THE ROBE OFFERING
THAI BUDDHISTS PREPARE FOR KATHINA, A TRADITIONAL MERIT-MAKING CEREMONY AT THE END OF LENT
Acombined festival of merit-making and dining takes place once a year. It’s a festival most Buddhists wouldn’t miss, the kathina ceremony.
Kathina is a tradition that has been passed on for generations. It is unclear where, when and how exactly it first took place. The information available in books is believed to be legends and tales.
The festival comes at the end of Buddhist Lent (also known as Vassa or the rain retreat), where monks would be allowed to travel afar or stay at other temples. But for propriety, they should only leave after their temple has already finished kathina. Kathina lasts for about one month after Vassa. Buddhists consider kathina a grand merit-making ceremony. They give to the monks new kathina robes or donate items that monks or the temple itself may need. People also donate money to the temple to help with utility bills or refurbishing buildings.
Buddhists prepare for months, planning which temple they will join in the
kathina. Many factors go into choosing the temple, such as one that is nearby, or one that is deteriorating, with less monks, far from developed cities, or a rural temple in their hometown. Or when monks from other provinces come and live in Bangkok, they may wish to bring respected families they’re familiar with and participate in the
kathina festival in their hometown. Lastly, some Buddhists want to organise a tour and bring tour groups to different provinces and participate in the ceremony as well.
In the past, before transportation wasn’t as easy, the most modern road only reached Ayutthaya with the rest of the way spent on a dirt road. It was easiest to commute on water, but it was also the slowest means of transportation. People travelled on a big passenger boat called a “mail boat”, which typically followed fixed routes to different provinces in the central part of the country. During the kathina festival, the boat would be hired for a special private ride. The journeys were enjoyable with lively music and food available throughout the ride, plus the pleasant atmosphere of the scenic riverside and rural communities.
Temples that were among kathina destinations were generally on the riverside. People who travelled there were welcomed warmly by locals who lived near the temple. It was considered a great honour to welcome Bangkok people and those from foreign lands. Accommodation for guests was prepared inside the sermon hall in a monastery. Food for the welcoming party was also the best, which was kanom jeen
nam ya or kanom jeen nam prik, which may be considered as ordinary by today’s standard.
In those days, kanom jeen was very special because it took four to five days just to make it. Rice had to be fermented and ground into flour. The flour was boiled into a lump and pounded inside a big wooden mortar to make it sticky. Then, the flour was poured into boiling water to make kanom
jeen noodles. As for the curry on top, cooks had to grate coconut, pound curry paste and use a lot of snakehead fish. For dessert, people ate khao tommud. For fruits, they had orange and banana. It was a meal the entire community helped in preparing.
Kathina in later generations became a much easier process. People travelled further to Isan and the North, and it was also more convenient in the Central Plains. Of course, food that was used to welcome the crowd remained local. In the Central Ragion, a big kitchen would be set up with a lot of helping hands on deck. Food was diverse. To welcome kathina guests, food was important as always.
The form of kathina in later years has been adjusted gradually to be more con- venient for both the temple and those wishing to participate. The goal is to raise more money for the temple.
From just a single group joining kathi
na, we now instead have many groups fundraising from several sources and coming for kathina on the same day. This is called krathin samakkhi, or kathina in solidarity. The ceremony is usually held on Saturday or Sunday for the convenience of participants.
Food that makes up the feast is sought from locals or those already in a food-related business. They come and set up their vendor or stall and give out food to those who come for kathina. Their idea of giving away food for free is considered a form of merit-making.
On the day of kathina, if the number of vendors and stalls is excessive with a great diversity of food options for the overflowing crowd, it becomes a big food festival. Its fame then grows, and the following year, the event becomes even bigger with more people and krathin samakkhi joining in, which also means more money.
The vendors and food stalls no longer gave away ordinary food. There sre various noodle stalls, padThai, hoy thod (fried omelette with oyster), rice with side dishes,
kanom jeen namya, fried chicken, Japanese sushi, bakeries, cakes and ice cream. The free feast starts from around 9am and goes on until the food runs out.
Kathina is a ceremony long celebrated and upheld by the people. It has been altered and adapted to better fit the era and situation. In the future, the goal remains the same, which is to fundraise for temples. But behind that, it stems from the solidarity of each community to come up with the form of events themselves. We can never anticipate what it will be like in the future.