Shaving the head of a boy about to become a novice monk in Mae Hong Son, Thailand

A monk shaves the head of a Shan boy during Poy Sang Long, a yearly ceremony at which boys are ordained as novice monks, Mae Hong Son, Thailand. The shaving takes place inside the Buddhist temple Wat Hua Wiang. Practically every Shan boy goes through this three-day ceremony sometime between the age of eight and fourteen. After the ordination, the boy spends about one month in a Buddhist monastery and then usually returns to normal life again.

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Filename: 3975.jpg
Copyright: Copyright © 2003 Anders Ryman. All rights reserved.
Image Size: 5537x3661 / 16.9MB; Asia Boy Buddhism Buddhist Horizontal Life Cycle Ritual Mae Hong Son Orange Outdoors Poi Sang Long Poy Sang Long Religion Rite of Passage Shan Shaving Southeast Asia Thai Yai Thailand Vertical Wat Hua Wiang bold color image colour image colour photography colourful cutting fashion hair monk's robes novice monk novice monkhood novice monks ordination of novice monks place of worship razor religious religious building temple without hair
Contained in galleries: In the footsteps of Buddha, Thailand

A monk shaves the head of a Shan boy during Poy Sang Long, a yearly ceremony at which boys are ordained as novice monks, Mae Hong Son, Thailand. The shaving takes place inside the Buddhist temple Wat Hua Wiang. Practically every Shan boy goes through this three-day ceremony sometime between the age of eight and fourteen. After the ordination, the boy spends about one month in a Buddhist monastery and then usually returns to normal life again.