Rap Bua Yon Bua Festival
(Traditional Lotus Flower Festival in Samut Prakan Province)
The lotus is a highly respected — or even sacred — plant for Buddhists who use its flower in rites worshipping the Lord Buddha.
In the old days, in the district of Bang Phli in Samut Prakan Province, the lotus plant grew in abundance, especially during the rainy season. At the end of the Buddhist Rain Retreat, (from July to October), people from neighbouring areas of Bang Phli would converge there to collect lotus flowers to perform customary religious ceremonies. Soon, Bang Phli residents began the tradition of picking lotus flowers to share with these visitors so they would not have to pick them themselves. This beautiful act, full of symbolism, is called “Rap Bua” or “Receiving the Lotus” throws much light on the traditional Thai village social values of generosity mixed with religion, done in a typically Thai light-hearted manner.
On the night of the thirteenth day of the waxing moon of the eleventh lunar month (October) or the night before the end of the Buddhist Rain Retreat, Bang Phli residents would start the Rap Bua Festival. They would pick lotus flowers for sharing with visitors from other villages who will arrive for the festivities the next morning, as well as preparing food for them. The night’s preparatory activities are done in a joyful ambiance, with singing and dancing. Then, in the early morning the visitors arrive, paddling their boats along Samrong Canal asking for lotus flowers from Bang Phlee residents on the banks, to bring back to their village temples for use in the Rain Retreat ceremonies. In the old days, the act of giving was done politely, passing flowers from hand to hand, but has evolved to become a more informal act of “tossing” as participants became more familiar with each other as time went by. Hence, the festival has now become known also as “Yon Bua Festival” (Tossing Lotus Flower Festival)
The tossing begins at dawn and ends around eight in the morning, and as the visitors depart, a boat race is held as well just for fun.
One essential part of the festival is a boat procession on that day carrying the image of the revered monk Luang Pho To, along Samrong Canal. People on the banks would decorate their houses with flags, pennants, and set up Buddhist prayer altars. As the boat passes, residents
toss lotus flowers onto the boat and Luang Pho To’s image is invariablycovered with floral tribute up to the neck, as a mark of the community’s reverence for him. An all-night fair with traditional entertainment is also organized on the grounds of Wat Bang Phli Yai Nai.