The event was very lively as Buaylai villagers organized a festival. The "Bun Bang Fai" rocket festival. To pray for rain. To "Phaya Thaen". According to their beliefs, while passing on wisdom and preserving local culture from generation to generation.
On 16 May 2026, reporters noted the atmosphere at the Bun Bang Fai festival in Ban Nong Saeng, Buaylai District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, where villagers participated in preserving this traditional Isan folk custom—making rockets, holding parades, and launching rockets to pray for rain according to ancient beliefs, reflecting their way of life and community unity.
The Bun Bang Fai festival is one of the "Hit 12 Khong 14" customs of the Isan people, dating back to ancient times. It is believed to honor "Phaya Thaen," the rain deity, to ensure timely rains before the rice planting season. Villagers make rockets from bamboo, though nowadays PVC pipes are often used instead of bamboo tubes.
They then fill the rockets with gunpowder and decorate them beautifully before organizing joyful parades together. The Bun Bang Fai tradition includes folk games and distinctive Isan music, which helps create a lively, homely atmosphere that excites participants.
At the event, community members who helped make the rain-seeking rockets for Phaya Thaen expressed joy and satisfaction in preserving the local Bun Bang Fai tradition. This serves as a way to pass on wisdom from generation to generation, ensuring the custom remains an enduring part of Isan culture.