The Sand Cetiya Creating Tradition: The Process of Cultural Space Production in the Bangsaen Wan Lai Festival

Abstract

The objectives of the research “The Sand Cetiya Creating Tradition: The Process of Cultural Space Production on the Bangsaen Wan Lai festival” were 1) to study the history, beliefs, concepts and patterns of sand cetiya creating during the Bangsaen Wan Lai festival; 2) to analyze the process of creating cultural space; and 3) to present guidelines for preserving, inheriting, and creating the sand cetiya building tradition. This study employed a qualitative research methodology. The informants included a group of 74 people involved in sand cetiya creating tradition. They were selected using ratio and random sampling techniques. The data were collected using observations, interviews, and focus group discussions. The results of the research were then presented using a descriptive analysis.
The results of research revealed that the tradition has been inherited since the settlements of cetiya worshippers in the Theravada Buddhist tradition. The patterns of sand cetiya creating has involved from the traditional patterns to the patterns based on important cetiya in Thailand and the contemporary art patterns, while the ideas of sand cetiya creating is dynamic. Regarding the process of cultural space production, it was found that Saen Suk Municipality had a policy to create physical cultural areas. This resulted in the learning process of creating sand cetiya in various patterns, and of different cultural aspects of the sand cetiya. The study suggested the following guidelines for preserving, inheriting, and creating the tradition: collecting data, raising collective consciousness of the community, establishing local wisdom network, further developing both concepts and patterns and creating space for cultural practice.