For many Thais, a house is not considered safe to live in until Buddhist monks have blessed it. The blessing ceremony is a big event for the house owner and family. The monks will banish any bad elements affecting the house and strengthen the house against any future problems. For example, if somebody has died on or near the site before the house was built, this may have left a negative element which, if not removed, will cause problems for the house and owners. The blessing ceremony is particularly important for the Khmer-speaking people of southeastern Isaan.
This blessing is separate to the establishment of the Buddhist home shrine that is seen outside every building in Thailand. It is also separate to the small ceremony conducted on a new building site that ensures the site is safe for the workers and that bad elements are prevented from entering the new house.
Nuch is now the very proud owner of her first house, located in Mueang Buriram but about 40 kilometres from her home village of Ban Wa in Amphor Krasang. She has told her farang partner that she will arrange and pay for everything so he need not worry (perhaps some small financial input does occur along the way).
First step is the most important. Go to the village of Nong Daeng on highway 226 on the Surin border with a close friend to talk to the senior monk. He will organise for himself and four other senior monks from nearby temples to come along to perform the blessing (optimum numbers of monks are five, seven or nine). Next step is to buy five plastic buckets packed with goodies at Big C for the monks along with packets of temple candles and incense sticks.
Apart from cleaning every part of the house every day leading up to the ceremony, Nuch needs to organise food and drinks for the people she will invite to attend the ceremony. Her nephew from Bangkok says he will donate a pig because he “doesn’t want the farang to run short of food on this important day”. The nephew’s mother and another sister come from Bangkok along with one sister from the family’s village of Ban Wa to help Nuch with the cooking and cleaning. Friends of Nuch from her village and ladies who have farang partners in Buriram have also volunteered to help out on the day.
Nuch goes to the village to talk to the father of one of her closest friends about the ceremony – what does she need to provide and how will the ceremony work? He is the former pooyai baan (headman) of her village and knows all about these ceremonies. He also has a wooden three-tier stand and other special gear that is needed for the ceremony. Nuch hires a soorngtau (large pickup with bench seats and roof) to transport around 17 villagers and family members to and from the house. It looked like a couple more could have squeezed in but everyone enjoys the ride on this special day out.
On the day before the ceremony, one sister from Bangkok starts cooking. The former headman brings his wife and daughter as well as Nuch’s uncle and his son to prepare the outside of the house. The Bangkok sister’s husband (a former Muay Thai boxer who is still very fit) helps with setting up around the property. They bring eight banana trees from which they create an array of decorative items. The main banana trunks are put in buckets filled with soil from the adjoining rice field then placed at each corner of the property and halfway along the property walls. Strong, flexible fronds from coconut palms are attached to the top of the banana trunks to create a support for a few handfuls of wet soil decorated with incense sticks, bananas and other organic decorations. Banana leaves are cut up and used to create small triangles that are placed on two large flat baskets – the handles are decorated with heated rice grains. After virtually no rain for the past three months, severe thunderstorms arrive mid afternoon. Heavy rain lasts into the night and lightning strikes continuously around the house, leaving the ears ringing. Hopefully, this is a good sign though it does stop work for the day. The workers decide they will come back earlier than planned the next day to finish off.
White string is looped from the home shrine area, across each of the banana tree markers and then into the front of the house to the small, temporary shrine set up for the monks’ visit. Five monks arrive at around 10.30am and head straight into the front room to prepare for the ceremony (all furniture except the TV has been relocated to the carport). They are friendly and joking with everyone so it is a relaxed scene. People attending the ceremony give Nuch donations in envelopes that are later passed to the monks to thank them for their services. Everybody settles onto the floor with palms together in prayer while the monks chant (the farang gets to sit on a chair). After the main chanting, monks are ceremonially given gifts and then each receives a platter of food on a large wicker tray. Once the food is cleared away, some further prayers are offered. The monk with lots of tattoos takes a liking to our fat dog Mickey and makes an offer of 200 baht for him (still joking and thoroughly enjoying himself). Another monk asks us to take a photo of him with his “brother” and send it to Australia (a big country but he is not more specific on who or where).
The senior monk from Nong Daeng climbs onto a chair and then onto a higher stool so he can finger paint “lucky” symbols above our front door. He then finger paints above the doorways to the two main bedrooms. After the monk drips special candle wax into some water, he does the final part of the ceremony – everyone has been waiting for him to fling the “lucky” water across the room and outside the front door onto all the people sitting in prayer. Nuch and the farang get a special daubing of water on their heads. Mickey, of course, has taken off at the first sign of water.
Less than two hours after arriving, the monks troop outside and jump into the small pickup, two of them sitting in the open rear of the pickup. Everyone tucks into the pork, rice and other delicious food prepared by sisters Nguyen and Pao with help from many other Thai ladies. People settle down with beer, wine and soft drinks and enjoy a good chat.
Within an hour the soorngtau is loaded and off back to Ban Wa while the former headman takes off with his gear and a few other passengers in his small pickup. He has done a fantastic job of setting up the house and property and working with the monks.
Ceremonies like this are an important part of the Thai culture that not only have a specific purpose (eg blessing the house, celebrating a wedding, celebrating a boy or man entering monkhood) but also bring together family and friends for a major social event in a village’s life.
Article written by Lindsay