Weirdest Thing I'Ve Ever Seen

[Thongkorn]

A little off topic, My wife lives with Me in our House in the UK , She has never seen my grandfather or grandmother, On My fathers side. I work nights some times, She told me that a man and a lady had come to see her one night and stood at their side of the bed Smiling at her, I just said that she was still a sleep and dreaming , but when she described them it was spot on, I just rubbished it and said, OK why they only come at Night then < she said no they come in the day to and i can smell them when they come. Made me think how does she know what my grandparents looked like, when she has never seen them they died over 30 years ago.

[Livinginexile]

A little off topic, My wife lives with Me in our House in the UK , She has never seen my grandfather or grandmother, On My fathers side. I work nights some times, She told me that a man and a lady had come to see her one night and stood at their side of the bed Smiling at her, I just said that she was still a sleep and dreaming , but when she described them it was spot on, I just rubbished it and said, OK why they only come at Night then < she said no they come in the day to and i can smell them when they come. Made me think how does she know what my grandparents looked like, when she has never seen them they died over 30 years ago.

Thongkorn,

There is a perfectly logical explanation for any phenomenon you may encounter in life.

Never forget that.

[Thongkorn]

Thongkorn,

There is a perfectly logical explanation for any phenomenon you may encounter in life.

Never forget that.

I would have agreed with you at one time But i have seen to many strange things that defy logical explanations,

Edited July 14, 2011 by Thongkorn

[Richb2004v2]

The wife will not go downstairs at night, unless I go with her. Come sundown she prefers to be at home behind closed doors. The 10 year boy will not go out of his room to use the toilet at night but rather a piss pot. Truly amazing!!

That's terrible. Can you not sit them down and try to talk sense to them?

Hey -- welcome to Thailand. Deal with it.

Listen Thai's will remain stuck with their nonsensical superstitions unless someone teaches them otherwise. You might think it's quaint but it is doing them no good at all.

Edited July 14, 2011 by sbk
response to flame removed

[Thongkorn]

Education is where it all starts to dispel the myths.

[sbk]

Posts edited for flames, keep it civil please

[Richb2004v2]

Thongkorn,

I would have agreed with you at one time But i have seen to many strange things that defy logical explanations,

I think that all depends on your logic.

[WebBangkok]

I swear I sore a ghost once when I was in my teens, but I was drunk and stoned, so not sure if that counts.

[draftvader]

This is not unheard of in the west either. Blowing on a baby's face will have the effect of "resetting" the baby. A little distraction tends to cause them to forget why they were crying in the first place. Nothing too black magic about it. Can't be too clear why they do it for burping....maybe because without "winding" the baby will cry, therefore they might be preempting the crying?

[Ricardo]

or say God bless you when someone sneezes?

This one has a basis in-fact, sneezing was a symptom of the Black-Plague, so the person who sneezed would probably be dead within 24 hours.

The line from the nursery-rhym, "atishoo, atishoo, all fall down", is another reference to this, and the 'ring-a-ring of roses, a pocketful of posies' referred to bruises which were another symptom, and a warning not to make any long-term plans !

having never seen a ghost or whatever..my dad has and the wifes daughter seen lady in white at sundown on our farm road...recently the wife told me that my niece and her boy friend both saw a lady with plastered hair over her face walk past their room in Kata ( Tsunami victim maybe??) the wifes daughter could not see anything...! Always seeing "shapes" around our house on the farm me but then I drink Archa... think the jury is out still for me...don't push your luck mates!!

My wife tells me that small children, being more innocent than us grown-ups, find it easier to see ghosts. One of our kids (when aged about 2) saw 2 ghosts, at the door of our beach-hut on Koh Samui, and still remembered it a decade later. Next morning we discovered that the resort had been built on land previously used as a cemetery.

Older children inherited the good land, with lots of nice coconut trees, younger kids got the worse land next to the beach, not-so-unlucky as it turned out !

Edited July 14, 2011 by Ricardo

[lannarebirth]

Actually not weird at all and very common. If blowing on the head it is called pao kamom among others. Blowing on other parts of the body would be called pao piang, om piang, etc. And it is done to blow away the pain or sickness. Originally it was done with a ritual chant but nowadays the chant part is not so common, unless done by monks.

When a little kid falls over and grazes his knee, he/she may run to mum or granny in tears and they will then blow away the pain for the child.

So what's the spitting all about then?

