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.