Thailand Wai Khru (Teachers' Day): A Key Ritual of Reverence and Education
January 16th in Thailand celebrates Teachers’ Day, a unique day dedicated to the relationship between students and all teachers. This day is a national tribute to the essential and delicate mission of transmitting knowledge.
Teachers’ Day is a commemoration that takes place on school premises. It is not a public holiday and there are no public events. Since the mid-twentieth century, this day has gradually become part of school rituals as a time to thank teachers for passing on their knowledge to their pupils.
A major educational event in Thailand
This ceremony is actually more complex than it seems. The Wai Khru ceremony is part of an ancient tradition, many of which are linked to Brahmanic practices in India. Originally, it mainly concerned schools of dance, combat sports, massage and traditional music. Little by little, wai khru spread to all the places where knowledge was passed on, ending up as an essential event, punctuating the school year for all Thai peop
The Wai Khru ritual
The Wai Khru ritual follows roughly the same process in every school: first, all the pupils are brought together. They then pray together. The ritual continues with the singing of the Wai Khru by all the students. This song both praises the teaching profession and reminds students of the humility they owe their teachers. Once the song is over, each pupil asks the teachers for their blessing to continue their studies.
This is the time for gifts, with offerings such as flowers, incense sticks and so on. As is often the case with gifts, the symbolic aspect of the object offered is important. Stir-fried rice, for example, is seen as a symbol of discipline, while aubergine flowers bowing under the weight of the vegetable to come symbolizes respect and humility. As for the Ixora flower, it represents alertness, and so on.
Donation and student value
For the school, it is also a time to reward good students by awarding scholarships, prizes or congratulations in front of the entire student body. The Wai Khru brings teachers and students together around shared values. It reminds everyone of their dependence on each other. As with all rituals, there is a reminder of each person’s place, role and usefulness to the group as a whole and to society in general.
It goes without saying that the Wai Khru ceremony is much more complex than what we have summarised here. The ceremony in a kindergarten has absolutely nothing to do with the one you might find in a Thai boxing school. However, the principle remains the same: that of honouring the teacher, the one who passes on knowledge outside the family unit.
