PM among watchers as 289 Naga fireballs light up Mekong in Nong Khai
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin visited the Mekong riverside on Sunday to witness for himself the mysterious phenomenon known as Naga fireballs.
The PM oversaw a ceremony held to honour the legendary Naga king, said to emit the glowing orbs that emerge from the river once every year in Nhong Kai.
The mythic giant serpent didn’t disappoint, delivering a spectacular 289 fireballs in two districts of the northeastern province.
Srettha chaired a rite in honour of Phaya Phisai Sattanagaraj at the Lan Naga Berk Fah ground in front of Wat Thai in Phone Phisai district at 4.50pm.
The Naga fireball festival marks the end of Buddhist Lent, when thousands of people gather along the Mekong River to witness the glowing red orbs emerge from the water and shoot high into the air.
According to local lore, the fiery balls are the work of the Naga spirit that animates the Mekong.
Scientific explanations for the weird phenomenon range from methane gas bubbles rising from the riverbed to surface electricity.
Srettha watched as 1,000 women clad in traditional Phone Phisai outfits danced for 15 minutes before the Naga King statue. Among them was popular actress Pimchanok “Baifern” Luevisadpaibul.
Srettha then travelled on to the International Buddhism Park in Tambon Kudbong of Phone Phisai and settled down by the riverside for the show.
Joining him in several riverside districts were thousands of locals and tourists, eager to get a glimpse of one of nature’s strangest marvels. The biggest crowds were seen at festival events held in Phon Phisai and Ratana Wapi.
The first was spotted emerging from the dusky waters at Ban Tha Muang in Ratana Wapi at 5.45pm.
Fifteen minutes later, locals gasped as another glowing orb rose at nearby Ban Ton village.
The audience cheered every time a fireball drifted from the river’s surface into the air.
Neighbouring Phon Sai district had to wait until 6.36pm, when cheers erupted as a ghostly glow lit up the river at Wat Thai in Tambon Phon Phisai.
The highest number of sightings on Sunday night were recorded at Ban Tong.
