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Text by Claudio Sieber and Rachel Kwek
Images by Claudio Sieber
Every Buddhist male in Thailand needs to attend a monastery of their choice twice a lifetime: once before 20 years of age and again after that. Most Thais embark on this spiritual path when they are around 20 years old whereas the Shan typically do so from 7 to 14 years old. The Shan ethnic group inhabits Mae Hong Son and other northern provinces in Thailand like Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. The majority of Shan (known as Tai Yai in Thailand) are Theravada Buddhists who observe Poy
Sang Long – a rite of passage that marks the ordination of young Shan boys as Buddhist novices. In Chiang Mai, the annual ceremony lasts three days, whereas in Mae Hong Son, it lasts five days.