(Taoist) Goddess called in to scare off tsunami ghosts

[Sabio]

Goddess called in to scare off tsunami ghosts
Aug 19 11:38 AM US/Eastern

BANGKOK (Reuters) - With Asian tourists still shunning its southern beaches, Thailand is calling in a revered Chinese sea goddess to ward off the restive spirits of the thousands who died in last December's tsunami.

A statue of Godmother Ruby, known as Mazu in Chinese, will be brought to the Thai island of Phuket from the Chinese coastal province of Fujian next month for ghost-clearing rites, said Suwalai Pinpradab of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

"After the tsunami, Taiwanese, Hong Kong, Chinese and other East Asians dare not come because they don't want to visit places where mass deaths took place," Suwalai told Reuters on Friday. "It is inauspicious."

Mazu, a Taoist goddess of the sea, has a huge following among fishermen and shipworkers in coastal provinces of southern China and Taiwan.

Thailand's official death toll from the December 26 disaster stands at 5,395, of which 2,436 are believed to be foreigners. Of these, fewer than 50 were East Asians.

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/08/19/MTFH93061_2005-08-19_15-46-07_EIC956684.html

 

[Jaymes]

From what I understand, psychologists believe the ghost sightings are results of post traumatic stress disorder from the shock of the tsunami and so many dead. I wouldn't be surprised if it was either, really.

 

[Feathers in Hair]

Same here, Jensa. Anything that would help the living deal with that trauma would be beneficial. I just hope that those souls are at peace, too.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I read in the Wall Street Journal a few months ago that Buddhist Monks were being called in to send the souls of those who died into the after-life place. I can't recall what the Buddhist call it.
Must be alot of ghost if they are also calling on the aid of a Goddess.