HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Kachin Hill Tribe people celebrate the King’s birthday

Father’s Day Food Festival Fun

BMW meets Harley Davidson at Bike Week

Kachin Hill Tribe people celebrate the King’s birthday

By Metinee Chaikuna

The Manau Poi Dance Festival is an important festival of all the various Kachin peoples. The Manau celebration points to a common heritage of customs, culture, ancestry and oral history. The primary purpose of the Manau dance celebration is to honor the spirit called “Madai” who is the source of all blessings of peace and prosperity. The Kachin people celebrate the Manau Dance Festival by offering prayers to their Creator God, and this year the Kachins in Thailand celebrated their first Manau Dance Festival in honor of His Majesty the King’s 75th Anniversary, with HRH Prince Bhisadej Rajanee, in traditional Kachin clothes, presiding over the Manau Poi Dance Festival in the Ban Mai Samakee, Chiang Dao District, Chiang Mai.

HRH Prince Bhisadej receives the traditional Kachin suit from a Kachin representative.

A hill tribe boy in traditional clothing dances and plays the cymbals.

When a Manau dance festival is celebrated, a number of “ totem poles” are erected in the center of the dance floor. The totem poles consist of ten poles (6 female and 4 male poles) held together by a horizontal beam which symbolizes a mother hornbill, which is supposedly the host of the festival. The triangular shaped drawings on the poles symbolize the first female ancestor “Ninggawn Chyanun” and the circular shaped drawings symbolize the first male ancestor “Woi Shun”.

The poles are painted with colors extracted from tree bark, roots, and leaves. The designs on the Manau totems indicate the various dance steps and movements to be followed by the single file line of dancers who follow the rhythmic movements of the leaders who lead the procession holding a sword and beating gongs and cymbals. A large drum is placed at the front of the Totem poles and is beaten repeatedly to set the rhythm of the dance. Harmonizing all of these various sounds on the dance floor is the flute player who is on the Manau tower bringing everyone in step to his music.

HRH Prince Bhisadej chats with Kachin girls while waiting for the official ceremony.

A Kachin hill tribe girl in traditional clothing enjoys taking part in the ceremony.

There is the only one group of Kachin tribe in Thailand, and they are gathered in the Ban Mai Samakee village. The Kachins lived in the Majoi Shing-ra plateau located at the headwaters of the five great rivers, together with supernatural beings for a long period of time. Over time, they left the Majoi Shing-ra ancestral homeland and migrated to Jing Mang Yang (Western Mongolian plateau).

In their continuing search for a better homeland the Kachins continued to migrate south-westerly. Eventually, over a thousand years ago, they migrated south down the great rivers of the Yangtse, Mekong, Salein, Irrawady and the Brahmaputra. They eventually settled in what became known as Ja Ngai Ga (the Land of Gold Suvannaphuom) which includes Southwest China, Burma, Eastern India, Thailand and Laos.

Kachin women dance around the poles.

Kachin dance around the pole.

The masters of the ceremony lead the dance.

In 1976, the first organized Kachin village was established to gather the many scattered Kachins. It was set up in the village of Ban Mayau, in Chiang Dao district of Chiang Mai. This village was short lived and in 1982, a more permanent village was established under the Patronage of His Majesty the King, in land designated as a Royal Project. Here the King gave plots of land to the villagers to farm and looked after the welfare of the villagers.

On February 13, 1984, His Majesty the King and HRH Princess Sirindhorn paid a visit to this village and officially recognized it as Ban Mai Samakee village. On March 1, 1992, Her Majesty Queen Sirikit further encouraged the villagers to develop various agricultural programs for the betterment of their livelihoods. Over the years, the King and his advisors have continued to look after the welfare of the villagers and have provided water, electricity, and schools. The village also improved the roads, and have introduced various crop substitution programs and have continued to find ways of improving the livelihood of their people so that they would become productive citizens of Thailand.

Father’s Day Food Festival Fun

by the Editorial Team

Central Airport Plaza was the venue for the 15th food festival December 4-10. It was a very popular event which included an auction of food cooked up by local dignitaries, including that of Chiang Mai Governor Pisit Khetphasook, who’s dish went for 12,000 baht.

The president of Chiang Mai Restaurant Club, Wicharn Tangtontrakul appreciates the unique way the food festival’s grand opening is being conducted: the ribbon is being “chopped” by Chiang Mai governor Pisit Khetphasook.

The Chiang Mai governor had presided over the opening ceremony and cut the ribbon with a food chopper. After the grand opening, the governor and his wife, Samoekhae Khetphasook, the president of the Provincial Red Cross, Chiang Mai chapter, cooked their special dish on the stage, “Phad Thai Kung Sod” (noodles cooked with eggs and shrimps).

Sweet cooking couple, Governor Pisit Khetphasook and his wife, Samoekhae Khetphasook, cook away on their 12,000 baht dish, “Phad Thai”.

Governor Khetphasook proudly presents his special dish for the Chiang Mai Restaurants Club and the food festival.

Participants await the grand opening ceremony for the Father’s Day Food Festival on the stage at the Central Airport Chiang Mai Activity Ground.

