boon bang fai (บุญบั้งไฟ, บุณบั้งไฟ)

Thai name for the annual Rocket Festival (fig.), as held in many parts of Isaan and in a few places in the North, to celebrate the ending of the Hot Season and the beginning of the wet monsoon and the rice planting season. It is believed that there are nagas (fig.) living in the skies where they create the rains. In Isaan, legend has it that Phraya Thaen, the angel of the waters, ordered the nagas to play in Lake Anohdaad, a place in Himaphan, so that water spilled down to the human earth as rain, the primary natural source of  water. It is thought that during the dry season the nagas fell asleep and people in Isaan will therefore launch makeshift bamboo-rockets into the sky (fig.), in order to wake up the naga's, so they can send down the rains needed for nourishing their crops. These rockets are made from up to 10 meter large bamboo containers, filled with din prasiw (ดินประสิว), i.e. nitre (saltpetre) and charcoal, with the amount used depending on the type of rocket. There are namely three types, i.e. Bang Fai Kilo (บั้งไฟกิโล), which contains one kilogram of nitre, Bang Fai Meun (บั้งไฟหมื่น), which is filled with 12 kilograms of nitre, and Bang Fai Saen (บั้งไฟแสน‎), the largest rocket, with 120 kilograms of nitre (fig.). Veteran specialists calculate the proper proportion of nitre and charcoal, so that the rocket will be launched smoothly, without exploding on the ground. Teams of villagers compete with each other in making the most beautifully decorated rockets and may spend months doing so. They are decorated with Thai traditional patterns in gold and include nagas, as well as other figures related to rain-begging legends. During the festival, the rockets first join in a parade (fig.) and are then launched from wooden racks in a large field. Some of these self-made rockets propel up to several thousand meters high, though traditionally, the entire rocket crew of any rocket which is not launched successfully will be thrown into a mud pool (fig.). The ceremony is held during the sixth lunar month, as part of the hihd sip song and celebrated the most exuberantly in Yasothon province, where it is customarily held in May. The tradition and festival are related to the epic folktale Pha Daeng Nang Ai. Also called boon bong fai or simply referred to as Bang Fai. In recent years, in Kalasin's amphur of Kuchinarai (กุฉินารายณ์), a new and unique kind of rocket has been introduced known as Bang Fai Talai Lan (บั้งไฟตะไลล้าน), a circular wheel-rocket that spins through the sky creating twisted trails of smoke. After reaching its peak it lands with the use of a parachute. This spectacular festival was publicized on a set of Thai postage stamps issued in 2018 (fig.). See also bangfai phayanaag. See also POSTAGE STAMP, TRAVEL PICTURE, and WATCH VIDEO (1), (2), (3) and (4). 回