Yasothon Bun Bang Fai Rocket Festival
The rocket festival, known in Thai as ‘Bun Bang Fai,’ is an ancient local festival that has been carried out continuously till modern times. It is popularly celebrated in Yasothon, a province in Thailand’s northeast, and is usually held in the second week of May.
In Thailand, the month of May is the beginning of the rainy season and farmers are ready to begin planting their rice fields. The festival is associated with traditional beliefs in the supernatural powers that help promote the production of rice crops for the coming planting season.
Rocket Festival Highlights:
• Bun Bang Fai rocket contests
• Processions and parades
• Cheerleading contests
• Miss Bun Bang Fai beauty contest
• Fun fair
• Stage drama
• Open-air theatre
• Folk music
• Mor Lam folk performance
• Folk entertainment
Rocket Festival History
The legend has it that once there was a rain god named Vassakan who loved to be worshiped with fire. The townspeople created a rocket or ‘Bang Fai’ to send to heaven, where the god resided. They believed that the god would hear their entreaties and bless them with plentiful rain for rice cultivation. So the celebration is entirely to the god of rain.
Yasothon Rocket Festival
Since the March 1, 1972, separation of Yasothon from Ubon Ratchathani Province, with its world-famous Candle Festival, Yasothon’s provincial capital has elaborately staged its now world-famous Rocket Festival annually over the Friday, Saturday and Sunday weekend that falls in the middle of May.
Bangfai Festival Thai Culture
On the festival day, rockets are paraded to the launch site. Villagers dress in colorful traditional costumes, playing, teasing and dancing, to accompany the procession.
The climax of the festival is the launch time. The rockets are fired from their launch platforms one by one. Noisy folk music and cheers can be heard for each liftoff. The rocket that reaches the greatest height is declared the winner. The owner of this rocket dances and pushes for rewards from the crowds. The owners of rockets that exploded or failed to fly are thrown in the mud.
Whether or not their wishes are granted as they believe, the festival helps strengthen and promote harmony among the villagers, which will be needed when the new crop season begins.
THE ELEPHANT
Round-up FESTIVAL
The most popular of Northeastern festivals with foreign tourists is the Surin Elephant Round-up which is held annually in November. The people of Surin have long been renowned for their skill in capturing and training wild elephants and the round-up. In the past wild elephants lived in the forest areas of nearby Cambodia. Unfortunately, these areas have been inaccessible due to civil war in Cambodia, and at the same time, the elephant population is markedly decreasing thus the elephant catchers must now make a living by taking their charges around the country giving shows.
The greatest event of the Surin round-up is a beautifully organised display of the talents and abilities of these superb beasts. The round-up first look place in 1960. It begins with a mass procession of all the elephants taking part, usually 120-150, ranging from calves only a few weeks old to the well-trained elephants with many decades of experience. During the show, hundreds of the huge animals demonstrate their prowess at moving logs, playing soccer and winning a tug-of-war against human teams. Other demonstrations are designed to show not only the great strength of the elephants but also show they can be very intelligent, gentle and obedient. The show concludes with a mock battle illustrating what was formerly an important part of their duties.
The round-up in those days was an annual state ceremony presided over by the king himself. There were prayers and citations devised for the ceremony and for the taming of captured elephants afterwards. In recent times, the event has been revived and has become a major tourist attraction for the country, with the province of Surin as the main centre of activities. The event draws more and more visitors each year.
The event is the occasion for great fun in which the visitor is welcome to join. It also offers superb opportunities for learning about the distinct folk culture of the Northeast...
LONG BOAT RACING
Tha Toom @ Surin
Organized in October every year. Four types of racing for the royal trophy and the contest of boat beauty parade will be organized on Maenam Moon ( Moon River ) in front of Wat Pho, Amphoe Tha Toom (District), Surin @ Thailand...
