The Head Rite, (Talykho), was, after 1980, performed by Tamu’, his son Nae’ Kha, and Thi Pghe’s son, Chi Choe. It is held in May (or La De’ Nja’, the “frog, fish month” as it is known in Palokhi) which is the month when it was originally performed in 1964 by Tamu’ and his co-founders, Thi Pghe and Chwi’. The agricultural season in Palokhi, in fact, commences in January-February when swiddens are first cleared in Palokhi and when the rites of the New Year (kau lau wae or thau ni sau) which symbolically mark the transition from the old season to the new are held. Thus, the performance of the Head Rite does not actually precede the commencement of the agricultural season in each year. The reason why the rite is held in May, rather than before the beginning of the agricultural season in Palokhi, is that it was first conducted by Tamu’, Thi Pghe and Chwi’ in this month after they had completed building their houses when they first established their settlement.

The performance of the rite itself is exclusive: when it was first, and subsequently, performed, it was conducted by Tamu’ and his co-founders whilst at the present time only Tamu’, Nae’ Kha and Chi Choe participate in the rite. No other villager was, or is, permitted to attend the rite or even to witness it.^[19] This restriction applied to all “outsiders” as well and the description of the Head Rite that follows is based on an account provided by Chi Choe immediately after the rite was held.

As with a great many rituals in Palokhi, the Head Rite is simple, comprising three characteristic features: offerings of food and rice liquor, commensalism, and prayers distinguished by semantic parallelism.^[20] Another feature which the rite shares in common with agricultural rituals in Palokhi, as against rites of curing or healing individuals, is that it is proleptic in orientation and aoristic in form: it is directed towards the future as a renewal of the past. It seeks to obtain, through the propitiation of the Lord of the Water, Lord of the Land, auspicious and harmonious conditions for the well-being of the community as a whole and the successful cultivation of rice and other crops on which the community depends. In more general terms, the rite may well be regarded as a renewal of the compact between the headman and his co-founders (or their descendants) with the Lord of the Water, Lord of the Land, through which these conditions are obtained.

In the Head Rite described by Chi Choe (performed in the evening of 28 May 1981), various offerings were first prepared by Tamu’ (and his wife) in his house, which included two stews made from a cock and a hen, roasted popped rice, six wax candles (a pair for each of the participants) and a bottle of rice liquor distilled by Tamu”s wife and daughter.^[21] The rite itself was performed at the base of a tall tree (se mi, a species of Eugenia) located approximately three hundred metres east of the boundaries of the village along the ridge where the village is situated. There is no particular significance attaching to the species of the tree, but the presence of the tree is undoubtedly of some importance in the performance of the ritual.^[22] The tree is said to “belong to the Lord of the Water, Lord of the Land” (Thi Koe’ca, Kau Koe’ca ‘a’ se) but the real significance of the tree is that it is a medium of communication or mediatory ritual device, which may be inferred from the only other ritual in Palokhi which employs trees. Without going into the details of this other ritual, suffice it to say that this ritual is designed to recall the souls (kau’ koela) of old people. It is said that “the trees can see faraway” and, thus, assist in calling back the souls of old people which are believed to wander (or be enticed to do so by spirits, tamyxa) further afield than those of younger people.^[23] In the same manner, the tree in the Head Rite is a medium by which access is gained to the Lord of the Water, Lord of the Land. The offerings are laid out on a woven bamboo mat which is placed at the foot of the tree, and the three participants (with Tamu’ as officiant) squat around the mat.

As recounted by Chi Choe, the ritual commences with Tamu’ making offerings or libations of rice liquor (the khwae’ si’ ‘a’ kho or “first libations of liquor”) to the Lord of the Water, Lord of the Land. The libations are made by dripping the liquor from a cup, using the fingers with the cup tilted at a slight angle, onto the base of the tree. As this is done, the following invocation and prayer is recited by Tamu’:

The prayer is a simple one and its intentions are fully and clearly expressed. It is worth noting, however, that although the ritual is directed towards the Lord of the Water, Lord of the Land of Palokhi, nonetheless the tutelary spirits of other domains and prominent topographical features are included in this prayer.

