Thousands pray to snakes on grave

Thousands of people have gathered in Quang Binh Province to see and pray to two snakes which were found on the grave of an unknown beggar.

Thousands of people have gathered in Quang Binh Province to see and pray to two snakes which were found on the grave of an unknown beggar.

 

The snakes stay on the grave for days

Thousands of people have come to La Ha Tay Village in Quang Van Commune in the past week as they believe that the snakes are holy and can make their wishes come true. Some people take the chance and set up votive offering shops along the road.

According to the locals, the grave belongs to an unknown beggar who died during the French occupation. One day, the snakes suddenly appeared on the grave and have stayed for days. Some local people started praying to them and the situation escalated.

Local Tran Thi Tinh said not only did the visitors pray to the grave, they also gave away money and touched the snake for luck. "The crowd is huge and they come every day. The villagers only pray for the first few days. But someone posted the photos on the Internet and so come the crowd," she said.

It is said that many visitors have donated as much as VND200m (USD8,800) to the snakes. It's unclear who and where did they donate the money to.

  

Thousands come to see the snakes

"The snakes return to their cave at night and stay on the grave during the day. The villagers actually do not think much about them but people from other provinces came and took pictures of them. Despite being surrounded by the crowd, the snakes still stay on the grave," another local said.

Ngo Tien Can from Dong Hoi City said he and his wife decided to see the snakes after hearing about the event. "I usually have to go past this place to visit the graves of our family. I recently found out that many people had put incense and pray to this grave in the beginning and end of the year and thought it's strange," he said.

According to Chairman of Quang Van Commune People's Committee Tran Van Trong, the praying started since February 24 and it was difficult to manage. Each day, about 1,000 people visit and pray to the snakes and grave. They have reported to Ba Don Town People's Committee for direction.

"We've asked the police to maintain the order of the area after the sudden surge of visitors. La Ha Tay Village will manage the site and the donated money while waiting for direction," Trong said. "We're planning on building a proper grave for the deceased from the donated money."