A spirit house (Burmese: နတ်စင် or နတ်ကွန်း) or san phra phum (Thai: ศาลพระภูมิ) is a shrine to the protective spirit of a place that are found in the Southeast Asian countries of Burma, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand. Most houses and businesses have a spirit house placed in an auspicious spot, most often in a corner of the property. The location may be chosen after consultation with a Brahmin priest. The spirit house is normally in the form of a miniature house or temple, and is mounted on a pillar or on a dais.
The house is intended to provide a shelter for spirits which could cause problems for the people if not appeased. The shrines often include images of people and animals. Votive offerings are left at the house to propitiate the spirits. More elaborate installations include an altar for this purpose.
In addition to outdoor shrines, homes and businesses also have them indoors, similar to ancient Roman Lares Familiares.
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Famous quotes containing the words spirit and/or house:
“A Spirit free, to choose for my own share,
What sort of Flesh and Blood I pleas’d to wear,
I’d be a Dog, a Monkey or a Bear,
Or any thing, but that vain Animal,
Who is so proud of being rational.”
—John Wilmot, 2d Earl Of Rochester (1647–1680)
“But the house of the prudent countryman will be, of course, a place of honest manners; and Demeter Thesmophoros is the guardian of married life, the deity of the discretion of wives. She is therefore the founder of civilised order.”
—Walter Pater (1839–1894)