Ma Khon (Tai Dam Throwing Ball, Luk Chuang) — Two 4x4-Inch Cloth Squares Filled with Tamarind Seeds, a 1 m Carrying Cord, and Hand-Span Streamers, 3-4 per Corner; Swung and Thrown Through a Hoop

"The ma khon is a square cloth bag like a pillow, with a cord to swing it so it can be thrown far to the other side during play." (Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, author ยุวดี ศรีห้วยยอด (Yuwadi Srihuaiyot), CC BY 4.0)

Take two 4x4-inch scraps of cloth and sew them together with the seams inside. Fill with tamarind seeds, kapok seeds or other seeds, then sew it closed.

Sew a cord or strip of cloth about 1 metre long to the centre of the top of the bag, to hold and swing it round before throwing.

Use small strips of scrap cloth about a hand-span long and sew 3-4 of them to each of the 4 corners, so it flutters when thrown.

Drawings of the ma khon and of throwing it through a hoop (Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, author ยุวดี ศรีห้วยยอด (Yuwadi Srihuaiyot), CC BY 4.0)

Play in an open ground called a khuang. Agree who starts; play in teams or alone. Hold the end of the cord and swing the ball; when the weight feels strong enough, fling it up through the hoop at the top of the pole, which stands about as high as a two-storey building.

In kon is a Tai Dam play tradition with singing and dancing, played from the first day of the waxing moon of the 5th month. The Tai Dam also put a ma khon in the coffin, believing the dead take it to play with in the next world. Today the traditional game is staged only as a performance. Source: Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, Traditional Objects of Everyday Use database, "ลูกช่วง", author ยุวดี ศรีห้วยยอด (Yuwadi Srihuaiyot) (CC BY 4.0 licence). **Limits** The method uses 4x4-inch cloth, while the notes give the ma khon as 3x3 inches. The illustrations are drawings. There is no product line for tamarind seeds.