Sunday, July 24, 2005
Buddhist Funeral
This has been a very rainy weekend in Ha Noi. Unfortunately the rain only provides temporary relief from the heat. This morning as I was going to mass at the Church of Three Martyrs, I witnessed another service from the Buddhist Faith. Down our narrow Phung Khoang street came a big procession. It was led by men with drums covered in plastic to protect them from the rain. They beat the drums very slowly and solemnly. Behind were men playing tiny brass horns. Each made a sound like an elephant trumpheting!
A priest dressed in a white gown with a white and gold headband tied a small gray knot around the center of a funerary box carried by two men. The box contained a picture of an elderly woman, flowers and burning incense. Behind that was the casket, and mourners, who after this brief stoppage continued on their way. It was hard to tell where the procession ended and normal traffic began.
A priest dressed in a white gown with a white and gold headband tied a small gray knot around the center of a funerary box carried by two men. The box contained a picture of an elderly woman, flowers and burning incense. Behind that was the casket, and mourners, who after this brief stoppage continued on their way. It was hard to tell where the procession ended and normal traffic began.
