Kite maker & Phra Ruang’s legend at Khuk Phattana What an amazement, there was an adorable baby boy lying in there. They called him “Phra Ruang” (person who falls) because he was born from the egg that fell down from heaven. It’s not surprising that he was brought up cherishingly. When he grew up, whatever he said became real. Therefore everyone called him Phra Ruang, the Holy Tongue. There are several interesting examples in the legend. Phra Ruang paddling upstream One day Phra Ruang went to paddle a boat in the stream, but during the return, he had to makeYom it River. upstream He was which having required fun while a lot goingof strength. down- Thus, he said, “The stream should flow towards my home.” Astonishingly, the stream changed to opposite direction from North to South, making it easy for him to paddle back home. The birth of Phra Lue When Phra Ruang grew up enough to play a toy, his grandpa didn’t want him to feel lonely. So, he carved a wooden doll resembling a boy. Phra Ruang played with it for a while, then he said, “Well, why don’t you walk?” and he threw the doll to the ground. Suddenly, the doll Khuk Phattana: - Kite maker & Phra Ruang’s legend turned into a boy who was able to walk like Phra Ruang had said. Folks around the town spread the rumor about the second boy, who was called “Phra Lue” and became Phra Ruang’s younger “Khuk” literally means either kneeling or prison and “Phatthana” means development. brother since then. However, Khuk Phattana is not either the village developed from prison or development of prisoners. Besides the legend of his holy power, there are also those of village names, of subdistrict names like Sarachit Subdistrict. A legend said that while he was taking a walk, he met a very beautiful It’s the place where Phra Ruang fell to his knees, crying! woman. Her beauty captured his heart right away. Phra Ruang’s legend He met “Kham”, a very beautiful maiden, who was planting in the paddy field at Na Sam Mum. Once upon a time, there were a grandpa and a grandma who did not have a child together. He said he wanted her to be his wife. She said if he wanted her, he had to compete with her in They lived an ordinary life at Si Satchanalai Subdistrict in . One day, planting the sprouts. Then, he said, “I’m about to plant, shall this paddy field be full of seed- while they were catching fish at Kaeng Luang, they found a big golden egg floating along the lings.” Suddenly, lots of seedlings emerged and covered the field. Kham was very frightened and river. The egg shone very brightly. They both agreed that it had to be an auspicious egg and ran away from him. definitely, the sender couldn’t be no one else, but heaven. Therefore they took the big egg back home. Not for long, the shell began to crack and split. What an amazement, there was an adorable baby boy lying in there. They called him “Phra Ruang” (person who falls) because he was born from the egg that fell down from heaven. It’s not surprising that he was brought up cherishingly. When he grew up, whatever he said became real. Therefore everyone called him Phra Ruang, the Holy Tongue. There are several interesting examples in the legend. Phra Ruang paddling upstream One day Phra Ruang went to paddle a boat in the stream, but during the return, he had to makeYom it River. upstream He was which having required fun while a lot goingof strength. down- Thus, he said, “The stream should flow towards my home.” Astonishingly, the stream changed to opposite direction from North to South, making it easy for him to paddle back home. The birth of Phra Lue When Phra Ruang grew up enough to play a toy, his grandpa didn’t want him to feel lonely. So, he carved a wooden doll resembling a boy. Phra Ruang played with it for a while, then he said, “Well, why don’t you walk?” and he threw the doll to the ground. Suddenly, the doll turned into a boy who was able to walk like Phra Ruang had said. Folks around the town spread the rumor about the second boy, who was called “Phra Lue” and became Phra Ruang’s younger brother since then. Besides the legend of his holy power, there are also those of village names, of subdistrict names like Sarachit Subdistrict. A legend said that while he was taking a walk, he met a very beautiful woman. Her beauty captured his heart right away. He met “Kham”, a very beautiful maiden, who was planting in the paddy field at Na Sam Mum. He said he wanted her to be his wife. She said if he wanted her, he had to compete with her in planting the sprouts. Then, he said, “I’m about to plant, shall this paddy field be full of seed- lings.” Suddenly, lots of seedlings emerged and covered the field. Kham was very frightened and ran away from him. When she arrived at Wat Siri Khet Khiri Temple, she hid in the nearby field and cried for help. The passers-by heard the voice, but saw no one because Kham was hiding. They were puzzled why the field could cry and here came the village name “Na Rong” (crying field). After hiding for a while, she felt insecure because no one came to rescue her. She saw Phra Ruang chasing after so she left for another place. While he was coming near, he stumped on a stump and fell on his knees. He looked at the stumped and sworn, “What a thousand stumps.” Then, a great number of stumps emerged from the ground and the village was called “Ban Saen To” (village of hundred thousands of stumps) Kham kept running and he still chased persistently, yet he couldn’t approach her. He was very sad that she didn’t return his love and the district they passed was called “Sarachit” (loss one’s mind) Due to his sadness, he knelt down and