Shaving boys' heads at ordination ceremony for novice monks in Mae Hong Son, Thailand

A Shan boy gets his head shaved 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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Copyright: Copyright © 2003 Anders Ryman. All rights reserved.
Image Size: 5577x3677 / 10.6MB; 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 Wat Hua Wiang bold color image color photography colour image colour photography colourful cutting hair monk's robes novice monk novice monkhood novice monks ordination of novice monks outside place of worship razor religious religious building temple without hair
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A Shan boy gets his head shaved 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.