Precious Traditions and Ways of Life |49
Bot ThamKhwanKhao (ThamKhwanKhao ritual text)
Bot Tham Khwan Khao is a verse sung during the
rice growers’ ritual for restoring the soul of Mae Posop. It is
called differently in different regions. But the similarities are
“Inviting the Khwan” or “Calling the Khwan” part and the
“Kho Phon” part which asks for Mae Phosop’s blessings to
make rice bountiful. The verse often heard when performing
the Tham Khwan Khao ritual is: “Mae Phosi, Mae Phosop,
Mae Nopdara, Mae Chandevi, Mae Sri Soda, may I invite
the mothers to take the offerings in a farmhouse in Khao
Khitchakut. May I invite you to get morning sickness of
pregnancy, to eat sweet and sour things, to eat oily and
salty foods, in and out, left and right of the paddy field.
May I invite you to take the offerings. May the rice abundant
without harm. May the rice grow as large as a bludgeon
with the belly as big as a basket, ear of the paddy as big
as galangal flower, all good over the field.”