# Spirit house > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Spirit_house > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Spirit_house.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_house > Source revision: 1354640063 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Type of shrine found in Southeast Asia}} {{About||the spirit house used by the Dakelh (Carrier) people of British Columbia|Spirit house (Dakelh)}} {{other uses|Spirit House (disambiguation)}} [[File:Thai spirit house at a hotel in bangkok ศาลพระภูมิ ศาลเจ้าที่.jpg|thumb|Spirit houses in [Bangkok](/source/Bangkok), [Thailand](/source/Thailand); the two are a ''san phra phum'' (ศาลพระภูมิ, shrine of [Phra Phum](/source/Bhummaso)) on the left and a ''san chao thi'' (ศาลเจ้าที่; shrine for [tutelary deity](/source/tutelary_deity)) on the right.]] [[File:2024 Huế - spirit houses at a house-restaurant - img 02.jpg|thumb|Spirit houses at a house in [Huế](/source/Hu%E1%BA%BF), Vietnam]] A '''spirit house''' is a shrine to the [protective spirit of a place](/source/Genius_loci) that is found in the Southeast Asian countries of [Cambodia](/source/Cambodia), [Laos](/source/Laos), [Thailand](/source/Thailand), [Malaysia](/source/Malaysia), [Myanmar](/source/Myanmar), [Indonesia](/source/Indonesia), [Vietnam](/source/Vietnam) and the [Philippines](/source/Philippines). They are normally in the form of small roofed structure mounted on a pillar or a [dais](/source/dais), and can range in size from small platforms to houses large enough for people to enter. Spirit houses are intended to provide a shelter for [spirit](/source/Genius_loci)s that could cause problems for the people if not appeased. They often include images or carved statues of people and animals. [Votive offering](/source/Votive_offering)s are left at them to [propitiate](/source/Wiktionary%3Apropitiate) the spirits; more elaborate installations include an [altar](/source/altar) for this purpose. == Regional traditions == === Southeast Asia === In [mainland Southeast Asia](/source/mainland_Southeast_Asia), most houses and businesses have a spirit house placed in an [auspicious](/source/Wiktionary%3Aauspicious) spot, most often in a corner of the property. The location may be chosen after consultation with a [Brahmin](/source/Brahmin) priest. Spirit houses are known as {{lang|my|နတ်စင်}} ({{transliteration|my|[nat](/source/Nat_(spirit)) sin}}) or {{lang|my|နတ်ကွန်း}} ({{transliteration|my|nat kun}}) in Burmese; {{lang|th|ศาลพระภูมิ}} ({{transliteration|th|san phra phum}}, 'house of the guardian spirit') in Thai; and {{lang|km|រានព្រះភូមិ}} ({{transliteration|km|rean preah phum}}, 'shrine for the guardian-spirit') or {{lang|km|រានទេវតា}} ({{transliteration|km|rean taveda}}) in Khmer. [[File:Balaua, the largest spirit house for anito among the Itneg people (1922, Philippines).jpg|thumb|Balaua, the largest spirit house for ''[anito](/source/anito)'' among the [Itneg people](/source/Itneg_people) (1922, Philippines)]] In [maritime Southeast Asia](/source/maritime_Southeast_Asia), spirit houses are connected to the various traditional [animist](/source/animist)ic rituals involving spirits. In the Philippines, spirit houses are dedicated to ceremonies or offerings involving the ''[anito](/source/anito)'' spirits. They are also referred to as shrines. They are known {{lang|ceb|magdantang}} in Visayan; {{lang|tl|ulango}} or {{lang|tl|simbahan}} in Tagalog; {{lang|itb|tangpap}}, {{lang|itb|pangkew}}, or {{lang|itb|alalot}} (for various small roofed altars), and {{lang|itb|balaua}} or {{lang|itb|kalangan}} (for larger structures) in Itneg; {{lang|suc|maligai}} in Subanen; {{lang|tiy|tenin}} in Tiruray; and {{lang|bgi|buis}} (for those built near roads and villages) and {{lang|bgi|parabunnian}} (for those built near rice fields) in Bagobo.