Statue of Nai Khanom Tom in Ayutthaya

At the time of the fall of the ancient Siam capital of Ayutthaya in 1767, the invading Burmese troops rounded up a group of Thais and took them as prisoners. Among them were a large number of Thai boxers, including Nai Khanom Tom. According to various accounts of this legend, it is said that during a religious festival staged by the Burmese King in honour of Lord Buddha, the king called for a contest between ancient Thai Muay Boran versus the Burmese art Lethwei to determine the more superior form of martial arts.

Nai Khanom Tom was selected to fight against the Burmese champion. Nai Khanom Tom began by performing the traditional Wai Kru ritual to pay his respects to the Burmese king and the spectators, as is customary practice. The audience was mesmerized by the unusual ?dance? which left the Burmese boxer bewildered. When the fight began, Nai Khanom Tom charged out, using punches, kicks, elbows, and knees. Confused and stunned, the Burmese boxer was defeated. The referee however stated that the Burmese opponent was too distracted by the Wai Khru ritual, and ruled that the knockout was not valid.

The King then asked Nai Khanom Tom to fight another nine Burmese champions to prove himself. He agreed and fought them all, one after the other with no rest periods in between. Following this feat, no one else dared to challenge him any further. Impressed by his impressive performance, the Burmese king granted Nai Khanom Tom freedom. To commemorate Nai Khanom Tom?s extraordinary achievement, the Thai Martial Arts Festival and Wai Khru Muay Thai Ceremony is staged annually on March 17, and the day has been designated "Boxer's Day" or "National Muay Thai Day".

Main Source: Tourism Authority of Thailand

Last weekend, I was very happy to be able to go to the Mon Festival at Wat Ban Rai Charoenpol temple in Samut Sakhon. People of Mon descent came together from all over the country to celebrate their heritage and also to promote the use of the Mon language which is in danger of dying out. The Mon people are an ethnic minority in South-East Asia. They originally came from Southern Burma where they were once rulers of their own kingdom. Due to persecution and wars, they have fled their homeland and can be found in neighbouring countries. Thailand, due to its juxtaposition to Burma, is a poplar destination. It is estimated that 30 provinces around Thailand have Mon communities. Many of them seem to be in the Phra Phradaeng District of Samut Prakan, Pak Kret district in Nonthaburi and Samut Sakhon Province. In the latter province, there are believed to be 200,000 migrant workers from Burma of which 70-80% are ethnic Mons.

The cultural festival started with a Swan and Centipede Parade similar to the one I have written about before in Phra Pradaeng during Songkran. The parade reminds the Mon people of their homeland. According to legend, Buddha once went to Burma where he saw two swans swimming next to an island. He named this land Hongsawadee. Over the years the island expanded and eventually the Mon people settled there. The word "hongsa" means swan. The Buddha also predicted that Buddhism would prosper here. In fact, the Mon people are credited with bringing Theravada Buddhism to Thailand as well as many other cultural activities. The Centipede Flag represents that Buddha's teaching. The claws of the centipede show that the Mon people will never be afraid of their enemies. The Centipede Flag is often hung on the Swan Pole in Mon temples.

As well as the parade, there were demonstrations of Mon culture as well as their food. This annual festival was probably more subdued compared to past years. This is mainly due to the persecution by local authorities of the ethnic minorities. The following letter from the Governor of Samut Sakhon highlights the feelings of local government regarding the Mon people:

To: Office of Employment of Samut Sakhon province and employers of all factories.

We now have many foreign workers from Burma, Laos and Cambodia who have come to work in factories in Samut Sakhon province, both legally and illegally. These people have created problems that could affect the foreign worker community and their employment conditions. Many of these Burmese workers are living together in one place and they create problems that affect their health, their dependants, their children not having Thai citizenship. They also have criminal problems, and problems where they do not follow Thai law.

