October festivals in Thailand: the Naga Fire Ball festival
Generations of parents have passed on the culture of Thailand through the telling of Thai legends and stories. In Northeast Thailand, hundreds of thousands of people have seen the spectacular Naga fireball display with their own eyes and many thousands of people gather for the annual festivities.
The Naga is a mystical river snake that few living claim to have seen, but is widely believed to exist among Thais. It is honored by ceremonies such as long-tail boat races on the Mekong and Ping rivers and widely in popular traditional culture.
Naga exists in the border world between Earth and Heaven according to the three spiritual worlds of the Thai cultural heritage. This is one of the foundations of Thai culture.
This story is passed down from generation to generation and is celebrated in October by large crowds who gather to watch the dozens of fireballs rising from the Mekong River into the night sky at the end of the Buddhist Lenten Day (Oak Day Pansa).
Thai cultural history teaches that thousands of years before Buddhism came to Thailand, the spirit world between Earth and Heaven included the Himmapan Forest, where the legendary creatures of Thai culture now live, including the Naga.
Naga fireballs are a fact that is witnessed annually by large crowds, but they remain a mystery. Hundreds of orange fireballs soar into the sky from the middle of the Mekong River on the night of the End of the Day of Buddhist Lent. Fireballs range from a golf ball to the size of a basketball.
Some scientifically claim that the fireballs are natural methane gas that rises from the river bed. But can science explain why this mystery occurs at the end of the Buddhist day of Lent according to the lunar calendar? Also, why does the whole year go by without the event until the arrival of the special day?
Others may claim that they are faked by well-meaning tricksters every year, but in all the years that the event was witnessed by thousands, the phonies have never been caught.
Thai history explains that the Naga was a huge snake that lived in the underwater world. The Naga had faith in Lord Buddha and wanted to enter monasticism and were finally able to do so by assuming the human form.
Finally, the truth revealed to Lord Buddha that he was not a human being. Lord Buddha asked him to leave the Buddhist monastery. The Naga was sorry, but he did not want to leave, but he had to because he was not human.
When the Naga left, he asked Lord Buddha for a favor to remember him. When a man wants to become a monastic, he should be called “Nak”, also known as “Naga”. To this day, part of the initiation into the Thai Buddhist monk is the novice’s promises that he is in fact human.
The Naga produced the fireballs to welcome Lord Buddha from Heaven after three months on the Buddhist Day of Lent as Lord Buddha descended the crystal stairs to Earth. It was then that it was revealed that the three worlds of Heaven, Earth, and Hell existed.
Naga fireballs are one of the mysteries of the world. Regardless of the different explanations of the event, it happens every year in Thailand and as the Thais say, “Don’t belittle if you don’t believe.”
Foreign tourists abound in Thailand in October and are welcome to the Naga Fire Ball Festival and the famous Mekong River Full Moon Party surrounding the event that takes place in many places in Thailand.
The Naga Fire Ball Festival takes place in October 2013 and every year on Buddhist Lenten Day in the fall. The festival focuses on Phon Phisal and dozens of other riverside locations between Sangkhom and Khong Jiam to participate in the festivals. Hotels and guesthouses offer land and boat tours to see the sights, listen to traditional Thai music, enjoy tasty local cuisine, and exchange with the multitude of vendors selling all kinds of Thai handicrafts.
The Mekong River Full Moon Party is the subject of many of the social activities that attract hundreds of foreign tourists.
The festival was made famous by the 2002 Thai film “Full Moon Party on the Mekhong River” (English subtitles), which is widely known for the portrayal of Thai society, especially for the dialogue between the characters, including the local monks and a group of young Thais. dealing with issues like the clash of traditional Thai beliefs and the rising modern views of the younger generation.