Spirit houses

A spirit house is a shrine that is placed at an auspicious location within a building or its grounds.

They are common throughout South East Asia and can be found in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Burma (Myanmar).

Thais believe that when a new building is erected, it might disturb the spirits who inhabit the site. In order to appease them and prevent bad luck, a spirit house is put up to provide shelter.

Spirit houses come in all sizes and generally take the form of a house or temple mounted on a pillar and can include models or images of people and animals. They can be made of stone, concrete or wood.

The vast majority of homes and businesses will have a spirit house which is known as a san phra phum and is written ศาลพระภูมิ in Thai. The location of the spirit house will be chosen in consultation with a brahmin priest.

We have 2 spirit house complexes, with a total of 4 houses. One is located in the garden next to our house and the other is at the entrance to our guesthouse.

Here are some photos and check out the overhead electricity cables.....they are an accident waiting to happen!!!!





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