The white strings of change and restoration: Baci

Somsack Pongkhao

The popular Baci or Sou Khuan ceremony is a ritual that restores the natural order of things and brings communities closer together. The Baci is held by people nationwide to ask for good luck, riches and long life in the dry season, during festival time or after events that change people's lives.
"We believe that pain and sickness will be gone after organising the ceremony," said one elderly woman who organises a Baci every year during the Lao New Year celebrations.

This ceremony appears to have become more of a cheerful formality than just a simple ritual, but few Lao people would dare to undertake a long journey or initiate an important enterprise without participating in it.
They are afraid that they would be unlucky or their business would be bankrupted if they failed to organise the ceremony. It is a ceremony of prayers and good wishes. It can be performed for a variety of reasons such as farewells, marriages, greeting family members or relatives after a long absence, greeting newborn children, honoring achievements or recovering from illness.
The Baci ceremony is the most charming face of all Lao customs. It is believed that the ritual serves to call people's souls back to their bodies so that they would have only happy and enjoyable thoughts.
The ceremony is usually held for a particular person and participated in by relatives and friends. Participants sit in queues eagerly waiting to tie white strings on the wrists of the key participant and offer them well wishes.
The ceremony is mental food, encouraging people to understand the value of their lives so that they could overcome all of the obstacles affecting their participation in society.

photo: http://diwww.epfl.ch/~samout/Laosarts/Baci.gif

"Good mental health is a special kind of medicine to overcome all of the diseases that may threaten to destroy us," said Phra Maha Bounyouk, a former teacher at the Sangha College at Ongteu temple. "If you don't have good mental health, you will get older more quickly and be sad all the time."
Today, the Baci ceremony is becoming more and more popular among people in the society. It is still used on official occasions.
Lao officials like to organise it to receive foreign guests, extending them wishes of good luck during their visit. The ceremony helps to create solidarity for people in the community while they conduct activities together.
In practice, a number of people sit around the Pha Khuan (a centre piece), which is decorated with flowers, folded banana leaves and branches with white cotton strings hanging down; bananas, boiled eggs, chicken, pastries, cookies (Lao style), liquors, drinking water and money are placed surrounding the base of the Pha Khuan as offering to the soul in attendance.
The ceremony is always conducted by a Mor Phon, usually an elder who has spent some time as a monk in the past. He lights the candles, which have been placed on top of the Pha Khuan. He then gives prayers while all in attendance hold their hands in a prayer-like, palm-together pose.
If there are too many participants for everyone to reach the base of the Pha Khuan, it's permissible to touch the elbow of some, who can reach it, thus forming a human chain.
The Mor Phon would call people's soul to come to the flower arrangement by saying Ma Yeu Khuan Euy "please come, soul !" and participants then repeat after the Mor Phon. Participants touch the flower arrangement with their hands to welcome the soul. Each participant will also touch the upper arm or back of the person closer to the flower arrangement, or of someone whose wrists are being tied with strings to ensure that the good luck transfers to them as well.
Everyone takes a white string and ties it around each wrist of the honoured guests while whispering a short, well-wishing recitation.
Food and drinks are served after the ceremony, followed by a party.
"Before people tie a white string around the wrists of each guest, they tie a knot in the string. It is believed that the string would firmly tie the soul with their bodies. They also like to put food or drinks on the person's palm while tying their wrists to ensure they will have a lot of things to eat and drink in the future," Maha Bounyouk said.
He explained that the person who ties the string will move it along the recipient's hand and say Hai Kuat Nee (bad things leave) and Dee Kuat Khao (good things come) three times to bring auspicious meaning to the recipient. The recipient will raise their right hand up to their chest level in the prayer-pose to show their respect for the person who is tying the string.
At first, the Baci ceremony might look a bit like your average drinking contest, but a Baci ceremony is an ancient rite used as a blessing, to perform a marriage, to say welcome or farewell, or to honour achievement. Ceremonies vary in formality, but most are inclusive by nature. Foreign visitors might be invited in, offered a seat in the circle on the floor, and offered plates of food.
The ceremony itself is slow, taking one or two hours. People come and go and casually chat over the sound of chants and singing. Participants sit in a circle around a bouquet of flowers or offerings of food and join hands, saying prayers and blessings in both chanting and song.
White strings tied around all celebrants' wrists are to be worn for 3 days thereafter for good luck.
The Baci ceremony originated from the Hindu religion in India. It went to Cambodia at the time when a young boy Konthonyaman went to marry the daughter of the Cambodian king. The ceremony was practiced in Cambodia for quite a long time and then it was brought to the Land of Million Elephants during the reign of the King Fa Ngum, who united the country.

Source: http://www.vientianetimes.org.la

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