Phuket ready to celebrate its Two Heroines
Tanyaluk Sakoot


The Thao Thepkassatri and Thao Srisoonthon Festival is one of the most cultural events on the island.

PHUKET: Tomorrow (March 7) will see the start of the annual two-week Thao Thepkassatri and Thao Srisoonthon Festival, an event that will feature a number of activities including a seminar on the history of Thalang, historical sport competitions, a ceremony honouring Thalang̕s ancestors Thao Thepkassatri and Thao Srisoonthon and a lot more.

Speaking at a press conference to announce the event, PPAO̕s Paiboon Upatising said, “The main purpose of this year̕s festival is to honour the history of Thao Thepkassatri and Thao Srisoonthon so the younger generation can pay respect to them and be thankful for those who sacrified their lives for the land on which we live today.

“PPAO is in charge of organizing events between March 13-15 and for bringing the entertainmenters, sounds, historical stage plays, art and cultural performance, OTOP market, and Phuket local food to the Thalang memorial field (Baan Leang).

“The main entertainment will be held from 8pm between March 13-15 with this year̕s stage performance honouring Thao Thepkassatri and Thao Srisoonthon being much improved on previous years.”

Residents and tourists are all invited to come and enjoy the festival and help honour the island̕s two heroines and experience their way of life at the Thalang memorial field.

Schedule:

March 7, 2015 – Group ordination ceremony starts 7:30am at the Anupaskrisdaram (Ketho) Temple

March 12, 2015 – Worshiping of ancestors and Thalang warriors starts 9am at Muang Komaraphat Temple

March 13, 2015 – Wreath laying ceremony and praising for the two heroines stage performance starts 9am at the Two Heroines Monument.

March 13-15, 2015 – Phuket local food and OTOP product fair runs from 5 pm until midnight. Throughout the evening there will be Thai performances at the Thalang memorial field.

March 13-15, 2015 – Light and sound presesntations and the historical play runs from t 8:30pm – 11pm at the Thalang memorial field.

Source: http://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-ready-to-celebrate-its-two-heroines-51278.php

-- Phuket News 2015-03-06

2 disrespectful troll posts removed.

Phuket ready to celebrate its Two Heroines

Who were Muslim. 'Not many people (mostly Buddhist Thais), know that'.

I had to look it up as the newspaper article gives no indication of the reason these two women are heroines.

From Wiki

Thao Thep Kasattri (ท้าวเทพกระษัตรี) and Thao Sri Sunthon (ท้าวศรีสุนทร) were styles awarded to Than Phuying Chan (ท่านผู้หญิงจัน), wife of the then recently deceased governor of Phuket Province, and her sister, Khun Muk (คุณมุก), who defended the island in the late eighteenth century. According to popular belief, they repelled a five-week invasion by Burmese in 1785, by dressing up as male soldiers and rallying Siamese troops. Chan and Muk were later honored by King Rama I with the Thai honorific Thao, as Thao Thep Kasattri and Thao Sri Sunthon, respectively. ^[1][2][3][4]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thao_Thep_Kasattri_and_Thao_Sri_Sunthon

A recent (2012) book by local historian Colin Mackay, "A History of Phuket and the Surrounding Region," is a good read and gives some context to the role played by the two heroines in the defense of Phuket against the Burmese invasion during the Nine Armies War (1785).

http://historyofphuket.com/