Often the act of blowing sounds like spitting but is not. The practitioners purse their lips and give a quick blast but only air comes out. The length of the blow varies from family to family from being very perfunctory to deliberate and thoughtful.

On the other hand, when being blessed by a monk, often the monk will blow a mouthful of blessed water (holy water) over the sick person and sometimes their family members. This is done after chanting (blessing) and seems to be only common out in the sticks. In Bangkok and environs the monk would dip a small bamboo brush in holy water and flick the water over the sick person and his family members. This latter activity is also done at other religious functions to bless the congregation. Having said that, many years ago I saw old people also orally spraying their grandkids, nephews and nieces with mouthfuls of water. It should be noted that the water was always blessed water brought from the temple. Many families in the sticks will have a bottle of holy water tucked away somewhere in the house for this and other blessing purposes.

I've got a broken back and a Lao family I look after. About 11 years ago we drove 90 kilometers into the forest from Luang Phrabang to visit a forest wat there which was said to have a reknowned healing monk. I went because it was clearly a display of "my familily's" love and concern for my well being. After half a day of driving through the deepest ruts you've ever seen we came to the place where you can walk the last kilometer to the temple. The wat was a collection of ancient wooden buildings and I don't think there was a single monk there under the age of 60. We found the monk we were looking for, he was 92 at the time. He could not have been kinder or more solicitous. He spent about an hour with me doing incantations a nd using smoke and the spitting of blessed water all over me. It was a wonderfully moving experience.

Do I think he healed my back? No, of course he didn't, but he DID heal my spirit with the love he shared with me that day. I'll never forget it.

[thaifkrlim]

This is not unheard of in the west either. Blowing on a baby's face will have the effect of "resetting" the baby. A little distraction tends to cause them to forget why they were crying in the first place. Nothing too black magic about it. Can't be too clear why they do it for burping....maybe because without "winding" the baby will cry, therefore they might be preempting the crying?

This is it, the most logical answer to the question.............all the exaggeration to blame black magic and imaginary stories are totally unfounded

[bina]

blowing on a child's face distracts him; we do it alot here also;

we also , everywhere, have things to protect against the 'eveil eye' (khana hura in yiddish) ein haraa in hebrew and the arabs and morroccan jews have their own version: red string tied around baby's arm, hamsa hung over bed, not to name baby until after circumcision party, not to prepare for baby before the birth (room clothes etc); not saying how beautiful or cute the baby/child is (immediately even the most 'high tec' parents will automatically say 'hamsa hamsa hamsa' (there times '5' in arabic, against evil eye);

asked hubby what to sayw hen someone sneezes - in thai-- didnt have a clue.

often we will chew up some banana or bite a grape to break the smooth roundness of it, or chew an almond in to mush to give to baby; not primitive or disgusting. our saliva starts the digestive process and helps the baby digest foods, also prvents choking on grapes or banana which is slipperry... we also suck the pacificer before putting in child's mouth if the pacifier was on table or fell or whatever and no way to wash off the pacifier...

southern thai friend of mine having problems with her issaan bf here in israel; back on home visit, his mother and sisters went to surin to get my gf cursed. her family went to nearest mosque to get 'protection' for her. she's highly educated, not some poor agricultural family.... but believes half and half...

here in the holyland we have curses, black magic, rabbis like saints that can cure you, help u get pregnant (jus tswallow a parchment with certain aramaic letters, etc...)........iv'e met professors , veterinatrians, doctors, teachers and hi tech types, all worrying about the letters in their kids names (kid keeps getting sick so name is changed after advice from religious leader), the list is endless. i prefer the thai types; more exotic then our mundane jewish black magic and curses (remember tevye's dream of grandm's ghost in his dream in fiddler on the roof'?)

life would be very flat w/o 'stuff tha happens with no explanation' and 'stuff that goes bump in the nite' or 'co-incadental stuff-- the equivalent of believing that when u go to sleep at night u will 100% for sure wake up in the morning....

hamsa hamsa hamsa..tfuu tfuu tfuu (blow out your lips and say it three times)while holding up your right hand palm out like a 'stop'

bina

israel

[tailspin]

sorry to throw some logic in here, but surely if one person makes a black magic spell on someone

, then couldn't the target cancel it out with a reverse black magic spell......

