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| นิตยสาร สารคดี: ฉบับที่ ๒๒๗ เดือนมกราคม ๒๕๔๗ | ISSN 0857-1538 | ||
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A Buddhist festival in the Muslim heartland |
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The day after the end of the three-month Buddhist Rains Retreat (Phansa), Buddhists in the Muslim-dominated province of Pattani and the surrounding area all head to the town of Khok Bhodi. They gather here for a reason: the annual "Chak Phra" Festival. "Chak Phra" literally means the procession of hauling the Buddha images. The Buddha images are placed on elaborately decorated carriages. Local people from all directions then pull the carriages toward Khok Bhodi. Some Buddha carriages come from nearby. Others hail from far away over bumpy roads. No engines are employed here. Only muscles and religious devotion to Buddhism drive the wheels of over 60 carriages, each weighing a ton or so, to congregate at Khok Bhodi. |
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The original ceremony stems from a Buddhist myth that during Phansa Lord Buddha went up to heaven to deliver a sermon to his mother. When the Buddha returned to earth after three months, he was greeted by a crowd of disciples and followers. The Chak Phra Festival commemorates the Buddha's return by carrying out processions of revered Buddha images on land and water. It is also an occasion for religious merit making and celebrations. At Khok Bhodi, the Chak Phra ceremony has undergone centuries of changes, from materials used in making carriages to styles of arts employed to decorate them. But the most significant change was in 1947. To promote harmony among Buddhists, an abbot proposed that all carriages, previously hauled within each village's area, should instead congregate in one central location--Khok Bhodi. The idea caught on to this day and Khok Bodhi has now become the center of Buddhism in the Muslim southernmost provinces. |
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Today, Chak Phra at Khok Bhodi is also a major annual festival of Pattani. People from within and outside the province flock here for the great celebration that combines religious devotion with magnificent pageant and cheerful atmosphere. And it is the only Buddhist festival amidst the heart of Islam in Southern Thailand. Besides the fun and flair, what keeps the carriage procession tradition alive? Despite the magnificence, the ceremony is not about the carriages themselves but rather the process in which people in the communities get to meet, work together and form a harmonious relationship among themselves and with the temples. The ceremony is not a competition with Islam -- as evidenced by the presence of Muslims at the festival. Rather, it is an effort by Buddhists in the South to preserve their culture and identity in a peaceful, harmonious manner. The carriages are thus a symbolic vehicle that leads people to one of the core teachings of the Buddha detachingfrom superficial beauty and loving others regardless of their faith. |