Transcript Chuck Pra Festival 1059 Kb 03/11/14

“Chak Pra Festival”
Present to
Teacher Jantana Khamanukul
Done by
MS. Kannika Tabtimsri
No.2 M.5/9
“Chak Pra Festival”
Greeting the Lord Buddha
There is a Buddhist myth that during one
Rains Retreat or “Khao Phansa” Lord Buddha
went to heaven to deliver a sermon to his mother
who died after giving birth to Lord Buddha
(then Prince Siddharatha ) and was born again
in heaven. The sermon given was said to last for
the entire period of the Rains Retreat (3 months)
Upon completing his mission in heaven, Lord
Buddha then returned to earth and was greeted by
a crowd of his disciples and followers. To
commemorate this event two public festivals are
geld, namely; the ‘Tak Bat Devo’ in the central
Region and the ‘chack phra’ in the south. Both
portray the event of Lord Buddha’s return to earth
and annually take place immediately after the end
of the 3 month Rains Retreat.
However, the celebration of these two festivals
may be different in its preparation and practices. In
other words, Tak Bat Devo means “offering of food
to Buddhist monks”. the celebration is an imitation
of Lord Buddha’s descent from heaven. Thus, a high
place such as the hill is preferably used as astarting
point, the Golden Mount of Wat Sraket in Bangkok
is a good example of this. But for the temple built
far away from the hill consecrated Assembly hall
( of Uposatha ) can also be used as a starting point.
When all is ready, the row of Buddhist monks,
headed by the image of a standing Buddha
carried by men Representing God India and
Brahma, will move slowly along the path
Arranged in advance. People then offer a variety
of food and fruit to the passing monks. The rite
ends when the last monk in the row finishes the
entire route.
Meanwhile, Chak Phra literally means “pulling
of the Buddhist monks” and it is celebrated in
many southern provinces such as Nakhon Si
Thammarat,Pattani, Phatthalung, Songkha and
Yala .the most impressive chak phra festival is on
the Tapi River in Surat Thani Province. To mark
this occasion, two float-pulling ceremonies are
held, one on land and the other on water. On land,
the splendidly adorned floats are pulled across the
town by the participants of the ceremony.
Reference
www.Kophangan.com