Eleven boys from a football team rescued from a flooded Thai cave in a drama that gripped global audiences were ordained as Buddhist novices on Wednesday in memory of a volunteer diver who died during their rescue.
The Wild Boars football team and their 25-year-old coach, Ekapol Chanthawong, arrived at the Wat Phra That Doi Tung temple in Chiang Rai's Mae Sai district dressed in white robes amid light rain and fog. The group listened to Buddhist chanting before they were given saffron robes to wear during an emotionally-charged ceremony that was broadcast live on Facebook by local authorities.
The Wild Boars football team and their 25-year-old coach, Ekapol Chanthawong, arrived at the Wat Phra That Doi Tung temple in Chiang Rai's Mae Sai district dressed in white robes amid light rain and fog. The group listened to Buddhist chanting before they were given saffron robes to wear during an emotionally-charged ceremony that was broadcast live on Facebook by local authorities.
The group had their hair shaved a day earlier in preparation to become novice Buddhist monks. 'Their lives will change now. This experience will help them to appreciate their parents and give them a taste of Dhamma,' said Manit Prakobkit, vice chairman of the Mae Sai Cultural Council. Staying in various monasteries until August 4, the boys and their coach will spend nine days nine is considered a lucky number in Thailand praying, meditating and cleaning their temple. They will adhere to the teachings and precepts of Buddhism, which is Thailand's main religion.
A total of 11 out of 12 of the rescued boys took part, with fourteen-year-old Adul Sam-on not be ordained because he is Christian. 'The eleven boys will be ordained as novices, whereas Coach Ek will be ordained as a monk,' Rachael Ngamgrabuan, an official at Chiang Rai's provincial press office, told viewers on Facebook. The coach had spent time in a monastery as a novice before today's ceremony. An international operation to rescue the 12 boys and their coach ended on July 10 when the last of the group was brought to safety from inside the flooded Tham Luang Cave in Chiang Rai. During the rescue operation, the boys' families promised that, in return for their safe rescue and in memory of diver Samarn Kunan, 38, the boys would ordain as novices. Samarn, a former member of Thailand's elite navy SEALs unit, was the only casualty in the operation to save the boys and their coach after monsoon rains trapped them inside the cave.
At the temple on Wednesday, the boys helped each other to put on their new garments in a ceremony attended by their relatives and Samarin's wife, Valeepoan Kunan. The ceremony ended with attendees and temple visitors scrambling to collect pockets of coins scattered into the air a custom in Thai ordination ceremony to signify giving up worldly treasures with most catching the pockets in their umbrellas. Solemn pictures on Tuesday showed them praying in front of ancient relics and offering drinks and desserts placed in gilded bowls to spirits at a temple in northern Thailand.
'It's something we've been thinking to do since they got out of the cave,' Aisha Wiboonrungrueang, mother of 11-year-old Chanin, told AFP. 'Now it's about time.' 'Ordinations are supposed to give us peace of mind,' said Sangiemjit Wongsukchan, mother of Ekarat Wongsukchan, 14, one of the boys who was trapped in the cave. 'We can only do this for nine days because then he will have to go back to study and prepare for exams. Back to his normal life.' The ordination is intended to be a 'spiritual cleansing' for the group. They should spend time in a monastery. It's for their protection,' Seewald Sompiangjai, grandfather of Night, one of the rescued boys, told the BBC, adding: 'It's like they died but now have been reborn.
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The boys and their coach lit yellow candlesticks and trays of sweets, fruits and sugary drinks were placed in front of Buddha statues wrapped in shiny gold cloth. Buddhism is followed by more than 90 per cent of the Thai population. Traditionally, many Thai men are ordained as Buddhist monks once they came of age a practice thought to bring blessings and honour to Thai Buddhist families. The 12 boys, aged 11 to 16, were discharged from a hospital last week and have been spending time at home. They spoke of their ordeal last week at a news conference organised by the Thai government. The boys and their 25-year-old coach Ekapol Chanthawong had gone to explore the caves on June 23, where they became trapped. They survived for nine days on water dripping from rocks before they were discovered on a muddy mound by divers.
The boys and their coach lit yellow candlesticks and trays of sweets, fruits and sugary drinks were placed in front of Buddha statues wrapped in shiny gold cloth. Buddhism is followed by more than 90 per cent of the Thai population. Traditionally, many Thai men are ordained as Buddhist monks once they came of age a practice thought to bring blessings and honour to Thai Buddhist families. The 12 boys, aged 11 to 16, were discharged from a hospital last week and have been spending time at home. They spoke of their ordeal last week at a news conference organised by the Thai government. The boys and their 25-year-old coach Ekapol Chanthawong had gone to explore the caves on June 23, where they became trapped. They survived for nine days on water dripping from rocks before they were discovered on a muddy mound by divers.