Poy Sang Long
Encyclopedia
The Poy Sang Long is a rite of passage
ceremony
among the Shan peoples, in Myanmar
(also known as Burma) and in neighbouring Northern Thailand
, undergone by boys at some point between seven and fourteen years of age. It consists of taking novice monastic vows and participating in monastery life for a period of time that can vary from a week to many months or more. Usually, a large group of boys are ordained as novice monks
at the same time.
It can also be observed in neighbouring Thailand, where Shan immigrants have brought over the traditions from Myanmar. The ceremony goes on for three days, as the boys (dressed up like princes in imitation of the Lord Buddha, who was himself a prince before setting out on the religious path) spend the entire time being carried around on the shoulders of their older male relatives. On the third day, they are ordained, and enter the monastery for a period of at least one week, and perhaps many years.
Rite of passage
A rite of passage is a ritual event that marks a person's progress from one status to another. It is a universal phenomenon which can show anthropologists what social hierarchies, values and beliefs are important in specific cultures....
ceremony
Ceremony
A ceremony is an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin.-Ceremonial occasions:A ceremony may mark a rite of passage in a human life, marking the significance of, for example:* birth...
among the Shan peoples, in Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
(also known as Burma) and in neighbouring Northern Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, undergone by boys at some point between seven and fourteen years of age. It consists of taking novice monastic vows and participating in monastery life for a period of time that can vary from a week to many months or more. Usually, a large group of boys are ordained as novice monks
Samanera
A samanera ) may be translated as novice monk in a Buddhist context. The literal meaning is 'small samana', that is, small renunciate where 'small' has the meaning of boy or girl. In the Vinaya monastic discipline, a man under the age of 20 cannot ordain as a bhikkhu, but can ordain as a samanera...
at the same time.
It can also be observed in neighbouring Thailand, where Shan immigrants have brought over the traditions from Myanmar. The ceremony goes on for three days, as the boys (dressed up like princes in imitation of the Lord Buddha, who was himself a prince before setting out on the religious path) spend the entire time being carried around on the shoulders of their older male relatives. On the third day, they are ordained, and enter the monastery for a period of at least one week, and perhaps many years.
External links
- "The Poy Sang Long Festival" in Chiangrai Magazine
- "The Poy Sang Long Festival" by Thanapol Chadchaidee
- Poi Sang Long Festival in Chiang Dao
- Shan Tradition Rules in a Northern Thai Town Sai Silp, The IrrawaddyThe IrrawaddyThis article is about a newsmagazine. For other uses of the term, please see Irrawaddy.For the Second World War battle honour, see Battle of Pokoku and Irrawaddy River operations...
, April 2007 - "Shan - Rites of Passage - Sang Long" in Chiang Mai