fossil_digger Report This Comment Date: September 05, 2012 10:29PM
The Naga fireballs also referred to as Mekong lights, are a phenomenon seen in
the Mekong river—in Thailand and in Laos, in which glowing balls rise from the
water high into the air. The balls are reddish and have diverse size from
smaller sparkles up to the size of basketballs. They quickly rise up to a couple
of hundred metres before disappearing. The number of fireball. ls reported
varies between tens and thousands per night.
"Embedded in the folklore and Buddhist way of life is the King of the Naga,
a serpent-like creature, who is reputed to reside deep beneath the Mekong River
in an underwater city, the Muang Badan.
Everything in their daily lives, from house building to the running of their
schools, factories and hotels is influenced by their belief in the Paya Naga and
its supernatural powers.
The people of Isan and their Laos neighbours on the opposite banks of the Mekong
are closely related - so too are their beliefs in the Paya Naga and the
mysterious Bang fai (Naga Fireball) that appear every year from beneath the
waters of the Mekong on the last day of the Buddhist lent in October.
Pra Kru Udom Phisaikanarak, the head monk of Wat Chomthong and Phon Phisai
District Head monk (Cha Kana Amphoe) explained the history and legend of the
Bang fai Paya Naga (Naga Fireball) - the natural and unexplained phenomenon of
the fireballs coming from beneath the waters of the Mekong River...
On the last day of the Buddhist Lent the people of each village located near the
river at Amphoe Phon Phi-sai floated their fire-boats as a mark of respect and
tribute to the Lord Buddha.
They then placed torches made of a substance of insect waste collected from
trees on their 20 - 30 meters long bamboo boats to illuminate them...In order to
make their boats look more spectacular some team members fired small Bang fai
(rockets) and the circular Bang fai known as Talai into the sky. It was then
that a curious and so far unexplained phenomenon occurred - some Bang fai were
fired as if from under the water, as if the Paya Nagas wanted to participate in
the event. This was hundreds of years ago and the phenomenon has occurred every
year since.
It is also said that it is not only beneath the river that the underwater town
or city exists. The Muang Badan as it is known is said to run throughout the
whole geographical area of Nongkhai Province - the home of the Paya Nagas (Naga
Fireball's)."
BlahX3 Report This Comment Date: September 05, 2012 11:37PM
Nagas originated in Hindu mythology and were incorporated into Buddhism, which
is the case for a lot of Hindu things and Buddhism.