Redeeming the soul in the concept of Thai people

(Baonghean.vn) - Once the soul is held by the gods, the body will become weak and sick. At this time, people prepare a ceremony to redeem it, according to the folk beliefs of the Thai community.

Clip:Soul redemption ceremony in To village, Yen Khe commune - Con Cuong:

Since the beginning of the year, Mr. Phuc in To village, Yen Khe commune, Con Cuong district, suddenly fell ill. Although he had been to many different hospitals, his illness did not improve. At this time, people thought of spiritual remedies. That meant they needed to see a shaman to find out what was wrong with him, as no medicine could cure his illness.

The Thai people in Con Cuong hold a ceremony to redeem the soul when it is held by a divine or demonic force. According to folk beliefs, if the soul is not redeemed, the body will become sick, ill, or even die. Photo: Huu Vi

According to the spiritual beliefs of the Thai community, in addition to the body, the soul is also very important to a healthy body. Each person has dozens, even hundreds of souls. Whenever the soul goes astray, it will cause the body to become sick and ill continuously.

A girl was assigned to bring a shirt of Mr. Phuc to the shaman's house. After the ceremony, holding the shirt, the shaman said that Mr. Phuc's spirit had been lost for 23 years. "They (the spirit) have worked, plowed the fields. The crops have also borne fruit." - The shaman said.

To redeem Mr. Phuc's soul, his family had to prepare a ceremony to "redeem" him, then those who were holding him would release him. The supernatural forces who owned the land and fields there demanded a ceremony including a dog to guard the house, dog blood, a chicken, chicken blood, cloth, and silver ingots. Of course, alcohol was indispensable. The shaman chose a good day of the month and entrusted another shaman to perform a ceremony to redeem Mr. Phuc's soul.

The shaman tosses a coin to ask the gods what they think. If the coin lands heads and tails twice, it means the gods have granted the person's wish. Photo: Huu Vi

“The ceremony is truly a journey into the spiritual world.” – Mr. Vi Van Nguyen, resident of Ke Me village, Mau Duc commune (Con Cuong), the shaman who organized the ceremony, shared. According to Mo Nguyen, the spiritual world is also divided into different muongs.

Muong Bang Phang is the place where people and gods live, the land and the water bodies, large and small rivers, and the habitat of the dragon, a type of mythical creature.

Muong Rung is the habitat of tigers and other spirits such as forest ghosts, mountain ghosts, tree ghosts, and farmland ghosts. For a long time, people feared tigers more than dragons. Therefore, people also considered tigers as sacred creatures, as sacred as dragons.

Once the soul is redeemed, the shirt of the person whose soul needs to be redeemed is brought home. Photo: Huu Vi

Muong Troi is uninhabited. It is simply an intermediate space. There is a water wheel that turns day and night.

Muong Then is the abode of the gods who rule the earthly world. Among them is Then Na, the leader of the gods of all four Muongs. Humans can only go to Muong Bang Phang and Muong Rung. Only shamans can go to Muong Troi and Muong Then.

According to the shaman, Mr. Phuc's soul was held in Muong Bang Phang. His descendants could follow the shaman to redeem and take him back. On the appointed day, shaman Nguyen and his descendants held a ceremony which, according to him, was purely spiritual. To be cured, of course, one had to use medicine.

Mr. Nguyen added: "In 1976, I participated in propaganda against superstition, so I clearly realized that worship today only has spiritual meaning to help sick people be happy, but cannot be without medicine."

You Wei