Spirit House graveyards


Spirit Houses are scattered through Thailand and there are many places in Phuket that they are found.



I first noticed this when I was taking a walk up Rang HillThere were monks clearing a small area on the hill and they seemed to be installing something which now looks like water tanks.




What I recently found disturbing a visit to Monkey Hill was that the disposal of a Spirit House is actually a very sacred act and should be performed properly - not simply put on the side of the road in clumps. 



I then found a wonderful piece written by Marisa

You can find spirit house graveyards all over the Thailand. They pile up near railroad tracks, in Buddhist temples, on windy roads and in the middle of busy intersections -- always under a large tree, especially Bodhi trees. Thais believe that different species of trees have different spirits. The Bodhi tree (Ficus religiosa) is the tree the Buddha chose to sit under when he became enlightened and is considered to have an angel spirit inside called a thewaada. These powerful angels are believed to console and contain the displaced souls that gather around abandoned spirit houses.
(text is from Spirit House Connection)



A sign had been added to the sign not to feed the wild monkeys that you should not dispose of the Shrines on the hill.



Unfortunately after reading this I find that this is actually a problem in Thailand.



People do dispose of Spirit Houses anywhere and everywhere. When first came to Phuket I thought that these places were set up because of another reason but clearly I was wrong.



For whatever the reason Thai people throw away their spirit houses, doing it without a ceremony is just plain lazy and spiritually irresponsible. If they can afford a new spirit house then they can afford to pay for a proper removal ceremony. It is likely that the people throwing spirit houses away are simply ignorant to the rules of spirit house etiquette--they see other people throwing the houses away at a Bodhi tree and think that is the right thing to do. Meanwhile everyone else is too terrified to touch these places or clean them up. It is this fear and greed that gives spirit houses a bad rap, and replaces the sacred purpose of the spirit house tradition as a place of respect and connection with superstitious activity.
(text is from Spirit House Connection)



So these places that I photograph are predominantly 'dump-sites' for any number or reasons.



Makes you think a little bit...



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