Thailand has a festival to appreciate their monkeys!
Who doesn't love monkeys? They are cute, weird, and of course, hilarious. In fact, India has a long tradition of worshipping Lord Hanuman and hence these little mischievous critters, regarded as Hanuman’s reincarnation, often get away after creating a big ruckus almost anywhere.
But do you know India is not the only country where monkeys are considered sacred? Thailand, a country in southeast Asia, hosts a special food fest, the Lobpuri Monkey Festival or ‘Monkey Banquet’ every year to honour its monkeys. Yes, an annual festival to celebarte its monkeys! In fact, tourists from across the world come together to witness this crazy feast.
Where is the feast hosted?
The Lopburi Monkey Festival is hosted in the famous town of Lopburi in the north of Bangkok every year, end-November. Lopburi is one of the oldest cities in Thailand and the festival takes place on the ruins of Phra Prang Sam Yot, an 800-year-old Khmer-era Hindu temple and one of the town’s most striking landmarks.
If you would do a little research of your own, you would get to know that it is among the popular international festivals and thousands of people from around the world reach the town every year to see the spectacle and click pictures.
How is it celebrated?
It is arguably the world’s wildest dinner party. Special spreads of fruits, sticky rice and cashews are offered to these restless guests, and a unique egg-yolk dessert known as ‘thong yod’ is also served.
The monkeys have a gala time by first relishing all the delicacies spread out for them and then eventually, dancing on the tables, throwing water at each other, jumping on people’s shoulders and tossing fruits around. It is truly a sight for you to see, though not always the best one. Monkeys can be aggressive, and they have been known to steal purses, bags, and whatever else they can get their paws on. So, if you happen to visit the festival, just watch out!
History and evolution
Wait, you must be thinking why Lobpuri of all the places in Thailand is the location for this festival Here is the reason.
Lobpuri is home to these monkeys, mostly long-tailed macaques, since 11th century when the city was taken over by the Khmers, a southeast Asian ethnic tribe. When the Khmer empire fell in the 17th century, King Narai of Ayutthaya rejuvenated and modernised the city, but the Khmer ruins remain till date and so do its monkeys. The monkeys live around the Phra Prang Sam Yot temple and the shrine of San Phra Karn, both Khmer ruins.
The festival, however, started much later in the 1980s. It was an idea of a local businessman to set up a buffet of fresh fruits and other food for these monkeys as an expression of the town’s gratitude towards them. But what for?
Well, in the Thai version of the Ramayana, Lopburi was created by Hanuman himself with the help of Lord Rama. Since then, the people of the town have a firm belief that monkeys bring good luck and fortune.
Other famous festivals celebrating animals
Do you know of any other such festival celebrating animals? Well, we know of a few more. These include the Kukur Tihar Festival in Nepal celebrating dogs, Fiesta de la Trashumancia, an annual event in Spain involving singing and dancing before sheep, the Golden Retriever festival of Scotland (for their dogs again) and Pushkar Camel Fair in India dedicated to celebrating camels.