Ordination of novice monks

Today at Wat Phan Tao, a Wat I have visited several times, I participated in a ceremony for young novice monks. I am not actually  sure if it was an ordination or a robe presenting ceremony, or maybe postulants making a commitment to train in monastic rules.  It was the Buddhist New Year last week and these boys may have only just joined the monastery.

In Thai the novices are known as samanen or "nen" and postulants are called pa kow.
The main difference between a pa-kow and a novice is that a pa-kow is still able to own and handle money, and therefore has more freedom and independence, while the novice adopts an additional precept that prevents him from ownership and the handling and use of money.

I noticed the person next to me included a  100 Baht note in with the robe, so I did too, so maybe this indicates that the boys are not yet samanen.

They all wore white robes and had freshly shaven heads.  Head shaving may have occurred in an early part of the ceremony.

It was  a very special occasion and I felt very lucky to have been part of the ritual. Two lovely older women encouraged me to participate.  I stayed later after the young monks had left and ate with them and chatted using my 5 Thai words and their limited but clear English.

My role was to wrap white cotton threads around each wrist, wish him good luck and then to present the novice with a set of orange robes.  I do hope everything works out for him and that monastic life is not too harsh.