Dam Nan (To Plant Rice)

Today, standing ankle deep in mud and water, I finally got to experience planting rice. One of our co-workers, Nah Am, invited us out to his farm to plant rice with his family for Buddhist Lents Day. It might have been one of the best experiences of my life. Undoubtedly it was one of the most spiritually rich experiences I have ever had.

The planting of rice (dam nah in Lao) is central to the communities of the greater Mekong region. The entire Isaan way of life revolves around this activity; attached to every meal is a basket of sticky rice(Cow Keenow ). Every year entire families and communities stand ankle deep in warm rice patties, filling the air with songs, gossip and jokes from morning to sunset.

We got out to the rice patties around 11 am with the heat of the day beginning to peak. Our rows of rice were pretty crooked at first, but after 20 mins we figured out how to plant like a professional Isaan villager. To plant rice you stand bent over rows of infant rice stalks pressing your thumb in to the soft mud and inserting a bundle of rice within a fraction of second. If you take a second to stretch your back or run to the bathroom all of a sudden everyone will be ahead of you by 2-5 rows.

While bending over all day Sam and I practiced our Thai with our new friends and learned how to speak Lao (most people with in Issan speak Lao, but its been repressed through years of nations state conditioning). We also spent some time singing Isaan and American folk music. About one hour in to the planting we experienced the Thai Monsoon and were drenched within seconds. Let it be known, this did not stop us.

After we finished our rai we went swimming in Nah Am's lake to wash off the mud that caked our bodies. Lunch was next we cooked up some som tom (green papaya salad), gai toad (Isaan fried chicken), kai geeyow (Isaan fried egg) and of course cow keenow. Cooking lunch (as tradition required) included shots of lao cow (rice whiskey) and me being drunk before the meal was ready. Although I was far from the only one, I only happily joined our host.

After lunch we knocked out another rai but with less rain this time.

At night I attended a celebration for Buddhist Lents at Nongwang temple which is on the lakefront in the middle of downtown Kohn Kaen. The temple is huge and is said to contain one of Buddha's bones. I will be very lucky next year.