They are also now trying to organise cultural performances at social occasions and fairs, which is not suitable. These activities should not be supported because it will make the community feel that these people are the owners of the community, and it could also create security problems. Also, it is contradictory to the government's objective for them to be just temporary workers. Hence we would like to ask every place of employment and factory to control and monitor foreign workers under their responsibility, to check if they behave and work strictly according to the law. If they violate the law, they will be seriously punished. We should not allow them to organise cultural ceremonies at all.

Please be informed and follow these regulations accordingly.

Respectfully yours,
Veerayuth Yeamampar
Governor of Samut Sakhon Province
Provincial Administration Office

What he doesn't realize is how much of the Mon culture has already been integrated into Thai culture. So much so, sometimes it is hard to differentiate between the two. Personally I think the Mon culture is fascinating and that it should be preserved as a living culture and language. For Thai people, it should remind them of their own cultural heritage. I have uploaded video clips taken at this festival to the Paknam Web Forums. You will also find newspaper clippings about the festival.

The water fights are continuing in Thailand for the second day in a row. At least three more days to go of this mayhem on the streets. Then, next weekend, the Mon people in Thailand celebrate their own Songkran so everything starts again. In Samut Prakan, our Mon community is mainly in Phra Pradaeng. I went there a couple years back to take pictures of their celebrations. Today I want to share with you these two pictures. A girl out riding on her bicycle is stopped by the guy wearing the red shirt. You can see by her hair that this is the first time today for her. She smiles because she knows resistance is futile. Seconds later she is drenched. Personally I think she got off lightly. It could have been a lot worse. This same scene is being repeated all over the country at the moment. Traditionally you are supposed to sprinkle water on your elders as a mark of respect. But things are getting out of hand these days with the water fights being the main feature. However, you still do get some people coming up to you to ask permission first before pouring water on you or putting some white powder on your face. I had one guy come up to me, who was clearly drunk despite the early hour, who then poured some icy cold water down my neck and then shouted, “Welcome to Thailand!” Thanks. Happy Songkran to you too! If you cannot beat them then join them. The alternative is to sulk and hide out in your apartment for the next five days.

I have already written a lot about Songkran in Thailand. Follow these links for some of my past blogs:

• Some Tips for Enjoying Songkran
• Happy Songkran!
• Nang Songkran and her Parade
• The Water Fights Continue
• Songkran at Ancient City
• Day Three of the Water Fights!
• Building Sandcastles in the Temple
• The Fourth Day of Songkran
• Building Sand Pagodas
• Sand Stupas on the Beach
• The Songkran Parade
• Making Merit for Songkran
• Phra Pradaeng Songkran Festival

A lot more about Songkran can be found at our sister blogs at www.ThailandLife.com .

Happy Songkran from Samut Prakan in Thailand! I hope everyone has a happy new year. Today is the start of the traditional Thai new year in Thailand. The pictures in this blog I took a few hours ago of a parade through Paknam city center. The picture above shows two of the seven daughters of the god Kabil Maha Phrom who lost his head during a wager. Each year, one of the daughters rides a different animal during the Songkran Parade carying his head. The animal is decided upon by court astrologers. This year it looks like it was a wild boar. You can visit our sister blogs at thailandlife.com for more background information about this legend.

There must have been about a thousand people taking part in this parade. All dressed up and singing and dancing. Everyone was having fun.Plenty of people standing either side of the road throwing water at each other as well.

The water fights have already started. I was safe for most of the time during this parade as I was taking pictures. But, towards the end people started to come up to me to ask permission to either pour water down my neck or put some white powder on my face. In situations like this it is best not to resist and just smile. After all, by sprinkling their elders with water they are making merit and it would be wrong of us to refuse.

I have come back to get  a change of clothes before heading out again this afternoon to take more pictures for thai-blogs.com. There are two locations in Samut Prakan area that I will visit. These are Taiban where most of the waterfights take place and the Ancient City which will have more traditional activities. I will be bringing you more reports and photos over the Songkran holiday.