They are all seen as being essentially similar and there is no implication that one is superordinate to the others, apart from the priority accorded to the Lord of the Water, Lord of the Land of Palokhi. This spirit is addressed before all others. While this is to be expected, given that the Palokhi Karen inhabit the stream valley or kau known to them as the Pang Luang, and the importance placed on precedence in ritual matters as I have already noted before, the inclusion of tutelary spirits of other domains and prominent topographical features is of some importance in the conceptions held by the Palokhi Karen about the relationships amongst these tutelary spirits and the domains that they are believed to preside over. Perhaps the most important consideration is that the Palokhi Karen (and the Karen elsewhere in the Mae Muang Luang-Huai Thung Choa area) attribute a symbolic significance to prominent natural features which include those that define kau. Thus, while Palokhi, Huai Dua and Mae Muang Luang (and, possibly, Mauliang and Maungau) are recognised as domains in their own right, Lekoepau is also given recognition because it is a prominent natural feature near the headwaters of the Mae Muang Luang with a tutelary spirit of its own. The same reason underlies the references to the tutelary spirits of Huai Dua and Mae Muang Luang. Mae Muang Luang originates from the highest hills in the watershed, while Huai Dua which is a tributary of Mae Muang Luang in its lower section, flows through a valley bottom dominated by the hills from which Mae Muang Luang has its source. The inclusion of the tutelary spirits of Mauliang and Maungau are, however, problematic. They are not identifiable in the topography of the Mae Muang Luang-Huai Thung Choa valley system, but it is entirely possible that they refer to places which were, in the distant past, important in similar prayers which have been passed on from generation to generation. That such prayers have an old provenance, is unquestionable. In the prayers that Lauy used to recite, for instance, the tutelary spirit of Chiang Dao (which none of the Palokhi Karen have been to) was invoked as was the “Lord of Great Silver, Lord of Long Silver” (Ce’ Do’ ‘a’ Koe’ca, Ce’ Thu ‘a’ Koe’ca). The latter is based on a historical knowledge which has not been wholly lost in Palokhi; it contains an implicit reference to the silver bar coinages of Northern Thai principalities first minted some four hundred years ago but which remained in circulation for some time after (see, for example, Oliver [1978:96]).

In terms of the rituals performed at the present time, however, one important feature of the prayer is the formula “watch over well, watch over purely” (kwa di’ ‘a’ ghe, kwa di’ ‘a’ gwa) which recurs consistently in agricultural ritual texts. Di’ is a particle indicating continuing action (equivalent to the present continuous tense), whilst ghe and gwa which mean “good” or “beautiful” and “white” (in their literal senses), respectively, are best translated as “auspicious and harmonious” through their parallel juxta-position. These terms represent the conditions which are, ultimately, being sought after in the Head Rite and the various agricultural rituals performed in Palokhi.

Another important theme which appears in the Head Rite and agricultural rituals is the creation or induction of a “cool” state which is believed to be essential for the successful cultivation of crops and, more generally, for the well-being of the community. It is a state implied by the conditions represented by the terms ghe and gwa but is ritually produced by sprinkling lustral water which may simply be ordinary water, or water with acacia pods (pychi sa) and it is a practice that the Palokhi Karen share with their Northern Thai neighbours (see also Davis [1984:106–7]).

For auspicious and harmonious conditions to prevail, the Palokhi Karen believe that the Lord of the Water, Lord of the Land, and the land itself must be “cool”. In the same way, the successful growth of the rice crop depends on the production of a “cool” state in the crop while auspicious and harmonious conditions for and in marriages are thought to be brought about by “cooling” the bride and groom which is an important part of marriage ceremonies (see Chapter III). In all cases, the application of lustral water is required. Thus, in the Head Rite, after the first libations of liquor have been offered to the Lord of the Water, Lord of the Land, lustral water is sprinkled onto the “head” of the spirit although this is in fact done at the base of the tree. The head, generally, is the focus of these applications of water because it is believed to be the most important part of the body, containing the principal soul (called the koela kho thi’) of a person.^[24] The following short prayer accompanies the lustrations to the Lord of the Water, Lord of the Land:

After the completion of these lustrations, the food offerings are then made to the Lord of the Water, Lord of the Land. This consists of placing some rice onto a banana leaf followed by the beaks, claws, wing tips, intestines and livers of each fowl. These parts represent the whole fowls offered to the spirit which is then invited to partake of the offerings. The invitation simply consists of asking the spirit to “come and eat, come and drink” followed by a repetition of the prayer said at the first libations of liquor.

Divination is then carried out to establish whether or not the Lord of the Water, Lord of the Land has eaten the offerings. This consists of tearing up three leaves, taken from any nearby bush or tree, in random fashion and then counting the number of pairs which the torn pieces make up. If there is a full set of pairs, whether odd or even in number, it is deemed that the spirit has consumed the food offerings, after which the three participants in the rite then eat the main portions of rice and chicken. The divination is important because it determines if the Lord of the Water, Lord of the Land has accepted the offerings and thereby renewed the compact, as it were, with the headman and his co-participants in the rite.

