A spirit house is a shrine to the protective spirit of a place that is found in the Southeast Asian countries of

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand ...

, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines. The spirit house is normally in the form of small roofed structure, and is mounted on a pillar or on a

dais A dais or daïs ( or , American English also but sometimes considered nonstandard)dais
in the Random House Dictionary< ...

. They 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 Spirit or spirits may refer to: Liquor and other volatile liquids * Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks * Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol * Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...

s that could cause problems for the people if not appeased. The shrines often include images or carved statues of people and animals. Votive offerings are left at the house to propitiate the spirits. More elaborate installations include an

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paganism ...

for this purpose. In Indochina, most houses and businesses have a spirit house placed in an

auspicious Auspicious is a Latin-derived word originally pertaining to the taking of 'auspices' by the augurs of ancient Rome. It may refer to: * Luck * Auspicious number in numerology * Eight auspicious symbols; see Ashtamangala * Auspicious wedding date * ...

spot, most often in a corner of the property. The location may be chosen after consultation with a Brahmin priest. Spirit houses are known as () or () in Burmese; (, 'house of the guardian spirit') in Thai; and (, 'shrine for the guardian-spirit') or () in Khmer. In maritime Southeast Asia, spirit houses are connected to the various traditional

animist Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things— animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, hum ...

ic rituals involving spirits. In the Philippines, spirit houses are dedicated to ceremonies or offerings involving the ''

anito ''Anito'', also spelled ''anitu'', refers to ancestor spirits, nature spirits, and deities in the indigenous Philippine folk religions from the precolonial age to the present, although the term itself may have other meanings and associati ...

'' spirits. They are also referred to as shrines. They are known in Visayan; or in Tagalog; , , or (for various small roofed altars), and or (for larger structures) in Itneg; in Subanen; in Tiruray; and (for those built near roads and villages) and (for those built near rice fields) in Bagobo.

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. 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 offerings has existed for decades. Opinions as to "why Fanta?" vary. Most point to the significance of the colour red, reminiscent of

animal sacrifice Animal sacrifice is the ritual killing and offering of one or more animals, usually as part of a religious ritual or to appease or maintain favour with a deity. Animal sacrifices were common throughout Europe and the Ancient Near East until the ...

, 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.

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{{Reflist Austronesian spirituality Tutelary deities Thai culture Laotian culture Cambodian culture Animism in Asia Religion in Thailand Religion in Laos Religion in Cambodia Asian shamanism

Spirit house offerings

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See also

References