David Clay Photography
Poi Sang Long Ceremony in Chiang Mai
The ordainment of young boys or the "Poi Sang Long Ceremony" as it is called in Northern Tai dialect, is held for boys who enter the priesthood at a very young age. It is believed that parents who ordain their own sons as novices will obtain 8 aeons of merit, If they arrange an ordainment for other people's sons, they will receive only 4 aeons of merit. These parents are referred to as "Phor Sang & Mae Sang" (fathers and mothers of ordained children).
The ordainment of a novice is a very important event for the Tais. They believe that children are innocent and pure as a clear glass ball. When they become novices, they emerge even cleaner. Hence the reason why they call the ceremony "the ordainment of an innocent child". (or as crystal sons - see other pictures in this series).
The Poi Sang Long Procession
The procession is lead by a horse assuming as a medium of Chao Phor Kor Mue Lek (The saint with the iron fists), the guardian of Mae Hong Son Province. The procession is trailed by groups of dances. The bands play Burmese music and sound their percussion cymbals as a signal for the audience waiting along the roads.
A son who becomes a novice or a monk is, in popular belief, a mysterious agent for helping save his parents from hell when they die. A novice will be able to help his mother from such an unhappy state in the next life, and a monk will do so for his father. Thus parents are desirous of having at least one of their sons become a novice, or better still a monk.
Poi Sang Long Ceremony in Chiang Mai
The ordainment of young boys or the "Poi Sang Long Ceremony" as it is called in Northern Tai dialect, is held for boys who enter the priesthood at a very young age. It is believed that parents who ordain their own sons as novices will obtain 8 aeons of merit, If they arrange an ordainment for other people's sons, they will receive only 4 aeons of merit. These parents are referred to as "Phor Sang & Mae Sang" (fathers and mothers of ordained children).
The ordainment of a novice is a very important event for the Tais. They believe that children are innocent and pure as a clear glass ball. When they become novices, they emerge even cleaner. Hence the reason why they call the ceremony "the ordainment of an innocent child". (or as crystal sons - see other pictures in this series).
The Poi Sang Long Procession
The procession is lead by a horse assuming as a medium of Chao Phor Kor Mue Lek (The saint with the iron fists), the guardian of Mae Hong Son Province. The procession is trailed by groups of dances. The bands play Burmese music and sound their percussion cymbals as a signal for the audience waiting along the roads.
A son who becomes a novice or a monk is, in popular belief, a mysterious agent for helping save his parents from hell when they die. A novice will be able to help his mother from such an unhappy state in the next life, and a monk will do so for his father. Thus parents are desirous of having at least one of their sons become a novice, or better still a monk.