dressed. His wife hands him a little tray on which are four

tiny dishes containing boiled rice, soup, a sweetmeat,

and water, two candles and a joss-stick.

He carries the tray carefully to the elegant little spirit

house set up atop its vertical concrete pillar in the north-

east corner of the compound, and places it gently on the

platform. The dishes are food offerings to the 'chao tee' or

guardian spirit of the land, and of everything and every-

one on it. Like other benevolent spirits, and like Bud-

dhist monks, the 'chao tee' does not eat after midday; the

householder must soon be on his way to work, so this is

his only chance to make the offering.

A fragrant jasmine flower-garland is already hang-

ing from a pillar on the miniature balustrade surround-

ing the spirit house, placed there reverently by the house-

holder's wife the previous evening. Her husband now

lights the candles and joss-stick and places them in

holders on the platform, then squats briefly on his

haunches, raises his clasped hands in a 'wai' or gesture of

homage, and silently begs the guardian spirit to continue

looking after the safety, happiness and prosperity of all

the household.

Almost every house in Thailand has its own spirit

house, put up as a sacred dwelling-place for the 'chao tee'.

By propitiating this spirit for building a house, shop or

office block on its land and providing it with its own little

dwelling, the spirit will in turn be rendered well-disposed

and will ensure the well-being of all who occupy the

building. It will protect them against enemies from out-

side, whether human or malevolent spirits.

Spirit houses are of different types. A typical one in

the compound of a fairly well-to-do home looks some-

thing like a tiny, perfect replica of an elaborate temple,

with a gilt spire, multiple tiered roofs, and gleaming white

colonnades. A few houses have charming little models of

old countryside temples with dull red weather-worn tiles

and an air of antiquity. Poor rural folk have simple

wooden spirit houses.

The color of the spirit house should be that of the

day on which the householder was born — red for Sun-

day, cream for Monday, pink for Tuesday and so on,

though this requirement is not always adhered to. The

height of the platform should be at or above the house-

holder's eye-level. Inside the spirit house should be an

image or representation of the 'chao tee', wearing a yellow

robe, bearing a special dagger in the right hand and a

book in the left hand, although it's said that nowadays

the latter is substituted for, by a bag of money in order to

bring wealth to the householder and his family. The

spirit house should also have pairs of miniature men and

women representing the spirit's servants and pairs of

elephants and horses symbolizing its means of trans-

portation.

Some people make offerings and prayers at their

spirit house every morning; others do so on Buddhist

holy days or 'wan phra', which occur roughly every eight

days; yet others, less often. But whenever something is

urgently desired or needed in connection with the home

or family — the birth of a son, perhaps, or a recovery

from sickness — the householder or other family mem-

ber will pray for it at the spirit house, promising the spirit

a special gift if the wish is granted. And that promise is

always kept.

Erecting a spirit house needs a special Brahmin cere-

mony in order to beg the 'chao tee' to come and live in it.

In the past this ceremony could only be performed by a

Brahmin, a hereditary member of a learned caste which

originated in India. But today there are only about a

dozen Royal Brahmins left in Thailand, and no other

kind; they participate in royal Brahmin ceremonies such

as the annual Plowing Ceremony, the changing of the

Emerald Buddha's robes at different seasons of the year,

and so on. Nowadays anyone who has learned the cor-

rect procedure from a Brahmin, including the necessary

Pali incantations begging the spirit to enter, can officiate

at the ceremony of installing a spirit house. He must wear

white.

Both the position of the spirit house and the time it is

put up must be carefully chosen to ensure good auspices.

The most favored directions are to the east, northeast

and southeast of the main house, whose shadow should

never fall on the spirit house; nor should the shadow of

the spirit house fall on the main house. The auspicious

time must be calculated by a qualified astrologer; but the

tee' time to finish its meal before midday.

Special offerings are made during the ceremony: a

pig's head (perhaps this Thai custom is of Chinese origin),

a 'baisee or ornamental preparation of cooked rice

wrapped in banana leaves topped with a hardboiled egg,

a coconut, a banana, tea, and two special kinds of sweet-

meats associated with spirit houses called 'kharwm torn

khao' (white) and 'khanom torn daeng (red).

Whoever officiates at the ceremony makes no

specific charge for his services, but the householder

nevertheless usually pays him a handsome fee.

Besides private domestic spirit houses, there are also

much larger public ones. In Bangkok there is the shrine

of Phra Phrom, the god of Brahma from whom the

Brahmin caste derives its name, in the compound of the

Erawan Hotel. Here, by day and after dark, a constant

stream of visitors pay homage and make wishes and vows

to Brahma.

Equally popular is the spirit house of Bangkok, the

massive City Pillar near the Grand Palace. This is

believed to house Bangkok's guardian spirit, Chao Phor

Lak Muang, and many people come here to beg favors

just as they do at Brahma's shrine — or at the spirit house