the act became the village name,“Ban Khuk” which means kneeling. Soon after, he stood up and continued his search for Kham. He passed another district where there was a royal temple. He went inside and looked for her, so the village here was called “Ban Boran Luang” (ancient royal residence). Since he didn’t find her, he went on to another place where there were lots of rocks. He ran across the watercourse and the place was named “Ban Kaeng” (rapids) After a long chase, he felt exhausted and rested at a field. He kept looking around, but saw no one. There came the name “Na Khoi” (waiting field). When he looked at a mountain and saw Kham running afar, he chased again. Finally, he seized her and forced her to be his wife. She was very sad and cleansed herself in the swamp nearby. The area was then named “Ban Nong Chum Taet” (cleansing swamp) Having finished the bath, she went up the hill and hid in a cave, covering the entrance with her sarong in order to prevent Phra Ruang. If he went under it, his spell would be broken. Thus, he cast a spell, if she didn’t come out, she had to stay there until there was someone who gave her a lotus fiber sarong. Then, he cast another spell, bringing about a six-kilometer swamp with guarding crocodiles so that no one could approach her and vice versa. So this place was called “Nong Chorakhe” (crocodile swamp) Phra Ruang’s kite While Phra Ruang was ruling at Sukhothai, he missed Nang Thong, his wife who was staying at Phan city. Then, he started a journey. Since she was pregnant and craved for garcinia, he decided to search for it. When he reached Wat Pho Temple, he suddenly came up with the idea of flying a kite. Phra Ruang’s kite is similar to Chula kite, but its center is narrower. In the end of planting and harvest times, people in Sarachit Subdistrict will modify the field into a space for kite flying. Since there are so many people gathering that it can be referred as ‘Phra Ruang’s kite festival’, the community adds the kite competition to the event. Besides the fun, the festival has other interesting gimmicks to offer and helps bond people in the community as well. The festival is organized in February every year. Iwate kiln After the harvest season, people have more time. Therefore they collaborate to earn extra money, agreeing to improve their traditional way of living and add new knowledge to the local wisdom in order to strengthen and support self-reliance every way possible. Apart from cultivating rice, another traditional occupation of people in Khuk Phattana is to produce bamboo charcoal and there is a special kiln - Iwate kiln. Iwate is a charcoal kiln, originated by the Japanese. It was introduced during a discussion of community members. They all knew that charcoal burning was common so they’d like to better it – less time, more output and efficiency, and more wood vinegar as well. That was how Iwate kiln came into use at this village. Its benefits are as follows. • More charcoal , about 75% of the regular amount • Pure wood charcoal which generates more heat and lasts longer than normal charcoal. • The output is pure carbon which conducts electricity and extracts ion out of the body, keeping the inner balance. • Less firewood. • More by-products such as soap, pillow, etc. Wood vinegar Besides charcoal, another by-product of Iwate kiln is wood vinegar, occurred from con- densation of smoke, which comprises of organic substances with medicinal properties as follows: • It can cure acute wounds, burns, Athlete’s foot, Dermatophytosis, stings. • Prevent ants and insects. • Get rid of smells in the toilet and garbage bin. • Get rid of insects, prevent fungi in the livestock. • Mix with water to stimulate plant growth. Soap and pillow from Iwate kiln After collecting the charcoal with proper size for sale, there are remains left in the kiln. The community finds a way to reuse it by turning them into a charcoal soap which helps whiten, cure pimples, and decrease sebum. Besides the soap, the remains are also used to produce a pillow, another value-added product. Bamboo charcoal pillow is a pillow stuffed with small chunks of charcoal, each of which is about 10 centimeters long. The chunks must be measured for the electrical conductivity. Gener- al electrical resistance is 30 ohms at least. After quality check, those charcoals will be covered with sponge and put in well-decorated pillows. The benefits of the pillow are several. It can relief muscle pains, stimulate circulatory system, reduce the risk of obstruction and turn free radicals into oxygen. Consequently, you will get fresh air while sleeping. Transportation From Sukhothai downtown, drive along Highway No.101, past ,and , altogether 68 kilometers. Turn into the west and drive past Si Satcha- nalai District Office about 8 kilometers. For more information Ban Khuk Phattana Community-based Tourism Club Tel. +668 1040 7325 Travel in community with pleasure • Contact the tourism club for a local guide. • Dress politely and appropriately according to place and occasion. • Do not show disrespect to rules, regulations, customs and beliefs of the community. • Find basic information of the place before the trip for more understanding. • Respect every community you visit. • Spend some time talking to local people to exchange opinions. • Embrace local lifestyle - eat and do like local people. • Support local products to help distribute income in the community. • Be responsible for environment – litter in the provided area.

Ban Khuk Phattana Community-based Tourism Club Tel. +668 1040 7325

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