The Calling Sound of Northeastern Thailand's 'Mo Lam' Music

Within Isaan or Thailand’s northeastern region, mo lam music is the soul and water for life for the locals. Just like fish cannot live without water, it’s hard to imagine Isaan people’s routine activities - whether it be work on paddies, rituals, or just entertainment - without the sound of these folksongs.      

During our visit to Thailand’s northeastern Amnatcharoen province, we were invited to a village which offers mo lam shows and has set itself as a mo lam music learning center. This is where the fun began. 

We were greeted by the smiley Mr Rianchai. A day time school teacher, he’s the founder of the center and Baan Pla Kow mo lam band. The performers, pretty in their traditional costumes, were ready to start their first show.    

One thing special about Baan Pla Kow band is there are only 2 generations of performers: the young and the old. The kids are encouraged to spend free time learning and practicing mo lam taught by the elders who have taken a life time earning skills and reputation as mo lam song writers, singers, and musicians. This assures such form of art is passed on, and also allows kids to spend more time with the elders  which, sadly, is what they are doing less these days.

Accompanied by can or a reed mouth organ, drums, and a guitar-like instrument called pin, mo lam songs can talk about anything from the beauty of nature, folk tales, morality, history, and even used as conversations between lovers. Slow rhythms go with sad or disappointing stories while faster songs match with light-hearted context. But for these kids who are worry-free and are probably too young to flirt with each other, they chose to sing about the 10 must-do good kids’ behaviors and about their play time looking for shells in rice fields instead.  

The kids explained that they choose mo lam as a selective class in school and they rehearse more over weekends. They are too young to write their own songs but they wish to do that some day.

Next on the stage was the elders’ turn. I have to admit! The beat is just irresistible!  

The highlight of the elders’ show must be the uncle who incorporated the sound of birds and animals in his song. I think he did pretty well imitating the sound of a pigeon. 

"Visitors and foreigners might not understand what we sing about, but the fun beat of mo lam is enough to make them get up and dance. It will be more fun if they understand Isaan language of course, like in mo lam klawn, a vocal battle between male and female mo lam singers which requires improvising. It's getting harder to find singers who can improvise well these days. That's why we will never give up our job as long as we still have energy to sing," said the auntie singer. 

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If you have more time, try spending a few nights in homestays available around the village, hang out and learn about Isaan village’s slow pace of life.  A rustic homestay with simple facilities can host up 8 people for maximum 300 baht per night per person. Or you can opt for a package which includes the village and nearby attraction tours, meals, and mo lam performance.

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On our way back to town from the village, we stopped at Phra Lao Thepnimit Temple known to be hosting the most beautiful Buddha statue in Amnatcharoen province.

And seeing it with our own eyes, the saying can’t be wrong. Almost 3 meters tall and wide, the Buddha statue belongs to the 17^th century and features the heavy influence of Lan Chang or Laotian art brought by the very first settlers in this area. 

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Ubon Ratchathani Candle Festival 2013

Owing to elaborate processions of Buddhist Lent candles, massive wax sculptures, and remarkable traditional performances, Thailand’s Candle Festival is one of the most eye-catching events in the kingdom. The festival is celebrated nationwide but the northeastern province of Ubon Ratchathani has long played host to the grandest of the festivities,  holding the longest procession in the country, numerous temple fairs, light and sound displays, and crowds numbering over a million each year. 

The province’s annual Candle Festival started in 1977, though the smaller scale Lent candle processions existed long before that. 

Thung Si Mueng, or the city’s plaza, is where most of the action is likely to take place. This areagets very busy as almost 500 street stalls claim their space even though the processions themselves aren’t carried out until a few days later – one on Asanha Bucha night, and the other on the following morning which is the beginning of the Buddhist Lent. 

It is almost 5 o’clock in the evening of Asanha Bucha when some of the candle and wax sculpture floats are marched to Thung Si Mueng. We weave our way through the crowd waiting excitedly for those floats to arrive. Everyone is here for the same reasons – to get a close-up look and snap shots of the floats that are the nominees of this year’s competition for best craftsmanship.  

The competition involves 2 types of floats based on the method of decoration: wax carved sculptures, and those employing molded beeswax pieces. Each type is categorized according to the size of the floats - large, medium, and small. New to the competition this year, and much waited for, is the float of aromatic wax sculptures, the masterpiece by Dej Udom, the local community famous for its aromatic candle artistry. 

Night falls, as does a drizzly rain , which is very common during Buddhist Lent,  as it takes place during the rainy season. Despite the rain, stalls are  busy with visitors and grandstands are quickly filled up by spectators guarding the best spots  to watch the processionwhich is due to begin in a few hours.

The night procession is a short one, and opens with a performance of  a light and sound show retelling the Ubon Ratchathani people’s way of life followedby last year’s champion wax and candle floats. The shows are impressive, and add excitement and context to the perfect glow of the spotlighted orange wax sculptures against the blacked-out sky. 

