The Journal of the Siam Society Vol. LXIV, Part 1-2, 1976 - Khamkoo

IlUl>IJHIST PILGRIMAGE IN NOHTHEASTERN THAILAND 185
during December 1971, the amounts of cash donated ranged from 1 baht
(lJ.S. 5 cents) to 100 baht (lJ S. $5), with the majority of devotees donating
beetween 1 and 10 baht. These donations are used to cover the
expenses for the upkeep of the shrine; the collection boxes are opened
and the contents removed by the lay custodians at the end of each month.
Cash may be presented to the shrine by a group of pilgrims. The sum,
collected prior to the pilgrimage, comprises the total contributions of
the individual members of the group.
These donations sometimes accompany
the presentation of monks' requisites and other items, in which
case the donation is made in the form of an artificial "tree" of bamboo
and twisted cot ton thread which is decked with banknotes of various
denominations. According to a sample of 50 group contributions
recorded during the shrine festival of !972, the amounts ranged from 10
baht (59 cents) up to 327 baht (around $16.35), with the most frequent
donations between 100 and 150 baht ($5-$7).
used for maintenance of the shrine.
These donations are also
Monks' requisites (including both robes and other articles used by
monks) are presented by members of a family or large groups of devotees
at the shrine. These presentations are not limited to pilgrimage. However,
the ceremony at Wat Phra That Pbanom includes an adaptation of the
meritorious act of giving which differentiates it from similar acts at local
village temple-monasteries. The ceremony usual.ly involves the active
participation of a monk or layman who represents his group of pilgrims
and a monk who represents the shrine. It takes place in the courtyard
directly in front of the stupa. Most of the ceremonial presentations
observed at Wat Phra That Phanom included the following recitations,
divided into phrases uttered by the monk or lay leader and repeated in
unison by the members of the group:
(a)
(b)
(c)
Veneration of the Three Gems (in Pali).
Veneration of tbe Buddha, which consists of the Pali formula,
"Namo tass a bhagavato arahato sammasambuddhasa" ("Veneration
to the Blessed Arahant, the Fully Enlightened One"),
uttered three times.
Veneration of the That Phanom Buddha-relic (in Pali).