Bun Luang and Phi Ta Khon Festival
Date: 27 – 29 June, 2014
Venue: Dan Sai district, Loei Province
Phi Ta Khon is one of the most colourful traditional festivals of Loei province and it offers a unique experience to anyone who visits.
Phi Ta Khon is a distinct masked procession which takes place on the first day of the three-day Buddhist merit-making holiday called Boon Prawat in Thai. This annual event, known to visitors as The Ghost Festival takes place in June, usually the first week after the 6th full moon of the year. This year it will be held from 27-29 June, 2014 in the village of Dan Sai in Loei.
The whole event is called Bun Luang, and the great highlight of this unique festival is a long, colourful parade of young men who dance and strike poses while wearing huge masks made from carved coconut-tree trunks, topped with wicker work and sticky-rice steamers. These represent ghosts and as they parade they carry a sacred Buddha image.
It is thought that the festival originated as a form of spirit worship with music and dancing to appease the spirits who protect the local villages and ensure plenty of rain for the upcoming harvest season.
On the second day of the festival, the villagers gather at the temple of Wat Ponchai to listen to the thirteen sermons of Prince Vessandorn being recited by local monks.
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