Lao Voices

I went to a Boun event last Sunday, but didn’t have a chance to post this until today. It is a Boun event for a respectable member of our Lao community’s step dad whom passed away awhile back, and it falls on the same day as an important Buddhist religious day called Asalha Puja Day, it’s the day of the announcement the first sermon of the Buddha (Sangha Day), and the Buddhist Lent Day held at our local Wat (temple).

It is especially nice to see lots of young people there, many elders brought their children along, I guess just like my sister and I, we went with my dad. I wrote about Tum Boun in the past, and this is part of it.

What kind of expectation do people have when they Tum Boun? What does Boun look like? Where does Boun go? In addition, how does Boun get there? It’d be a lot easier to see if Boun has physical appearance, and we can actually see that it gets to where we intent for it to go, this is the part that faith comes into play. We all have faith that when we Tum Boun, the Boun would some how get to that person, whether it’s for yourself, your love one, passed love one, or generally given to all living creatures (dead or alive) and wandering spirits. Just because we Tum Boun, doesn’t mean that it’ll go to those that I’ve just mentioned above, there has to be a messenger that deliver the Boun and many times we’d hear it in the chanting of offering of Boun; which is to ask the person to come and receive the Boun, and for some unknown reason as to why that person can’t come, then we’d invite Tavarda (angel from above), and Ma Jour Tor Ra Nee (mother earth from below) to deliver a message to that person (mention name) to come and receive the Boun. Some of us might remember the ceremony of water pouring called Yord Nom. Have you ever wondered why we’ve to pour the water while the monks were chanting and after that, we’d pour the water outside, normally to a huge tree or bush. This is a way to communicate with Ma Jour Tor Ra Nee (mother earth) because when we pour the water on to earth, we’d ask her to deliver the message of Boun to our passed love ones, make sure you mention name(s), very important, so they can come and receive their Boun.

I’m not sure ‘Tai Ban Dai’ would wear this, fashion for Lao men is more colorful this day, or he is just leading the trend. I’m wondering which village is he from because my dad (Tai Tai, Southern Laos) has a blue and white checkers pattern made out of Lao silk, this is something that I’m more familiar with, and used to seeing. I think it looks very distinguish when worn by Lao men.

When you see food offering for monks, there is always a Pra Kao Tip for the spirit outside, for passed loved one.

Lao people know how to treat their guests, when there is a gathering, you can expect good food.

Lao people in our area, most have a little garden, this part is a treat for me.

So don’t forget about your passed loved one(s), some people would Tum Boun every year, and called it Buddha House Blessing. If it’s not convenient to do it at home, then many people find that a temple is a better place to Tum Boun, it’s called Sunka Tarn, and can be done more than once a year.