Phi Khon Nam (Hairy Water Ghosts) Tradition

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title.alternative :
event date.month : May
event date.lunar month : waning 1st – 3rd, 6th month
location :
province / region : Northeast
: Loei
subject : fertility rites
relations :
keywords : phi khon nam, Chao Pu Na Sao Shrine, asking for rain
creator : Sawitree Talabpan
date.issued : 20 Sep 2017
date.last updated : 11 Oct 2018

Phi Khon Nam (Hairy Water Ghosts) Tradition

         The sixth-month merit-making Phi Khon Nam folk play is a traditional event hosted by Chiang Khan people in Loei Province. Annually it is celebrated during the 1st – 3rd waning days of Visakha Bucha, in Tambon Na Sao of Chiang Khan Subdistrict. For over 300 years, farmers who depend so much on the rain for growing their crops have upheld this tradition for the purpose of asking the sirits in nature to bring enough rain. Na Sao folks are believed to be descendants of a Thai Phuan group who had immigrated from the region to the left of the Mekhong River. Their first agrarian settlement was at Na Sum Wa, later expanded to Bon Song None. Their traditional core belief has been the belief in spirits, the main center being the revered Chao Pu, a supernatural being residing at Na Sao Shrine near Wat Pho Si, close to the village entrance. Therefore in the rain soliciting ritual, Chao Pu’s spirit is invited to enter a medium, who will then communicate with the hairy water ghosts (phi knon nam), or cattle ghosts. People believe that in the past when village folks made routine trips to gather wood and collect water from ponds or other natural waterways, the spirits of their cattle would always accompany them. So in the annual ritualistic fair, local folks will wear colorful attires and make themselves resemble the phi khon nam. The ritual is meant to show the people’s gratitude for the hard labor of the cattle.

 

          A big draw of this traditional activity is the masks made of soft wood and worn by the folks during the festival. The wood is from silk cotton trees and milkwood trees. Ancient ornate patterns are painted on the masks. These masks resemble buffaloes’ heads having big eyes, big teeth, and smiling mouths. Rattan crescent-shaped horns are added. Strings of ribbons hanging down from the antlers represent the rain. The long hair is made with braided dried banana sheath strips. Anyone, at any age, can be dressed like these phi khon nam/hairy water ghosts. Mang na ngam (beautiful-faced insects) is the other name for these ghosts.

 

          Talking to those phi khon nam folks, we learned that these wooden masks are very common in almost all households. They are re-used every year. To have a new one made costs about 500 baht, whereas a new one is sold at 1,000. As for the costumes, they cut up color cloth pieces into strips, to resemble animal hairs. A story related to this has it that the cattle ghosts that followed the residents into the village were invisible. But they did leave their traces – hairs and the sound of cowbells. Thus, in those days the spirits were known as “cow-hair ghosts, buffalo-hair ghosts,” and this folk play was therefore called “phi khon/hairy ghosts play.” After the play it generally rained, the name then became “phi khon nam/water hairy ghosts” (nam – water).

 

          The festival started early on the day. Chao Pu’s spirits were invited from the shrine to the district sports ground. The ritual conductor is called “Jum.” Chao Pu’s spirits are the spirits of Chao Pu Jiramanop and Chao Pu Phanphiphop. The medium of the two Chao Pu’s is Bua Nang/Chao Mae Nang Tiam. In the past, Jum would go around every house to inform about the coming event so the people would participate, i.e. by holding a feast for the house ghosts. To pay respect to these spirits, they would offer their own domestic animals. The animals were tied to a post until they died. Then Chao Pu and other ancestral spirits were invited to eat the sacrificial food. Today there are no more such animal sacrifices, and the food offered is just normal food.

 

          Hundreds of local residents dressed as phi khon nam joined the parade. They wore masks and costumes which were colorful and spectacular. Very orderly, they lined up and waited. Stationed closeby were a number of paraded vehicles, each graced by their beautiful girls or beauty queens. The vehicles were decorated with a variety of farm produce and local basketry items, expounding the idea of self-sufficiency economy. The leading vehicle particularly was very striking because it resembled a huge mask.

 

          As soon as the Chao Pu medium walked into the ritual yard, all the phi khon nam simultaneously sat down on the ground. The M.C., most humbly and quickly greeted the medium by presenting the sacrifices they had prepared. A group of phi khon nam stood up and came forward to surround Chao Pu. They did a fun dance to the joyous music. Chao Pu looked pleased. A little while later, the M.C. invited Chao Pu to be seated on the stage. A number of local folks advanced to light some candles and beseech the medium to conduct a rite on them so that they would be blessed with good luck and would have their wishes fulfilled.

 

          Next was the official opening ceremony by some important people from various state agencies which had given support to the event. The Loei governor presided over the opening ceremony. Going up on the stage too were the head of the Na Sao Administration Organization, representatives of the Udon Thani Rice Department and Rajamakut Ratchawittayalai, and the Thailand Tourism Authority (Loei Province). Khun Sitthisak Sarasi, Na Sao District public relations officer, explained that the parade was intended to be different from the previous ones because the organizers wanted it to be more orderly and meaningful. So the parades from the 15 villages formed 4 groups, each having a beautiful girl carrying their name board and leading the parade. Dancers in magnificant costumes danced along as the parade was moving on.

 

          The performance of each dance group was judged by a panel of judges from Ban Mai School. Ajarn Jintana Nonthakan was one among them. The scoring was based on the different components of each parade e.g. the dancers, the beauty queens, the agricultural produce decorations on the vehicles, the phi khon nam parade (doing 7 dances), and the beauty of the traditional masks and costumes. According to Ajarn Jintana, the 7 dances were invented only recently by a retired teacher Ajarn Samniang Ta-kom. All dance steps had specific names, translated as: “mobilizing manpower, paying respect to Chao Pu, having fun with merit-making, asking for rain, having fun splashing water, getting together after play, and bidding good-bye to Chao Pu.”

 

          Accompanying the phi khon nam troupe were more phi playing traditional music, thus adding to the funfilled atmosphere. Traditional musical instruments seen included the drums, the ka-lo, the khaen, the phin. Some music players had cowbells tied to the bodies, and as they moved about the bells made more noises. Folk humor was reflected in some masks and the messages attached to them.

 

          The activities lasted for about 3 hours. Then the phi khon nam parades moved into the village and onto Wat Po Si, covering a distance of around 800 meters. The overall atmosphere was a hilarious one. There was a big crowd gathering at the spot where the judges were stationed to watch the dances. Photographers were spotted sitting on the balconies of some houses waiting to take some beautiful shots. Passing through the village, we could see the local houses and the way the people lived in their agrarian community. Piles of dry wood pieces were common things that we saw under the elevated houses.

 

          Upon reaching the destination Wat Po Si, the phi groups walked 3 rounds around the ordination hall, and the celebration ended so. The crowd dispersed after this. In the temple ground there were a spot where free food was available, and stalls selling all kinds of things. A pha pa was there too for anybody wishing to make merit. In the evening the popular entertainment was the well-known Isan mo lam – male and female experts reciting stories to the tune of folk musical instruments played in ensemble.