Accommodating the Discarnate : spirit houses in contemporary urban Thailand

Abstract

In Thailand, many house compounds are adorned with small shrines dedicated to locality and guardian spirits. The shrines are known by various names; in English they are popularly referred to as 'spirit houses', in Thai they are called sǎn phrá phuum and sǎn câw thí. This study is offered as an ethnographic exploration into the religious dimensions of accommodating discarnate entities within these two shrines, and addresses the pervasiveness of locality and guardian spirits in contemporary urban Thailand.