At a sacred shrine in central Nakhon Sawan province in Thailand, a large
crowd gathered to watch five beautiful young virgins of Chinese descent contends
in a traditional contest that relies only on pure luck.
The winner gets the opportunity to be "worshipped"
by the whole city.
Tassayaporn Wongsaksirikul this year's Guan Yin Goddess winner |
The hallowed ceremony was held at Nha Pha God-Goddess Shrine
in Nakhon Sawan municipality to choose a young virgin to represent Guan Yin,
the Goddess of Compassion.
It is part of the preparations for the well known Chinese
New Year celebrations at Pak Nam Pho in this central province which is heavily
populated by Thais of Chinese descent.
The ceremony is to find Guan Yin and also the celebrations
has been passed down through generations. The yearly grand festival will be the
101st year of the celebration and will last for 12 days from Jan 21 to Feb 1.
The five virgins are the finalists from 20 candidates ages
16 to 20.
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For selection, the candidates required luck only, just as
they have for a hundred years. All they needed to do was toss a couple of
wooden bars in front of Pak Nam Pho God-Goddess three times.
At the point when the bars hit the ground, the winner twice
needs one wooden bar facing up and the other facing down. The third toss she
needs both pieces facing down.
The current year's Guan Yin winner is 16-year-old
Tassayaporn Wongsaksirikul, who is in Matthayom 4 in a local school.
The ceremony is viewed as holy by Guan Yin worshippers who
believe the winner is specifically chosen by the Goddess. The winner's prize is
the belief that she and her family have been given good fortunes and are
blessed to play the part of Guan Yin.
Tassayaporn will dress as Guan Yin when she joins a parade
to be held around town on Jan 30 and 31.
Her father, Narong, said his family worships the Goddess and
everyone was happy with the result.