Back in January, my fiancee's boss prayed and made a wish at Wat Chalong, a Buddhist temple in his home province of Phuket. If his wish came true, he promised, he would return within six months to light off 10,000 firecrackers in a Chinese-Thai votive to the gods.
 |
| Wat Chalong |
My mother and I had visited Wat Chalong together a few years ago, and I remember being startled by the noisy gunfire of firecrackers. Now ow so much more about this ritual!
We pulled up in front of the most important of Phuket's 29 temples, to a small Buddhist shop in a market just of the grounds. There, P'Tee bought a roll of firecrackers packed in a colorfully-decorated red box.
 |
| a vendor prepares a box of firecrackers |
We parked the car and made our way to the main temple hall where people were praying and making offerings. For a small donation, you could buy a small offering bundle of two yellow candles, six sticks of incense, a fresh lotus bud, and three small squares of gold leaf carefully packaged between sheets of thin paper.
After praying, visitors could light the candles and incense, place the lotus in a jar inside the temple, and then carefully press the square of gold leaf onto each of three statues of famous monks.
Other people had placed folded saffron cloth - donated monk's robes - upon the laps of the statues as a donation for the temple's monks. Monks are not permitted to own any possessions except for their robes and their beggar's bowls. They are also not allowed to make any purchases. They must instead rely upon the donations made by congregants.
 |
| applying gold leaf to statues of famous monks |
After praying, it was finally time to light the firecrackers. P'Tee led us to some sort of brick chimney or kiln. A temple caretaker unwound the ten-thousand firecrackers and strung them up on hooks inside the chimney.
 |
| preparing to light the firecrackers |
Crack, crack, crack!
The firecrackers exploded in ten-thousand gunshots and a thick cloud of black smoke. The noise broke the peace of the morning, and sent P'Tee's thanks and praise to the deified temple abbot who had answered his prayers.
Apparently, this temple is famous for granting wishes.
 |
| smoke from the firecrackers filled the air at the temple |
After the sound and smoke had cleared away, we went to explore the 200 foot tall chedi, a beautiful three-story tower built to hold a Buddhist holy relic.
 |
| the reliquary at Wat Chalong |
In the late 19th century, Luang Pho Cham and Luang Pho Chuang, two monks from Wat Chalong, led the people of the Chalong Sub-district in a fight against an attempted rebellion carried out by a Chinese triad. The locals were victorious, and the monks used their herbal knowledge to heal those who had been wounded in the fighting.
Over the next decades, these monks became regarded as very wise and powerful holy men, who are still believed to grant wishes more than a century after their deaths.
 |
| views of the temple grounds and surrounding hills |
I climbed one flight further to the very top of the structure. There, a tiny relic was enshrined within a glass orb. This Buddhist relic is said to be a bone fragment from the Buddha himself.
With such an important and historic relic, Wat Chalong is believed to be the holiest site in Phuket to Buddhists.
If P'Tee made another wish, I really hope that it comes true. It was so much fun to fly down to Phuket for the day, and I hope that we can do it again sometime!
I took a short video of the firecracker furnace. You can see the guy hanging the strands of firecrackers up inside the chimney, and then you can hear the loud sounds of a few hundred of the 10k firecrackers going off.
I have been trying to include a few short videos in some of my posts to show small clips and scenes from my adventures. I hope you enjoy!
No comments:
Post a Comment