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Survivors pray, lay wreaths in tsunami memorial
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-12-25 14:26
In Khao Lak, where most of the Thai casualties occurred, the Moken sea
gypsies launched a ceremonial boat laden with incense and flowers into the ocean
to ward off evil spirits.
The Moken are nomadic fishermen whose ancient beliefs warn them to flee to
higher ground if ever the ocean recedes.
Hundreds of Muslim and Buddhist villagers watched as fisherman launched the
brightly colored four-meter-long boat, wrapped in yellow and pink cloth, into
calm seas.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will join survivors in prayers
on Monday evening, officials said.
Up to 10,000 people are expected to attend the prayers at the historical
Baiturrahman mosque in Banda Aceh, capital of the province of Aceh which took
the brunt of the tsunami.
During his two-day trip to Aceh, Yudhoyono will also visit mass graves and
maintain a moment of silence at the Baiturrahim mosque in a coastal suburb of
Banda Aceh.
"There will be a moment of silence at 8:16 a.m. (0216 GMT), which was around
the time the first waves hit Aceh last year," Adlai Goldberg, manager of the
Media Center at the Aceh Reconstruction Agency which oversees the rebuilding
process in Indonesia's tsunami-hit areas, told a news conference.
The tsunami left nearly 170,000 dead or missing and half a million homeless
in Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra island.
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