Likay and a Wedding

Friday night we went to a Likay performance in Phra Pradaeng. The Likay was sponsored as part of a funeral. Going to the performance was part of a Birthday present for Jit's dad. Keenon, Star, Jit's mom and dad and of course Jit and I went. Jit's mom watches Likay performances on DVD or VCD for hours.

It was like a carnival, there was an inflated Disney jump for kids, all sort of food booths including a booth that sold hamburgers, hot dogs, and French fries. There were colored lights and it was packed, an older audience, with many kids, but not many teenagers. There was also a large lighted house, made of thin wood and paper that was part of the funeral. Both the Likay performance and the lighted building were part of the funeral. We looked in on the funeral and the casket was much more ornate and on a much larger platform then the funerals that I had seen before.

Likay is a mystery to me, it is very popular. It is similar to pantomime in it's stylized movements. The people know the stories. They love the performers. There are many costumes. There is crazy narration with singing and comments, I imagined the performance without the narration and it would have lost it's drama. We left early because we needed to catch a taxi in the morning. Jit wanted to wait for a specific performer before we left. I did not have a clue!

Popular Likay groups travel all over the country. The group we saw was very popular and very expensive. The women who died, and in who's honor the Likay performance was being sponsored, was very rich.

The audience understands, they even give gifts to the performers, behind the stage you can see the performers preparing, people gather around and performers come over to meet and talk with the gathered people.

People sit on the ground on plastic sheets, it is not too comfortable, I got up and walked around a lot, when I went back to sit down the people next to us said "Hey Farang" and offered me something to eat, there were fried donuts and some deep fried squash or pumpkin kind of thing, they were very friendly.

I was people watching, as usual, and I saw what looked like a drug deal. A man was standing by the Wat wall, two other people came up to him quickly, they talked briefly, and then left quickly. They all looked pretty rough. I also saw a white street person, with a beard and long matted hair, he did not have shoes on. I looked a couple times to be sure.

The Phra Pradaeng Wat is interesting, inside the building, with the Buddhas, there are framed paintings on the wall. Jit's said that the paintings are about Mon culture, but to me they looked like they had many subjects, not necessarily cultural or religious. I want to go back to visit the Wat later. We pass the Wat everyday when we go from Phra Pradaeng to Bang Krachow, it is usually very busy with school kids and ceremonies.

When we came by the Wat on the way to the wedding, about 5:15 in the morning, the Likay stage was being dismantled. Jit said they would burn the large house structure as part of the funeral, but it sure looked too large to burn to me!

The wedding between Ewey and Jim at Supan Buri
We got up at 3:30 to get ready for the taxi. We walked out to pick up the Taxi at 4:30, the driver was a little late so we walked to the Bangabuah Wat. It was a lovely walk with the moonlight and the quiet. The driver picked us up and drove us to Supanburi. The taxi driver had tow bobble head spaniel dogs and a Buddha on his dashboard. The dogs head bounced as we drove along. The driver was excellent and a pleasure to spend time with.

The drive to Supanburi was quick, but it was very foggy, some people were driving with warning lights blinking, some people must have had radar because they did not seem to slow down at all, they were weaving through the traffic in the fog! Our driver was safe and calm. We were told that Ewey's place would be all lighted up, and it was. Out of the fog there were a bunch of brightly colored neon lights, we were there. There was loud music playing, it was 6:30 in the morning. There was a great, ancient, Isuzu sound truck. There were three large speakers on poles. I loved the truck and took many pictures.

Ewey's folks have a business constructing covered wooden benches, wood furniture, cabins, the quality and design look great. It was interesting.

Steve and Nela were there from Alaska. They are retiring in Thailand. They have bought some property near Hua Hin. Nela is originally from Thailand. Steve will act as Jim's parent for the ceremony. We talked about retiring in Thailand. Steve had a customs experience also. Shipping things, even your own things, to Thailand can be a frustrating experience.

The wedding ceremony was complex with many symbolic rituals and actions. I did not really understand much of it. At one point there was a ceremony between two families. "Jim's family" walked with palm fronds down the road to Ewey' house. There was chanting and a kind of wail, Jit knew the exact wail. The music from the sound truck also had the wail or chant. There was then some ritual where the women would not let Jim go, Ewey had to come "ransom" Jim and free him. He then had to cross a barrier to enter the house. Then both families delivered food, there was a ceremony of people sharing food and money. Before these ceremonies the Monk's came from the temple and went through a long ritual. Jim and Ewey had marks painted on their foreheads. After the ceremonies there was a meal and speeches. There was a singer who actually sang, or it might have been kareoke. I am not sure. It was great to see the ceremony and to share the experience. We were glad that we went. I took many photographs and will prepare a CD for Jit and Ewey when I get back to Alaska. There was a Web Cam set up so that Jim's parents in Florida could see the ceremony. The connection was slow dial up so the feed was pretty jerky.

Wat Mahated: A cool old temple at Supan Buri
We went to an ancient old Wat before we went back to Bangkok. It looked like the temple was similar to Ayutthaya, there were brick prangs with trees growing on them. One small tower was being split by the tree roots. There was a modern small reclining Buddha. Inside an old building, with broken iron gates, there were some Buddhas in storage. There was not a tourist in sight. The main hall was filled with Buddha images. I loved it. Jit chose to go there because the name of the Wat meant that there were old things there. I took many picture. I was gone for so long that Jit sent the Taxi driver to find me! Before we went to Wat Mahated we went to one of the Disney temples with a famous Buddha. There were many people. It just looked hot and tiring so we left.

On the way home to Phra Pradaeng we took a different way, we never crossed the river. It was like traveling through suburbia. There were freeways, shopping centers, car dealerships, housing developments, and wide open areas waiting for development. We came into traffic near the Rama 2 Central shopping area. We stopped in Phra Pradaeng to get some things for children's day.

To rent a Taxi for a day is only 1,500 Baht. It seems like a bargain to me, especially with an excellent calm driver.

In the evening there was a Children's Day ceremony with loud music, food, and drinking. It did not irritate me the way it did on New Years. I enjoyed the music! Hmmm.... In the afternoon, walking home, we heard another loud celebration in the distance. Another community was enjoying playing very loud music for Children's Day. It was different to hear the music from a distance.

Observations
At wats, weddings, funerals, political events, and carnivals there are plastic chairs to sit on, multi-colored, and actually comfortable. I asked Jit what people sat on before there were plastic chairs. She said people sat on the ground, sometimes with straw mats. At the Likay performance people sat on plastic. It was nor comfortable. Plastic chairs are a definite improvement, especially for older people who no longer are flexible like me!

When we were in Ko Kret there was a tug boat towing two large barges going through the channel, the only cargo on the barges was empty Pepsi bottles. The bottles were heading north, I assume for re-filling. In Thailand people collect a bottle fee and you can get a refund when you return your bottles. If you want to get a drink to go people will put it in a plastic bag with a straw, it seems odd, but it actually works well. The bag holds the whole bottle of pop, plus ice. Holding the drink bag from your finger is convenient, the only problem is that it is hard to put the bag down, it is better to hang the bag from something.