The other important aspect of this part of the rite, also present in the first libations, is commensalism. In the first libations, after the liquor has been offered to the spirit, the headman takes a sip of the liquor remaining in the cup and then passes the cup to Nae’ Kha and Chi Choe who do likewise. Thereafter, they may then drink freely of the liquor leaving, however, enough for the last libations which are performed after the eating of the food. The principle of commensalism in the drinking of liquor at the first and last libations and the eating of food is the same and it expresses ritual and social relationships at two levels. First, there is in one sense a commensalism with the spirit which is given precedence in drinking and eating and this is symbolic of its superior ritual position. Second, the commensalism of the participants expresses their own communality and, indeed, equality as supplicants of the Lord of the Water, Lord of the Land. It is worth noting, here, that this is perhaps the single most pervasive aspect of ritual performances in Palokhi — the expression of social and ritual relationships, specifically the solidarity and egalitarian nature of relationships amongst co-participants in communal rituals, through commensalism in the drinking of liquor or the eating of food. The Head Rite ends with the last libations which are made after the three participants have finished eating the meal of rice and chicken stew.

With the completion of the Head Rite at the base of the tree outside the village, a subsidiary rite is performed in Tamu”s house which brings together all the members of the community in a ritual similar in principle to the Head Rite. The structure of the ritual is identical to that of the Head Rite, the only difference being that food is not offered to the spirit or eaten by the congregation of villagers assembled in the headman’s house. The fact that it is performed after the Head Rite, however, points unequivocally to the intercessionary nature of the Head Rite and the role of the headman for it is only after the Lord of the Water, Lord of the Land has been propitiated by the headman that the rest of the community may then participate in this more generalised ritual which further propitiates the spirit.

Although the ritual is considered by the villagers to be a village-wide performance, open to all Palokhi Karen adults to participate, what happens in practice is that men usually assemble in Tamu”s house for the ritual. The reason for this is partly pragmatic because not everyone in the village can be accommodated in the house, but the more important reason is that men enjoy precedence in ritual matters.

The ritual commences with the first libations of liquor to the Lord of the Water, Lord of the Land which, in these circumstances, is performed by Tamu’ and other older men in the village, the “old hearts”. The libations are made at the walls of the house where these men happen to be closest (usually near the hearth where they often sit together with Tamu’), that is, directed away from the other villagers. The prayers which accompany the first libations are essentially similar to those said by Tamu’ in the Head Rite and I shall not, therefore, describe them here. When these prayers are completed, each of the officiants sips from the cup of liquor from which the libations were made. The cups are then passed back and forth amongst the officiants until all have sipped from the various cups. If there is any liquor left in these cups, they are then passed on to the rest of the congregation who do likewise. When these first cups have been consumed, they are refilled by Tamu’ or his son and then redistributed amongst the members of the assembly. The drinking continues in this way until it is judged that there is just sufficient liquor for the last libations at which time the cups which have been passed around are returned to Tamu’ or his son to refill. They are then given to the officiants again to perform the last libations. When the final libations are completed, the liquor remaining in the cups is once again shared by the officiants and the people present. This time, however, concerted efforts are made to ensure that everyone takes a sip from all the cups. The cups, therefore, are passed to and fro with each person raising the cups to his mouth such that the liquor merely touches his lips before they are passed around yet again. The reason why such care is taken in the sharing of liquor at this time is that the Palokhi Karen believe it is an auspicious sign if there is still some liquor remaining in the cups even after everyone has sipped from them. What this means, however, is that everyone in the entire congregation makes a conscious effort to produce this result. It is almost as if the entire ritual and its key symbolic aspects have become sharply focussed in its last stages where the Palokhi Karen act out their communality and solidarity through the, now, deliberate sharing of liquor.

It is, I think, clear that the sequel to the Head Rite is primarily concerned with the “community” of the Palokhi Karen although it is expressed within the context of a more general propitiation of the Lord of the Water, Lord of the Land. It does, however, follow logically from the earlier performance of the Head Rite, and the two rituals express in symbolic terms the ritual and social relationships which are believed to be the essential basis of being a community according to ideas in the religion of the Palokhi Karen. The annual performance of these two rituals, and the succession to headmanship and participation in the Head Rite, on the other hand, indicate that an equally important aspect of being a community lies in continuity of these relationships.

In this chapter, I have attempted to set out the history of Palokhi as a settlement in the Huai Thung Choa valley with particular emphasis on family residential histories, the ecological context of the establishment of the village, and the ritual relationships between the headman, co-founders of the village, the community, and the tutelary spirit of the domain. An important consideration in the establishment of Palokhi has been, and still is, the continuity of these ritual relationships.

This description of settlement history and the relationship between the headman and the Lord of the Water, Lord of the Land thus serves to introduce contemporary issues in the ethnography of the Palokhi Karen which I present and discuss in the chapters that follow. I begin with aspects of the kinship system, domestic social organisation and ritual in Palokhi.