Every year at about this time, my wife takes a pig's head to the local Chinese temple as part of her 'merit making' (I suppose). She doesn't attend this temple on any other occasion in the year.

 

I tried to get her to explain why she did this but she was unable to do so, probably because she doesn't have the English vocabulary, and could only say that it's something her parents did, something she's always done and it "protects the town". She admitted she'd never do such a thing at her regular Thai Buddhist temple nearby.

 

The pig's head seems to me like a sacrifice and as such is, presumably, something that would be frowned upon by Buddhists. So is the Chinese temple Buddhist or something else? 

 

I'm not hot on religions of any sort but I see something not-quite-right here. Is it just another example of the Thai animism I hear about or an example of them grabbing onto any religious belief if they feel it'll be good for them? I know a number of locals who, despite saying they're Buddhist, display Christian symbols in their car, at home etc. 

 

Any insights please?

 

Pig-ignorance? Apart from their pets the Chinese and the Thais seem to have a total disregard for the suffering of animals and a very high regard for anything which might bring them, the Chinese and the Thais, luck.