This point is exemplified in a study done by Professor Nidhi Eoseewong on the Bang-Fai or Skyrocket Festival in Yasothorn Province. This was initially a folk ceremony to bring rain and to assure agricultural people of fertility and a bountiful harvest. Over the years, the festival has been greatly modified in form and spirit. No longer a village spiritual ceremony, it now has become more of a performance which people attend for pleasure and fun. It has acquired new socio-political functions, creating important bonds between village and city residents as well as village residents and state authorities. Its changes are less a function of tourism (few tourists attend the festival) and more a function of societal changes. Whereas formerly the ceremony was performed locally in villages for religious reasons, it has now been transferred to the auspices of provincial authorities who have turned it into a show to be attended by provincial residents. Thus the character and "raison d'etre" of this ritual have been completely altered through changing societal structure and values.