- Dao by Loso
The Laotians and Thais have a tradition and ritual that we perform before moving into a new house, as some younger generation no longer practice this, especially those living abroad mainly because they don’t know the tradition. Since I grew up in Laos and Thailand, I really can’t tell which tradition this is, or we both share the same tradition.
The first thing, I was brought up to believe that every place, or land have ghost spirits, and this is called Animism, belief in spirits which coexists with Buddhism, and that spirits are believed to inhabit almost everything, and they can help or harm us. It is believed that ancestor spirits and the local guardian spirits should be informed of any major changes in a person’s life such as sickness, a move, or a marriage. So belief in spirits is very common amongst Lao and Thai people, and one of my favorite ghost stories that was told to me when I was little was the ghost of the banana grove, this is a beautiful female ghost called Tani, and she was given this name because she lives in Tani banana grove. If my imagination served me right, I think this is what she looks like.
Okay, so I choose a drawing by alif_ichi, and to my right is a picture of Miss Thailand from his photostream, I thought her outfit sort of looks like the traditional outfit that is worn by Pee Tani (Tani ghost), it’s been so long since I’ve seen one in a movie, so I vaguely remembered what the outfit looks like (I hope my selection of these 2 photos will not offend anyone, if you’ve a different version, please link me to the photo that you have in mind, thanks in advance). So I side track a bit, I actually want to write about Pee Tani (Tani ghost), I find her to be one of the most fascinating ghosts, but I have so little information about her and might need to do more research.
Back to moving into a new house, it is our custom to let the spirits know that you’re moving into this new house, and ask for protection, and the ceremony is called ‘Sen Wai Jour Teen’, which means asking the ‘Lord of the Land’ and any restless ghosts and spirits in the vicinity for protection. The ceremony consists of offering of food and water (optional), flowers and incense sticks are offered so the ghost will not make trouble and the ‘Lord of the Land’ will bring good luck to the family. This should be done first thing before moving in.
Another ritual is done around 10 AM, this is a ritual that you officially move into a new home, and you need to bring with you three items, rice, water, and knife. The rice and water, so that there will be plentiful and the owners will live in prosperity, and the knife is to protect the family from any evil spirits. Some would also choose to have a Buddha house blessing ceremony, this is a personal choice and not necessary by most, mainly it’s not very convenient because you would have to invite all family and friends, and your new home might not be ready to host such event, most would do this when they are ready, usually a year later.
This is our beliefs, might be strange to some but it does bring comfort to us after performing such ceremony. Then I found out that we’re not the only one that is doing this, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, others are doing it as well. While there may be many customs worldwide associated with housewarming, the most familiar one is that of bringing three items: salt to ensure that life in the new home will always have flavor; bread, so that the homeowners will never go hungry; and wine, so that joy and prosperity will reign forever. The tradition of bringing these three items undoubtedly stems from pre-Christian lore and beliefs, but continues in many parts of the world today.
So we bring rice, water, and knife into our new house, and the Westerners bring salt, bread, and wine. Interesting.
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September 30, 2008 at 5:44 pm
lady0fdarkness
I just moved into a new house and this is exactly what my mom did for me. I love Lao tradiotions; it’s so beautiful, mysterious, and intriguing. As always, your blog is very fun and insightful to read.
Take care.
September 30, 2008 at 11:19 pm
Ginger
lady0fdarkness, thanks for your kind word. I was helping my older sister moved yesterday and they didn’t have anything ready, they didn’t know about the rice, water and knife, and this made me to think that many young Laotians don’t know as well. It is very interesting tradition indeed.
This is not just for a new house, you can also do this when moving into a new apartment.
October 1, 2008 at 4:17 am
K
In our traiditon in the province is to bring a small amount of rice, salt, water and candles. Many Filipinos have traditions in many diff ways, but that’s the only thing I can remember everytime I moved flats to another in HK. Mom said, it will shooo away bad spirits and give you a good life, sort of like good blessings inside your home.
October 1, 2008 at 11:36 pm
Ginger
K, that’s interesting, a cross between our tradition and the westerners. I heard from my co-worker that her grandmother would throw salt over her shoulder before each meal, she is not sure why, I guess some sort of blessing, then I found some interesting read:
Throwing salt over your shoulder is akin to blessing someone after they’ve sneezed — it’s a way of keeping the devil at bay while you’re in an especially vulnerable moment. Depending on your interpretation, the salt is either intended to blind the devil so he can’t witness your error, or keep him from sneaking up on you while you’re cleaning up your mess.
It’s important to note that the superstition calls for the offender to throw salt over the left shoulder. As one web site notes, many ancient traditions place the devil to the left of the straight and narrow path. The classic image of a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other often shows the sinister imp sitting on the left side.
October 2, 2008 at 5:54 pm
mozemoua
I am not too sure about us Hmong People, but I do know that we throw corn kernel all over the house to be rid of the bad spirits and to protect the house and the people moving into the house, this is only needed when moving into a older house.
October 2, 2008 at 8:26 pm
Global Voices Online » Laos: Rituals of moving into a new house
[...] Nye Noona blogs about the rituals practiced in Laos and Thailand when moving into a new house. Posted by Mong Palatino [...]
October 3, 2008 at 9:37 am
Yamile Yemoonyah
It’s great that you still honor the ancestors by writing about these traditions. I know for a fact that spirits exist and that communication with them in the form of rituals makes life much easier. Westerners and those that follow their 3D thinking are in so much trouble because they live one dimensional not multi dimensional.
October 4, 2008 at 2:13 am
Ginger
mozemoua, thanks for sharing about your culture, I’ve learned so much from you, throwing corn kernels is very interesting, I need to try this if I were ever to move into an older home.
Hi Yamile, thanks for the visit. Many of us still practice, but the ceremonies are mostly prepared by our parents and the younger generations don’t understand the reasons behind most of these rituals. I think when we don’t understand certain tradition, we’ve the tendency to shy away from it and I hope that this post will make us (Lao or Thais) aware of the reasons as to why we’re doing it.
October 7, 2008 at 4:45 pm
Tinah
^___-” I remember we first moved into our house we did the same lol but our elders told us “DO NOT MOVE ANYTHING INTO THE HOUSE UNTIL” Tueng Luerk Yarm or the right time -.-” Or it will be bad luck …
Thanks for sharing the post it’s what makes me proud to be a South East Asian
October 8, 2008 at 12:14 am
Ginger
Hi Tinah, thanks for the visit. It appears that good timing is around 10-12 AM, made me think that’s the time that the monks perform any ’sirimoungkhoun’ (good luck) ceremony also, right before their meal. Afternoon would consider bad because it’s the hours that’s associated with taking the dead to the cemetery. I’m not sure about nighttime, I guess party time.