Sunday 25 April 1999
Opening Ceremony
The Fourth Dhamma-Yatra for Songkhla Lake begins on Kau Yau, the seven or eight square kilometer island at the southeast corner of the lower lake, near the channel that connects it with the Gulf of Siam. To the southeast, across a bridge that changed many things in the way the people here lived is Songkhla town and to the southwest is Had Yai town, the South’s largest. To the north, across the other half of the Prem Thinsulanondh Bridge, is Singha Nakorn District and the narrow strip of land separating the Lake and the Gulf, currently being assaulted by the prawn farm and petrochemical industries. But right here is a lush green (perhaps due to the heavy, out-of-season rains that have hit the South), fairly quiet (except for all the seafood restaurants encroaching) island with beautiful views and people who have preserved their local architecture and some other cultural forms to a remarkable degree.
We are at Wat Tai Yau for today’s Opening Ceremony. The highlights of the Opening Ceremony were:
Santikaro Bhikkhu summarized the Purpose of This & Past Dhamma-Yatras.
Kovit Khemmananda read a poem written for the occasion, accompanied by local traditional musicians.
"Greeting" from the Manorah dance that is central to Southern Thai culture.
Blessing from Phra Rajviraporn, the Chief Monk of Songkhla province.
In the afternoon, there was a Public Forum on "Dhamma Ways, Thai Ways: the Way of Survival for the Songkhla Lake Basin." Speakers were:
Phra Paisal Visalo of Phra Sekhiyadhamma, and a well-known writer on Buddhist, ecological, and social issues.
Aj. Suthiwong Pongbaibul from the Institute for Southern Thai Studies (on Kau Yau)
Moderated by Ajarn Sathaporn Srisaccang.
Monday 26 April 1999
The Fourth Dhamma-Yatra for Songkhla Lake has begun on Kau Yau, the 7 or 8 square kilometer island in the southeast corner of the lower lake, near the channel that connects the Lake with the Gulf of Siam. To the southeast, across a bridge that changed many things in the way the people here used to live, is Songkhla town and to the southwest is Had Yai town, the South’s largest. To the north, across the other half of the Prem Thinsulanondh Bridge, is Singha Nakorn District and the narrow strip of land separating the Lake and the Gulf, currently being assaulted by the prawn farm and petrochemical industries. But here is a lush green (perhaps due to the heavy, out-of-season rains that have hit the South), fairly quiet (except for all the seafood restaurants encroaching) island with beautiful views and people who have preserved their local architecture and some other cultural forms to a remarkable degree.
The Fourth Dhamma-Yatra began walking this morning. There were just about fifty of us, minus two recovering from a nasty flu caught in Bangkok. Special additions to this years walk, so far, are seven Maechi (Thai nuns), with perhaps twenty more on the way; six Karen children, with a mix of Christian, Buddhist, and traditional religions; more young people from the area then ever before; and a policeman. That’s in addition to the usual bunch of monks, activists, nature lovers, artists, students, and residents of Children’s Village who have walked with us in previous years. Each year there is more diversity. We hope that there is enough food for the greater numbers. Twenty-nine of us plan to walk the whole route this year, up from the seven who managed the whole route last year.
One example of the traditional culture preserved on Kau Yau is Wat Tai Yau, our base for yesterday’s Opening Ceremonies and Activities, and for last night’s sleep. Most of the monks were housed in a more than two century old wooden kuti, which was built on posts with "feet," that is, 50 cm. stone supports on which the wooden posts of the kuti rested. The all wood building was a fine example of the traditional wisdom that new how to build to local conditions. It was cool and comfortable, largely because of the locally made clay roof tiles that Kau Yau used to export throughout the region.
The Abbot mentioned how rich Chinese from Singapore offered him large bundles of money if he would only support them building ancestor shrines in his and other Wats. While such shrines would bring in money for the Wats and monks (personally), they would radically change the character of the Wats. This Abbot, fortunately, preferred retaining the traditional architecture and character.
For many, the highlight of today’s walking was a climb to the Wat on the top of Kau Yau’s highest hill. Behind the impressive Institute of Southern Thai Studies at the northern end of the island, we walked up a concrete road built to develop this choice location for rich off-islanders. During the economic bubble days, land speculation and vacation home construction greedily trampled and consumed some of the most beautiful locations in Siam, and the local people be damned. Politicians channeled resources towards their cronies and supporters; civil servants accepted pay-offs and handouts. Villagers often sold out for what seemed to them huge sums of money. Now, such as here, a few completed homes are surrounded by empty foundations left behind the burst bubble. Luckily here there are no ugly concrete frameworks disintegrating in the rain and sun, as where left behind in other such "developments."
At times the climb was at 30 degree angles that taxed our not-yet-strengthened legs. The first few days of these walks are the hardest for people who aren't used to a lot of walking. Then our bodies begin to adjust and the strain becomes a joy. Today, however, there were many red faces and puffing cheeks. Some of us will be getting into shape as we go.
The houses built by the rich contrast sharply with those of the local people. The former are made of concrete and other modern materials, are big and domineering. The local people build with local materials, integrate with the local environment, are appropriate to local weather conditions, and don’t make ostentatious displays (except now for some of the wealthier ones influenced by the rich off-islanders).
Tuesday 27 April 1999
Today, rather than deun tao (walking by foot), we will deun reua (travelling by boat). We took a boat from Kau Yau to the southern shore of the Lake, in Had Yai district. On the way, we visited Klong Wong, a river just to the west of the mainland side of the Prem Bridge.
Klong Wong is one of the many natural resources being stressed to its limit by "development." As we rode up it, we observed the water color changing from the murky, heavily silted water of the lower Lake to a greener color of the river itself to a darker, uglier, thicker green that also smelled of sewage. A large government hospital has been dumping its sewage into the river without treating it. Yet we saw dozens of people fishing in it! While we can be sympathetic towards the hospital’s administration for their budgeting difficulties, it seems counter-productive for them to endanger the health of the many local people who fish in and otherwise use this river. There will be a meeting tonight between local people and government officials to discuss the situation.
We returned to the Lake and then entered a small klong that took us to Wat Tha Nang Haum.
In the afternoon, we visited two roofing tile kilns near Wat Tha Nang Haum. These are the last ones in the area to produce these traditional tiles. The local clay, near the lake shore, is both abundant and very heavy. While not suitable for pottery, it is excellent for roofing and paving tiles. These are still made in the traditional way, by hand with simple tools, that the owner learned from his parents and grandparents, who in turn learned it from Chinese Kau Yau islanders who first developed the skill in this area. Nowadays, the main customers are tourists resorts on Phuket and Koh Samui. We wondered why government builders didn't have the sense to make use of and support this local resource ...
For more information, please email Santikaro Bhikkhu
For information on joining DY V, please call the Dhamma-Yatra office
at (074) 230-685 or 239-594.
