Thailand by William Warren

Author:William Warren
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-4629-0939-1
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing

Assorted spirit houses and offerings; animist and other beliefs have coexisted with Buddhism for centuries in Thailand.

Offerings are carried to a temple on an elephant in a northern merit-making ceremony.

Such ancient beliefs were not displaced by Buddhism but either continued to coexist alongside the new faith or were actually absorbed by it. It is not uncommon to find monks enlisted to find a suitable spot for a spirit house or to come across such a dwelling within the precincts of a wat

Especially in urban areas, Chinese beliefs are also much in evidence. Every city has its brightly-decorated Chinese temple, and most shops have a red-and-gilt shrine before which daily offerings are made; many merchants, too, display a small figure of a female deity known as Nang Kwok, whose arm is raised in a beckoning gesture to lure customers to the premises. During eclipses, local Chinese take to the streets beating drums to avert the end of the world, and Chinese New Year, though not officially recognized, is nevertheless a time of ceremonies, festivities and an unnatural quiet in normally bustling business districts.

Buddhism in its purest form disdains belief in the supernatural. Nevertheless, such concepts clearly fulfil fundamental needs, and in Thailand, as elsewhere, they continued to figure prominently in daily life, adding to its color and variety.

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