Supposedly, the Thais are very superstitious and believe ghosts and spirits might be hanging around. These little houses are meant to entice the spirits to occupy the little shrine outside rather than coming inside and causing problems! They are pretty interesting as they are all different! And they are everywhere! If you click on this pic to make it bigger you might be able to see the kinds of offerings people leave for the spirits. I think it's funny the drinks have straws! Food and incense are common as well as things like candy and tobacco. Flowers of course, and also betel, might be made into garlands for offerings. Just colorful little gewgaws! I wonder what happens to it over time?
"Offerings" seem to be left out in all kinds of places. Today we spotted this by the curb along a busy street? Not sure who the offering was for, but you must admit, it does appear to be intentionally left there. It seems way too small for a cat or dog. Hmmm.mysterious!
Also I learned it is very good luck to find a shard of elephant tusk such as the rather large one I saw at the museum. I did not realize it had a hole going through the middle. Anything to do with elephants is auspicious, or so they say. They are well loved here.
The "most auspicious" is the dark tusk found on certain kinds of rare? elephants. These are tied with red string for some reason.
Tattoos are used to ward off evil and are supposedly very popular. This is a model in a museum I went to that shows a man with elaborate thigh tattoos playing an instrument which has a " sound cup" held against the chest with the left hand and plucked with the right hand.
It's the one in the middle below.
Anyway, tattoos are often done by monks who say incantations and use traditional designs from long ago. The twin tiger tattoo is supposed to endow you with the ferociousness of a tiger, well, maybe a hungry tiger during the four hours or so per day he is awake. I think the guys who do the Thai boxing like this one.
I have seen some monks with tattoos. Another interesting thing about monks is that they can't touch or even go near women. They back away from us like we have the plague if we meet on public transportation or in a building. They also have their own restrooms in some places, probably mainly temples. It's men,women and monks on the door to the restrooms!
Amulets are also popular here in Thailand. They can be worn around the neck or the waist and are designed to attract love or achieve success in business. I was given this and thought it was just a keychain, but maybe it is an amulet?
There were lots of amulets like these below at the markets. They are worn around the neck as a necklace or maybe around the waist. I think they may be added to the "spirit houses" or used as offerings too.
While walking around the heritage museum I saw these brass fingernails which are used in traditional Thai dances. Although I am not sure of their significance, they sure look like they could ward off evil, don't you think?
Here's Barb pretending to be a Buddha in the heritage museum.
Here is an actual Buddha statue in the museum. He is performing the "Wei" with his hands which is a sign of reverence and respect. All the sales clerks and waitresses give you a Wei when you pay for something. It just kind of goes with "thank you". I was told you don't really Wei people younger than yourself so I have not been practicing the Wei much. I'm one of the oldsters around here!
Thank you, Thailand, for a wonderful visit! I hope to be back some day!
Location:Thailand
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