Complexity in the Thai Religious System: An Interpretation
- 1 February 1977
- journal article
- Published by Duke University Press in Journal of Asian Studies
- Vol. 36 (2) , 241-266
- https://doi.org/10.2307/2053722
Abstract
Complexity has characterized the Thai religious system since at least 1292, when the well-known inscription of Rama Kamhaeng was composed. This inscription not only celebrates the devotion of his people of Sukhothai to Theravada Buddhism but also notes a special relationship between the prosperity of the kingdom and reverence for Phra Khaphung, a “spirit-deity” living in a nearby mountain. Phra Khaphung is characterized as a phī-thewadā, combining phī (an indigenous Thai form meaning “spirit,” “ghost”) with thewadā (a form derived from Hindu-Buddhist cosmology and meaning “deity”). This classification of Phra Khaphung suggests that a process of merging two once-distinct religious traditions had already begun.Keywords
This publication has 5 references indexed in Scilit:
- A Model for the Study of Thai BuddhismJournal of Asian Studies, 1976
- Buddhist Cosmography in Thai History, with Special Reference to Nineteenth-Century Culture ChangeJournal of Asian Studies, 1976
- Buddhism and National Integration in ThailandJournal of Asian Studies, 1971
- Magical-animism and Buddhism: A Structural Analysis of the Sinhalese Religious SystemJournal of Asian Studies, 1964
- The Great Tradition and the Little in the Perspective of Sinhalese BuddhismJournal of Asian Studies, 1963