But while the crowd enjoys the festivities, one group of people has to deal with a fairly heavy task. A notebook in  hand, Atiwat Jantarawijit, one of the 10 float judges,  circles around this carved float more than 3 times, looking, noting, and thinking hard. The job isn’t easy.

The sculptures must be in perfect proportion and symmetry. The designs, creativity, and details in the finished work all count. The judges can be architects, art professors, or candle sculptor specialists. "This is my 4^th time being a judge and it’s still a difficult decision as to who is to win," said Atiwat. 

On the next morning, the crowd gathers on the grandstands of Thung Si Muang’s main road again. This time, to witness the full-length version of the procession, which marks the official start of the Candle Festival. Heading the procession is the cart carrying the Lent candle bestowed to Ubon Ratchathani by His Majesty the King. And then, what will be a one-kilometer long procession begins. Each float is preceded by traditional performances, whether it is dances or the local mo lam bands, all of which represent Ubon Ratchathani’s core cultures and ways of life. 

The sculptures themselves depict different Buddhist subjects, some are Buddha’s life and stories of his former incarnations , and others  are morality tales. Si Pradu Temple’s float is probably the  most eye-catching  of all with its groups of sculptures picturing a scene from hell.

Moving at an extremely slow speed, the last float  arrives  at around 3 in the afternoon but it  never lost its crowd of supporters despite the scorching sun or the rain.    


On the following day, when the festivity dies down, the traffic around Thung Si Muang has eased as the roads reopen for vehicles, and the backwater atmosphere of Ubon Ratchathani’s downtown resumes; where all the nominated floats were exhibited, now only the winners remain.

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Thailand's Candle Festival Wax Sculptures Preparation

The July rains mark another very significant date on the Buddhist calendar, that is Buddhist Lent. As much as Buddhists wait for this big holy day to arrive, they all look forward to one of the most spectacular festivals in Thailand – the Candle Festival, known for its presentation of elaborate wax sculpture processions around each province. 

To explore the vibe of the festival preparation, our team headed up to Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand’s northeastern province that hosts the biggest candle festival in the kingdom. 

Buddhist Lent candle processions were fostered through a long-time practice, which is to donate Lent candles to dispel gloom in temple quarters during the 3-month rainy period when monks and novices are encouraged to remain fixed in a particular monastery. 

But the rules of evolution apply to everything - designs were added to the plain Lent candles, then competitions to reward the most intricate candles started, and the latest development is for floats to be adorned with wax sculptures with the Lent candles sitting in the middle.  

Ubon Ratchathani’s candle processions have been carried out for well over 112 years. The competitions now involve 2 types based on the method of decoration: carving and employing molded beeswax pieces. 

Molded Angel Faces, Phra That Nong Bua Temple

Every year, well before the festival starts, temple grounds are turned into a work space where floats are made from scratch. Phra That Nong Bua Temple is one amongst others that will be competing for the carving category. 

While one team builds the sculptures’ structures with metal and coats it with plaster mixed with coconut husks, the other team prepares the beeswax sheets, made of these beeswax coins melted together. The sheets are then glued on the structures and the carving begins. Such float in the pictures is only 70% complete, and already consists of as many as 4 tons of beeswax coins.

Thung Si Muang Temple

Now, what do these sculptures depict? They usually tell of former incarnations of the Buddha or morality tales as appearing in the Dharma. One float may carry up to 4 groups of sculptures which relate 4 different stories. 

While the beauty of the carved type of sculptures relies on the intricate carving patterns, the type employing molded beeswax pieces is a little more complicated as it involves countless pieces of printed and cut out beeswax and uses over 10 patterns carefully layered on top of one another upon the wax sculptures themselves. 

Unlike the carved type, the molded sculptures use pure beeswax well massaged at the right temperature, then put on molds of different patterns, and die cut. A float may use as many as a million pieces and help from the locals living around the temple is necessary. 

Molded Beeswax Pieces at Mana Wanaram Temple

The sculptor team leader at Mana Wanaram Temple, whose team is a nominee for the molded beeswax piece award, told me they were under pressure seeing as they were the last year’s champion. Every team wanted to win so his crew would have to work harder to guard their championship. The pride of the team cannot be traded, not even for the rewards and prizes they might get.

However, a sculptor may have a slightly different idea. Sukom Chaowalit is a full time construction worker who has come to work on the float at Burapha Temple every day off work he gets. It takes neither pride nor competition for him to be here, but it is his faith as a good Buddhist that drives him to contribute. Putting the final touch to an elephant head structure, he said his grandparents did it before him,  he’s doing it, and of course, his children will be taught to keep this tradition alive.

Until this point, you may be curious about one thing - what do they do with these sculptures after the competition? No, they won’t be burnt, nor kept in a museum either. They will be displayed at the temples where they were built for a few weeks. And what comes from the earth goes back to the earth. They will eventually start to melt, and when the forms can’t be recognized, the sculptors will gather the beeswax that isn’t contaminated by the air or pollution for use in next year’s procession. 

Mana Wanaram Temple

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