South East Asia, Uncategorized

Spirit Houses of Thailand

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Featured Image by Chainwit

(I thought I had done a Post about this subject but I can’t find it although I had the word part in my folder, so here it is, and I hope it’s not the second time).

It’s rush hour in Bangkok and the noise from the klaxons of the grid-locked traffic is deafening.   Under the impassive gaze of the police, vendors erect their stalls for the illegal evening street market, laying out the fake Rolexes, the Versace tee shirts and the Calvin Klein jeans.   On the narrow pavements all is hustle and bustle as tourists browse and stall-holders finger their calculators in readiness for the haggling.

There are pockets of quiet though.  On islands in the middle of the road, on forecourts of the hotels, banks and shops that line the streets, people are quietly praying, their heads bowed and hands joined before what appear to be pagoda-roofed miniature dolls’ houses perched on top of posts.   But these are not dolls’ houses, these are spirit houses, shrines to the spirits of the land on which they are built, and the people really are praying in the midst of the mayhem that is often found in cities and towns in Thailand.

Worshipers at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok (Copyright; Ninary from Helsinki. https://creativecommons.org/licences/by-2/0)

            One of that country’s most endearing symbols, these shrines fascinate and baffle the first-time visitor to the Kingdom who has read that 98% of Thais are Buddhists.  The gentle tolerance that typifies the Thais however, allows for compatibility of many beliefs, and a belief in the spirits finds easy acceptance among virtually all Thais.    

1. A famous shrine on the road to Phuket Town 2. A shrine in the garden of a hotel in Hua Hin

            Every dwelling, whether private or public, has its spirit house, situated where the shadow of the main house doesn’t fall upon it.  The spot will have been chosen in consultation with an astrologer and in design it will resemble a miniature temple, sometimes painted red and gold, sometimes in plain wood and sometimes plain, dazzling white – public buildings seem to favour white alabaster or marble – and it will be high above the ground to show respect to the spirits who reside in it, but low enough for offerings to be made to them.

1. A shrine in a garden well decorated. 2. A Shrine in Chiang Rai (near the road as can be seen)

            When the shrine is first erected, a house-warming party is held for the spirits, who are invited to move in, the host spending as much money on the party as he can afford in order to do honour to the spirits.  If any misfortune should subsequently befall the house – a robbery, a fire, or a spouse running away, it would be a sure sign that the owner had skimped on the house-warming!   

            Servants will be represented by tiny terracotta or wooden figures placed inside the shrine as well as carved wooden elephants to transport the spirits should they wish to go visiting.   Family spirits are usually housed indoors, but spirits of the land and the highly respected spirits of rice, water, trees and wind always live outside, working within an inviolable division of labour.

1. Shrine in hotel. 2. Little figures can be seen here at the edge of the shrine.

Most spirits are benevolent, but some are mischievous and some can be downright dangerous: they are always unpredictable.  Some are restless and troublesome – the spirits of those who have died violently (the Phi Tai Hong) or those who have died in childbirth and who spend their time searching for another body to inhabit (the Phi Tai Tong Klom), and there are some so dangerous that they must be bribed to stay out of the house.  Fortunately, they respond to bribery.

1. A shrine inside a cave on Krabi Island and 2. A woodland shrine inside Krabi Forest.

            This can take the form of offering extra special food, walking a number of times round the shrine, or in some cases, if the owners of the property on which the shrine stands fears a personal attack from the spirits, they may wear their clothes inside out for a week or two and change their name in order to confuse them. 

  • A Shrine on the edge of the sea along the coast
  • A Silver Shrine outside a Bank in Bangkok

            Offerings are chosen to suit individual spirits.  In the South of Thailand where Islam moved steadily down the coast from Malaysia, the spirits that inhabit the land may be Muslim and the dietary rules that forbid the offering of pork and alcohol must be strictly adhered to.  Others are known to be partial to the odd glass of beer or whiskey and there is a famous roadside shrine just outside the village of Cha’am in Petchaburi province where, it is rumoured, a daily offering of marijuana is left for the spirits.

1. This spirit liked beer and birds 2. More general offerings 3. Offering left on a driveway shrine

            At festivals it is usual to offer elaborate meals consisting of whole chickens, coconuts, honeycombs and other delicacies, as a thank you for past favours received, or to secure a favour, a win on the lottery, a new job, recovery from illness, a new wife or husband or even a partner for the night. There is no limit to the kind of request that can be made.  Bribes are frequently offered and being a pragmatic race the Thais, as often as not, withhold part of the bribe until the request is fulfilled.

            The offerings are placed on the small ledge in front of the shrine, like a mini altar.  The food may be eaten by the birds or it may blow away, but if say, a chicken or duck were offered, then this is sometimes removed and given to needy people in the area.  The merit lies in the giving.

Elephants are especially popular in Northern Thailand where they used to work the teak forests.

