Ork Phansa Pavorana  

By Ay Mit  
Vientiane Times (2-5 October 1998)  

   ORK Phansa Pavorana, one of the most important Buddhist 
festivals, is celebrated on the 15th day of the waxing moon 
in the 11th month of the lunar calendar (this year, the 6th 
Of October).
   Phansa comes from the Pali word Vassa, meaning "rain". 
Ork Phansa means "going out of the rains, or the rainy 
season". That is the end of the three-month Lent.
   Pavorana, from the Pali Pavarana, sometimes translated 
as monks' confession, means "accepting remarks or 
warnings". It is a very important ritual performed by the 
members of the clergy at the end of the rainy season 
retreat. The whole community gathers in the Sim, the main 
sanctuary, in the early morning. Each monk requests his 
superiors and peers to tell him all the faults and 
shortcomings he may have committed, knowingly or 
unconsciously, during the Lent. He then humbly accepts the 
remarks, asks for forgiveness and pledges not to indulge 
again.
   The ceremony involving laymen starts around 7am with 
prayers (Vai Pha) acceptance of the Five Precepts (Sin Ha), 
placing offerings in alms bowls (Tak baht), the morning 
meal of the monks (San Chang Han), ablutions transferring 
merits to the dead (Yaat Nam), and listening to the reading 
of the Jatakas (Fang Thet).
   

The tradition of Lai Heua Fai  

By Ay Mit  
   In the evening of Ork Phansa day (End of the Buddhist 
Lent), after the candlelit procession, temples and houses 
are illuminated in homage to Buddha. Thousands of candles 
and offerings are floated in tiny banana leaf boats down 
the Mekong river or any river in the country as a homage to 
the Naga, the, mythical protectors of all beings, and the 
water, the mother of things. The rite is also considered as 
an expulsion of diseases and all bad things.
   In the old time, according to the late scholar Somchine 
P Nginn, people used pathip, which are small lamps with a 
wick dipping in oil or grease. One end of the cotton wick 
was divided in five branches, likening it to the crow foot. 
Professor Somchine Nginn explained thatthe tradition takes 
its origin from a Jataka (Lives of Buddha) telling the 
story of "The mother of the five Buddha":
   "A white female crow laid five eggs in the nest she had 
built on the tree on the bank pf a river. One day, during a 
strong wind, the nest fell in the river. It floated down 
the river and landed on a sand bank.
   The eggs were separated and were found by a Hen, a Nagi 
(female Naga), a turtle, a cow and a snake respectively. 
The eggs were hatched and gave birth to five human boys.
   When the boys grew up and learned about their weird 
origin they decided to become Luesi (hermits). One day, 
meeting by chance in the forest, the five told one another 
their story thus finding they were brothers. They then 
decided to look for their mother.
   Meanwhile, the white crow had died and had become a 
Phrom, a divinity in heaven. Hearing her sons' vow and 
willing to help them fulfil it, she appeared to them under 
the aspect of a Luesi and told them: "If you want to 
retrieve your mother, float candles down the river every 
full moon of the 11th month".
   Hence the tradition of Lai Heua Fai.