or is this where the amulets and heavy hitting black magic stuff come in

andrew ,What is your experience of these people?Have you ever been to Isarn ? I lived in Bkk. for about 10 years, before moving to Southern Buriram ,where I have lived for about 12 years. , I never heard any Thai speak in the way you are inferring. I have never met anyone scared of anyone from Isarn.Quite the reverse.Now , you may wish to understand the Amart and the Prai and their respective roles in Thai society May I respectfully suggest ,that this all a figment of your over active imagination?There are thousands of farang living in Isarn .None of us have ever had spells cast upon us. Your claims ,I am sorry ,are totally ludicrous. Yes ,they do believe in ghosts, as do many farang in their own countries. How many haunted houses in England ,Europe etc.. Tarot card players, .Want me to go on?May I suggest , you come and live in Isarn , gain first hand experience, then some people may believe in whatever tripe it is you wish to dispense

[MrsMills]

The wife will not go downstairs at night, unless I go with her. Come sundown she prefers to be at home behind closed doors. The 10 year boy will not go out of his room to use the toilet at night but rather a piss pot. Truly amazing!!

That's terrible. Can you not sit them down and try to talk sense to them?

Hey -- welcome to Thailand. Deal with it.

Listen Thai's will remain stuck with their nonsensical superstitions unless someone teaches them otherwise. You might think it's quaint but it is doing them no good at all.

Yeah, why don' t you start educating the natives, hang on a minute , you married one didn't you ?

Jeez mate, what happened , You come across as a guy that hates all things Thai, yet you live in Thailand and married a Thai. Good planning mate, wish I could plan my life like you.

[Atmos]

Listen Thai's will remain stuck with their nonsensical superstitions unless someone teaches them otherwise. You might think it's quaint but it is doing them no good at all.

many countries have similar issues with Easter, Christmas . . .

You might think it's quaint but it is doing them no good at all.

[KRS1]

It's how they transfer the essence of their belief onto you.

[Richb2004v2]

That's terrible. Can you not sit them down and try to talk sense to them?

Hey -- welcome to Thailand. Deal with it.

Listen Thai's will remain stuck with their nonsensical superstitions unless someone teaches them otherwise. You might think it's quaint but it is doing them no good at all.

Yeah, why don' t you start educating the natives, hang on a minute , you married one didn't you ?

Jeez mate, what happened , You come across as a guy that hates all things Thai, yet you live in Thailand and married a Thai. Good planning mate, wish I could plan my life like you.

We have no superstitious paraphernalia in our house, or pictures of he who shall not be discussed in anything but the most glowing light. We don't have a shrine in the garden either, nor do we give any time to the monks. You'll not find a crucifix either though. Nothing bad has happened to us yet.

You are kind of right though about planning. My plans haven't quite worked out, but at least I gave it a go for a few years. If I hadn't tried it I would always be wondering.

And before anyone says it, the door is very soon to hit me on the way out. It has been a long time in coming.

[mario299]

And before anyone says it, the door is very soon to hit me on the way out. It has been a long time in coming.

I, for one, won't miss your negativity in the slightest. Go find your Paradise, Chok Dee!

with all due respect

mario299

Just realized I probably can't wish you Good Luck, that's probably one of those "native people" things. Oh well, see ya!

Edited July 15, 2011 by mario299

[andrewbkk]

You are kind of right though about planning. My plans haven't quite worked out, but at least I gave it a go for a few years. If I hadn't tried it I would always be wondering.

And before anyone says it, the door is very soon to hit me on the way out. It has been a long time in coming.

That's a good post.

I think it seldom works out .......... but at least we tried.

I gave it twelve years, and then I learned the truth. I guess I knew the truth years ago, but it took me twelve years to make sense of it all.

I personally won't be leaving, but my attitude will very different from now on.

[Artfullmover]

Spiritual probaly yes - Black Magic could be the begining of the magical bond between the thai child and Mum so maybe. I believe it to be more of a comforting thing seen it pleanty of times for various reasons. Have you Ever seen mothers rub the head of there baby when its distressed. The Thai's aremt really into this so hence the blowing. My wife says it good for the baby to know mums there and that probally means its part of the bonding process that somethimes appears to be "magical"

[PlastikbinLina]

Actually not weird at all and very common. If blowing on the head it is called pao kamom among others. Blowing on other parts of the body would be called pao piang, om piang, etc. And it is done to blow away the pain or sickness. Originally it was done with a ritual chant but nowadays the chant part is not so common, unless done by monks.

When a little kid falls over and grazes his knee, he/she may run to mum or granny in tears and they will then blow away the pain for the child.

Thanks Garry, that makes sense. Sort of like kissing it better.

I like this one better than the black magic option.

