loei cashes in on its phi ta khon ‘ghost’ festival as Asia goes weak at the knees, writes Mongkol Bangprapa
Much has been written about Thailand’s mischievous phi ta khon “ghost” festival, which has been gaining traction overseas in recent years after people from neighbouring countries were invited to join its cast of ghoulish performers.
Just as Halloween, celebrated every Oct 31 from Dublin to Hong Kong, is arguably the world’s best-known carnival for witches and lit pumpkins, so phi ta khon enjoys a similar stature in Thailand.
It originated in the northeastern province of Loei about 450 kilometres north of Bangkok.
Now word has spread far and wide with travel brochures promoting it as a tourism draw as more performers hail from other Southeast Asian countries.
Noted as the cradle of phi ta khon, Dan Sai district in Loei has hosted the festival each year on different days based on the lunar calendar. This year it ran for two days from June 17-18.
The latest batch of foreign performers added a new twist to this age-old cultural celebration known for its brightly-coloured costumes and ghostly processions.
They typically wear oversized masks carved from from the trunks and husks of coconut trees raised part on top to add to their grotesque appearance.
On the first day of this year’s event, the ghoulish street parades featured people from Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar — and South Korea.
As the event drew to a close, the parades from various communities and featuring different nationalities proceeded to designate ordination halls at temples across the district where spectators waited to make merit and give cash donations.
The festival is deeply rooted in Buddhist beliefs and is associated with fertility.
Tambon Dan Sai mayor Santipab Chueaboonmee, who chaired the phi ta khon organising committee for several years, said the province joined hands with several countries in 2007, with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) acting as an intermediary.
Earlier, a Loei-based phi ta khon procession was invited to perform in the city of Andong in South Korea.
“Our procession has also been held in Germany, France, Japan, Australia and Taiwan. We’re getting more widely known at the international level,” Mr Santipab said.
Despite the district having hosted the festival for decades, this year’s event was chaired by provincial governor Chaiwat Chuenkosum.
The Ministry of Tourism and Sports, TAT and other government agencies provided 24 million baht (US$728,000) in funding to lure more tourists.
Despite its popularity, however, few locals seem able to recall when the festival first began. Yet some remain acquainted with its origins in India’s Jataka tales, which cover the previous births of Lord Buddha both in human and animal form.
The festival narrates the story of Phra Vessandorn, the Lord Buddha’s last avatar before be rose to enlightenment.
According to Buddhist folklore, the Buddha-to-be was born as Prince Vessandorn, a generous man who gave away so many prized possessions, including an auspicious white elephant, that he was finally banished from his own village.
During his journey through various towns, the prince, who had acquired many virtues, was pursued by spirits seeking to take advantage of him — the festival was originally called phi tam khon, or “ghosts that follow people” — before he was summoned back home by the king.
Legend has it the townsfolk were so overjoyed at his return they literally awoke the dead.
The festival takes place on the same day on which Thais traditionally celebrate the temporary release of ancestors from their resting places so they can be reunited with their living descendants.
The spirits ask for merit and engage in a ritual praying f or rain, which is why objects representing both genders’ genitalia are usually on display to symbolise fertility.
In Loei, the festival is its principal tourism-related money-spinner at this time of year.
This year it attracted up to 70,000 people to the province. They included groups of bikers from other regions who got to see how the event is closely aligned with people’s livelihoods. Tourist numbers to the province are expected to climb 10% next year.
One of the issues facing Dan Sai district is that accommodation is limited even though new hotels are being built. Lodging capacity is set to rise at least 30% in the next few years, officials claim.
“We are lucky there are still so many native residents living in Dan Sai to preserve their traditional way of life,” Mr Santipab said.
“We urge them to stick to sustainable tourism so they can make a living over the long haul,” he said.
“We’ve told restaurant owners and drivers they must collect standard fares from their customers and never take advantage of tourists,” he added.
“As a result, the district is witnessing a steady growth in foreign travellers, particularly the Japanese who seem to be very fond of our little festival.”
Mr Chaiwat said the province has several assets to draw in tourists: agriculture, sports, healthy living, cultural works and outdoor areas to keep adventure-seekers satisfied.
But those who come to the province to invest in tourism and other enterprises must respect local people’s way of life, he said.
“We’ve always told them that tourists visit our province because they want to experience local ways of life, not the night life. We shouldn’t change what are essentially our main strengths and tourist magnets,” the provincial governor said.
But tourism also has its downsides, and mounting waste is becoming a problem.
Mr Chaiwat said vocational institutes have made biodegradable utensils out of banana leaves for tourists to use when they eat out, or when they try local fare at markets.
Visitors are also offered biodegradable cups that entitle them to discounts when they buy drinks at local shops.
Phatthanaphong Sutthi, 54, a municipal staffer, shared with the Bangkok Post his childhood experience of taking part in the festival.
He said he and over a dozen friends used to enter the popular “ghost contests” where judges would pick the winners based on the creativity of their homemade costumes.
Back then, contestants used to dump their costumes in the river afterwards but these days they are more likely to sell them to foreign tourists, he said.
Mr Phatthanaphong said he decided to enter the phi ta khon contest again this year as his interest was rekindled. He and his friends spent around 3,000 baht each to make their face masks and then sold them later for double that, he added.
“It’s pretty hard work to produce such exquisite masks because the fibre from the outer husk of the coconut has to be soaked for a long time until it’s tender,” he said.
This part of the coconut, known as the coir, is then stretched and curved to form the front part of the mask. For the part that covers the top of the head, a wicker basket for making sticky rice is used.
“In the past, the head and face were joined together but now we make them as separate parts because it’s easier to put it on and take it off,” he said.
We are lucky there are still so many native residents living in Dan Sai to preserve their traditional way of life. SANTIPAB CHUEABOONMEE MAYOR OF TAMBON DAN SAI