Disposition 10
Written in the letter was a description of how my parents were and how my aunty was excited that I was coming over to Thailand to visit her. I felt a sense of relieve that I was finally able to know how my parents were like. In the envelope, there were a few pictures of my parents. I kept it in a safe place in my bag as though my life depended on it.
A few day has passed, many people in the neighborhood were getting used to the fact that my aunty has passed away and they are trying to get their life back together. Many of them started to prepare for the upcoming festival, Loi Karthong. Loi Karthong is a festival where baskets with offerings are placed in river as it floats away. The baskets are made by many different materials such as, bread, Styrofoam or sometimes banana stalk. It is recommended that the baskets are made out of either bread or banana stalk as even though it might crumble when it is in contact with water, they are biodegradable and they provide the fishes in the river with food. Styrofoam takes a long time to decompose and pollutes the environment. Therefore, they are more environmentally friendly.
The definition of Loi Karthong is to float a basket. A Karthong is decorated with exotic banana leaf displays, incense sticks and candles. The candles are lighted as it floats along the river. Sometimes a small bag of coins are placed in the Karthong as an offering to the water sprit.
The neighbors were decorating their baskets, I went over to my cousin’s house to help him with his decorations. He taught me the different ways to fold the banana leaves for decoration. It was really complicated. While he was teaching me how to fold the leaves, I asked him what Loi Karthong represents and what it means to the people of Thailand. The Loi Karthong is one of the biggest festival celebrated in Thailand and it takes place everywhere in the country. It is believed to be based from different religious backgrounds dating as far back as 6000 years ago. Brahman doctrines are at the core of this festival with a huge influence coming from Buddhism. The celebration has to be held on the full moon in November. The basket is believed to represent oneself, as they place the baskets in the river, they make wishes, ask for forgiveness and acknowledging their blessings.
Loi Karthong is a holiday which celebrates the teachings of the Buddha and the Buddha himself. It is also a form of atonement for the pollution that is dumped into rivers and lakes. The candle which is lighted represents ones anger and defilements. As the basket floats away, it means that those things are floating away as well.
My cousin told me that that were many stories of how Loi Karthong originated. He began to tell me the story that he could remember. Loi Karthong celebrates the lotus that grew when the Buddha first walked on the river. The many forms of forgiveness and atonements are made as it is believed to be a sin when a boat or pollutant is affecting the area where the Buddha has set foot.
At the end, my cousin told me to put some effort into the basket which I was making as there would be a prize given out to the nicest basket.
The next day, I went to check the letter box to see if I had any letters from back home. Most of the letters were condolences from people who knew our aunty. Among those letters, there was one from Tibet. I opened the letter and it was written by the head monk and it said that a man known as the crazy old man who was living in a cave for many years has died and they are preparing his funeral. I always knew that there was someone living in a cave all by himself but little was known about him. From the few conversations I had with the elderly people in my village and they said that he believed that he was a reincarnation of an Arhat and he stayed in the cave in an attempt to be enlighten. From what they said, he left the village at a very young age as many of the villagers did not believe that he was an Arhat and he did not believe in the village’s ideas and wanted implement his believes. He wanted to prove it to us that his believes is the right way to go.
Many people said that he they said that he had a very eccentric character. Based on the elderly people in the village, he was a very solitary person. He does not come to the village unless there is a special occasion. He has no living relatives in the village to help out in the funeral. When I was younger, I heard many stories about him. Most said that he was a monster living in the cave and I should avoid him as much as possible.
I was think about of the many way they might burry him. They cannot burry him using the tree burial method as it is used for kids. As he is believed not to have any infectious diseases or died by unnatural causes, inhumation cannot be used in him. I also feel that a water burial would not be an appropriate method for him as I feel that he is not considered a person of low social standing even though he lived in a cave for most of his life. Since he did not get enlightened, I believed that a sky burial cannot be performed on him.
I believe that of the many burial ways, cliff burial or sky burial is the best for him. Cliff burial is mostly practiced in southern Tibet. It is done by embalming the corpse and placing it into a wooden box similar to a coffin. The box is placed in a cave on a cliff and left to rot. For sky burials, it is considered to be the most common form of burial in Tibet. The body of the deceased is skinned and dissected and placed in an open and rocky area. The bones are then crushed and mixed with tsamps (usually wheat flour). The body is laid down for vultures to eat at the remains. It is thought to be the ultimate form of sacrifice and it is a way to give back to nature. Once the vultures are done eating the flesh, the bones are collected and they are burned in a ceremonial fire. It is believed that the birds are a vessel to bring the souls to heaven.
After thinking about my answer, I wrote a letter back to the head monk that a cliff burial or a sky burial would be appropriate for him. After that, I got back to decorating my basket. I was not about to lose to in the competition for the best decorated basket.
The day of Loi Karthong has arrived. The whole neighborhood gathered at the nearby river with their beautifully decorated baskets that took days for them to prepare. As we were getting ready to float the baskets in the river, I placed some nail clippings that I got earlier when I was cutting my nails on the basket. We all placed the baskets in the river and watched it float by. We did a prayer as it float by. I felt that all my problem and the bad year that I had so far with the hail and expedition exiting my mind and floating away with my basket. After the ceremony, they started to announce the winners for the best decorated baskets. I did not manage to win the competition but I managed to get in fifth place. Not bad for my first try.
A few days after the ceremony, I had to leave Thailand and head back to my village. My cousin along with everyone in the neighborhood treated me to a huge going away dinner and they sent me to the airport. As the plane took off the runway in Thailand, I thought to myself, I am really going to miss this place and I am glad to know my cousin, my only relative that I know of.
