Shrines and Spirit Houses, Bangkok

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You see these everywhere, form the small and humble to the elaborate and not exactly small.

These are built to applease and house any spirits (mainly tree dewlling ones,) that are displaced due to development and redevelopment, so that they have somewhere to live now that their previous home was destroyed/moved by the people.

Most houses and businesses have a spirit house placed in an auspicious spot, most often in a corner of the property. The location is often chosen The spirit house is normally in the form of a miniature 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. Offerings are left at the house to propitiate the spirits.

As you can see in the pictures, they are quite elaborate

Almost at the end of the street of Kao San road during there Songklan festival, you will find a wide area used for locals and people alike offering their prayers. This stage has 4 big bells and people are lining up just to ring it. They will say a small prayer before doing it. Very interesting.

Walked past Erawan Shrine in mid May and was glad to see that the shrine has been repaired after someone destroyed it a few months ago.

This shrine is the most popular in Bangkok city center and anytime during the day, you'll see people paying their respect and giving prayer offerings.

This shot was taken on the 1st day the shrine was reopened to the public. It's located in front of Grand Hyatt hotel and Intercontinental hotel

There are many spirit houses in Bangkok, but these 2 are amongst the largest I've seen. They are situated outside MBK. I took this shot on the skybridge, just outside the entrance of Tokyu Departmental Store. We also observed some local people coming to pray and offer incense to the spirits that dwell within these 'houses".

I have fallen in love with the Thai spirit house. There are two kinds-the wooden old fashioned kinds and the painted cement ones. The cement ones have different styles of architecture-thai, khmer with a giant prang.

Spirit houses are placed in a certain corner of a person's property. They believe that their deceased relatives will come and stay here on their journeys. People will put offerings, such as food, cigarettes, toys and will wrap the spirit house in colorful ribbon. Many will be adorned with strings of fresh flowers-such as jasmine and marigolds.

if you really love spirit houses-you can buy small wooden ones at chatuchak weekend

Much more common than shrines, but generally much more modest, are Thai Spirit Houses. These are normally seen on the corner of Thai residential properties, and sometimes outside commercial properties too. Thai people generally believe (to some degree at least) that spirits reside on the land, and if you build a house, you have to build a small home for the spirits too. Offerings will often be made at these to keep the spirits happy.

A couple of great, but unusual examples of Spirit Houses can be found on the street corner outside the MBK mall in central Bangkok - there are two together there. If you're visiting the mall, it's worth braving the heat for a few minutes to take a look at them!

You can read more about Spirit Houses on this webpage.

You will see spirit houses throughout Thailand and SE Asia. Some are very ornate and elegant -- this one was simpler, put together by the people who work in the "Green Market.."
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The spirit houses are a legacy of animism -- the belief that spirits inhabit all natural objects. Even after the rise of Buddhism the spirit house was retained -- you will see them outside almost every house & business in Thailand.. Spirit Houses can be found outside virtually every dwelling or place of business in Thailand. The offerings placed next to the house are meant to placate those spirits.

It's often a custom in Bangkok to build an accompanying shrine to a large new building or development, to promote good fortune and ward off bad luck. The Erawan Shrine is one of the best known (and probably the only one with a resident dance troupe!) but in fact they are all over Bangkok; some are more noticable than others, though. It's worth noting that they are not generally Thai "Spirit Houses", which are animist in origin, but are usually dedicated to Brahma instead. I found this webpage which explains a bit about it:

www.thaiworldview.com/bouddha/brahma.htm

If they are particularly prominent you will often find people turning up to pay their respects. It's worth keeping an eye out for them! Here's a picture of one the shrines outside the World Trade Center - there's another one at the other end of the complex, too...