Fire and tradition: Thai temples unite to keep ancient rocket festival alive

Fast, powerful and loud with the raucous cheers of the crowd, the annual "Look Noo" rocket-launching competition drew spectators to Thailand's Pathum Thani province on Sunday (May 3), celebrating an ancient tradition of the ethnic Mon community that has been kept alive through friendly rivalry between temples.

Unlike the Bun Bang Fai rocket festivals of Thailand's northeast, where rockets compete for height, the Mon rocket — also known as "Look Noo," or "Little Rat" — travels horizontally along a guide wire toward a pagoda-shaped target, with teams vying for the top prize of striking the pagoda and sending it tumbling to the ground.

Twenty-four temples competed in two teams of 12, each firing rockets ranging from 1 to 1.15 metres (3.3 to 3.8 feet) at a pagoda-shaped target approximately 300 metres (984 feet) away.

Rather than points, the team with the most direct hits wins. The top prize is worth up to 30,000 Thai baht ($916), with smaller awards starting from 500 baht ($15).

In the past, rockets were lit to ignite the cremation pyres of senior monks as a mark of respect, as directly lighting the funeral pyre by hand was considered disrespectful according to Mon belief.

In modern times, the tradition has been adapted into a competition to ensure it lives on for future generations.

“It is probably the only sport that brings together all the temples in Pathum Thani province, and it has been very well received,” said Comronwit Toopkrajank, president of Pathum Thani Provincial Administrative Organisation.

As the smoke clears and the cheers fade, the "Look Noo" festival stands as more than a competition — it is a living thread connecting the Mon people to their ancestors, one rocket at a time.

Production: Artorn Pookasook, Napat Wesshasartar/Reuters