Spirit Dancer of Loie Photo

Photographer’s Note

It is the time before 'Khow Pansa' again and the start of the Buddhist rainy season retreat.The monsoon has started to sweep across Asia. It is the time for the fertility festivals in Laos and the ethnically Laotian parts of Thailand. These ceremonies predate Buddhism and are intended to awaken the spirits, to bring the rains and to restore fertility to the land. In past times the failure of the monsoon would bring starvation to these villages. Even today, their lives depend on rice and on the rains. In Dan Sai, in the mountains of Loei, on the boarder of Laos, they have a tradition of dancing in exotic masks and being possessed by the spirits as they dance. They dance and cavort wildly through the village for a day and a night. The other tradition is for men and boys to cover themselves in mud and to dance in a similar way. This young boy is dancing the spirit dance for the first time. He dances it as his ancestors have danced many times before. The mud is a sign of fertility, earth and life-giving rain mixed together. He is calling to the spirits to send the rains again, for, without the monsoon rains there will be no rice and the people would starve.These rituals are, to western eyes very bawdy and the cult of the penis (representing the penis of Lord Shiva)is prominent the the festivities. The eyes of this 'spirit' met mine and he dances his ancient ritual through the village streets.His culture and tradition is kept alive by a new generation.

axiotea, ndb1958, dareco, Cloud__Warrior, adores, SteveH, PixelTerror, siolaw, feather has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

jasmis (50979) 2008-07-08 8:48

Superb natural portrait in really extraordinary circumstances.
Detailed note, as well.
Regards.

axiotea (16281) 2008-07-08 8:54

Hello Kevin
Yes, today, we are neighbours ;)
You've captured well the intense expression of the boy and I hope monsoon will be good for them...I like the texture of the mud on his face and the way he is looking at you!
A strong image full of hope!
All the best my friend!
Marilyn

faubry (32417) 2008-07-08 11:06

wonderful portrait, superb expression caught, nice details sand;
take care
francine

ndb1958 (9248) 2008-07-08 12:02

Hi Kevin, love this image of the boy. Great expression how he looks to you. An outstanding portrait. Very interesting note! Thank you for sharing, Nino.

Cloud__Warrior (291) 2008-07-08 14:35

Hi Kevin

Interesting potrait, well framed and with good depth of field.

Andy

adores (15745) 2008-07-08 17:00

Hi Kevin!
very good portrait! I like his expression and the mud on his face. A good moment of the ceremony. You framed him very well and I like the blurred background.

SteveH (3995) 2008-07-08 22:15

Hi Kevin, Interesting note to go with this image. DOF is perfect to highlight the subject but still provide a sense of what is going on around him. nice one. Cheers, Steve

Senk (2033) 2008-07-08 22:57

hi Lung Kevin
very nice one i like the way he looks your camera , good shot

Seng

Morac (20843) 2008-07-08 23:56

Hello Kevin,
Again a beautiful photograph with the service of text always so instructive on the traditions of Thailand.
Thank you
Regards
Marc

dareco (17104) 2008-07-09 1:09

I am grateful for your very informative note. A wonderful portrait of this young man, even covered in mud he is very handsome :) I like his expression very much and I wish these people well. TFS and have a happy day!

RGatward (19749) 2008-07-09 1:55

Hi Kevin, you seem to be getting more and more out of your portraits these days, as well as the obvious TE interest in this one, it's also a well thought through compo with excellent tech.

chirasak (575) 2008-07-09 16:35

Hi Ajarn
i like your note very, you have write very interesting note for your every picture
hope you enjoy this trip
oh and this is such a nice shot of portrait :)

your sincere
Chirasak

wolf38 (13107) 2008-07-09 23:39

Hello Kevin. Dance. Ritual. A strong picture. The Portrait works archaic. It shows the solidarity of humans and nature very impressively. Also the text is very instructive. Altogether a documentary picture worth seeing. Best regards, Wolfgang.

PixelTerror (86837) 2008-07-10 16:16

Hi Kevin,
Close framing and narrow Dof work best for this image, also very well exposed and we can see you have done the focus on the right eye.
Have a nice day JY

siolaw (25830) 2008-07-12 9:00

Hi Kevin,
I see in your intro you got new camera! Is this taken with it? If yes why don't you put the info when posting... there is a box where you can select your camera....
I like this portrait anyway, really close range! It gave superb texture and sharpness of detail! Light and color are very good too, and an interesting subject and note...
Greetings from Goa
Laurent

feather (50144) 2008-08-12 6:12

I picked this image out of your gallery, firstly for the enigmatic stare of the boy, which is evident even in the thumbnail. I then became engrossed in the note and am attempting to link it up with the tiny amount of knowledge I picked up in just a 2 week trip to Laos. Are these villagers animists and do they also have animal sacrifices?
Very good portrait with detail in the background for a little context.
Kath

abulafia (4802) 2008-11-09 7:26

Great portrait Kevin
Very close, very professional.
Harry