• 

  A spirit medium performs a consecration ceremony for the coffins. (Photo courtesy: Guang Ming Daily)

• 

  One of the spirit media sits in front of the coffin and casts spells while another spirit medium casts spells on the believers. (Photo courtesy: Guang Ming Daily)

• 

  Believers have to cross the luck changing bridge. (Photo courtesy: Guang Ming Daily)

• 

  Believer Hong Zhaohuang: I feel relieved after the ritual. (Photo courtesy: Guang Ming Daily)

Enlarge

BUKIT MERTAJAM, PENANG: There is a ritual in Thailand in which people sleep in a coffin, hoping to ward away evil and bad luck. The ritual has now brought to Bukit Mertajam by a local Jigong temple.

On the 19th day of the third lunar month each year, the temple will hold a luck changing ritual for its believers. This year, it introduced the popular Thai ritual of sleeping in a coffin. It attracted over a hundred of believers, who wished to get rid of bad luck, to queue for the ritual. Anyone could join the ritual except for women on their periods.

The decade-old temple established in March 2000 held the ritual on Sunday (2 May). The ritual started around 8pm when shackled believers, led by a spirit medium, crossed a luck changing bridge and walked through fire circles.

When being asked why believers were required to be shackled, general administrator of the temple Lai Mingshou said that the secret must not be revealed and they just had to follow the instructions.

He said that anyone, except for women on their periods, could join the ritual, as long as they were courageous enough to sleep in the coffin.

The ritual continued when the spirit medium covered the nine coffins with red cloths. The consecration ceremony for the coffins started when he climbed into one of them, sat in it and started muttering prayers. He then laid down and asked the believers to join the coffins for about 5 minutes. Later, another spirit medium joined the ritual and led the believers to cast spells around the coffins.

The second spirit medium then worshiped the God of Wealth to pray for wealth.

When everything was ready, the coffin ritual began. The second spirit medium sat in front of the coffin and cast spells while the first spirit medium cast spells on the believers.

The ritual lasted about two and a half hours. (Translated by SOONG PHUI JEE/ Guang Ming Daily)