TWENTY THAILAND SUPERSTITIONS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78-02771R000300380002-3
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: November 11, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 30, 1998
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: March 29, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 1999/08/24: CIA-RDP78-02771 R000300380002-3
29 Hu-Ch .1954
TWENTY THAILAND SUPERSTITIONS
Hundreds of special customs and practices, often labeled superstitions
by foreigners, are prevalent in Thai.land4 Liar r of them originated in
India and have traveled throughout Southeast Asia wit1.i the tide of Buddhism
and Hinduism, Many of the Thai beliefs listed in this paper are found
also in Burma, Indonesia azxi other countries of the Par East.
Thais would reject the term superstition, as applied to their beliefs,
because the word connotes an invalid or irrational belief o Their customs
have lasted many centuries and are held by almost all Thais, Superstitious
practices usually are considered to be manifestatiors of fear of the
unknown, but not all are based on fe. r n The T ZaiJ.and customs pertain
to Vic workings of both good and evil spirits in everyday Lifeo
This paper lists 20 of the moat prevalent superstitions in Thailand.,
in both rural and urban areas, and their rationales. tchile the influence
of Western ways has to some slight extent modified some of thecae practices,
they are for the most part still in vogtio even ring Thais who have had
some modern education.
Most superstitions in some way deal wits spirita, goad or evil. This
partial list of Thal. beliefs is divided into four sectionsz (1) super.,
stitions related to general symbolism.0 (2) superstitions concerning animals,
(3) uperstit1ons pertaining to people and (Li) superstitions about spirits
In general.
The selection was made by a former missionary who lived in Thailand
more than 20 yoars and. has written a number of books on the country
1.4
fin-eral S iolirans
a. ;rstic ceremonies. It is a cornnon belief that the observance
of mystic rites upon initiation into any organization makes one im.
pervious to knife or gun woundt, Tattooing is quite often a part of
the ceremozy,
b. We ri.n of s rn-b-ols, Akin to the mystic ceremonies is the
woaring of symbols on clothing, often woven into the cloth. One of
the most common symbols is the unalomp a flame-like syazbol more often
found in Indian These symbols provide the same immunity to knives
and gun wounds as do Vatic ceremonies.
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2. Animals
a. Tiger The tiger is considered to have certain charac-
teristics of strength and wisdom that most Thais consider desirable.
Therefore,, some part of the tiger, usually its whiskers, is woven
into Thai ornaments, often intertwined in a braceleto
b. Rhinoceros. The horn of a rhinoceros is believed to have
a very high medicinal value. So strongly is this believed that
the animal, once very prevalent in Thailand, is now virtually extinct.
Peo
a, The head., Undor no conditions may a person be touched on
the head, because the Thais believe a person's spirit lives in a small
hole in the top of the head and touching it is a mark of disrespect
which permanently injures the spirit,
b. Sole of the foot
A person must not wiggle his toes at
another person or point the sole of his foot at him, because the
foot is the lowest part of the body and the action has the impli.
cation of placing onats sole higher than the spirit of the other
persono
c. henpecking. If a wife desires to acquire complete control
over her husband, she may hang her garments over his bed, whether
he is in it at the time or not. The knowledge that his wife had
performed the rite is supposed to unnerve him completely, making
him effeminate and causing him to bend completely to her will.
dQ Lovo potionao If a woman wishes to cause a man to fall
in love with her, she prepares him a meal, mi: in; part of her menstrual
blood into the food. When a man eats this food, it is supposed to
bind the two together eternally.
e. Astrolo . Nothing o aiv importance is ever undertaken
without consulting an astrologer,
f. Composition of the body. It is believed throughout
Thailand that the body is composed of four elements, earth,, air,
water and fire. Any illness is a change in the balance of these
,,elements, Therefore, if one asks a Thai how he feels, the answer
may be .there is too much fire in me.}' Also related to this belief
is the custom of letting a woman bake in the sun for hours or days
after childbirth to dry up excess water in the body and restore
proper balance.
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g. Twins, Twins are considered very unlucky. For many
years human twins were killed upon birth to avoid bring evil
upon the entire household. The practice is observed sometimes
even today*
h4 Idiom arc r. An idiot or a Orson in arty way mentally
unbalanced is believed to be inhabited by an alien spirit. If
one drives this spirit from the individual, the original spirit
will return and the person will again become normal.
i. Rous . It is absolutely forbidden to wake arson
suddenly, as this upsets a person's spirits This idea can be
extended to prohibit sudden changes of any type,
j. Foreigners. It is believed that. farange, or Westerners,,
are not affected by any superstitions pertaining to the Thailand
peoples
Spirits in General
a. Steps. The number of steps leading to a Thai house is
always an odd number, because evil spirits always take steps
by twos and if a single step is ],eft at the end, the spirit will
fall to the ground and will not be able to enter the house.
b. Friendly and evil spir_ its. The spirit o a person who
dies in peace from natural c&uses continues in the . after-life as
a friendly spirit. Spirits of those dying violently or from an
infectious disease live on as evil spiritso
co Location of spirits. After deaths spirits continue to
hover in the general area of the death,
d. Creation of evil spy its. The best method, in Thai
thinking, of protecting any valuable possesion is to create an
evil spirit near by to guard it. To accom~lish this in former
days, a person was told to guard this possession and then killed.
Because the person met a violent death his spirit became evil and
continued to reside in that vicinity. This method was very common
until about 1850. It is now frowned upon generally but still
sometimes practiced. Instead of killing a person, now someone dying
from an infectious disease is brought to the. spot to die and leave
an evil spirit behind.
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 Approved For Release 1999/08/24: CIA-RDP78-02771 R000300380002-3
e. Spirit Shrines, To appease the spirits, almost every
Thai house maintains a spirit shrine, The shrines are not only
to appease the spirits of the dead but are also used to prepare
the spirits of the living for life in the after-world. For this
reason, many shrines contain objects symbolizing concubines for
the master of the hcusehcld, so he may have a better life in the
hereafter,
f, Tree spirits0 Thais believes that special beneficial
qualities are inherent in particularly large trees. If there i, an
outstandingly large tree in a village, twice a year the villagers
gird the tree with a .cloth band in the traditional saffron yellow
of Buddhism and hold special ceremonies to honor the tree spirit
and insure his continued protection.
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