Ta Re Lu Meh, Ta Jo Lu Tee

Language: Pga K'Nyaw (Thailand)
Also known as: rice is life, water is spirit

Description

A teaching passed on to the younger generation is “Ta Re Lu Meh, Ta Jo Lu Tee.” It means: “rice is life, water is spirit.” Pga K’Nyaw people give respect to rice, water, and spirit—so that conservation is practiced, not only in caring for forests but also in sustaining life.

Even with dyes: when we collect bark for dyeing, we don’t cut the whole tree. If we harvest bark this year from one side, we leave it to heal and next year take from another side. In this way, the tree lives with us for our whole lifetime. This is part of Pga K’Nyaw teaching on care and conserving.

This connects to another saying: “Ta Geh Leh Bu Mo Deh.” It means: elders teach children that the goodness of the mother and the goodness of the father must be preserved. Protect the taro, protect the seeds, keep them safe for the children. Keep the thirty kinds of seed, the “thirty merits.” If we have all thirty, then no matter what happens, we won’t starve.

We saw this during COVID-19: because we had seeds, friends, taro, rice, we could share food. During COVID we sent rice, taro, pumpkin from our community to Chiang Mai, to friends in need. That’s sharing. We will teach our descendants: conserve, let things bloom, let kinship stand strong, and let wisdom grow.

These sayings function as teachings, as preservation, as passing on knowledge.

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Date of entry: September 9, 2025
A large field of green with hills and a small hut in the distance.
Rice field, Huai E Khang village, Chiang Mai, Thailand. Photograph by Alisa Santikarn.
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