Thai Monks soothe angry spirits at new airport

[guido13 0]

Sunday, September 24, 2006

 

 

Thai monks soothe angry spirits at new airport

 

 

BANGKOK –– The control tower is built and the luggage carousels are operating but one thing officials at Bangkok's new airport had not expected was the late arrival of Poo Ming, the guardian spirit.

 

After a spate of ghostly sightings and unfortunate accidents, 90 monks massed inside the shining new complex Saturday to chant rites ensuring good luck ahead of Thursday's official opening.

 

During the religious proceedings, a shaking man appeared crying and speaking in a strange voice claiming to be Poo Ming (Grandfather Ming), the guardian spirit of the land on which the airport was built.

 

He demanded a spirit house to be built at the airport -- a fixture in many homes and work places in Buddhist Thailand -- before promptly fainting.

 

"Even if it's unbelieveable, we will not insult something we cannot prove," said senior airport official Surajit Surapolchai. He said the authorities planned to build a spirit house soon.Supernatural events had long been talked about at the new Suvarnabhumi international airport built on land that once been home to a centuries-old temple and a cemetery.

 

Workers had spoken of seeing a woman in Thai-style costume at the construction site in the evenings and were unnerved after frequent car crashes on a road parallel to a runway, the Bangkok Post reported.

 

Airport general manager, Somchai Sawasdeepon, said the monks chanted rites at 10 places in the airport for Saturday's ceremony. "The rite is to help promote and lift the people's spirits before the new airport opens since there were many bad things that happened during its construction," he said.

 

Last week the roof started leaking. Then Premier Thaksin Shinawatra, the man who had made the airport's construction a priority project, was unseated in a military coup nine days before the official opening.

 

Thailand's turbulent politics and repeated corruption scandals have delayed the airport's opening since it was first mooted four decades ago.

 

Thai officials hope the airport, capable of dealing with 45 million passengers a year, will become the new hub for regional air travel.

 

The Thai population is 95 percent Buddhist and a belief in ancient spirits remains strong, particularly in rural areas. –– AFP

 

Lets hope the good luck works.

 

Guido

[glynbuk 29]

they better get that spirit house built and working by xmas or else

[wacmedia 277]

Hi,

 

I think spirit's are the problem, the Mekhong and other stuff have given me nightmares from time to time.

[Montydog 135]

I thought “King Power” had the monopoly on spirits at the new airport.

[Trvlr 50]

I think such rituals are pretty common, especially when government is involved. And often they are multi-religious, to cover all bases.

I have read that the US consulate in Karachi, a city in Pakistan, was built on the site of a haunted house - one which brought bad luck to its occupants. As a precaution, the consulate was blessed by Christian, Muslim and Hindu priests before it was occupied.

I am not sure it helped, but I, for one, am going to send up a pagan prayer for the success of Suvarnabhumi. Too much is at stake there, especially for board members!

[guido13 0]

I think such rituals are pretty common, especially when government is involved. And often they are multi-religious, to cover all bases.

I have read that the US consulate in Karachi, a city in Pakistan, was built on the site of a haunted house - one which brought bad luck to its occupants. As a precaution, the consulate was blessed by Christian, Muslim and Hindu priests before it was occupied.

I am not sure it helped, but I, for one, am going to send up a pagan prayer for the success of Suvarnabhumi. Too much is at stake there, especially for board members!

 

I have been in the US Consolate in Karachi. That was back in the eighties. Lots of US Servicemen hung out there because it was one of the few places in town one could legally drink alcohol.

I don't think the blessings helped as I believe the building has been blown up twice since I visited there.

 

Guido

Edited September 27, 2006 by guido13