Chiang Mai (Northern Thailand) Tourist Guide


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A Sharing Moment on ‘Tan kuay salak’ Day

Text : Mario
Images : SP

Gifts for whom?

It’s a common practice in Thai society to perform positive deeds in anticipation of good fortune in life and better karma. Apart from offering food to monks, people also offer necessary objects as a way of transferring the merit earned by their good deeds to relatives who’ve passed away. Normally, Buddhist monks walk around villages in the morning to receive food from householders. However, during the rainy season especially in times past there was a likelihood that monks crossing rice paddies would damage the crops. So, at the beginning of Buddhist Lent, monks pretty well stay inside their temples until the planting and harvesting seasons are over, with laypeople bringing food and other necessities to them where they are.

One of the big events held during Buddhist Lent - that’s to say from khau pansa in July, to auk pansa in October - is ‘Tan kuay salak’ when people in the same village or towns join together to bring food and other needed offerings, packed in baskets, to offer to the monks of their locality. The word ‘kuay’ refers to a bamboo basket, ‘salak’ is a piece of paper or palm leaves indicating the names of the dead people they want to bestow the blessing on, and the word ‘tan’ means ‘to give’. Normally this event is held during the period from the Northern 12th month (September) until October-November.

There is a legend about the origin of this ceremony. The story tells of a yaksinee (giantess) attacking villagers. The Lord Buddha heard what she was doing and preached to her, so that she understood the Buddhist teaching. The giantess showed her appreciation of the Buddha’s metta-karuna (kindness and mercy) by changing her behaviour. Instead of attacking the villagers she devoted her supernatural powers to help them, mainly by predicting whern rain would fall (so that planting could begin) and other natural phenomena. In their turn, the villagers showed their gratitude by offering both the giantess and the Buddha’s clerical followers food and other necessary items.

Out in the rural areas, tan kuay salak is a fun-filled community activity, people of all ages getting together to prepare things for the ceremony. The first thing to be done is pack everything - dried foods, rice, herbs, fruits, flowers, candles and incense sticks - into baskets. In the past, people cooked most of the foods themselves, and collected fruits from their own gardens and orchards. When that was done, they tied the baskets shut with bamboo strips, and put flowers, candles and incense sticks on the tops.

Apart from the kuay or basket, another important item is the ‘salak’, which is really like a message or letter to the deceased person to whom the merit is being offered, usually a relative. In the past the salak was made of palm leaves, but it’s now replaced by a leaf or paper. People write the names of their passed-away relatives, or deities - and even the animals that help them such as buffaloes and dogs, perhaps adding some words or a prayer. They also put their own names in too, so that the good karma generated will flow both ways - to recipients and themselves.

The Ritual of ‘Tan kuay salak’

On the day after packing the baskets, the participants carry them in procession to the designated temple, singing, dancing and drumming as they go, and it may be that not only one set of villagers will go to the temple. They may be joined by neighboring villagers, and in return their temple will also be visited when they hold the ceremony. The ceremony is done inside the viharn or assembly hall. The number of baskets depends on a household or individual’s capability and how much they want to show respect to Buddhism. On this day, almost all people in the village and their visitors will gather around the temple and it is a very warm, friendly moment for every household to do the activities which takes place inside the viharn or assembly hall.

When the monks’ chanting finishes, people move to sit with their baskets. The temple officiator shuffles the name labels (salak) and lets the monks choose, one by one. This is a lot of fun because the villagers don’t know which monk will get their name labels. They have to find out and take their alms basket to the right monks. They regard this as a pure donation because it is done randomly and they do not specify the monk who will receive their alms - this is the main idea of the ‘tan kuay salak’ ceremony. In the past people had a lot of fun drawing lots and guessing who their alms basket would go to. Nowadays, some places still practice the same style, while others make it easier, putting a number on each basket and letting the monks find which one is a matched basket and then bless the owner. However, many people state that the old style is much more fun.

The appearance of the baskets also may differ, depending on purposes and budget. For example, a small basket is for a passed-away relative, friend or cattle. In case the donors don’t have deceased relatives and don’t know who to make the offering for, it’s acceptable to donate a basket in expectation of earning a better karma through this meritorious deed in the life to come. A bigger basket, which contains more objects, is likely to be donated by a well-to-do person who believes that a bigger basket brings more obvious and effective merit. However, the Buddhist way maintains that how much merit you gain depends on your strong determination and willingness to give.

Very well off people decorate a tree called ‘salak chok’. This also is meant to pass all the virtuous deeds to their dead relatives and to show their gratefulness. The salak chok is a tree decorated with basic items such as blankets, bed sheets, pillows, rice pots, jars, bowls, dishes, and many other kitchen utensils, plus umbrellas, clothes, dried food and even money. The salak chok tree is often elaborately decorated. In some region, Lamphun province for instance, only a single virgin girl can be the one who offers the tree to the monks.

In the past, people cooked the food by themselves for this important event, and family members would help each other prepare and make it. After the event, they would also share some of the food with neighbors and friends. They would often pick up fruit such as longan, oranges, sugarcane and bananas from their own gardens to put in a basket, fruits. However, nowadays people have less time, especially as the younger generation have left the elders’ homes and moved to the capital and there’s nobody to help, so often a kuay salak basket is filled with snacks bought from the market.

Due to the fact that a lot of food is offered on this day, sometimes there are leftovers. Dried food is then kept in the temple’s store room, while cooked food will be shared between the villagers. If somebody wants to donate dried or canned food, they can do it by giving money directly to the temple. In one way or another, this event is a big food-sharing activity. People meet, chat and eat together, as well as taking back food cooked from somebody’s house. Even poor people get to food back home by paying a little money to the monks. So this is a very useful activity among villagers. Unfortunately, the numbers taking place nowadays is declining and this ceremony is performed only out in the country.

‘Tan kuay salak’ is a real communal activity. You bring your alms basket and give it to an unknown monk. You bring your food in a basket which will be shared to anybody who joins the activity. Everything is random and non-specified.

So this is a really strong community-promoting and strengthening activity, and is much appreciated.