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The invitation to Phraa Uppakrut

In the late afternoon is staged the first main ritual of the series—the
invitation to Phraa Uppakrut, who lives in a perennial pond or swamp
(byng). Villagers said that before preaching the story of Phraawes it was
the custom to invite Phraa Uppakrut to the wat. Since the meaning of
Phraa Uppakrut poses problems, I propose to deal with it in some depth
in the final section of this chapter.

The set of ritual articles important in this rite is called kryang (things)
Phraa Uppakrut. They are: monk's bowl, a set of monk's yellow robes,
umbrella, a pair of monk's sandals, two small images of the Buddha,

karuphan (made of various kinds of flowers), puffed rice, two banana-leaf
trays containing locally made cigarettes, and a kettle. All these articles
were placed on a cushion which rested in the centre of a wooden sedan
chair. The procession actually started from the wat compound and was
led by three monks, who were followed by elderly leaders (phuu thaw)
carrying the sedan chair. Then followed a large body of villagers—men,
women and children. Guns were carried, and music was provided by
a bamboo flute and drums. Conspicuous were the flags with pictures of
Nang Thoranee (goddess of the earth), a mermaid, a crocodile, etc.; these
were, as noted earlier, used in the Bun Kathin rites, to represent Buddha's
victorious battle with Mara. The procession, after passing through the
hamlet, headed for a pond in the paddy fields. The ponds selected must
have water all the year round.

After the usual preliminaries in any Buddhist ceremony—lighting of
candles, offering of candles and flowers to the Buddha, and requesting
of the five precepts—Uppakrut was invited. An elder placed the two small
Buddha images on the cover of the monk's bowl. Another held a dish of
flowers and a candle in his hand (as an offering to Phraa Uppakrut), while
the former chanted the invitation to Uppakrut to come and be guardian
of the ceremony. As he chanted, he threw some puffed rice on to the
sedan chair, again as an offering to Uppakrut. Next the guns were fired
several times, the drums were loudly beaten, and all the people shouted
`chaiyo'. (It was said that the guns were fired to frighten off Praya Mara,
and `chaiyo' was shouted in order to proclaim victory.) After this the
monks chanted `chaiyanto', the victory blessing—this was to bless all
those who had joined the procession. The kettle was then taken by an
elder to the pond and filled with water, and placed on the sedan. The
Buddha images were put in the bowl, and the sedan chair lifted. The
procession returned by a different route, entered the wat by a different
gate, and circumambulated the sala three times in the usual clockwise
direction. The sedan chair was carried into the sala, and the articles
(kryang) were put on a shelf in the corner. All the flags were placed near
the pulpit. The kettle of water was put on a high shelf. (Informants said
that when the entire gnan bun (merit ceremony) was over, the water would
be ceremonially thrown away: `Uppakrut lives in the water; that is why
the water is brought.')

Later in the evening, the monks chanted suad mongkhon and sprinkled holy
water on the congregation, which consisted only of old men and women.

The events of the next two days form one continuous series, but I shall
in the following subsections separate out two major ritual sequences: the
thewada ceremony and the recitation of Mahachad.

In the afternoon of the day following the invitation to Uppakrut, a
sermon concerning Pramalai (Malaya Sutta), was preached by the monks.
Since listening to such sacred texts is considered a highly merit-making
act, a large congregation consisting of men, women and children of all
ages were present. The gist of the sermon is as follows: Pramalai was
a monk who went to hell (narog) to preach to all sinners. His visit and
his preaching helped to alleviate their sins. Then he ascended to the
heavens (sawan)—with sixteen levels—to preach to those who had made
merit. He then came to the world of human beings (log) and told them
what he had seen in heaven and hell.[5] This sermon in a sense appropriately
reflects the three major sequences of the Bun Phraawes festivities—the
inviting of Phraa Uppakrut who lives in the swamp, and of the thewada
who are heavenly beings, followed by the great sermon addressed to
human and supernatural devotees.