A few notes on the beliefs of the Thai ethnic in North - West Vietnam

Abstract

The psychic culture in general and the cultural belief in particular of the Thai ethnic vividly express their spiritual life under various forms. This is a group of topics that has not attracted the concern of many scientist. The author presents the conceptions of the Thais on heaven and on the world of ghosts. According to them, there are three kinds of souls among the dead: the best souls, the souls of the second order and bad souls. Each soul has a definite space in the celestial land. In their statistic, there exist 123 kinds of ghosts, 46 kinds of great funeral feasts, and 29 kinds of books used for fortune – telling and making offerings. Thus, we see that their belief system is extremely complex and various. It requires the concern and study of scientists to overcome backward customs and develop the values of the traditional culture in the contemporary life. Full text in Vietnamese Religious Studies 2005/4 pp.45-52