The elegant dip set “nam prik e kei”, which is very good for health, is presented by Chiang Mai dignitary Chao Duangduan na Chiengmai.

The money for the dish was donated to the Chiang Mai Red Cross as was the 13,000 baht highest bid for the nam prik e - kei, a northern style spicy dip made by Chao Duangduan na Chiengmai, won by the governor Pisit Khetphasook and Chiang Mai Restaurants Club.

Like most activities during Father’s Day, the 7 days Food Festival organized by the Chiang Mai Restaurants Club aimed to join in His Majesty the King’s 75th year Anniversary Celebration.

On the opening day, there were also stage performances from many schools such as Daroonnimitr Kindergarten, Chiang Mai College of Dramatic Art, and Srithana Commercial College.

There were also activities such as the “20 baht dish” promotion, with at least one item on the menu of every restaurant, plus food demonstrations, fruit and vegetable carving, ice carving, vegetarian food demonstrations by Taiwanese chefs, shows and live bands.

BMW meets Harley Davidson at Bike Week

by Marion Vogt

Stunt rider Jean-Pierre Goy, now working with BMW Motorcycles, held the crowd in his sway, performing amazing feats on different BMW’s. He was the main attraction last Saturday afternoon at the Chiang Mai Bike Week, and people were screaming and yelling while watching his show.

From left: Boonyarit (AE) Jaraswuttiyakorn from the North Comets Chiang Mai, Bill Berwick, Mrs. Sharon Whitman and Marion Vogt from CMM. Sharon and Bill are on a world tour from 2001 - 2003, which will make Sharon the first ever woman to complete a round the world tour on a Harley Davidson Roadster. So far they’ve driven 116,000 km through 55 countries, but will be in Chiang Mai over the festive season. They skipped the Middle East due to political problems but will go back there after Singapore, Australia & New Zealand. Chiangmai Mail wishes them good luck and safe riding on their way!

Jean-Pierre is a busy man - he advises people about the safety of BMW’s ABS System, performs at motor shows around the world, and still tries to find enough time to spend with his family in France.

Jean-Pierre was the rider who did the amazing stunt, a 21 meters long jump, 15 meters off the ground on a standard BMW R 1200 C, flying over a helicopter in the last James Bond movie ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’. From a woman’s viewpoint, an obvious question was, “Is Pierce Brosnan as gorgeous as he seems to be in the movies?” Jean-Pierre’s answer was a very quick and a very honest, “Mr. Brosnan is a great actor; he is not a womanizer at all. He lives for his family, and he is as kind and friendly as you can imagine.” Jean-Pierre Goy was also more than happy when Erwin Ruser, the motorcycle manager of BMW Thailand, asked him to join the Bike Week in Chiang Mai.

A very relaxed Ad Carabao in concert during the closing ceremony at the 700 years stadium.

This is a rare sight - - a Vespa with a sidecar.

Famous stuntman Jean Pierre Goy and Erwin Ruser from BMW pose in front of the type of bike which was used for the “fly over the roofs in Bangkok stunt”. Jean-Pierre explained that the motorbike was indeed the same type as used in the movie.

Jena-Pierre Goy just missed him - well, not really, as every movement of the bike was perfectly calculated. It was a close call, though, but not to worry, nothing happened to the bike.

BMW, for the first time, were one of the main sponsors of the Chiang Mai Bike Week. Erwin said, “There are now about 100 BMW Bikes in Thailand. We are slowly starting to get market share. At the 1st year anniversary of BMW (motorcycles) in October at The Hard Rock Cafe, 80 big bikes came, and 20 of them were BMWs. This produced a great interest in our product. We are becoming very much involved with local charities, helping children in Thailand who are not as fortunate as we are and our big goal is to have 300 big bikes sold by the end of 2003 - and believe me, we are working on it.”

The Farewell Night at Chiang Mai Sport Complex 700 Year Stadium was a major show, even in the parking lot. During the day there were maybe 200 bikes at any one time, but for the big party, they all came - thousands of them.

No party is complete without a ‘Miss’ competition (or is that a misconception?).

If Alex Radulovic would have three hands, he would also carry his bike.

It took him about 20 hours, coming all the way from Korat. The love of his life, however, remains a Harley Davidson, and not the lovely company.

John Sanchez (right), American born biker and Vietnam vet, came all the way from his Rock n’ Ride Shop in Daytona Beach Florida.

En route to Chiang Rai, enjoying a break as much as the scenic view.

The good atmosphere produced nothing but praise for the fantastic scenic areas around Chiang Mai, for the landscape and a tour every biker dreams about. At the stadium, ‘Miss Bike Week 2002’ was elected, sponsors were honored with plaques, 10,000 baht was donated for charity from ‘The Jesters’ from Pattaya, plus another cash amount was handed in from the bikers from Surathani. The highlight came after 11.00 p.m., when the Carabaos finally took over the stage with Ad and Lek Carabao in concert.

So that was Bike Week - Unity, Music, Bikes and a promise to come back to the next Bike Week in Chiang Mai in 2003.

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