PATTANI: With bombings within the Deep South regrettably virtually a every day prevalence, it comes as little surprise that some may refer to the region as a “boomtown”.
In reality, the Deep South can be in the course of its personal little “gold rush”, though the item of the hopeful prospectors need isn’t gold, but a mysterious black ore thought to have magical health-giving powers.
Fail-proof are saying that the rock is definitely lek lai, a legendary metallic that melts when held over a candle flame and confers invulnerability upon its owner – not a foul thing to possess within the Deep South today.
The discovery was made in the village of Phru Jud, in Tambon Khuan Nori of Khok Pho district. When journalists arrived on November 1, they found the roads lined with cars, bikes and three-wheeled pig transporters.
The village was full of people of all ages – from teenagers to grandparents – all lugging spades, pickaxes and buckets up to the hills the place the rocks had been to be found.
At the underside of the trail to the hills, teams of diggers have been sitting around promoting what they’d discovered and discussing costs. Some had polished their specimens and were selling them as stones to embed in rings. Glittering black examples offered for 1,000 to 10,000 baht, matte black specimens have been fetching between a hundred and 800 baht and tea-colored rocks went for 100 to 500 baht.
Raw, unpolished rocks fetched between 50 and a pair of,000 baht, while large rocks infused with the mysterious black substance have been selling for up to 15,000 baht.
Local rubber plantation proprietor Stapa Waesa, 56, mentioned that the “rock” had first been discovered by Ma-ae Yusoh, another rubber plantation owner, about seven months in the past.
Ma-ae, a member of Khuan Nori Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor), dreamed of an outdated man who informed him to go and dig in the hills after which distribute what he discovered among the many villagers, K. Stapa stated.
“After the dream, Ma-ae and four relations went to dig in the hills, where they found rocks totally different to on a regular basis rocks. Ma-ae then went and gave them out to native villagers, telling them that an ancestor had appeared in his dream telling him concerning the rocks.
“I saved my share of the rocks and had a run of good luck, discovering they could remedy ailments together with stomachache, toothache and fever. If you soak the rock in water then rub the water on the half that hurts for about half an hour, it gets better,” K. Stapa stated.
Some unbelieving villagers threw their stones away, however others polished them and bought them to traders available within the market for more than 1,000 baht every. As phrase of the stones unfold, villagers began to go and dig for them themselves, K. Stapa mentioned.
In the primary month following their discovery, the stones had been plentiful and especially stunning, he stated. Now, some days as many as 1,000 folks come to look for the rocks.
People are not certain exactly what the rocks are, but there are numerous theories, K. Stapa mentioned. Some are saying it is manganese, whereas others believe it to be a type of lek lai. Some villagers have made the rock into amulets to protect them; others keep them of their cars to protect them whereas on the highway.
Jintadi Phithamaethakul, Head of the Pattani Provincial Natural Resources and Environment Office, stated he knew that the villagers had been digging for a sort of rock but couldn’t but say what the rock was, although it was more likely to be manganese.
He has ordered for samples to be despatched for examination in Songkhla..g

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