7th International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences “ASEAN 2015: Challenges and Opportunities” (Proceedings) La Sang : A Belief and Ritual of Tro Kaen Community amidst the Unrest Situation of the Southern Thai Border 1. Nootchanart Naulyai, Graduate Student in Human and Social Development, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai Campus, [email protected] 2. Kettawa Boonprakarn, Ph.D., Asst. Prof., Department of Educational Foundation, Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai Campus, [email protected]. Abstract The objective of this study was to investigate a belief and ritual of La Sang amidst the unrest situation in the Southern Thai border. The study area was Tro Kaen Community, a Buddhist community in the middle of Muslim communities. The data of this phenomenology study were gathered through in-depth interviews with 12 informants, and the data were then categorized, interpreted, concluded, and presented with analytical description. The results of the study revealed that La Sang ritual is held after rice is harvested in either the fifth or sixth lunar month. The purposes of the ritual are to give thanks to Chao Mae Phosop or the Goddess of Rice, who has made their crops abundant, and to enjoy themselves after the harvest. Later modern culture started to flow in and gradually weakened traditional culture; La Sang ritual eventually faded away. Nevertheless, in 2007, a group of elderly people in the community brought back the ritual to unite people in the community, gather their cooperation in conducting their farming occupation, restore their rice farming way of life, and make it a mechanism to cope and negotiate with their fear and pain so as to heal their minds amidst the unrest situation. Keywords: Belief, La Sang Ritual, unrest situation in the Southern Thai border Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University, June 5-6, 2015 513 7th International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences “ASEAN 2015: Challenges and Opportunities” (Proceedings) Background The Thai way of life has been attached to rice farming for such a long time that there are many traditions related to rice farming, and most important of all is the royal ceremony called the Royal Ploughing Ceremony. This ceremony consists of two rites: Phithi Phuetchamongkon or prosperity for plantation rite or the harvest festival, and Phithi Raek Na Khuan or the royal ploughing ceremony marking the auspicious beginning of the rice growing season. In the ceremony of Phithi Phuetchamongkon, many kinds of cereal grains such as rice, millet, corn, pea, sesame, etc., and food roots such as cassava, sweet potato, etc. are used in performing the rite with an objective for them to be without diseases and yield good crops for farmers. For the Phithi Raek Na Khuan or the royal ploughing ceremony, the soil is ploughed and rice grains are sown as a sign of the beginning of the rice growing season. The Royal Ploughing Ceremony is held in May of each year (Khuanhathai Chitphithak, 2008, p. 4). In the Southern part of Thailand, people have had rice farming as their occupation for a long time until nowadays. In the past, the main labor used in the rice field was humans and animals, and most people grew rice for their own consumption rather than for sale. The rice growing methods and tools as well as beliefs, traditions, and rituals related to rice and rice farming in the Southern part of Thailand are similar to those of other parts of the country with a few differences in some local areas. Most rice growing areas in the Southern part are on the east coast because its geographical characteristics are suitable for rice farming. In the three Southern border provinces, rice farming is mainly in these districts: Panare, Ma Yo, Saiburi, and Mai Kaen where most farmers lead their lives in the self-sufficiency way and grow rice only once a year called Na Yam or Na Pi for which rainfall is needed. Thus, rice is grown only in the rainy season or during May – June depending on how soon it starts to rain, and how much rainfall there is. If there is not enough rainfall, farmers cannot grow rice or if they do, their rice may get dry and damaged, and they get no rice for the year. If there is too much rainfall, rice is damaged and they also get no rice. Therefore, their lives depend on the amount of rainfall and on the breed of rice they use. The farmers’ way of life, especially in the Southern part of Thailand, after the rice harvesting season is that women grow vegetables for family consumption and for sale in the community while men harvest and make palm sugar, also for family consumption and for sale to earn extra money, if there is enough sugar left. Some farmers raise buffalos and cows for Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University, June 5-6, 2015 514 7th International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences “ASEAN 2015: Challenges and Opportunities” (Proceedings) more income or for use of labor, and dung can be sold as manure for rice farms and vegetable gardens. Others go out to fish in the sea for shrimp and fish after the rice harvesting season (Khuanhathai Chipthithak, 2008, p. 4). Rituals related to rice farming are mostly the same over the country. However, nowadays local wisdom has faded away which may be because people overlook rice farming as an occupation and turn to other occupations instead. However, there are still some traditions left until now. For example, in the central part of the country, there are traditions called Prapheni Hae Nang Maew Kho Phon or taking a female cat in a procession asking or praying for rainfall, Long Khaek Kiew Khao or asking neighbors and friends for help to harvest rice, Tham Bun Lan or merit-making at a rice field where rice grains are gathered, Tham Khuan Khao or comforting rice, Tham Khuan Mae Phosop or comforting and thanking the Goddess of Rice, etc. In the Northeastern part, there are also the traditions of asking or praying for rainfall the same as that in the central part, Prapheni Yon Khrok Yon Sak or throwing the morta, Bun Khao Pradap Din and other rice celebrating traditions such as Tham Bun Khao Sak, and Bun Khao Chi, etc. In the Northern part, there are also rice related rituals such as Phithi Haek Na, Tham Khuan Ton Khao, and Su Khuan Khuwai. In the Southern part, there are similar rice related rituals such as Suat Na, Raek Pak Dam, etc. Thais believe that rice plants have a sacred thing call Mae Phosop dwelling in them and taking care of them and make them strong and productive. Thus, rice farmers pay respect to Phra Mae Phosop. It can be seen that Thais have been attached to the rice farming occupation for such a long time (Prasit Rattanamani and Chanit Chuluean, 2008, p. 1). Tro Kaen is a community in Paen Sub-district, Saiburi District, Pattani Province where people’s lives are attached to agriculture. On the two sides of the road, there are green rice fields all along the way alternate with coconut orchards or other fruit orchards. Most people in this community are Buddhists and grow rice which makes their way of life encompassed with rice that helps reinforce the philosophies concerning rice they teach their children. They teach them to be grateful to rice and Mae Phosop, the Goddess of Rice. Hard work from rice farming and natural disasters create philosophies of living in a balanced way with nature, and various local rituals originated from rice and nature. Some of these rituals include Phithi Raek Kep (first harvest), Suat Thong Khao (praying for young rice), Sa Hua Wua (washing cows’ heads), etc. They are rituals that signify farmers’ respect and gratitude for nature that is behind the success Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University, June 5-6, 2015 515 7th International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences “ASEAN 2015: Challenges and Opportunities” (Proceedings) in rice farming. Moreover, there are other rituals concerning beliefs in ghosts and spirits such as Phithi Wai Thang (paying respect to the trails), Wai Phum Chao Thi Na (paying respect to the god of the rice field), Wai Phum Chao Ban (paying respect to the spirit of the house), etc. Therefore, paying respect to nature, believing in ghosts and spirits, and practicing religion are all in rituals that indicate the local identity of the community. The last ritual of rice farming season is La Sang Ritual which has been passed down from generation to generation for about a century. “La” means saying goodbye; “Sang” means straw, thus, La Sang means saying goodbye to rice straws that will be ploughed up and over for the next rice growing season. After harvesting rice, farmers burn the rice straws, and therefore, they see the need to apologize Mae Phosop, the Goddess of Rice. This is the last ritual of each rice growing year that rice farmers have inherited for generations. La Sang Ritual communicates two meanings: comforting rice, and showing gratitude to Mae Phosop, the Goddess of Rice (Prasit Rattanamani and Chanit Chuluean, 2008, p. 60). In 2004, the unrest situation began in the three Southern border provinces and the severity of the situation started to increase in 2006 (Phichamon Chirakan, 2012, p. 2) forcing locals of the community who used to do rice farming to go and work in the town of Pattani. Many of them commute between their community and Pattani every day and some face with an incident of the situation making locals frightened and worried about their life and property.