The Dynamic and Retrial of Representation of Hae Pha Khuen That Tradition, Phra Maha That Varamahavihara Temple, Nakhon Si Thammarat

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the dynamism and revival of meaning in the tradition of Stupa’s Fabric Tarpaulin-carrying Procession (Hae Pha Khuen That in Thai) performed in Wat Phra Maha That Temple, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province. The result is as follows – the tradition has been generally identified since the late 2520 B.E. by focusing on “fabric tarpaulins.” as mentioned in the Southern Thai Cultural Encyclopedia referring to the mythical legend of the great Buddha’s relic stupa of Nakhon Si Thammarat, a type of dedicative fabric tarpaulin in Buddhism is the so-called “Phra Bot,” an oblong painting cloth. After examining the primitive local narrative, however, some details are adapted to be matched with the provincial government’s description of Stupa’s Fabric Tarpaulin-carrying Procession even though it gets contradictory with the local meaning of the traditional Stupa’s Fabric Tarpaulin Celebration (Long Pha). Phra Bot cloths have not been discovered in Nakhon Si Thammarat Area since 1773 B.E. or earlier. The historical local rulers here seem to be only the establishment of reasonability for requesting tarpaulins from the royals.
Owing to academic expansion in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province itself in the 2510-2520 B.E., it is necessary to re-identify the tradition of Stupa’s Fabric Tarpaulin-carrying Procession by using academic evidence and methodology-the overlapping definition of Phra Bot cloths that dissolves the essence of folk narratives, so the local separately perform their own Stupa’s Fabric Tarpaulin Celebration to encounter the government’s activity and revise the meaning of tradition.