According to Buddhist legends (which are almost always derivatives of the Hindu tradition), there lived a childless couple who desperately wanted a family. They prayed to Phra-In, one of the many Hindu gods, to grant them a baby. Phra-In was generous and gave them a son. The couple name the baby Dharmabarn.

Dharmabarn became the smartest man alive at the tender age of seven. He even had the ability to speak with birds. Far away, another smart and powerful man named Kabilaprom heard of Dharmabarn's abilities. Kabilaprom had seven daughters. Seven is an important number in this tale.

To see how smart the young Dharmabarn is, Kabilaprom challenged him with a riddle. If Dharmabarn can not answer the puzzle, he must sever his own head. If Dharmabarn is successful, Kabilaprom will sever his own head. The riddle is : In the morning, at noon and in the evening, where is the human wheel of life?

Dharmabarn asked for seven days to find his answer. On the sixth day, while Dharmabarn was napping underneath a tree, he overhead two eagles talking about the wheel of human life. The birds revealed to him that
1) In the morning, the wheel of life is on its face- that is why we wash our faces every morming.
2) At noon, the wheel of life is at its chest- that is why we wear perfume on our chests.
3) In the evening, the wheel of life is at its feet- that is why we wash our feet before going to bed.

Dharmabarn was correct. True to his promise, Kabilaprom cut off his own head. As Kabilaprom's head was in the midst of decapitation, his seven daughters held out a big tray to catch their father's head for fear that if the head fell into the earth, a great fire will engulf the planet. If the head is hurled in the air, the planet will suffer a catastrophic drought. If the head fell into the ocean, all the oceans would dry up. The daughters were faced with a predicament. To keep their father's head from touching the ground, the sky, or the water, they decided to keep the head suspended in a cave of a mountain. Every year, one of the daughters would retreive the head and parade around with it.

From this, on the third day of Pimai, Lao Buddhists choose a young lady to be the one who is bestowed the task of retreiving Kabilaprom's head. The young lady is surrounded by six others representing the other six daughters of Kabilaprom. In modern day, this selection is done via a beauty pageant.

If this third day falls on a Sunday, the chosen girl is given the name Nang Sangkan Tongsa (Sunday); Nang Sangkan Korark on a Monday; Nang Sangkan Rarks on a Tuesday; Nang Sangkan Munnaka on a Wednesday; Nang Sangkan Kirinee on Thursday; Nang Sangkan Kimita on a Friday; Nang Sangkan Mahotorn on a Saturday.