The Great Propitiation Rite for Tao Wessuwan, Wat Chulamanee, Fifth Occasion, B.E. 2567
Date
18 February 2024
A photo record of the great propitiation rite (buang suang) for Tao Wessuwan at Wat Chulamanee — the great offering stage, banana-leaf nāga sculptures, bai si offerings and the dance offering — Sunday 18 February B.E. 2567 (2024).
The great propitiation rite for Tao Wessuwan at Wat Chulamanee was held on Sunday 18 February B.E. 2567 (2024) at Wat Chulamanee, Bang Chang Subdistrict, Amphawa District, Samut Songkhram Province. The publicity poster visible in the photographs reads simply “Great Propitiation Rite · Tao Wessuwan · Wat Chulamanee · 18 February 2567”.
This set records the great offering stage laid with red cloth in a gilded Chinese cloud pattern, set with tiered bai si, banana-leaf nāga sculptures several metres tall, mounded fruit, whole roast pigs and pigs’ heads on silver trays; the ritual enclosure ringed with ceremonial standards; the white-robed brahmin in a gold-embroidered sash officiating alongside the monks; and the presiding senior monk carrying a long-handled candle holder, lighting candles and sprinkling lustral water over each sponsor’s offering table in turn until the whole ground had been covered.
Towards the end of the rite there was a dance offering by performers in full classical costume with Chinese fans, before an assembly of several hundred participants who sat holding the sacred cord throughout the multipurpose hall and out across the ground in front of the marble ubosot.