{{cite book|author=William Henry Scott | authorlink = William Henry Scott (historian)|url= https://archive.org/details/BarangaySixteenthCenturyPhilippineCultureAndSociety | title = Barangay: Sixteenth Century Philippine Culture and Society | publisher = Ateneo de Manila University Press | date = 1994 | location = Quezon City | isbn = 9715501354 }}{{cite journal|author=A. L. Kroeber|year=1918|title=The History of Philippine Civilization as Reflected in Religious Nomenclature|journal=Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History|volume=XXI|issue=Part II|pages=35–37|url=http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/bitstream/handle/2246/286/A019a02.pdf;jsessionid=EB1447C19043A20F8A2BCE9726E4A3D1?sequence=1}}{{cite journal|author=Fay-Cooper Cole & Albert Gale|year=1922|title=The Tinguian; Social, Religious, and Economic life of a Philippine tribe|journal=Field Museum of Natural History: Anthropological Series|volume=14|issue=2|pages=[https://archive.org/details/tinguiansocialre142cole/page/235 235]–493|url=https://archive.org/details/tinguiansocialre142cole}} === East Asia === In Chinese, [spirit houses](/source/spirit_houses) are called 土地神屋 or [Tudigong](/source/Tudigong) Houses, representing a link between the concept and the concept of an [Earth Temple](/source/Tudimiao) dedicated to a ''[dizhu shen](/source/dizhu_shen)'' or a [Tudigong](/source/Tudigong). === South Asia === In [Tamil Nadu](/source/Tamil_Nadu), spirit houses and shrines house local [tutelary spirits](/source/Tutelary_deity), guardian deities, and deified ancestors who derive from [ancient Dravidian animistic beliefs](/source/Religion_in_ancient_Tamilakam).{{cite journal |last1=Slaczka |first1=Anna |title="Temple Guardians and ‘Folk Hinduism’ in Tamil South India: A Bronze Image of the ‘Black God’ Karuppannasamy in the Rijksmuseum". |journal=The Rijksmuseum Bulletin 64 |date=2016 |issue=1 |pages=67–68 |url=https://bulletin.rijksmuseum.nl/article/view/9797/10291 |access-date=18 January 2024}}{{cite book |last1=Elmore |first1=Wilder Theodore |title=Dravidian Gods in Modern Hinduism: A Study of the Local and Village Deities of southern India |date=1915 |publisher=Published by the author |location=Hamilton, New York |pages=16–19 |edition=15 |url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Dravidian_gods_in_modern_Hinduism_-_a_study_of_the_local_and_village_deities_of_southern_India_%28IA_dravidiangodsinm00elmo%29.pdf |access-date=18 January 2024}} They tend to be located on the periphery of villages, known as the "katu," due to the belief that these spirits are "too dangerous and unpredictable to [have] reside in the village... and seem to be disturbed by the sounds of village life."{{cite journal |last1=Slaczka |first1=Anna |title="Temple Guardians and ‘Folk Hinduism’ in Tamil South India: A Bronze Image of the ‘Black God’ Karuppannasamy in the Rijksmuseum". |journal=The Rijksmuseum Bulletin 64 |date=2016 |issue=1 |page=68 |url=https://bulletin.rijksmuseum.nl/article/view/9797/10291 |access-date=18 January 2024}} Many of these spirit houses are dedicated to the spirit of a deified hero, especially— [Madurai Veeran](/source/Madurai_Veeran), [Karuppuswami](/source/Karuppu_Sami), or [Aiyanar](/source/Aiyanar).{{cite journal |last1=Slaczka |first1=Anna |title="Temple Guardians and ‘Folk Hinduism’ in Tamil South India: A Bronze Image of the ‘Black God’ Karuppannasamy in the Rijksmuseum". |journal=The Rijksmuseum Bulletin 64 |date=2016 |issue=1 |page=67 |url=https://bulletin.rijksmuseum.nl/article/view/9797/10291 |access-date=18 January 2024}} Offerings of bananas, coconuts, oil lamps, meat, and alcohol are routinely left at these shrines to ensure the health and safety of the village. This starkly contrasts the Vedic Hindu practice of only offering vegetarian foods to deities.