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สาขาวรรณกรรมพื้
นบ้
าน
มรดกภู
มิ
ปั
ญญาทางวั
ฒนธรรม
76
time, Mo Khwan will lead the procession of the
ordination candidate to the temple --wealthy
hosts usual ly
arrange a large
procession with
musical bands,
dance and some
traditional games.
The ordination
candidate will
either walk or
be carried on shoulders or ride on an animal - on
an elephant’s back or on a horseback, for example.
Generally, Bot ThamKhwanNak is divided into several
parts -- “Bot Wai Khru”, “Bot Khamnoet Nak”,
“Bot Khun Manda”, “Bot Khanan Nam Nak”,
“Bot Son Nak”, “Bot Chom Bai Si”, and “Bot An-choen
Khwan”.
The highlight part in the Bot Tham Khwan Nak is
BotKhunManda” (a tributetothemother)whichdescribes
how mothers suffer during pregnancy and delivery.
It depicts the motherly love for her children. Mo Khwan
who is proficient in his art can pull at the audience’s
heartstring with his rhapsodic rendering of the text.
Although the Tham Khwan Nak rite is still performed
today, the rite is done so in a much abridged version
and high-caliber Mo Khwan are hard to find. Presently,
the songs used to accompany the Tham Khwan Nak
ceremony are replaced in almost every region of the
country by Phleng Luk Thung - country songs - for the
participants’ entertainment.
Tham Khwan Nak ritual text
-
the text reciting in
the pre-ordination rite - is used by Mo Khwan (a ritual
practitioner who reads “Bot Tham Khwan”) during
the pre-ordination rite. In the Thai tradition, when
a young man reaches 20 years of age, the parents
would arrange for an ordination to be a Buddhist
monk, preferably for three months during the Buddhist
Lent. Before the ordination, the young man will visit
the abbot of the temple (where he will be ordained)
or the monk who will be his preceptor (spiritual
teacher) for the coaching in the ordination rite to
recite the Tham Khwan Nak ritual text. One day
before the ordination day, the host will organize
a transitional rite called, “Tham Khwan Nak.”
During theThamKhwanNak ceremony, theordination
candidate will have his head, beard and eyebrows
shaved and his fingernails clipped. He will wear a white
p l e a t e d -
cloth, a gold-
embroidered
cloak, a wrap
over the left
s h o u l d e r ,
a belt etc.
Then he will
sit in front of
the Khrueang
Bai Si (multi-tiered, pagoda-shaped receptacle made
of banana leaves and used for containing ritual food
offerings). Mo Khwan will then read “Bot Tham Khwan
Nak” in a melodical style, starting from the “Bot Wai”
(paying respect), “Bot Chumnum Thewada” (inviting
the deities), “Bot Namo” (worshipping the Buddha),
“Bot Wa i Khru”- ( respect ing the teacher s ) ,
“Bot Khun Manda” (recalling the benevolence of the
mother), and “Bot Choen Khwan Nak” (inviting the
spirit of the ordination candidate). At the auspicious
Tham Khwan Nak Ritual Text