            Some shrines are credited with miraculous powers, like the famous Erawan complex of spirit houses next to the hotel of the same name in the heart of downtown Bangkok (see header picture).   Stalls selling candles, joss-sticks, carved elephants and lotus flowers ring the central shrine, and a professional group of dancers and musicians in the sparkling costumes of old Siam can be hired to sing and dance for the spirits.

         There are no hard and fast rules, but when making offerings there are three essentials – water, rice, and joss sticks – and there are a couple of basic things to remember.  Do not offer food left over from a meal, or a piece of chocolate hastily broken off as a token.  Everything must be specifically for the spirits: don’t even smell the flowers if you’ve bought them as offerings.

This shrine with the elaborate roof and carved frontage was one I saw in Chiang Rai.
Quite a basic looking Spirit House but it will have been made exactly as required by the land spirits

            The Thais are not possessive of their spirits.  Before travelling onwards, you will often find yourself invited to join them in making offerings for your safe journey.  Whichever method of travel you choose, at the point of departure you will find spirit houses and at Bangkok’s International Airport, where the noses of all planes in Thai Airways fleet have been blessed by the Supreme Patriarch, you can calm yourself before take-off by visiting the spirit house by the runway.

            Just follow the Thai pilots, they never fly without first visiting a spirit house. 

These two very plain looking spirit houses are in the grounds of the Old Royal Palace at Hua Hin.

Header Image of People Praying at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok is copyright of Chingwit https/creativecommons.org/licences/by-sa/4.0

22 thoughts on “Spirit Houses of Thailand”

    1. It’s my absolutely favourite country and we tried to get there every year and we made it our base for exploring the surrounding areas, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia etc. We were lucky in that we made many friends in Thailand so we had a base to work from.

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  3. Fantastic post and so interesting. Love how even with the hustle and bustle of the city you can find these shrines hidden down side streets or in small alcoves. Your collection of them is very impressive! The photos reminded me of my trip to Bali and all the temples and small shrines and offerings placed in them each morning.

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  4. Absolutely fascinating Mari! I think this must be my favourite of any post of yours that I’ve read, and one of my favourites among all blog posts 😀 I saw spirit houses in Cambodia and Laos but I never got such a detailed explanation of the beliefs surrounding them. This has been an enlightening and truly enjoyable read – thank you 😀

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    1. Thank you so much for that lovely comment, Sarah. I used to spend ages with my friends finding out their beliefs in the spirits, some are fully into them, some just take what they want from them but they all believe in some way. Even two of my friends who have degrees from Cambridge strongly believe, so higher education doesn’t make any difference! I forgot to add that when they change their name to fool the spirits, they often take an animal or birds name as this has a double-fooling effect!

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    1. I am so pleased you enjoyed the post, it’s encouraging when one can pass on information that can help make travel much more enjoyable. Yes, the spirits worshiped in India are quite different but they fulfill the same function which is to give hope and, maybe inspiration, to those who pray to them – but I doubt if you could ask them for a lottery win or a partner for the night! Thanks for commenting.

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  7. We loved our time in Thailand, brief though it was, and our tours of spirit houses, tabernacles, and temples. It’s absolutely beautiful there, and your photos capture the essence of the ornate decor. Thanks, too, for the narrative. You’ve enlightened me in many ways!

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    1. I seem to have hit on the right subject this time. I shall have to find some more subjects like this to write about. Yes, Thailand can be beautiful if you can forget the pot-holed pavements and the mess left by the street-food sellers. When we first went there in 1972 we fell in love with it on the way from the airport to our hotel in Bangkok. The canals hadn’t been filled in then and we drove through emerald-green paddi-fields dotted with red and gold temples to our hotel on Silom (I think there were only about 6 x 5* hotels then). It was unbelievable but Bangkok was mosquito heaven because of this. Ten years later the canals were mostly filled in to make concrete roads, new hotels were being built and Thailand was on the way to having a tourist boom. But we went back most years for our annual winter holiday and on retirement spent longer there each winter. I’m still in love with it.

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    1. Thanks, Jo. I think they feel there is more chance of a result if the gift is well thought out. One of my friends only ever gives flowers – Lotus or Orchids – but if you can’t afford much that’s OK you just tell the spirits you’re a bit short this week and they understand. Then next week you forget! It’s all in the intention they say and if that’s the case then I’ve got a surefire passport to Nirvana or wherever the good gals go. I’m full of good intentions but when it comes to action sadly I fall far short.

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    1. Thank you so much for that comment. I’ve been fascinated by them since I first made Thai friends and when I go there the first place they take me to is the shrine outside the house to give thanks for my safe arrival. I always bring a present for the spirits, the ones in my Bangkok friend’s house like Cadbury’s Dairy Milk apparently!!!!!! Exotic tastes for a spirit.

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    1. Thanks, Pit. Glad you liked it. I enjoyed writing it, it’s something I have come to love and respect and along with the Buddhism of the Thais, I find this sits very well. And I love the fact that the spirits can be bartered with, cajoled into doing something. Growing up I could have done with something like this!

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