Under the scorching late afternoon sun, hundreds of people packed both sides of the main road in Nakhon Yala municipality, eager to witness one of the main spectacles of the year -- the parade celebrating Melayu Day.
A Thai troupe performs a 'Manorah' dance at the opening of the Melayu Day @Yala, which also included shows from Malaysia and Indonesia. photos by Chanat Katanyu
"I really like it, very beautiful. Unless I'm really tied up with something else, I make a point of coming here to see this parade every year," Ropiah Ma, a 49-year-old housewife, said, holding her grandson in her arms.
Her favourite part of the show is the exquisite ceremonial costume worn by the parade participants including Banong, a Melayu-style attire.
"Normally when we celebrate the Raya [festive celebration] we dress up in these beautiful outfits," she said.
She added that housewives in the communities organise joint activities regularly, and on special occasions, they put on their best dresses. For men, it is the perfect time for kite flying, another favourite traditional pastime.
Roasted roti, eaten with peanut or other special sauces, is on one of the menus at the Melayu Day @Yala event.
The parade and kite flying competition are some of the attractions of the annual event, which also included a food and goods fair, exhibition and seminar joined by participants from Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
In the evening, it was crowded at the Sanam Rong Phithi Chang Phueak Park, aka Sanam Chang, where the fair and the exhibition were the main features.
"Melayu is a culture and people's way of life, not a race or religion," Nakhon Yala mayor Pongsak Yingchoncharoen said.
The "Melayu Day @Yala" celebration opens a common space for the people in the local communities to learn about each other.
"A lot more Buddhists came to the event. In the past, Buddhist people were not so interested, thinking that the celebration was only for Muslims. Now they know that Melayu is cultural, not religious," he said.
Buddhists make up about 10% of Yala's population with other minority people practising other religions.
"[Freedom to] practise the Melayu culture is what the people want, among other desires. So we initiated the idea, seeing that the local people share the same roots," said Mr Pongsak, who is the architect of the event.
He explained that the celebration was born out of the idea of promoting tourism and the cultural attractiveness of Yala.
Consul General of Malaysia, Mohd Afandi Abu Bakar said the event provides a very good platform for creating awareness about the distinct Melayu culture.
At the same time, he said it promotes harmony and bridges the gaps between diverse groups of people.
"At the end of the day, bringing organisations from Malaysia to [to the event in] Thailand tightens cooperation in many aspects including culture, language and human interaction," he said.
He added that the celebration also provided opportunities for Malaysian universities and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to expand their networks in three countries in the Southeast Asian region, including Indonesia.
Indonesian consul Fachry Sulaiman echoed the view.
A woman dresses in Banong with a decorated hijab.
He said the SME seminar and networking made him see the potential of cooperation among countries which share the spirit of the region.
Economically, the countries can share raw materials, imports and exports with one another, and join hands in exporting their products to the world. Among the specialties available from the region, his favourite is the different foods on offer at the stalls.
While the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) is also up and running, the Melayu Day event is another platform to promote growth and development in many fields, Mr Sulaiman said.
The coming together of different people narrows the cultural gap between them," he said.
Mr Afandi, who was attending the event for the fourth time, said the scale of it was now much bigger compared with the first time he came in 2016.
This year, 130 people from Malaysia and 18 Malaysian organisations visited the Melayu Day @Yala.
"The organiser managed to bring not only the local but regional, international participants from countries including Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. In a few years' time I believe the event will be even bigger. Many other foreign countries, especially from Asean, will take part."
Ampon Ponsorn, director of Education Office of Nakhon Yala municipality which is the key organiser, said the celebration pulled in 10,000 visitors last year. Many more came this year.
The event occupied 30 rai of land where 75 booths were set up to showcase goods, 50 other exhibition booths and 85 food stalls. About 20,000 people attended over three days.
Abdul Ramae Wani, a 40-year-old rubber grower, said he brought his family to the event every year as they enjoyed the exhibitions and performances.
Nureeman Ngaewaelee and Fatihah Masaeh, 18 year-old students from an all-female Muslim school, said they came two days in a row as they enjoyed the art exhibitions, the food as well as the batik clothes and kites.
They said they realised this was their cultural heritage they had inherited from past generations, and that they also came last year.
Amani Zain, a dancer from the Malaysian state of Kelantan who arrived with a few fellow dancers from Jastera Entertainment, said they were invited as observers and hopefully they would be asked to perform next year.
With the dances performed, they saw connections between the different cultures.
Thais and Malaysians are "Asians bound by the language of Melayu", he said. At the celebrations, it was not only Thailand's iconic Ramvong dance that they enjoyed but also the different foods on offer.
Azka M Fairuz, the owner of Estu Batik from Pekalongan, Indonesia, said he was very happy his hand-made batik products received such a warm welcome from the people in in Yala, especially the elderly.
"[When invited by the Indonesian Embassy to showcase his products at the event], I knew nothing about Yala, but it turned to be very crowded," he said.
A kite maker shows his skills.
Parade participants in Banong add to the spectacle while showing items in games played exclusively in the palaces of Melayu culture.
Performers join a parade on the backs of elephants to represent the heads of the seven Melayu states of the past.