Thailand cave rescue: Boys to be sent to local monasteries to serve Buddhist monks

The families of the 12 Wild Boars have organised a special surprise after they recover from their underground ordeal.

Local women attend a Buddhist prayer for the trapped boys at a school near the Tham Luang cave.

In the depths of his despair, when it seemed as if he might never see his son alive again, Somboon Kaewwongwan made a desperate bargain. Bowing his head in front of the Tham Luang caves, he prayed to the goddess who inhabits them: bring my son back, and I will put him into the monkhood.

The parents of the 11 other boys imprisoned in the cave did the same. A group of them travelled to the Buddhist monastery of Phrathat Doi Tung, which enshrines the collarbone of the Buddha, and days later their prayers appeared to be partially rewarded when the boys were discovered, trapped but alive, deep inside the caves.

As a result, the boys, aged 11 to 17, have a surprise in store: when they are safely brought out, and once they have recovered, they will be sent by their parents to local monasteries to have their heads shaved and serve as Buddhist monks.

Their stints will not be long - between two weeks and a month. Many Thais enter monasteries for a period as young men, in a kind of religious equivalent of national service. However, the story illuminates the central place of religion in Thai life, and the particular role it has played in this crisis.

“We did indeed make a bargain,” said Mr Somboon, who was waiting to hear whether his son was one of those already rescued. “We prayed to the goddess and to the Buddha to look after our kids in the cave, and to help them get out safe. And they are still with them, caring for them. We made a bargain, and we must keep our promise.”

A monk lights a candle at an altar during a Buddhist prayer for the trapped children.

The caves themselves are rich in myth and, from the beginning, Thais turned to spiritual forces to assist the quest to save the boys. Their full name, Tham Luang Nang Non, means “caves of the reclining big lady”, a reference to Jao Mae Nang Non, an ancient princess who became pregnant by a stableboy and eloped with him. Her father’s soldiers caught up with them at the caves. After her lover was killed, the princess stabbed herself to death. Her supine body is the mountain; the river that runs through the caves is her blood.

Within a few days of the boys’ disappearance, makeshift shrines were being set up and offerings left for the princess-cum-goddess, including flowers, beer and a boiled pig’s head.

As well as appealing to the deities of Thailand’s traditional folk religion, the parents and rescuers turned to the dominant faith of Thailand, Buddhism. The boy’s coach, who is also inside the caves, Ekapol Chanthawong, 25, is an orphan who spent years as a Buddhist monk. Thai media have reported that part of the reason that the boys have remained so calm has been the techniques of Buddhist meditation that he has taught them.

Thai soldiers relay electric cable deep into the Tham Luang cave.

Mr Somboon’s son, Pheeraphat Sompiengjai, studies meditation at Mae Sai Prasitsart school, which six of the boys attend. His technology teacher, Suwicha Jitbarn, believes that, after two terrifying weeks in a cave, a month as a monk will be just what he needs “to cleanse and refocus his mind”.

Last night, with eight of the boys safely extracted, the rescue mission’s operational chief, General Bancha Duriyaphan offered thanks to the many people who had helped. “But most of all I thank Pra Pirun [the Thai god of rain] for not much rain and confusion,” he said.

He was joking, but only just.

THE TIMES