เจ้าที่

[Jeddah Jo]

Was having a conversation with a Thai about a เจ้าที่ here in Phuket. I guess it means a kind of local god or spirit right? Here in Phuket there appears to be one at the top of Patong hill resident in a Chinese temple. She was saying basically people toot their horn when driving past to acknowledge the spirit so that it will take care of them on their journey.

When I asked if it was anything to do with Buddhism she said no, not really. So I am now guessing spirit worship and Buddhism operate side by side in Thailand? Although I am still not sure why the spirit resides in a temple if it is not really to do with Buddhism.

How many of these local spirits are there? And how did they get there? Or is it like 1 per temple?

I guess I still have a lot to learn, but my Thai is only now getting good enough to have these kind of discussions!

JJ.

[DavidHouston]

You might be interested in the book "Inside Thai Society, Religion, Everyday Life, Change", by Niels Mulder, Silkworm Books, 2000. I purchased mine at Senho bookstore in downtown Phuket several years ago. Chapter 2 is titled, "Power and Goodness in Thai symbolic Representations"; this chapter discusses the various major and minor forces to which Thai people believe they are subject. From page 25 comes the following sentence:

"Power is the most spectacular, beguiling, and central manifestation of Thai life; its cognitive elaborations and the way power is accommodated reveal the essential animistic substratum of the Thai mentality. An understanding of saksit power will provide us with an ordering principle against which other classifications can be understood."

There is much more in the chapter of interest. And, in addition to the major strains of Buddhism and animism in Thai society, Phuket offers a major strain of Hokkien Chinese religious influence.

If Sengho does not still carry this volume, you can ask to have it ordered for you. Also, see http://www.dcothai.com/product_info.php?products_id=181 and http://www.amazon.ca/Inside-Thai-Society-N...960&sr=1-11

[thaibutty]

As far as I understand the whole เจ้าที่ thing they are local spirits that are living in certain spots. They can live in trees and can also have gender look for trees with female clothing and make up sets and you'll understand . Many of them are living on top of hills and thats when people toot their horns for example on the way to Patong.

"So I am now guessing spirit worship and Buddhism operate side by side in Thailand?"

You are guessing right. In Thailand even though most of them are Buddhists, Animism is deep integrated in there culture. Spirits and spirit worshipping is also a very chinese thing and that's what you can see during the vegetarian festival in Phuket.