(7) The Hae Pha Kuen That Festival is unique to the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat.
Holy cloth, known as Phra bot, is draped around the stupa in a merit-making ritual.
The custom reflects a form of communal merit-making designed to strengthen community spirit
and foster unity and has been observed for some 800 years.
According to Buddhist belief,
participation in communal merit-making earns an individual more merit.