Thailand’s people are known for being devout Theravada, or orthodox, Buddhists. In fact, the country’s government is a theocracy in which many public holidays and ceremonies are officially recognised in its calendar of events. Schools close and government institutions shut down in order to give its residents the day off to celebrate and to take part in national Buddhist ceremonies.
However, upon strolling through the temple-adorned cities and villages, it becomes hard to distinguish if everything you see is connected to traditional Buddhism. In fact, Thai people classify themselves as adherents to Buddhism, but many things they believe and practice, are inherently part of Brahmanism, an early form of Hinduism, as well as folk animist religions. Such folk animist religions are better known as Animism.
Animism is best described as the worship of spirits, or ghosts. The word…
