Beautiful evening: local lent and village ceremony.

The weekend was dry and sunny after a whole week of rainy atmosphere. I could work in the garden and cycled along the river in the evening. I had learned that some spots on the dirt Russ could be very slippery so I had to be vigilant. The season has changed and the sun began to set much faster everyday. I was too occupied with gardening that I almost missed the sunset. I hurried out with my bicycle along the dirt road; the daylight seemed dimmer than yesterday. Luckily I had attached Led lamps to my bicycle for safety sake.

I caught a last section of the sunset as the sun was eager to get on the other side of the globe. The road along the riverbank was quiet and lonesome, I was the only cyclist left along the way. It was nice to be almond with the river, sky and Mother Earth so we could have a spiritual reunion. Nature could be so simple, calm, detached and beautiful at the same time. I just could never get bored of being in communion with the river. There’s just so much energy and must vibes from the invisible dimension.

Sunday is the day of Buddhist Lent; the full moon shines brightly in the night sky. Local villagers have their religious Lent ceremony at the temple in the morning. In the evening, they would have the traditional pagan ceremony at their houses. Each family would have to perform a ceremony to pay respect to the goddess of rice and the local Naga guardians. The ceremony would take place a fee hours after sunset.

My gardener has prepared light boat for me so that I could also perform my own ceremony. The boat was made from the stem of banana tree. The main ingredient is rice plant from villagers’ rice fields and perhaps some flowers. The boat has to be placed on a high place as the goddess of rice and Naga guardians are regarded as high level spiritual beings and goddess. That’s why my gardener tied the light boat between tree branches. There should be some candles and incenses on the boat. I took some photos with my new iPhone before rushing out with my bicycle.

As I approached some house along the road to the village’s communal yard, I saw people setting up their light boats in front of their houses. The evening air began to get cooler making cycling very pleasant. On my way back I saw a villager in the middle of his ceremony: his light boat was looking bright with candle light and he was setting off some firework. So, I stopped to take some photos, this gave me a good opportunity to test my new camera too.

This villager was very nice to me take some photos. But he set off the fireworks so fast that I couldn’t take any photos; he kindly set off more fireworks when I was ready to take the photos. It seemed the whole village started their ceremonies about the same time. They all offered small firework displays to the goddess of rice and Naga guardians. The sounds of fireworks went on over an hour as nearby village also started to perform their ceremonies.

The sky was already dark when I arrived at the house; I found my orange cats being very nervous and frightened by the explosion noises as if the house was being invaded by a battalion of armies. They refused to get out to the garden for their evening walk. Both cats found hiding places of small and narrow space resembling a small cave. It took me a while searching for them as I couldn’t find them at their usual spots. I had to join in the evening ceremony but without any fireworks; my cats would have heart attack because of firework in the front yard.

The evening dews made the incense too damp to be lit as usual. I used up many matches for this little ceremony. It’s always easy to light the candles; the incense has to be relit many times. I started the ceremony by thanking the goddess of rice for her nourishment and the Naga guardians for their protection. Then, it’s customary to ask for their blessings. I had to ask for the protection of my cars and everyone in the house, etc. The fireworks continued to explode spasmodically during the night till past midnight. The full moon was very beautiful.

Wishing you peace, good health and prosperity.

Stay strong and cheerful.