Satuek @ Buriram
It is organized annually on the first weekend of November when the MOON River is high. Oarsmen from Buriram and other nearby provinces would gather to join the boat racing which is held in front of Amphoe Satuek’s district office. Each year, there are about 40 to 50 boats in the competition. There is also a parade of fancy decorated boats during the event. Boat racing was once a traditional festival celebrated among friends and relatives to pay homage to Chaopho Wang Krut, a spirit named after a whirlpool in the Moon River. Since 1986, it has become a festival of Buriram province...
BOON BUNGFAI
Bun Bungfai Rocket Festival - Esan ( Isan )
Rocket Festival
Boon Bungfai Rocket Festival is an ancient local festival, which is associated with Thai traditional beliefs in the supernatural powers that help promote the production of rice crops for the coming planting season. During the event, the beautiful rockets in different styles are paraded to the launch site. The local people dress in colorful traditional costumes and dance to accompany the procession. The highlight of the festival is the fired rockets launched from their platforms one by one. Noisy folk music and cheers can be heard for each liftoff and the rocket that reaches the greatest height is declared the winner...
Rocket Festival or "Boon Bang Fai" in Thai is usually held in the second week of May of each year, at the beginning of the rainy season. The farmers are ready to cultivate their paddy fields. The festival is popularly celebrated in ISAN. The celebration is an entreaty to the rain god for plentiful rains during the coming rice planting season.
The festival itself owes its beginning to a legend that a rain god named Vassakan was known for his fascination of being worshipped with fire. To receive plentiful rains for rice cultivation, the farmers send the home-made rockets to the heaven where the god resided. The festival has been carried out till these days.
Under the guidance of Buddhist monks, it takes the villagers weeks to make the rockets, launching platforms and other decorations. An average rocket is some nine metres in length and carries 20-25 kilogrammes of gunpowder
In the afternoon of the festival day, rockets are carried in the procession to the launching site. Villagers dressed in colourful traditional costumes attract the eyes of the onlookers, who line up along the procession route.
Before ignition of the rockets, there will be more singing and dancing to celebrate the festival. The climax of the festival is the ignition time. One by one the rockets are fired from the launching platforms. Each liftoff's greeted by cheers and noisy music. The rocket that reaches the greatest height is the winner and the owner of this rocket will dance and urge for rewards on their way home while the owners of the rockets, that exploded or failed to fly, will be thrown into the mud. The celebration is a communal affair of the villagers who come to share joy and happiness together before heading to the paddy fields where hard work is waiting for them.
THE ELEPHANT
Round-up FESTIVAL
The most popular of Northeastern festivals with foreign tourists is the Surin Elephant Round-up which is held annually in November. The people of Surin have long been renowned for their skill in capturing and training wild elephants and the round-up. In the past wild elephants lived in the forest areas of nearby Cambodia. Unfortunately, these areas have been inaccessible due to civil war in Cambodia, and at the same time, the elephant population is markedly decreasing thus the elephant catchers must now make a living by taking their charges around the country giving shows.
The greatest event of the Surin round-up is a beautifully organised display of the talents and abilities of these superb beasts. The round-up first look place in 1960. It begins with a mass procession of all the elephants taking part, usually 120-150, ranging from calves only a few weeks old to the well-trained elephants with many decades of experience. During the show, hundreds of the huge animals demonstrate their prowess at moving logs, playing soccer and winning a tug-of-war against human teams. Other demonstrations are designed to show not only the great strength of the elephants but also show they can be very intelligent, gentle and obedient. The show concludes with a mock battle illustrating what was formerly an important part of their duties.
The round-up in those days was an annual state ceremony presided over by the king himself. There were prayers and citations devised for the ceremony and for the taming of captured elephants afterwards. In recent times, the event has been revived and has become a major tourist attraction for the country, with the province of Surin as the main centre of activities. The event draws more and more visitors each year.
The event is the occasion for great fun in which the visitor is welcome to join. It also offers superb opportunities for learning about the distinct folk culture of the Northeast...