Hi everyone, it's began for Inthakin ceremony in Chiang Mai at Wat Chedi Luang or in te other name "Sai Khun Dok" from May 31 - June 7, 2008 and today www.openchiangmai.com by 2 lovely presenters Nong Kookai and Nong Kwan will brought you to meet the old ancient ceremony of Chiang Mai and the atmosphere of this festival, in the first we'll let you know the history.
Underneath the exterior of the Buddha image, and beneath all the traditional religious worship, however, is a tradition that goes back hundreds of years and has more animist roots.
Legend has it that the concrete Buddha at the temple really encases the Inthakin Pillar. Carved from teak and covered with gold leaf, there are four Buddha images around the base, facing the four points of the compass. The pillar was a part of the ancient civilization that settled where the city of Chiang Mai is today, long before it was a city or before it went under the name it does today, long before Buddhism even came into the world as a religion.
It is said that when the pillar falls, so, too, will the city of Chiang Mai. Its initial construction, shrouded in myths and legends, is said by some to have rid the area of the demons that beset it. However it came to be and whatever its original purpose, the pillar is widely believed to protect the city of Chiang Mai. When Chiang Mai was conquered by the Burmese long ago, people say it was because the ruler of the city at that time did not allow people to pay their respects to the pillar and thus the city became weak and fell to the invaders.
The annual celebration and homage to the pillar should begin in the eight month, on the 12th day of the waning moon and lasts for about a week. This year the celebrations will begin on May 13th and last until May 20th.
Another major ritual in the regions part of the ceremony involves placing offerings on twenty-eight mats around the temple compound. Each mat is meant to represent one of the earthly incarnations of Buddha. Every day, the monks call upon each by name, in turn, and by the end of the week, the courts of the temple are full of heaps of flowers, clouds of incense and piles of dripping wax candles.
Hundreds of thousands of people from North Thailand flock to Wat Chedi Luang in Chiang Mai to worship the City Pillar at the annual Inthakin festival. The celebration invokes peace, happiness and prosperity for the city and its residents. Busy street parades, images of Buddah, flowers and candles decorate the city for a week.
