"Chob Kacha-ananda" or the Swing Ceremony
The Chob Kacha-ananda ceremony is one of the many ceremonies the Akha celebrate every year but not many people remember the history of this ceremony. It is generally known to be a ceremony to celebrate the end of the labour intensive planting and weeding work in the rice fields and to wish for a successful upcoming harvest. Normally the Swing Ceremony is held on the 120th day after the village planted its rice while the village headman and shaman also take into account auspicious days for their village and as a result, dates of the ceremony vary between villages.
When the god Apremiere created the world (the word 'gods' is used here as the Akha insist that those named beings for whom this ceremony was conducted were not spirits and were not human beings; they have been created and lived in the world with no parents), the gods Umsa and Umyae were also created. Both of the created gods are able to control rain and, through direct contact, to make the sun shine. These created gods were made as man and wife. They had one son and one daughter named Umsahyee and Umsahyeh. While the New Year ceremony is believed to have been started by Umsahyee, the Swinging Ceremony is believed to have been started by Umsahyeh in order to honor their god-parents and to assure plentiful and timely rain, sunshine, and a good harvest of rice.
The Akha people regard Umsahyeh as their first female ancestor. From her to the present day Akha there are 60 generations. Because the ceremony is in honor of a female god, the ceremony is performed by Akha women. For the ceremony the Akha women of all ages put on their very best, most beautiful and most elaborate clothes and come together at the swing which, in all villages, must be located near the spirit gate.
Source:
The Akha swinging ceremony.
There are three types of swing. The first type consists of four posts made of thin tree trunks shorn of all branches except for those at the very top. These four posts are fixed in the ground at points which form a square, and the tops are joined together by a rope with a loop at the end. Another type of swing has only two upright posts made of more sturdy tree trunks. On their tops these two posts are notched (forked) and the swing wheel axle is placed in these notches. Attached to the axle there are four arms or spokes made of two adjacent tree branches at the ends of which swings are attached. This type of swing looks like a water-wheel or a ferris wheel. The third type can be found in front of most houses. These are the swings for the children. Like the first swing described above, they are constructed with four small saplings squarely imbedded in the ground, tied together at the tops, from which point a cradle is hung.
The Akha at some villages say that only married women may swing with the swing of the first type, and the men and the unmarried women with the second type but nowadays this practice is no longer adhered to and both men and women can swing with both types.
The main swing and the "ferris wheel" type (source:
CHIANGRAITODAY: Akha Swing Ceremony In Thailand)
The main swing is constructed on the side of a slope. Two holes are located on the high part of the slope's ridge and the other two are on the lower part. That hole of the two which were on the high part of the ridge and was closest to the village was the "key" hole or the most important hole. This hole is never moved, but the location of the other three holes may be changed.
The location of the swing in Ban Apha Phattana with the spirit gate at the start of the trail leading into the forest
Every year after the four day swing ceremony is finished, the swing rope is wrapped around one of the four posts and the swing is left there till it is rebuilt the next year. The rebuilding starts with the removal of the old posts.
The headman of the village is the first man who cleans the loose dirt from this old key hole and then the villagers help in completing the digging of all the holes until they have reached about one meter in depth.
Cleaning the dirt out of the the "key hole" by the village headman/shaman using a piece of bamboo which is forked at the end.
Early in the morning four teams of men go to the forest to select the posts, cut them down and bring them back to the villages while at the same time they collect lianes to be used for tying up the posts, etc.
The loop in the swing rope is being prepared by wrapping the lianes around the rope to tie them together
Making the loop out of rattan which goes around the piece of wood from which the swing is suspended
When the new trunks for the new swing have been cut and trimmed to points and are ready to be put into the holes, the headman places husked rice, a fresh chicken egg, water and a piece of silver into the key hole and inserts the post.
Before all the posts are put into the holes, four ropes are loosely attached to their tops. When all the posts have been placed into the newly dug holes, men climb to the top of the posts where the ropes will be tightened. They pull the ropes and make two posts bend together and then, again with the ropes, they tie them into pairs. The two pairs of tied posts are joined by a one meter piece of carved wood and then firmly tied together at the top.
The swing rope being readied to be hoisted to the top of the swing
The village headman/shaman making another offering at the "key" post by throing an egg into the hole and tying a stone, thorny vine and Devil's grass to the rope. The stone represents strength and stability, while thorny vine and Devil's grass are about well being and productivity. Once finished, the village headman/shaman will test the swing and after that the builders of the swing will take their turn.
