Boon Samha (บุญซำฮะ) is Month #7 of Heet Sip-Song – The Twelve Isan Merit-Making Traditions. Samha means “washing,” and this tradition is the Isan version of spring cleaning, but on a spiritual as well as physical level. Sometimes called Boon Berk Bahn (“Opening […]

Boon Songkran (บุญสงกรานต์) is Month #5 of Heet Sip-Song – The Twelve Isan Merit-Making Traditions. Songkran is the Thai New Year, and it’s by far the most important holiday in all parts of Thailand. Because of the enormous number of migrant workers who […]

Boon Khao Jee (บุญข้าวจี่) is Month #3 of Heet Sip-Song – The Twelve Isan Merit-Making Traditions. Khao jee is grilled sticky rice battered with egg and salt and sometimes stuffed with pieces of cane sugar. It’s a common Isan food sold by many […]

Boon Khun Lan (บุญคูณลาน) is Month #2 of Heet Sip-Song – The Twelve Isan Merit-Making Traditions. Boon Khun Lan is a celebration of the rice harvest, and a thank you to all the spirits who helped. And since rice is life in rural […]

Boon Khao Kam (บุญเข้ากรรม) is Month #1 of Heet Sip-Song – The Twelve Isan Merit-Making Traditions. Boon Khao Kam is a period of self-purification for Thai monks who broke serious monastic rules. Formally known as pariwatkam (khao means “enter,” so Khao Kam means […]

These twelve heet (“traditions” or “rituals” that help you have a good life) are practiced across Northeast Thailand (the region known as Isan) and lowland Laos. City folk have mostly abandoned some of them, but there are very few Isan villages where they […]