Feed the Spirit and the Spirit will Feed You in Return

Amidst the mountain forest along the Thai - Burmese border in Mae Hongson, there are still communities where people's daily life revolues around their spiritual beliefs. In the Tai community, known to the lowland people as Thai Yai, people and spirits can live together in harmony as they respect the rules and rituals of each other, as well as the practice from their ancestors. The fundamental principle is that if hunans respect the spirits, the spirits will also respect human beings, and thus humans and spirits can live together in harmony.
According to the beliefs of Tai people, the spirit is the soul of the dead person. The spirit moves about to several places, such as in the woods, on the mountain, in the water resource, etc. These souls or spirits can make people happy or suffer. Therefore, if someone happens to disparrage or mistreat the spirits, or violate the customs whether he is aware of it or not, he will be punished by the spirits. Thus, he will not be able to earn a living, he will be sick or punished until death.
Based on this belief, the Tai people conduct a ritual to offer food to the spirits. This ceremony is called a spirit offering. The Tai people organinze this ritual twice a year, in the second month and the seventh month of the year, which is on the third and the thirteenth day of a moonlit night. In some villages, the ritual maybe different from place to place. An old respected man who is called "Pu muang" or "village grand par muang" or a quack, who is knowledgeable about ritual. During the ceremony people from outside are not allowed to get into the village and people in the village are not allowed to leave. Everybody in the village has to stop his or her daily work such as planting, washing clothes, cutting wood and building houses etc. Every has to be peaceful and help, joining in the ceremony until finished. Then, they can start working as usual. It is belived that if someone continues cutting the wood, the spirit will be dissatisfied and will cause the people in the village to be in trouble. If they are attentive and join in the ritual, the spirit will make them happy and the cultivation will be fertile throughout the year.
On 19 May 1996 which was on the third moonlit night, I intended to go to collect data in Huay Hia, a black Lahu village. On the way to Huay Hia, I passed Mai Hung (banyan tree) village. At the entrance of the village, I saw a rope made of bark blocking the way. In the middle of the road, there was a talaew pitching on the wood. Feeling suspicious, I walked close up to the wood. Suddenly, three young Tai men ran to me and shouted, "do not enter, do not enter." I asked them why I could not enter the village and what they were doing. One of the Tai men explained that they were conducting a food offering to the spirit. No one could enter the village. I was interested in observing the ritual so I asked them to let me go in, hoping that being a tercher would help. The young man told me that even a teacher would not be allowed to enter. I explained to him that I studied anthropology and was doing a master's degree at Silapakorn University (actually I had already completed the program). The same man replied, "whatever program you study, we cannot allow you to enter". While thinking what to do, I saw an old man walking by the roadside. I pleaded with him hoping to make him sympathize with me, saying that I would like to treat the spirits, I intended to look after the spirits so that I could have a happy life like him.
He showed a little grin at the corner of his mouth, glancing at the young men, and stared at me saying "come in." The old man told me to hurriedly buy some liquor ande candle in a minishop in the village and come back before the ritual started. I did as he said without hesitation. In fact, the information I learned from Mai Hung village was very useful in studying the beliefs of Tai people.
The spirit offering ritual of "Pee Muang" (spirit of a respected former leader) is generally conducted in the village's spirit house. Women are not allowed to enter the compound. It is believed that if a girl gets into the compound, she will violate the custom and will become insane. Therefore, on the spirit offering day, there are only males permitted in the area. Prior to the ceremony, men will make bamboo carriages and place one in each of the four corners of the spirit house. An additional carriage is put at the bole of a big tree to feed the forest spirits or spirits who had no relatives. These little bamboo carriages are called "keng" and are used as containers for the food being offered. Author : M.A.Pimook Chantanawat THE HIGHLANDERS