Thai Folklore - Folk Belief

Folk Belief

The core of Thai folklore is rooted in folk religion. Until they were recorded, folk beliefs were handed down from one generation to the other.

Village shamans are known as phram, a word that has its origin in Brahma, from a general and vague historical Vedic background. The phram perform exorcisms and conduct marriages, among other ceremonies.

Another important figure in Thai folk religion is the Phi Mo or witch doctor (หมอผี) who would also conduct rituals. To invoke spirits of the dead, four sticks are planted at equal distance from each other on the ground near the burial or cremation place. A thread is tied around the sticks forming a protective square and a mat is spread in the middle, where the sits down. In front of him, outside of the square there is a Mo Khao terracotta jar containing ashes or bones of the dead person with a yantra painted on the outside. Beside the jar there is also a plate of rice as offering and a stick or switch to keep the spirits at bay.

In order to be protected against bad luck charms and amulets for bringing luck or for protection are popular in Thailand. Some of these are tied around the body or worn as a necklace, while others come in the form of tattoos. In shops and houses, often by a shelf with a Buddha statuette, charms for attracting customers are hung. These include printed pieces of cloth of fish-shaped figures, as well as streamers or framed pictures of a crocodile or of Suvannamaccha, the mermaid character of the Siamese version of the Ramayana. Some of these charms have their origin in the culture of the Thai Chinese, as Phraya Anuman Rajadhon observed, but they have been adopted by the Thai people, often with changes.