Little-known facts about rice packages in the soul-calling ceremony of the Thai people in Nghe An

About Thai village to 'listen' to the spirit calling story

(Baonghean.vn) - The custom of making a soul offering is a unique cultural and religious feature, reflecting the concept of the spiritual world of the Thai ethnic community. This custom is still preserved by the Thai people in Western Nghe An.

It is not good to go to the spirit medium without a rice package. I happened to hear this recently while preparing offerings to bring to the spirit medium for my relatives. For the Thai people, including those in my village, spirit medium is the most common ritual, I wonder how many times a year we have to witness it?

The offerings in the soul-calling ceremony do not need to be too elaborate, but must include a bowl of rice/a package of rice, along with a few utensils and items of the person whose soul is called. Photo: Huu Vi

And the reasons for this ceremony are also many. A person is about to give birth, the soul is called. A mother is invited back from the hospital to give birth, the soul is called. When holding a naming ceremony, the soul is called. A child or anyone who has been sick for a long time, the soul is called... People also hold this ceremony for people who are about to go far away or will not return home after a long time. At the end of the year, the soul is called for children to come home for Tet. The soul calling ceremony is also for the elderly who feel they cannot survive or in cases where a relative has just passed away.

Those who are interested in Thai culture as well as ethnic minority communities certainly know that in the Thai soul calling ceremony in the Lam River basin and the large rivers and streams in Western Nghe An, the shirt is often indispensable. Thai people generally believe that everyone has many different souls and the shirt is the place where the souls reside.

Scene of a spirit calling ceremony. Photo: Cong Kien

The soul does not disappear. It comes down from heaven with a person at birth and is escorted to heaven when a person dies. Throughout life, the soul has the duty to stay with the person to protect the body from illness and misfortune. Only when the soul leaves the body or encounters a problem will the person encounter misfortune. This concept is common in many village communities where Thai people live.

In the old concept, the soul also has a life like a human. That means the soul also has times of happiness, sadness, anger, and weakness. Sometimes the soul even gets lost or is imprisoned or enslaved. In the case of the soul getting lost or wandering somewhere, it will certainly be hungry; if not hungry, it will need to gain strength to return home. To do that, it must have a full stomach first. That is why people bring a package of rice when calling the soul.

Hot or cold rice is fine.

People prepare the rice package to call the spirit very simply, pick two pieces of banana leaves and warm them over a fire until soft. If banana leaves are not used, dong leaves are also fine. Rice is optional. If you have time to cook it, scoop out a little, otherwise, it is okay if the rice gets cold. Being hungry, the spirit does not have time to check whether the rice is hot or cold. This is a way of thinking that is both spiritual and very practical, but also quite innocent.

The rice package was then carefully wrapped in clothes and brought to the shaman's house, who was asked by the homeowner to perform the ceremony. The package was quite small, tied with banana strings, and hidden in layers of clothes so that not many people noticed.

However, in the soul calling ceremony, the shaman did not mention the rice package. It is strange. This shows that sometimes spiritual concepts have no logic. But after all, rice and sticky rice are familiar offerings to many ethnic communities. Therefore, it is understandable that they are present in the soul calling ceremony.

As for the Thai villages, rice and sticky rice have somehow inadvertently entered into spiritual concepts. Perhaps the concepts that emphasize the importance of rice also come from a poor past, when food and clothing were the biggest concerns of each person. After each dinner, mothers with young children often leave a little rice at the bottom of the pot. Some people think that it is for the children's souls. In case they are hungry in the middle of the night and wake up to rummage through the pot. When the souls are hungry, people do not know. Just save it to be sure.

There are offerings in folk ceremonies that seem insignificant, but they all contain thoughts.

You Wei