City Pillar
This is the city pillar for Surat Thani, the next province over from us here in Phang Nga.
The foundational sacrifice when establishing a city. It was general practice that human sacrifices were made when establishing the walls and gates of a city. The belief common at that time was that the ghost of the person who died violently would protect the city site. Tradition says that a pregnant woman would be regaled for
several preparatory days, and then ceremoniously thrown into the foundational hole, face up. The pole of planting was driven through the pregnant woman’s baby-in-the-womb, through
her own body, and into the ground, by public authorities. Thus, violent death, the blood of the baby, and the pregnant woman, forms the foundation of the City’s safety and prosperity.
The city pillar is the home of the guardian spirits, the defending demons. Those spirits must be venerated each year to avert their wrath.
Every major city of Thailand has a city pillar where it is said that the guardian of the city resides. This protective pillar is known as a lak muang. All these pillars are the locus of the spirit of the city, and the ceremonies are performed to maintain good relations with it. Offerings are made and ceremonies carried out to pay respect to the lak muang, in order to ensure the continued safety and prosperity of the city. Monks chant sutras at specific times around the pillar, and offerings of all kinds of fruits and vegetables are made to the spirit of the place.
Some excerpts taken from:
http://vccm-th.org/modules/AMS/index.php?storytopic=3
and
http://www.chiangmaitouristguide.com/05-2004/feature1.html
The foundational sacrifice when establishing a city. It was general practice that human sacrifices were made when establishing the walls and gates of a city. The belief common at that time was that the ghost of the person who died violently would protect the city site. Tradition says that a pregnant woman would be regaled for
several preparatory days, and then ceremoniously thrown into the foundational hole, face up. The pole of planting was driven through the pregnant woman’s baby-in-the-womb, through
her own body, and into the ground, by public authorities. Thus, violent death, the blood of the baby, and the pregnant woman, forms the foundation of the City’s safety and prosperity.
The city pillar is the home of the guardian spirits, the defending demons. Those spirits must be venerated each year to avert their wrath.
Every major city of Thailand has a city pillar where it is said that the guardian of the city resides. This protective pillar is known as a lak muang. All these pillars are the locus of the spirit of the city, and the ceremonies are performed to maintain good relations with it. Offerings are made and ceremonies carried out to pay respect to the lak muang, in order to ensure the continued safety and prosperity of the city. Monks chant sutras at specific times around the pillar, and offerings of all kinds of fruits and vegetables are made to the spirit of the place.
Some excerpts taken from:
http://vccm-th.org/modules/AMS/index.php?storytopic=3
and
http://www.chiangmaitouristguide.com/05-2004/feature1.html
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