Thai Spirit Houses

According to Wikipedia, a spirit house or san phra phum is a shrine to the protective spirit of a place and can be found in the Southeast Asian countries of Burma, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand. Most houses and businesses have a spirit house placed in an auspicious spot, most often in a corner of the property. The spirit house is normally in the form of a miniature house or temple, and is mounted on a pillar or on a dais.  Some say that the spirit houses are dwelling places for helpful spirits; others say they provide a shelter for spirits that could cause problems if not appeased.

Many Thai people believe that every place has a guardian or local spirit and the spirit possesses saksit, or a special power.  Rituals are conducted at the spirit houses. We often saw incense (intended to attract the spirit's attention), water, fruit, many kinds of food offerings, and candles placed in front of the houses.  People sometimes ask for favors and promise to make a gift, called kaebon, if the wish is granted.  Gifts can include flower garlands, small ceramic figures (animals, people) and even expensive gold foil.  We have used much of the information below from this website, which provides detailed information about spirit houses in Thailand: www.spirithouses-shrines.ucdavis.edu 

We have seen a lot of spirit houses in Thailand and photographed many in Khemmarat.  As some of you know, Mary has always had a fascination with miniatures and displayed a rather elaborate miniature house in our home before our "midlife adventure;" thus, the spirit houses had special appeal to her.  She thought our readers might be interested in seeing the variety and artistry of the houses.

Khemmarat

Inside some spirit houses are figures of an elderly man and woman.  They are considered the caretakers of the spirit house, who will always be there to look after the house.  Some spirit houses also have figurines of a young married couple.

You will note that some of the spirit houses have many other figures.  It is thought that anything that people need in life, spirits need as well.  Thus, symbolically, figurines of elephants or horses provide transportation, while dancers entertain the spirits, and miniature pets provide companionship.

 

Some homes and businesses have two spirit houses.  The smaller spirit house contains the spirit of the place, or the lord of the land.  The larger spirit house is home to a male angel evolved from the Hindu religion of India and is usually placed on top of a single pedestal.

These are the spirit houses from Khemmarat Pittayakom, the school where we most recently taught.

More Khemmarat spirit houses at homes and businesses . . .

Bangkok

One of Thailand's most famous shrines started out as a spirit house. Its saksit (supernatural powers) is believed to be so powerful that it has become a shrine that attracts worshippers 24 hours a day. This is the Erawan Shrine, located next to a hotel of the same name. The Erawan spirit house was built in 1956 in downtown Bangkok after several disasters happened during the hotel's construction. No one wanted to work on the site. A priest/astrologer said that a spirit house must be built and dedicated to a Hindu god named Brahma.  So a large spectacular spirit house was built, and in the center sits Brahma. Brahma has four faces for the four directions. It is said that, when many people come to see the Erawan Shrine, they make a wish for health, success, and wealth.

We saw a few spirit houses as we walked around the Sukhumvit section of Bangkok when we spent a couple days there before our flight back to the U.S.  These were in a fancy part of the city and some were larger and more elaborate than we had seen in Khemmarat.

This is the spirit house for the Four Seasons Hotel.

 

And this is for the famous Dusit Thani Hotel.

These are two spirit houses at Central World, a major Bangkok shopping mall.

This is the spirit house in Lumphini Park, the largest green space in Bangkok.

For those of us living in the West, it might be tempting to think of spirit offerings or spirit houses as “superstitious,” but the origins of Thai spiritual beliefs are complex and it’s important not to misinterpret the rituals and practices of the Thai culture.  According to a thought-provoking article by Craig Kaufman in ShambhalaSunSpace, “Supernatural matters have a long and colorful history in Thailand, to the extent that they intertwine with aspects of Thai Buddhism, which has long been dominant there.  Aside from being the chosen faith of 95% of Thais, it plays a fundamental role in Thai society and culture . . . Consumerism misinterprets punya, a seminal dharma concept referring to increasing one’s merit through giving, virtue and meditation.”

In conclusion, we offer this final quote from Kaufman:

“Thailand’s Buddhism has unique properties, including how it can weave ancient (supernatural-oriented) culture into a larger Buddhist fabric, one that provides a fundamental source of wisdom to Thai people. As Western beneficiaries of Buddhism, we can also draw from this fabric."