11/22/2004
Two weddings
The bride and groom are tied together with the magic string used on all ceremonial occasions. He is from Bangkok and there are many cars outside which is unusual for an Issan village where most of the vehicles are motorcyles, farm vehicles or trucks (mostly Isuzu). She is from a local family and is only 18 years old. She was obviously very tense and shy, so one of the highlights for me was when taking photos I caught her eye and automatically smiled at her and she responded with a beautiful smile, the first I had seen.
The ceremony included chanting with responses from the audience and lighting of candles most of which was a mystery to me.
11/18/2004
Fire lady
I mentioned before that the custom here is that after a woman has had a baby
they are incarcerated for a week or so in a hot steamy room in front of a
fire. In this hot climate you can imagine that this is quite an ordeal.
Today I visited the lady who runs the shop up the road who just gave birth.
This is the third time I have encountered this treatment. On one occasion
the lady was actually on a bed over the fire!! This time I had my camera
with me and was able to get some photos. It was very dark and difficult to
photo. As always there were 5 or 6 people in the room with her, relatives,
friends or visitors. The large pot over the fire in the centre was full of
boiling water and the one on the left had I think bark of some sort in it
which was kept topped up presumably to aid healing. Waree was under great
pressure to undergo this treatment when she had Adam, but as her specialist
was not too keen on the idea she refused and has been as fit as a fiddle
since, but there have been dire warnings that not using the treatment will
cause here problems later in life. Waree did however bath herself in the
bark water.
11/17/2004
11/13/2004
A bald baby
The man who live opposite is a barber and today he shaved little Adam’s head. Apparently this is customary for babies when they are four to six weeks old. Everybody had a good time watching and joking but Adam just slept solidly throughout the whole proceedings. As well as watching and taking photos I got the opportunity to have a better look at the barber’s (Duan) house. I knew he was poor but it is just a shell of a house with a dirt floor and almost no furniture except the mandatory TV. He earns his living from cutting hair at about 3o cents a go and making fishing nets. He is a lovely man and often comes over to joke with me although of course I haven’t a clue as to what he is saying.
11/03/2004
Young men die in motorcycle crash
10/28/2004
Candles, fireworks and balls of fire
10/23/2004
Temple Market Day
The Blessing Ceremony (bai-see sook wan)