Naga fireballs

As Naga fireballs ( Thai บั้งไฟ พญานาค , RTGS Bang Fai Phaya Nakh ) or Mekong lights are referred specific luminous effects, the local residents on Thai - Lao border river Mekong surveys. According to regional Buddhist folk beliefs, these are supernatural phenomena caused by the mythical snake Naga living in the river . The folk tradition of these will- o'-the-wisps forms the background for an annual festive event that is supported by the state to promote tourism.

Place and time of the events

The fireballs usually appear over the Mekong itself, and they are just as common over the arms of the river in the swamps of Nong Khai province , particularly Phon Phisai district . They occur almost regularly towards the end of the monsoon season in October with a full moon . At this time, a Buddhist holiday called Ok Phansa is celebrated in Thailand , which heralds the end of the rainy season (and at the same time the end of the monks' retreat ).

description

The Naga fireballs are described as roughly the size of a hen's egg, reddish-glowing fireballs that emerge from the rivers and swamps, rise up to 150 m into the air and then disappear silently. They appear either singly or in loose groups.

Popular belief

According to Thai-Lao popular belief, the fireballs are the enchanted eggs of the snake deity Phaya Naga . This is said to still slumber in the Mekong and watch over the adjacent provinces. Since the phenomenon of fireballs has been known for centuries, a festival called Lai Ruea Fai ( Thaiไหล เรือไฟLao : Lai Huea Fai ; translated roughly as "Illuminated Boats") is held in honor of Phaya Nāga (and to celebrate Ok Phansa ) held.

Scientific attempts at explanations

The phenomenon of Naga fireballs has been scientifically investigated several times, but without being able to find a satisfactory explanation for it. In a report by the Thai newspaper The Nation , published in October 2003, the Deputy Secretary of the Thai Ministry of Science, Saksit Tridech , suggested that the fireballs could be ascending phosphine gases that turn themselves in contact with oxygen ignite. He compares the phenomenon, among other things, with will- o'-the-wisps .

literature

Doug Niles, Margaret Weis: Dragons: The Myths, Legends, and Lore . Adams Media, Avon 2013, ISBN 1440562164 .
Sheba Suphannahong: Frontier Towns On the Mekong . eBookIt.com, 2013, ISBN 978-1-4566-1989-3 .
Darold P. Batzer, Rebecca R. Sharitz: Ecology of Freshwater and Estuarine Wetlands . University of California Press, Berkeley 2006, ISBN 9780520932890 .
Jay Cheong Han Wen: The Dragon Worships the Buddha: Community, Liminality, Center ans Periphery in a Borderland. (Master thesis) National University of Singapore, 2011

Web links

Commons : Naga Fireballs - Collection of images, videos, and audio files

Wilfried Stevens: Festival of Naga fireballs. Unusual festival in Thailand. onlinezeitung24.de, May 24, 2010

Individual evidence

↑ Thirachaya Maneenetr: Local Community Participation in the Conservation of the Naga Fireball Festival. In: Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, Vol. 5, No. 23, November 2014
^ ^A ^b Sheba Suphannahong: Frontier Towns On the Mekong . Pp. 4-6.
↑ ^a ^b ^c Doug Niles, Margaret Weis: Dragons ... . Pages 107–108.
↑ Darold P. Batzer, Rebecca R. Sharitz: Ecology of Freshwater and Estuarine Wetlands , p. 144.

[1] Thirachaya Maneenetr: Local Community Participation in the Conservation of the Naga Fireball Festival. In: Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, Vol. 5, No. 23, November 2014

[SSF-2] A ^b Sheba Suphannahong: Frontier Towns On the Mekong . Pp. 4-6.

[DNMW-3] Doug Niles, Margaret Weis: Dragons ... . Pages 107–108.

[4] Darold P. Batzer, Rebecca R. Sharitz: Ecology of Freshwater and Estuarine Wetlands , p. 144.