Phi Tha Khon
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In the version of the tale subscribed to in Dansai, the festivities accompanying the prince's return to the kingdom were so noisy that they awakened the spirits of the dead, who gleefully joined in the merrymaking.
Phi Tha Khon, then, includes a reenactment of the triumphal return procession of the prince, while many of the villagers, dressed in colorful, if often hideous, costumes, play roles as ghostly spirits wearing uniquely devised masks that have evolved from a local folk tradition.
This is a view from within the temple where some of the celebrations will take place on the following day, looking out towards the street where the paraders will pass by.
And the revelry begins, on the eve of the parade.
"Ghosts" perform with gleeful abandon in the streets while a rock concert entertains a gathering crowd of festival-goers.
Phi Tha Khon festivalDansai festivalPhi Tha Khon rock concert
This view inside the local temple grounds, taken as darkness was descending, includes a glimpse of the small Phi Tha Khon museum, right, which contains a collection of masks and accompanying commentaries that outline their history and evolution over the years.
The Phi Tha Khon masks combine three main components: a hat, face, and nose. The hat is fashioned from a huad, a woven-bamboo container used to steam sticky rice, which is folded along the bottom to conform to the size of the wearer's head.
The face is made from the base of a coconut-palm frond, with openings cut for the eyes, and the nose is carved from a piece of soft wood. Some simple masks are made using only a huad, onto which a face is painted.
Once a fairly plain element, the nose has evolved over time to take on a variety of elaborate shapes and designs.
Originally, only three colors made from natural materials were used to paint the masks: black, white, and red, as seen in a previous photo. Today, acrylic paint and urethane are used, giving the masks a high gloss.
To complete the mask, cloth is sewn onto the back in order to hide the back of the wearer's head and neck. Some masks also have "horns" attached, which are cut from coconut-palm lobes.
On the main day of the Phi Tha Khon festival, people gather in the courtyard of the local temple, where music and dancing begin.
Even the little ones dance on stage, accompanied by musicians playing traditional instruments.
And the dancing continues.
The festival's significance as a fertility rite is emphasized by the pervasive presence of oversize phallic objects, many of them hand-carried and used to provoke amusement in parade onlookers, others incorporated directly as appendages to the masks.
Masks made simply from huad, the baskets used to steam rice
Phi Tha Khon festivalDansai festivalPhi Tha Khon masksPhi Tha Khon parade
Attendants accompany the prince's return home.
Vessantara, the prince, returns with his consort, happily back from banishment.
Phi Tha Khon festivalDansai festivalPrince VessantaraPhi Tha Khon parade
A detail from one of the floats in the parade
A girl with a highly ornate traditional mask
Phi Tha Khon festivalDansai festivalPhi Tha Khon masksPhi Tha Khon parade
The multi-tiered standards that the men are carrying are called hti. Here they represent symbols of royalty, heralding the entrance into the village of the "prince" and the "king."
I'm guessing this is the king, Vessantara's father, who had gone to summon the prince home.
Among the ghosts at the festival, two giant, seriocomic fertility figures, phi tha khon yai, male and female, represent abundance in general: of crops, of offspring, and in matters of business. The whirling male giant is seen here.
Phi Tha Khon festivalDansai festivalphi tha khon yaiPhi Tha Khon masksPhi Tha Khon parade
