Spirit houses
A spirit house is a dedicated structure to honor the guardians of the land. It is a place to tune into the present moment and pay respect to Mother Earth. Cultures around the world have had their own ways of connecting to the land since their early beginnings and different kinds of spirit houses can be found all over Asia. Thai spirit houses are a creative tradition that continues to evolve with modern lifestyles.

Growing up I spent the summers in Bangkok with a Thai family where our home had two spirit houses near the entrance of the main house. Each morning before breakfast I observed various family members and caretakers making offerings of coconuts, fried rice, fruits and flowers in front of curious structures resembling a wooden doll house and a miniature palace. A peek inside the tiny windows revealed a fantastic play of animal figurines, statues of dancing ladies and a golden angel carrying a sword and a moneybag. The heady aroma of incense filled the air, transporting the family’s wishes for protection and well-being to the heavens.

Ninety-five percent of the Thai population is Buddhist yet the people engaged in daily spirit house rituals are carrying on ancient animistic practices inherited from their ancestors.  The intrinsic urge to honor and communicate with nature comes from our basic dependence on nature’s life giving abundance in the great web of life; oxygen, water, food and sunshine.  It acknowledges the power of unpredictable forces such as lightening, flood, drought, earthquakes and seasonal phenomena. From the animistic view, humans participate in nature on very much the same terms as everything else. What we do will effect nature, and in turn effect ourselves creating a cycle of interdependence that flows in a continual re-balancing of harmony.   Nature is alive and has a potent power that can infuse itself in various concentrations into different objects such as trees, land, stones, mountains, houses, rivers, and rice. Each of these soul-essences, or spirits, has their own purpose and level of intelligence. When a Thai enters the space of one of these spirits and uses their resources they believe the best way to honor the spirit is by giving them a symbolic place of their own-- their own home. The spirit house becomes a focal point to cultivate a harmonious relationship with nature; offerings are made in exchange for abundance, protection and creative potential. It is not necessarily the accuracy of the rituals, but the act that retains a power, the power of our existence.

It’s fair to say that when real estate booms in Thailand so does the spirit house industry. In the countryside, humble wooden spirit dwellings blend into the landscape on rice fields, bridges, barns, crossroads, and Buddhist temples, termite mounds and gigantic trees. Vibrantly painted cement palaces typically sit in the gardens of rural and urban homes alike. In densely populated cities, spirit houses are placed at the entrance to gas stations, shopping malls, convenience stores, restaurants, and local markets. Modern and trendy designs guard government buildings, skyscrapers, condominiums, nightclubs and abandoned properties. Virtually no building in Thailand is erected without an accompanying spirit house.
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