Unique hair washing ritual of the Thai ethnic group

He then offers incense to the ancestors, praying for good luck.

The sorcerer also offers incense to earth, river and stream gods, praying for blessings for local villagers.

The present-day hair washing ceremony is of profound humanity as it expresses people’s faith in gods, wishing for good things.

Two or three weeks before the ceremony, Thai women prepare their special shampoo by washing sticky rice and keeping the rice water in an earthen pot for at least one week until it turns sour. Sour rice water is believed to make the hair smooth and shiny.

The shampoo for men is soap berry liquid made from soap berries burnt and then soaked in hot water.

The ceremony is said to bring the family good luck if a young girl is selected to participate in it.

Each villager participating in the festival prepares a bamboo tube containing sour rice water to wash their hair.

The ritual is held by the village’s steam nearby.

Thai people are supposed to wash their hair and have a bath on the last day of the year in the hope of getting rid of dust, misfortune and sadness of the old year.

The ritual called Ap Ho Chieng is observed by the white Thai people in Lai Chau province on New Year’s Eve.

The ceremony has been passed down from generation to generation to preserve traditional customs and promote community engagement.

In this ceremony, women and little girls wash their hair downstream while men and boys go upstream.

Visitors and passers-by are curious about this traditional custom of local villagers.

After the hair washing formality, villagers do the washing in the river to make their clothes clean to welcome the new year.

According to the local custom, good luck will run out in the new year if they do not wash their hair on New Year’s Eve.

The post Unique hair washing ritual of the Thai ethnic group appeared first on Vietexplorer.com.

View more from VietExplorer:

Stir-fried noodles: crunchy goodness
Blooming lotus flowers color the charming city of Hue
Forbes: Vietnam is one of top 5 most visited destination in Southest Asia
Twin towers ‘Ghenh Da Dia’ – new check-in location in Phu Yen
The beautiful garden cafes attracting tourists in Nha Trang
Hydrangea ‘carpet’ blooms on top of Mau Son
Discover dreamy and pristine Ta Pa Lake in An Giang’s Ta Pa Mountain
Quang Tri: From DMZ to East–West Economic Corridor
Linh Ung Pagoda – A tranquil spiritual site in Da Nang
President Ho Chi Minh with desire for national salvation
Tuyen Quang’s Tan Trao relic site brilliant with lim vang (Peltophorum tonkinensis) flowers
Touching moments with soldiers on DK platform
Artisan turns clay into charming flowers
Chieng Yen – Promising land for tourism
Made-in-Vietnam app set to revolutionize wound diagnosis
Explore the seabed of Hon Mun island
Prolonged heat wave disrupts lives in Vietnam
Ambassadors cycle on World Bicycle Day
Rice harvest season in Thanh Hoa’s terraced fields
Vietnamese woman creates amazing and realistic “vegetables” from clay