The Naga of the Mekong

Along the Mekong in Laos and Thailand, the naga, great serpent beings, are said to live in the river and guard it, and their images guard every temple stair. Each October at the end of Buddhist Lent, hundreds of glowing balls rise silently out of the river at Phon Phisai, the bang fai phaya nak or “naga fireballs,” watched by huge crowds. Scientists point to marsh gas; sceptics point to tracer rounds; the tradition is genuinely ancient and the phenomenon draws crowds every year.