Intrepid Experience traveller, Felix B, sent us this take on a Baci ceremony in Laos. 9 year old Felix participated in a Baci ceremony during his holiday to Laos with his family last year. We absolutely love this video!
Felix also wrote for us:
“The Baci ceremony in Laos has been practised for hundreds of years.
A Baci ceremony was held for us in Luang Prabang (the capital city of Laos) when we first arrived.
The ceremony involves tying white string around other people’s wrists.
The tying of the white string represents tying of the person’s 32 spirits that belong to the body, so they are balanced and have good luck!!!
The ceremony can be for happy and sad occasions like weddings, welcoming guests* and wishing someone or some people good luck on a journey. It’s also done for people who have died or are sickly.
Before the ceremony takes place elderly women construct a marigold tower.
Every one gathers round it.
Then one of the elderly men places a glass of Laos Whisky and a small amount of money wrapped in banana leaf with some candles and flowers in the middle of the group and ties a white string around the wrist of the master of ceremony. He says a prayer of good wishes.
Next, the master of ceremony ties a white string around the wrists of the people being blessed and chants good wishes.
The ceremony finishes when everyone has tied white strings around everyone else’s wrists. Everyone eats some food – we had rice cakes, sweets and bananas.
If you want your good wishes to come true you keep your strings on for three days. I kept mine on for two weeks! It must have worked because we had a brilliant holiday.”
If you’re interested in following in Felix’s footsteps, take a look here at our family holidays in Laos.