{{cite book |last1=Arumugam |first1=Indira |title=Laying Out Feast-Offerings: Offering Meat, Feasting Together and Sharing with the Gods |date=2021 |publisher=National University of Singapore |location=Singapore |page=282 |url=https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/90714462/Article_Journal_ROSA_Meat_Feast_Offerings-libre.pdf?1662440182=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DLaying_Out_Feast_Offerings_Offering_Meat.pdf&Expires=1705571667&Signature=CP5zDkn7nYFluVbbdaY0Rt0MhwPS3E~fRnIY-JmcmBV8o3spu01N0yIQ-VgLl7IUE~WEhE5ux6PvBeL58yttxKr7DzeAGeVQ5SWSypv4s5aq6VGaujCmld3Kb1Ub4gzhEHZmEuKPSqrwdEHaNRTRtkMBZm908nd6BmJyByUZjm-YK8Kr0TF3yjrVMYpV-ejCtsAKH15J~eq0ic6cfff-SBpHz3ym641UTof7P8cTpafFvJarKf8g4yqsm0gMRQ3m3IDXFHIdaS9yZUPEarW04Htu9z75KpFZhWrEWqX4q5gllmcLARKIGLMER1ltf2qm9mC8ut87Iym4bzEiA8JcTQ__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA |access-date=18 January 2024}} As a result of countless Tamils falling into the British Raj's [indenture system](/source/Indian_indenture_system), these shrines have spread throughout the Indian diaspora.{{cite journal |last1=Bose |first1=Mansi |title=Religious Divergence and Ethnic Syncretism: Transitions in Kali Mai Worship in Postcolonial Trinidad |journal=The Achievers Journal- University of Lucknow |date=2022 |volume=8 |issue=2454-2296 |page=24 |url=http://theachieversjournal.org/index.php/taj/article/view/470/126 |access-date=18 January 2024}} In [Kerala](/source/Kerala), each family home complex (for [Nair](/source/Nair)s and [Ezhava](/source/Ezhava)s), known as a [tharavad](/source/tharavad)u, has a spirit house located towards the northeast corner. Known as "kavu" or "[sarpa kavukal](/source/Sarpa_Kavu)," these shrines consist of a small grove with symbolic houses and carved stone effigies of guardian [nagas](/source/N%C4%81ga), and other "gods, spirits, [yakshi](/source/Yakshini), [or] ancestors."{{cite journal |last1=K |first1=Murugan |last2=VS |first2=Ramachandran |last3=K |first3=Swarupanandan |last4=M |first4=Remesh |title=Socio-cultural perspectives to the sacred groves and serpentine worship in Palakkad district, Kerala |journal=CSIR |date=2008 |volume=1 |pages=455–462 |url=https://nopr.niscpr.res.in/handle/123456789/1712 |access-date=18 January 2024}} The Malayali people traditionally believe that the construction and maintenance of these sacred shrines keeps tutelary spirits docile and can even serve as atonement for "angry serpent gods [who were]... left unattended."{{cite journal |last1=K |first1=Murugan |last2=VS |first2=Ramachandran |last3=K |first3=Swarupanandan |last4=M |first4=Remesh |title=Socio-cultural perspectives to the sacred groves and serpentine worship in Palakkad district, Kerala |journal=CSIR |date=2008 |volume=1 |page=457 |url=https://nopr.niscpr.res.in/handle/123456789/1712 |access-date=18 January 2024}} Spirits of the kavu are most commonly offered "raw rice, unbroken coconut fruits, betel leaves, and areca nut," as well as an "oil lamp in front of the deity at dusk."{{cite journal |last1=K |first1=Murugan |last2=VS |first2=Ramachandran |last3=K |first3=Swarupanandan |last4=M |first4=Remesh |title=Socio-cultural perspectives to the sacred groves and serpentine worship in Palakkad district, Kerala |journal=CSIR |date=2008 |volume=1 |page=457 |url=https://nopr.niscpr.res.in/handle/123456789/1712 |access-date=18 January 2024}}{{cite book |last1=Rajagopalan |first1=L. S. |title=The Pulluvans and their Music |date=1981 |publisher=T.S. Parthasarathy |location=The Music Academy Madras- 14 |page=73 |edition=L1 |url=https://musicacademymadras.in/catalogue/files/journals/Vol.51_1980.pdf#page=75 |access-date=18 January 2024}} Occasionally, these kavu serve as locations for shamanistic rituals known as "pampin kalam" where mediums channel the deities and perform sacred rites around hand-drawn [mandala](/source/mandala)s made from coloured powder.{{cite book |last1=Rajagopalan |first1=L. S. |title=The Pulluvans and their Music |date=1981 |publisher=T.S. Parthasarathy |location=The Music Academy Madras- 14 |page=72 |edition=L1 |url=https://musicacademymadras.in/catalogue/files/journals/Vol.51_1980.pdf#page=75 |access-date=18 January 2024}} ==Spirit house offerings== In Cambodia, the most common offering are fruits (e.g. banana, orange, grape; some people even offer different fruits at the same time.) In neighbouring Thailand however, it is a long-standing tradition to leave offerings of food and drink at the spirit house. Rice, bananas, coconuts, and desserts are common offerings. Most ubiquitous is red, strawberry-flavoured [Fanta](/source/Fanta).