Transcript Two Lao Festivals for the Deceased • Since the 14th Century BCE the Lao people have been predominately Buddhist. • Ancestors and deceased.

Two Lao Festivals for the
Deceased
• Since the 14th Century BCE the Lao people have been
predominately Buddhist.
• Ancestors and deceased relatives form an important part
of religious life. There are numerous rituals that are
performed that perpetuate the relationship between the
living and the dead.
• The festivals that the film explores are Boun Khau
Padap Din and Boun Khau Salak. The former takes
place in the ninth and the latter in the tenth lunar month.
• Boun Khau Padap Din is a festival about the deceased
and is linked to the story of the monk Pha Malai.
• It can be translated as ‘festival of the rice packets
decorating the earth’.
• In this festival food and offerings are provided by
members of the lay community in order to feed spirits,
ancestors and ghosts.
• Not only is food provided but merit is transferred to the
deceased. It is hoped that this will allow them to be
reborn as a human.
• The festival takes place during the new moon.
• Pha Malai had the ability to travel into heaven where he
witnesses wellbeing and also hell where he witnesses
suffering.
• The beings that reside in the hell ask him to help them
be free from their suffering.
• The king of the hell, Yama, grants the wish of Pha Malai
to release them.
• He opens the doors of hell and sets them free on the day
of Boun Khau Padap Din so that they can receive
offerings from their families.
Images of petas
in hell from a
temple mural
(Laos, 2007).
• Ancestors who did not attain sufficient merit are believed
to have fallen into hell.
• The beings of hell are known as pretas (Pali: petas),
which means departed, but is understood as ‘wandering
ghosts’.
• In the Lao Buddhist tradition peta are miserable beings
that reside in hell. They are starving and need to be fed.
• Lao Buddhism maintains a link between agricultural
practices, ancestors and the Buddha. This can be seen in
the rituals that form the festival.
• The Phi Ta Hek is a spirit that watches over the rice
fields. It is believed that if he is not fed the harvest could
be damaged. Nine packets of rice must be prepared and
placed at the four cardinal points of the house and rice
field and the ninth must be given the Phi Ta Hek.
• Sugar cane, kho fruit, fish, rice and flowers can be placed
into the packets.
• In the temple the spirit of the first abbot of the monastery
must be fed.
• On the evening before the new moon the wandering
spirits will be released from hell and will go to the temple
to receive food.
• At the new moon the spirits are released and they search
for food. They go to the temple to receive food and merit.
The spirits cannot enter the temple so food is left outside
temple grounds.
• For some of the spirits there is the opportunity to be
reborn as a human or even as a deity. If spirits are not
fed then they might have to return to hell.
• Later on the five precepts are chanted and alms are
given to the monks. This is because ritual food cannot
simply be given to the spirits. Instead it is given to the
monks. Once the monks have finished the food they
transfer the merit of the gift to the dead.
A girl queues up
to present her
offering to the
monks. (Laos,
2007)
• After the sermon on the night of the new moon the monks and
the laity circumambulate the temple three times carrying
candles, flowers and incense.
• This is often regarded as a homage to the triple gem, the
Buddha, the Dharma and Saṅgha.
• Monuments and small ancestor shrines which contain the
bone relics collected after cremations are located within the
temple compound. Often these monuments have images of
the deceased and give their dates of birth and death. During
the festival relatives make offerings and light candles on these
shrines for their deceased ancestors. Laypeople also put
offerings wrapped in banana leaves at various places around
the temple grounds and at the base of sacred trees to feed the
hungry ghosts and local spirits.
Monks and the laity
circumambulate
the temple three
times carrying
candles, flowers
and incense.
(Laos, 2007).
• Boun Khau Salak takes place in the tenth lunar month.
• The name of the festival translates as ‘festival of the
baskets drawn by lots’.
• On the day before the full moon a salak basket is
prepared and filled with offerings.
• During the festival the merit of the gift will be transferred
to all of the dead, ancestors, relatives and peta.
• It is done because the dead do not have any rice fields
and cannot buy or grow their own food.
• The baskets are filled with uncooked rice, so that the
dead can eat what they need and have the rest as
provisions.
• Dried meat, fruits, fish paste, sauce, puffed rice, bananas
and chili can also be put in the basket.
• It is not just food that is provided but also lemongrass
and galangal which can be planted by the deceased.
• The filled baskets are taken to the monks who will draw
lots (salak).
• The families write their names and the names of the
deceased onto slips. The living leave their names on the
slip so the deceased know who provided the offering.
A family prepares
their salak
basket. Lined
with banana
leaves it is filled
with food that the
dead can use.
(Laos, 2007).
• There is a story about villagers who ask an orgress for
the protection of the rice fields. She received so much
food from the villagers that it was too much for her on her
own. So she thinks about her karma and her sins and
decides to donate some of it to the monks in the nearby
monastery. There were eight monks there and she gave
offerings to them everyday. Other monks saw this and
tried to gain from her generosity as well. When she saw
this she decided that they must draw lots so they know
who should receive the food.
• On the day of the festival the lay people bring the baskets
and slips to the monastery. Lots are drawn and the
corresponding baskets are distributed to the monks
accordingly.
• This system was authorised by the Buddha and is found
within the vinaya.
• The first three baskets drawn in the lot are presented to
the main buddha statue. All the other baskets are given
to the monks. The monks, once they have received their
designated baskets, will transfer the merit generated to
the deceased.
Monks with the
baskets that
they have
drawn. (Laos,
2007).
• It is a festival with dual purpose. Not only does it give
food and merit to the dead, but it also allows the laity to
pay homage to the Sangha.
• There are two aspects at play during the festival. One is
Buddhist, and the second is derived from the culture and
traditions held by Laotians. These two are brought
together into the ritual.
• The relationship between these two aspects are
maintained by the ‘Twelve Rituals and Fourteen Rules’. It
was done to create uniformity within Laos and it creates a
solidarity between people
Salak basket and a
handwritten slip
which outlines who
the food is for and
the family
members that
donated it (Laos,
2007).