Let there be light

A unique Tai Yai festival that marks the end of Vassa, the Buddhist Lent, Ork Wa returns to the northern province of Mae Hong Son at the end of this month for a celebration that’s as old as time itself.

Honouring the return of the Lord Buddha to Earth after three months spent with his mother in heaven, the celebration is unique to the Shan-speaking community of Mae Sariang, where the people light fires to illuminate the Buddha’s path. 

Dancers dressed as half-bird, half woman move in front of the burning firewood to percussive beats, transporting the visitor back some 100 years though thankfully still keeping one foot in the present, all the better to snap plenty of photos..

“The King Kala bird, a half-bird, half-woman, was the first to see the Lord Buddha returning,” explains Praphan Wiriyaphab, a Shan resident of this quiet riverside town. 

“A bird of joy, she performed a beautiful dance for the Lord Buddha in order to show her respect.”

This year, the Ork Wa Festival is being celebrated from October 26 to 28 and coincides with one of the best times to visit the Northern Province. 

The heavy rain is gone, and the winter is about to come. The villagers are full of hope and in the mood for celebration, as their rice paddies are bursting with flowers and young grains. 

The first day of the Ork Wa Festival are mostly focused on preparation. Locals clean their homes and build small castles from bamboo sticks outside the fence, adorning the finished edifices with colourful paper and lights. 

On the second day, the artisans get together at the temples to make traditional paper crafts. At night, as the full moon rises over the timeworn pagoda, the traditional Shan cultural shows get underway and authentic food is served. Incense, burning candles and the heady scent of jasmine and marigold bouquets waft through the night air. 

Shan women – young and old – wear their best longyis and bright blouses as they make their personal contributions to the festivity.

But while the visual interpretation of the Ork Wa Festival is often flamboyant the spiritual meaning is profound. 

Locals leave their fire sticks burning all night outside their fences while torches and oil lanterns illuminate the path for more than 400 monks who come in the night for almsgiving. 

The midnight almsgiving is unique to Thailand’s North – where people are faithful believers in Phra Oppa Khud, a legendary monk. The monk in question, it’s said, is wise and powerful. He lives in his own place for most of the year, and only visits the people once – at Ork Wa – to receive alms. 

Legend has it that Phra Oppa Khud always arrives in the middle of the night as a novice in disguise. Those giving him alms are rewarded with good karma. Visitors are encouraged to take part even if they are not believers and inevitably return from the walk along the river with full hearts if heavy eyes. 

The festival culminates on the third night with a long and colourful procession into the heart of the Mae Sariang, which glows in darkness, a clear sign of its act of virtue. 

The festival encompasses much more too from Lanna-styled drumming, kickboxing and outdoor cinema. 

Let the beat and the lights guide you. 

  

IF YOU GO