{{cite news |last1=Bengali |first1=Shashank |title=The spirit houses of Bangkok keep watch over a frenetic modern Thai city |url=https://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-thailand-bangkok-spirit-houses-20190418-story.html |accessdate=2019-04-20 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=2019-04-18}} The idea seems to be that friendly spirits will congregate to enjoy free food and drink and their presence will serve to keep more malign spirits at bay. The popularity of red [Fanta](/source/Fanta) offerings has existed for decades. Opinions as to "why Fanta?" vary. Most point to the significance of the colour red, reminiscent of [animal sacrifice](/source/Animal_sacrifice_in_Hinduism), or perhaps related to the practice of anchoring red incense sticks in a glass of water which promptly tints the water red. Sweetness is explained by the observation that sweet spirits naturally have sweet tooths.{{cite news |last1=Winn |first1=Patrick |title=In Thailand, blood sacrifice is out. Strawberry Fanta is in. |url=https://theworld.org/stories/2017/04/05/thailand-blood-sacrifice-out-strawberry-fanta |access-date=18 August 2018 |work=Public Radio International (PRI) |date=2017-04-06}} == Parts == Parts of spirit houses include # A raised pedestal base # A roof # An altar # Sacred objects inside such as buddha statues == Gallery == {{gallery|mode=packed |File:Nat-ein.jpg|Spirit house, Yangon |File:Thai spirit houses duo.jpg|Spirit house, Bangkok |File:Spirit houses.JPG|Spirit houses at a private house, Phetchaburi, Thailand |File:Spirit houses..JPG|Spirit houses protect a business, Thailand |File:Spirit house at Hua Hin.jpg|Spirit house, Hua Hin |File:Artisans khmers (2517376547).jpg|[Cambodian](/source/Cambodian_art)-style spirit houses. |File:Ceremonial spirit houses among the Itneg (lef to right) the pangkew, two tangpap, and an alalot (1922, Philippines).jpg|Ceremonial spirit houses among the Itneg (left to right) the pangkew, two tangpap, and an alalot (1922, Philippines) |File:Kalangan spirit house among the Itneg people (1922, Philippines).jpg|Kalangan spirit house, Itneg people (1922, Philippines) |File:"Spirit Hut, Livingstonia", Malawi, ca.1910 (imp-cswc-GB-237-CSWC47-LS4-1-032).jpg|A spirit house in [Livingstonia](/source/Livingstonia), [Malawi](/source/Malawi) (c. 1910) |File:Peter and Paul Shrine, Portuguese settlement, Ayutthaya (1).jpg|A Shrine of Peter and Paul, Ayutthaya, Thailand |File:Spirit house miniature temple with ancestor figures Vientiane Laos 02Dec2005.jpg|Spirit house miniature temple with ancestor figures, Vientiane, Laos }} == See also == {{columns-list|colwidth=15em| * [Anito](/source/Anito) * [Di Penates](/source/Di_Penates) * [Erawan Shrine](/source/Erawan_Shrine) * [Genius loci](/source/Genius_loci) * [Hokora](/source/Hokora) * [Lak Mueang](/source/Lak_Mueang) * [Lares](/source/Lares) * [Nat (spirit)](/source/Nat_(spirit)) * [Phra Phrom](/source/Phra_Phrom) * [Thai folklore](/source/Thai_folklore) * [Tutelary deity](/source/Tutelary_deity) * [Yorishiro](/source/Yorishiro) }} ==References== {{Reflist}} Category:Austronesian spirituality Category:Tutelary deities Category:Culture of Thailand Category:Culture of Laos Category:Culture of Cambodia Category:Animism in Asia Category:Religion in Thailand Category:Religion in Laos Category:Religion in Cambodia Category:Asian shamanism Category:Regional deities --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Spirit house](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_house) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_house?action=history)). 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