The tradition of Baked Sticky Rice in Bamboo in Sapphaya

The tradition of burning Baked Sticky Rice in Bamboo offering in the third lunar month is a communal event where people gather with family and friends to burn the rice offering to be presented to the monks (traditionally held on the 15th day of the third lunar month, coinciding with Magha Puja Day). Apart from temple visits, listening to sermons, and making merit, the villagers also have the tradition of making rice offering cakes to offer to the monks and bringing ceremonial flags to pay respects to the village's ancestral shrine of the Tiger Deity. Additionally, they participate in the ritual of "breaking and releasing," where each family member breaks a piece of the rice offering cake as a symbol of atoning for their wrongdoings. This ritual is believed to cleanse the family of any negativity and invite positive influences into their live.

In the past, this rice offering ceremony helped families and communities come closer together. Villagers would gather a day before the ceremony to cooperate and prepare the rice offering, symbolizing their unity and devotion.

The process of preparing the rice offering involves soaking glutinous rice in water,

stuffing it into bamboo cylinders,

adding coconut milk mixed with salt and sugar,

and then roasting it until cooked.

The traditional roasting process takes place in an open area where a shallow trench is dug, bamboo cylinders are set up, and the rice cylinders are placed on a fire stack. Once roasted, the rice offering has a sweet, creamy, and slightly salty taste.
After completion, the rice offering is then presented to the monks and used for merit-making ceremonies at nearby temples. Any remaining rice offering is distributed among neighbors and community members for them to share in the merit-making. However, finding and witnessing such rice offering ceremonies in today's world has become increasingly difficult.