![000 Cremation shirt](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/000_Cremation_shirt.jpg)
Phan ( th, พาน, ) is an artistically decorated
tray with
pedestal. It is common in
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
,
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
, and
Laos
Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
.
Description
A phan is normally round and comes in different sizes. The usual measures range between a diameter of 20 cm to about 50 cm. It is more or less deep.
Phans are usually made of metal such as
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
, silver,
brass
Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...
, or steel. Nowadays
aluminum
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...
or gilded plastic is generally used, which makes the phan lighter. This is convenient, for sometimes they have to be carried for a long time.
Tradition
![Dedicate to the Buddhist priest](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Dedicate_to_the_Buddhist_priest.jpg)
The phan trays are traditionally very important in
Thai culture. Phans are generally used for ritual devotional practices and offerings may be placed on phans by the shrines. Phans are also used for containing other highly important things, including legal documents such as the
constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When ...
, or offerings to royalty.
Phans are also to bring the items of the
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
ceremony for young men who are to be
ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...
as
monks
A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedicat ...
, like robes,
incense
Incense is aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremony. It may also be ...
, candles and a pillow, among other items. In this case the family first displays all the items in the house, and then family members bring the items on decorated phans from the home to the temple.
Formerly, when the chewing of
areca nut and
betel
The betel (''Piper betle'') is a vine of the family Piperaceae, which includes pepper and kava. The betel plant is native to Southeast Asia. It is an evergreen, dioecious perennial, with glossy heart-shaped leaves and white catkins. Betel plan ...
was common among the Thai people, the ingredients for chewing, the nuts, leaves, spices and instruments for cutting, were presented on a phan to the guest entering the house as part of a traditional welcoming ceremony.
In the story of the "Seven Nang
Songkran
Songkran is a term derived from the Sanskrit word, ' (or, more specifically, ') and used to refer to the traditional New Year celebrated in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, parts of northeast India, parts of Vietnam and ...
s", Thao Kabinlaphrom, a mythical being, had to cut off his own head to perform a ceremonial salute to Thammaban Kuman. The problem was that if his head fell to the earth, it would scorch it. If it went up into the air, there would be no rain, and if it fell into the sea, the waters would dry up. So he decided to order his daughter to bring a phan, where he would place his head after having cut it off. Thus she could carry the head in a ritual procession across the heavens around Khao Phra Sumen (
Mount Sumeru
Mount Meru (Sanskrit/Pali: मेरु), also known as Sumeru, Sineru or Mahāmeru, is the sacred five-peaked mountain of Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist cosmology and is considered to be the centre of all the physical, metaphysical and spiritu ...
), following which she would keep it in a cave in Khao Krailat (
Mount Kailash
Mount Kailash (also Kailasa; ''Kangrinboqê'' or ''Gang Rinpoche''; Standard Tibetan, Tibetan: གངས་རིན་པོ་ཆེ; ; sa, कैलास, ), is a mountain in the Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It h ...
). This ceremony would be performed yearly by one of the seven daughters in turn, the Nang Songkrans.
Other
*"พอ พาน", (pho phan) is also used as an illustration in order to name the letter พ, the 30th consonant of the
Thai alphabet
The Thai script ( th, อักษรไทย, ) is the abugida used to write Thai, Southern Thai and many other languages spoken in Thailand. The Thai alphabet itself (as used to write Thai) has 44 consonant symbols ( th, พยัญชน ...
, according to the traditional letter symbols Thai children use to memorize the alphabet.
Thai alphabet in Letters
/ref>
*The Phu Phan mountains
The Phu Phan mountains ( th, ทิวเขาภูพาน, , ) are a range of hills dividing the Khorat Plateau of the Isan region of Thailand into two basins: the northern Sakhon Nakhon Basin, and the southern Khorat Basin.
The silhouette ...
(Thai: ทิวเขาภูพาน) are named after this tray because their silhouette is flat on the top.
*A two-tiered phan appears in the centre of the Royal Arms of Cambodia
The royal arms of Cambodia is the symbol of the Cambodian monarchy. They have existed in some form close to the one depicted since the establishment of the independent Kingdom of Cambodia in 1953. It is the symbol on the royal standard of ...
See also
* Culture of Thailand
*Khan tok A ''khantoke'' or ''khantok'' ( th, ขันโตก, ) is a pedestal tray used as a small dining table by the Lanna people (of northern Thailand), Laotians, and by people from Isan (northeastern Thailand). A ''khantoke'' tray is a short, round t ...
References
{{reflist
External links
Stylish Ideas for Ottoman Tray
Containers
Thai culture