Village Rocket Festival-Vintage Painting

by Ian Gledhill

Title

Village Rocket Festival-Vintage Painting

Artist

Ian Gledhill

Medium

Painting - Digital Painting

Description

Isaan Rocket Festival..
Digital watercolor and restored vintage painting.

Yasothon-rocket-festival-The north-east of Thailand, a region known as Isaan, has traditionally been a pre-dominantly rural farming area and it is this region that holds one of Thailand�s more unusual festivals every May. In particular, the town of Yasothon has become renowned for the Bun Bang Fai Rocket Festival to herald the start of the rice-planting season.

Traditional Folk Beliefs

In the agricultural areas of north-east Thailand and Laos, rain arriving at the right time in the rice-planting season can be the difference between success and failure for the rice crop. Old folk beliefs in Isaan say that the rains will only fall when the gods are in the mood for love. To encourage this, festivals and parties have traditionally been held all over Isaan to cajole the gods into a bit of amorous activity during the sixth lunar month (usually in May). This has always involved lots of merry making with food, drink and dancing at the start of the rice-planting season. The ancient fertility rites date back centuries with phallus-shaped bamboo tubes packed with charcoal and nitrates (gunpowder) launched into the skies. This time of the year is also a time to make-merit in the Buddhist tradition and novice monks are often ordained during the festival.

Uploaded

April 15th, 2016

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