we have a new spirit house! after mama found a snake in bed with her in the middle of the night, the Long Som (spirit medium) told us that the ghost of the land wants a place to live. (see the previous blog entry for the story) i sent tok some extra money to get us a spirit house. she had to wait until after the recent buddist holiday to have the workmen come and install a concrete pad and tile.
and again mama had a nocturnal visitor - this time a centipede under her pillow. don't know what kind of centipede it was, but they do have some big ones in thailand. ones that bite and produce a painful wound that is easily infected. they usually don't come creeping around the house. i've never seen one on our property actually. so the creatures visit is a little odd. we're hoping that with the new spirit house installed, the local ghosts will be appeased with their fancy new digs, and stop bothering mama. that's the principal, as i understand it anyway.
and old man from the village came out to dedicate our spirit house. offerings of fruit, sweets and food were prepared:
i wish i could have been there for the ceremony. we now have a beautiful addition to the yard.
Interesting article with great photos. Thanks for this.
ReplyDeleteThe centipedes are ground dwellers, usually living under rocks and stuff. They often come indoors during the rainy season when flooded out of their habitat. they're a real nuisance, though I'd be far more concerned as to how the snake got in.
Have a good day, Boonie
Hi Karl, the new spirit house looks smashing! I should try one back home. Our cat brings in about 10 snakes every summer and we also have those centipedes...the one's you have to hit with a hammer serveral times.
ReplyDeleteThai culture certainly seems to have many superstitions/omens etc. I've justed starting to read more about them lately...very interesting!