Luang Prabang’s alms-giving ceremony

The alms-giving ceremony, known as Tak Bat in Laos is not unique to Luang Prabang. In fact, it is a daily Buddhist ceremony. It occurs every morning at dawn everywhere in Laos and in many Buddhist countries in South East Asia. But why is it especially popular in Luang Prabang and should you go and visit it? Before we answer these questions, what is the alms-giving ceremony exactly?

The alms-giving ceremony consist of local monks walking barefoot towards their Wat (temple) in a line and in a show of poverty and humility accept food offerings (usually rice) by local Buddhists who in turn gain spiritual merit through the act of giving. At the end of the procession line, monks will give some of the food back to poor people in need. During this ceremony, there are many rules to follow as to not cause offence to the monks or fellow Buddhists.

So what makes the ceremony in Luang Prabang so famous? Well part of it is lucky marketing thanks to many travel shows showing this ceremony in Luang Prabang. Mostly however, it is because of like most things in life: location, location, location! Luang Prabang is beautifully set between the Mekong River and the Nham Khan River with steep beautiful mountains surrounding the city. There are also many beautiful temples packed in a small amount of space which makes it easy to see many monks in a small area. With the morning mist and UNESCO heritage houses and temples, Tak Bat in Luang Prabang is absolutely stunning.

Beautiful temples of LP

So obviously, with this being said, the answer to should you visit the ceremony in Luang Prabang is yes. But, please continue reading as the next part is very important!

Because Tak Bat is so special in Luang Prabang, many tourists like myself arrive in the city and flock in masses to watch the ceremony. This has led to many problems. Mainly, people being disrespectful and affecting the ceremony. Tak Bat is not a show for tourist. It is not a theatre show. As such, tourist should:

• Stand as far away from the monks as possible, usually across the street;
• Limit picture taking and definitely not use the flash;
• Be quiet and not speak loudly or laugh;
• Not participate in the ceremony unless you are Buddhist or you are a spiritual person who believes in gaining spiritual merit through respectful giving.

 

O.K. the last one is my opinion only but I saw so many tourist performing the ceremony while not following the rules and almost all of them doing it for that sweet Instagram picture.

Girl standing while giving alms in a short skirt, uploading her sweet instagram pic

If you really want to participate in the ceremony, you should:

• Bring high quality rice (kao kai noi) in a rice-basket cooked by your guesthouse or bought at a morning market stall, not a street vendor;
• Dress respectfully, fully covering your body (long skirt for women and pants for men);
• Wash your hands before giving;
• Kneel shoe-less on your knees sitting on your legs on a bamboo mat (especially for women, men can stand);
• Not make eye-contact with the monks;
• Not take pictures while in the ceremony.

You would be surprised at how many people would participate in the ceremony while taking pictures of them or their friends. There were also many people talking very loudly, some laughing. Many tourist turned into paparazzi’s, sticking their flashing cameras in the monks face. There was even a dude trying to get an up skirt picture of the monks.

Tourist using flashes up close on monks and following them closely

So please, follow the above guidelines as to respect this beautiful and peaceful ceremony. Help try to preserve this ceremony by informing your friends and fellow tourist who might just not know.

P.S. The ceremony occurs every morning around 6 am in the streets of old Luang Prabang.