Every culture has its ways of dealing with unhappy children. My mum used to kiss it better and needless to say 16 years ago my Thai wife used to blow on our liitle girl's sore parts. My Thai girl friend does the same to me now when I have an 'ouch'. I have to say its very effective.

[anterian]

They'll also give the newborn a really mean nick name to ward off 'jealous spirits. Last one I heard was 'hua men' or 'stinky head'.

Well be a dull old world if folk were all the same ...

Yes, dull it would be!

Just to add to your post 'evanson' when the baby gets introduced to people in the village, most people will loudly say things like; “he’s very ugly” and “hasn’t he got big ears and a big nose” This, along with an ugly name, it’s hoped the sprits will leave the baby alone.

In many cultures a person has a public name, a nickname, and a private real name, to know a person's real name is to have power over them.

[astanhope]

I do believe that the sound is explicitly "piew piew piew."

[astanhope]

Just another example of the unfortunate backward nature of these people.

What an unfortunate, backward thing for you to say.

[mikecwm]

Actually not weird at all and very common. If blowing on the head it is called pao kamom among others. Blowing on other parts of the body would be called pao piang, om piang, etc. And it is done to blow away the pain or sickness. Originally it was done with a ritual chant but nowadays the chant part is not so common, unless done by monks.

When a little kid falls over and grazes his knee, he/she may run to mum or granny in tears and they will then blow away the pain for the child.

That's true. I may have been a tad hastie in my bashing there. It's probably a lot like having mother rub it better, or as you say kiss it better.

Thanks Rich - nice to see you're a human after all.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

As usual most of the disagreements come from language.

As English culture is historically Christian, the word "magic" has been used to cover pretty much any "pagan" (non-Christian) beliefs where the practitioner is attempting to get things done, as opposed to just worshipping. There are also quite specific farang religions that lay claim to the word, google "Wicca".

"Black" magic is used to mean doing bad stuff, selfish as opposed to helping others.

"Animism" is just a catch-all for the naturalistic religions common to all cultures before the big organised ones came along.

It is definitely the case that the Khmer speaking Thais, concentrated in the provinces that were once part of the Khmer empire, especially Surin, Buriram and Sisaket have remnants of their former pre-Buddhist religions, usually mixed in with their Buddhist practice and often performed by monks, probably in violation of the nationally recognized rules. Most of my wives and girlfriends have been from that area, and they all have spoken about it, some matter-of-factly, some threateningly and others with scorn. It is most famously used to cause men to fall in love with you, but can also be used to cause people to become ill or even die. As far as I can tell, it seems quite similar in broad terms to African/Caribbean voudou.

Poor up-country Khmer speakers absolutely believe in these powers, and they also believe that those who use such techniques will suffer the bad karma that results, usually terrible diseases and sufferings, and usually in this lifetime. Thais from other regions definitely know, believe and respect/fear these practices, I had "pak glaang" educated office workers speculate that's how my Buriram/Surin wife/GF caught me, and trying to warn me to get help from a monk with countervailing powers.

And regarding Thai superstitiousness in general, I have come to the conclusion that they **all** believe in this stuff. The well-educated wealthy classes know that farang will think they are stupid for doing so, so they will hide it from you, but if you get an appropriate opportunity to loudly announce that you don't believe in the "Pii Gop" or whatever is supposed to be around, you will see their eyes flash in fear and they will most likely sush you, cause the spirit gets very angry and will punish everyone associated with someone showing such lack of respect.

The Chinese have their own practices, very different from their POV, but all just superstitious nonsense from ours.

Keep in mind they think we're just stupid and ignorant for not believing, and who knows? I think the only scientific approach is to keep an open mind, but I don't actively invite Thais to show me these monsters, just in case <g>

IMO the best practice is respectfully keep your mouth shut and go with the flow, except if it impacts something real and important to you. For example, all my employees and their families, and my inlaws, any Thais who come in contact with my children are strictly forbidden from talking about or otherwise causing my children to believe - however I've come to believe the only way is to move back home, or to use imported help that don't speak Thai.

Tell rural poor people you're genuinely interested in learning about it and I'm sure you'll be given the opportunity. The better educated classes will be embarrassed about it so they probably will pretend it doesn't exist. The person saying he lives in that area and there are no such practices has been living under a rock, or perhaps has been vocal in expressing his opinions in such a way that the local's aren't being open with him, or maybe his community is the rural poor Khmer-speakers.

BTW other regions have their own but the Khmer are famous for having the most powerful and dangerous kind - they refer to it as "Saya Saart".