Thai Weddings

[greedisgood]

I think this is an excellent explanation of a Thai wedding

 

From the BP 12, Dec 2002

 

 

 

A Bangkok wedding

 

 

Khun Kitti and Khun Waranthorn place food in the nine monks' bowls.

Over a year ago I described a wedding that occurred in Surin (http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakfast/a070901.html, a northeastern province in Thailand. As I mentioned in that series of articles, wedding ceremonies vary from region to region in Thailand.

 

Although the wedding ceremony I recently attended occurred in Bangkok, it followed the customs of Isan, which is the name given to the northeastern part of Thailand. The reason for this was because the parents of Khun Waranthorn, the bride, are from there. This ceremony originates from a province north of Surin and therefore, it differs from the Surin ceremony.

 

The bridegroom, Khun Kitti told me that the favourite day for a wedding in Thailand is Friday. On his wedding day and the event started at about 7 am when food was placed in the monks' bowls. Nine monks were invited to the bride's home because that number is considered to be lucky. This activity is called "tak bat."

 

The bridegroom then leaves the bride's home and meets friends and relatives who organise a procession back to the bride's home. The procession is called "kabuan khan mak," and it started about 50 metres from the bride's house.

 

Some members of the procession carry sugar cane and banana plants. The sugar cane is a symbol of long-term happiness and the banana plant represents fertility.

 

Behind the bridegroom's friends who lead the procession come other friends and relatives carrying a series of gilded bowls. The first bowl contains "khan mak" which is a chewy sweet. Along with the khan mak the first bowl also holds unmilled rice, sesame seeds, beans and a Thai flower called immortelle which represents everlasting love. The purpose of khan mak is to show respect to the bride's parents.

 

The second gilded bowl is called "sinsord," and contains money, gold and gemstones for the bride's parents.

 

Four more gilded bowls follow. Two contain desserts in the hope that they will help make the new couple's love sweet and the two remaining bowls contain traditional Thai fruits such as pomelo and coconut.

 

The wedding ceremony is called "bai sri sut kwan" and is conducted by a man called the "moh sut." The moh sut is a respected member of the community and the knowledge of conducting the wedding ceremony has been passed down to him from generation to generation.

 

Khun Kitti told me that most of these men are elderly and are not passing their knowledge on to the next generation. Thus the tradition of the moh sut may soon be lost.

 

The moh sut prays for the couple being married and finally quite literally ties the knot with strands of holy rope which are contained in a bowl made from banana leaves called a "bai sri."

 

The holy rope plays a significant role in the ceremony. You'll notice that the holy rope decorates the hair of both the bride and the groom symbolising the auspicious nature of the occasion. Finally, the moh sut ties the holy rope around one wrist of both the bride and groom and this signifies that they are officially married.

 

However, the end of the wedding ceremony did not mark the end of the wedding for the bride and groom. In the evening a large party was held for 400 invited guests.

 

As the bride and groom are from the Chinese-Thai community in Bangkok, it was of interest to note that many toasts and expressions of good wishes were given in the Chinese language at the evening banquet.

 

Although similar in format, there are differences in the two ceremonies. The description of the Surin ceremony was a three-part story which is available in the Breakfast in Bangkok archive section.

 

Traditional wedding ceremonies are a feature of traditional Thai culture that has passed into modern Thai society. The future of these ceremonies may be limited as the moh sut's role is not being transmitted to younger generations.

 

Go to http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakfast/current.html

to see the pics

[samak]

and than i was at the wedding reception in the grand ballroom of one of bangkok's five star hotel. both bride and groom from rich thai families. over thousand guests. a former prime minister as guest of honor, 2 current ministers on the guest list. drinks, snacks, no seats; short and very formal speeches, nobody listening. stayed around 1.5 hours during which the bridal couple did nothing else than taking pictures with all the guests. than we left for having a decent dinner....