Each of the candles was around 1.5-metres high and was mounted on the elephant’s howdah seat. The 32 elephants then joined a retinue which followed a route through the forests and jungles of this area of Northern Thailand’s Mae Taeng District.
The prequel to the parade was traditional dance performances. The local marching band also joined the parade. The event was staged by Ban Mae Taman officials to recognise the village’s first birthday as being home to Northern Thailand’s biggest pachyderm population.
Buddhist Lent is known as Vassa to Thais and is three months long. 12GO ASIA notes that devout Buddhists typically abstain from alcohol, tobacco or meat for the period. In olden times, monks used to stay in their temples and meditate for the duration of Vassa, but this practice has more-or-less died out.
The image of the Ban Mae Taman elephant parade was supplied with courtesy of the Nation.
North Thailand elephant centre stages Vassa Lent parade
News in Asia
The self-proclaimed capital of Thailand’s elephant camps marked the onset of the Buddhist Lent with a lively parade on Friday. The celebrations took place in Tambon Keud Chang Sub-district and featured a parade of elephants bearing giant candles.