# Superstitions in everyday Thai life



## Guest

There are thousands of superstitions, affecting all areas of everyday Thai life. According to Thai astrology there are three days of the week when it is considered bad luck to commence the construction phase of a building project; Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday. So on a Monday last November - after a frantic and noisy weekend during which they seemed to be making preparations night and day - there was an eerie calm first thing...


*Click on any of the photos in this post, small or large, to see the full-size pics*​

The man in white is a Brahman priest. A quick religious history... at its inception in 600 B.C., Buddhism was a reaction against Brahmanism. In modern-day Thailand Buddhism and Brahmanism co-exist quite comfortably, with Buddhism intermingling with certain pre-Buddhist animist and Brahman practices. The day in question turned out to be a blessing ceremony for the laying of the first foundations of the six-storey condo building our new Thai neighbours were having constructed. Members of the growing wealthy and educated Thai upper middle classes they may be, but as I watched throughout the two hours of ritual, it was clear that they weren't just conforming to convention. They were taking proceedings very seriously indeed...


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The similarities with the ceremony performed by Buddhist monks at the opening of a new bar I'd once attended were evident - the same bowl, its contents blessed by the four sacred elements, earth, water, wind and fire (earth by the candle wax, water by that contained in the bowl, fire by the flame of the candle, and wind by the breath extinguishing the flame)...


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_Above: 1) a text in Pali, with Thai translation 2) Initial prayer ceremonies over, the sacred contents of the bowl are sprinkled over the foundations 3) Precise instructions on how to arrange the flowers (marigold garlands), coconuts, bananas and other puja (Brahman worship) offerings are given. Below the puja materials are carefully attached to the two main struts._


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Most Thais believe in a rich supernatural world, whether or not they call themselves Buddhists. Especially when times are hard, or if they are sick, or undertaking a challenging new venture, supernatural help is called upon. In this case the Brahmin is the conduit through which the spirits are called upon to look favourably on a substantial new building project.


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(As usual click to see full-size pic) The owner ceremonially places water lily leaves, bound together (see inset), containing money and gold, at the base of the foundations ready for the concrete to be poured_​.



_1) Petals are removed from the flowers for the next part of the ceremony 2) The struts are lifted into place 3) The owner and his wife make the symbolic gesture of placing the first structural supports in place_




_Once secured, the owner's wife scatters the petals prior to the pouring of the concrete_


 
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_Not a hard hat in sight ...​_


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_The blessing ritual continues, as the Brahmin splashes the 'lustral' water over the structural supports​_


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More prayers before the final stage (concrete pouring).​_

I'm not one for superstitions, and I was almost certain that courtesy of my zoom lens no one had seen me snapping away... but check out the full resolution version of the above photo - just look at the old lady's eyes! I'm sure the matriarch was placing a curse on the disrespectful farang. Maybe I should have gone and placed a few garlands and glasses of Sang Som in their spirit house to ward off evil ghosts later that day... 


 
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The boss's wife getting her hands dirty, chucking a bucket or two of cement into the foundations... then the combined racket of diggers, cement mixers and drills resumed. The peace and quiet was too good to last...


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