Project: Looking through, Day 1

buddha images.jpg, originally uploaded by c_p_lew.

On the third day of Lao New Year, I went to a friend's village and after a baci ceremony and talk, we walked across the rice fields to her mother's village. Am had spent her first few years in this village; her house was located near the temple. We 'washed' the Buddha in the temple and then went outside to the glass-enclosed shrine where the smaller Buddha images were kept. There is a pipe outside the box where people pour water, then it drips into this container with the images, bathing them. After that, the water is recollected as it drips through holes in the floor. This is special blessing water that people can use to to gently drip on elders to transmit wishes of health and happiness.

For more Project Looking Through photos, check out the Regular Life blog!