Palaung Ethnic Groups Celebrate the 81st Birthday of His Majesty the King
Posted By admin on December 8, 2008
December 6, 2008
The Palaung ethnic groups, from the highlands, celebrated the 81st birthday of His Majesty the King on 5 and 6 of December at Pang Deng village, Chiang Daong, Chiang Mai province, in the northern part of Thailand.
At the ceremony wishing the King a long life were more than 1,500 villagers including Palaung, Kachin, and regional Thais from 12 wards of 10 villages in Chiang Daong, Fang of Chiang Mai province, and Mae Ai town of Chiang Rai province.
“Mai Aik Phone, General Secretary of Palaung State Liberation Front, who participated in the ceremony said, we celebrate the birthday of His Majesty the King yesterday and today with entertainment and sports events wishing a long life for the King with our deepest thanks. This year is more crowded than the previous years. During the day, we organize sports events and at times we light candles and send the King our wishes that he live long and have the strength to endeavor for the needs of his beloved people even more. We entertain the people with Palaung traditional dances.”
One of the members from the Palaung (Da-ang) Network Committee (PNC) who organized the celebration said, “The aim of this celebration is that we wish the King a long life while aiming to get more cooperation among Thais, Kachin, and Palaung people; ending the production and trade of narcotic drugs; and developing more understanding and familiarity among our Palaung people.”
The PNC and UHDC organized together to hold this ceremony and each household of Palaung people donated 35 Baht to offer food to the public. And the UHDC also donated 30,000 Baht for the celebration. “We also send our deepest thanks to Mai Aik Phone, a Palaung leader, and a Japanese nun who generously gave 8,000 Baht for round-trip transportation charges for the villagers from Fang and Mae Ai to attend this celebration. We also thank them for purchasing our Palaung traditional costumes,” he said.
This is the 6th celebration for the birthday of His Majesty the King in the area.
The Palaung people, who have resided in this region since the late 1970s, were victims of the Burmese civil war. They were recognized as highland citizens of Thailand by the King in 2000.
Palaung Youth News Agency
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