Braham 1st post ceremony

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15-03-2008, 11:17 AM
hillbilly

Braham 1st post ceremony

You may wonder why all these Thai construction workers are sitting down instead of working. :confused:
True, not all that unusual, but there is a reason for this break.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...brahim_021.jpg

This past week I was invited to attend a Braham 1st post ceremony at a business here in Bangkok. This business had invited these priests to bless the 1st post site of their new building site.

Never attending one before I didn't really know what to expect. The myth is that gold, silver, bronze and a pig's head are part of the tradition.

Let's get started with the setup. In this view you can see the Braham priest carefully directs where the temporary spirit house will go nearby the 1st post.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...brahim_015.jpg
15-03-2008, 11:23 AM
hillbilly

The other trappings of this Braham tradition are starting to be put in place.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...brahim_028.jpg

The spirit house is in. Some of the construction workers are carefully placing poles to mark a boundary of some sort. The guy in the white hard hat is naturally one of the bosses.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...brahim_016.jpg
15-03-2008, 11:28 AM
hillbilly

The priest is making final adjustments.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...brahim_022.jpg

As you can see, I was not the only one taking photos.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...brahim_031.jpg

I would like to add with all respect this priest has also taken part in many of the ceremonies involving the Royal family.
15-03-2008, 12:12 PM
hillbilly

The cement truck is directed to a location to wait until the ceremonies are over.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...brahim_033.jpg

The Thai owner arrives. Don't let the looks fool you. This lady is a multi-millionaire
in US dollars.
https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...brahim_034.jpg

The music starts with this conch shell.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...brahim_039.jpg

The ceremony begins.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...brahim_040.jpg
15-03-2008, 12:15 PM
hillbilly

Almost 30 minutes later we are still doing the prayers.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...brahim_041.jpg

Even the head construction honcho was taking photos.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...brahim_036.jpg
15-03-2008, 12:19 PM
hillbilly

The priest waits for the '1st post'.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...brahim_050.jpg

The '1st post' is handed over.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...brahim_051.jpg
15-03-2008, 12:22 PM
hillbilly

And driven down.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...brahim_057.jpg

While the music played.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...brahim_055.jpg
15-03-2008, 12:26 PM
hillbilly

A gold bar is lowered.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...brahim_058.jpg

A silver bar is also to be buried.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...brahim_059.jpg

Bronze is also buried in this concrete tomb.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...brahim_061.jpg
15-03-2008, 12:34 PM
hillbilly

Everything is now ready to recieve the concrete. This is where the myth gets scary. According to some Thai people who follow this Braham tradition, actual gold, silver and bronze are buried under each 1st post.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...brahim_062.jpg

The 1st post is now recieving the final blessings.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...brahim_064.jpg

Now the Thai workers tear everything down and get back to work.

Damn, didn't see a pig's head. :(

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...brahim_081.jpg
15-03-2008, 12:53 PM
baldrick

distinct lack of safety gear on that Priest - he needs the safety induction
15-03-2008, 01:00 PM
Texpat

Think the precious metals were just hunks of spray painted iron?

If they were genuine, do you think they remained in the footing of the first post once the 200-baht-a-day construction workers came back on scene?
15-03-2008, 08:52 PM
Loombucket

Nice report hillbilly. I have heard about such ceremonies but never been to one. It seems to be a grander version of an ordinary house first post thing. Mrs Loomb reckons that the richer you are, the more gold and silver go down the hole but the bronze remains the same. Nice pictures, thanks for sharing.
16-03-2008, 12:54 AM
zipcode

Quote:

Originally Posted by Texpat

Think the precious metals were just hunks of spray painted iron?

If they were genuine, do you think they remained in the footing of the first post once the 200-baht-a-day construction workers came back on scene?

Hard to know, but let's not always equate poverty with criminal greed.

Every house built in India has gold/silver coins buried in the South-east (iirc) corner of the land; no reports of folks digging this up.

Possibly, the conscience allows one to steal from each other, but not from gods. [even though gods 'rarely' file a police complaint]
16-03-2008, 01:18 AM
Gerbil

No way was that a solid gold bar unless the priest had a particularly strong thumb.
16-03-2008, 02:04 AM
Happyman

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gerbil

No way was that a solid gold bar unless the priest had a particularly strong thumb.

He bought it from the National Bank in Addis Abbaba - of course its genuine - what a suspicious mind you have :rofl:
19-06-2009, 05:54 AM
BugginOut

Do you mean, "Brahman"?
12-08-2017, 09:06 PM
Mex

I once attended a similar function but for a Muslim client...they put some coconut oil..and a few other things in the first column base..and had the imam say a prayer or two..elbows bent ..hands out palms up.