Poy Sang Long Festival


 The Poy Sang Long (Festival of the Crystal Sons) is a traditional rite of passage held every year among the Shan, or Tai Yai, people of Myanmar and northern Thailand.  The ceremony goes on for three days.
First, the boys’ heads and eyebrows are shaved by their parents or other relatives.  Then they are made up and dressed in colorful finery, transforming them into “Jeweled Princes” in imitation of Lord Buddha.
For the next three days the boys are carried everywhere – they are only allowed to touch the ground inside a temple or at home.
In the evening the boys are carried by their fathers or another relative in a traditional dance of celebration.
On the third day the boys are divested of all their finery and dressed in the simple saffron robes of a Buddhist monk.  They enter the monastery and are expected to remain there for at least a week, and sometimes they remain for many years.
It is believed that the boys and their parents will gain favor from going through this process.
This is one of the most fun and colorful events I have attended in Thailand.  Blurred photos have been purposefully added to give you a sense of the dancing.




 

































Father and son looking forward to their turn.