Thai Land " Land of Smiles " ( Part 6 )

Thai Land " Land of Smiles " ( Part 6 )
Rocket Festival

           Rocket festival or " Boon Bang Fai " in Thai is usually held in the second week of May of each year, at the beginning of the rainy season. The farmers are ready to cultivate their paddy fields. The festival is popularly celebrated in the northeastern provinces of Yasothorn and Ubon Ratchathani. The celebration is an entreaty to the rain god for plentiful rains during the coming rice planting season.

           The festival itself owes its beginning to a legend that a rain god named Vassakan was knows for his fascination of being worshipped with fire. To receive plentiful rains for rice cultivation, the farmers send the home - made rockets to the heaven the god resided. The festival has been carried out till these days.

           Under the guidance of Buddhist monks, its takes the villagers weeks to make the rockets, launching platforms and other decorations. An average rocket is some nine meters in length and carries 20 - 25 kilograms of gun powder. 



           In the afternoon of the festival day, rockets are carried in the procession to the launching site. Villagers dressed in colourful traditional costumes attract the eyes of the onlookers, who line up along the procession route. 

           Before ignition of the rockets, there will be more singing and dancing to celebrate the festival. The climax of the festival is the ignition time. One by one the rockets are fired from the launching platforms. Each liftoff is greeted by cheers and noisy music. The rocket that reaches the greatest height is the winner and the owners of this rockets, that exploded or failed to fly, will be thrown into mud. The celebration is a communual  affair of the villagers who come to share joy and happiness together before heading to the paddy fields where hard work is waiting for them.

By Essays on Thailand