“Suppose a water buffalo or a snake or a cow died on that property. A satong is used get rid of whatever spirits reside there. Then the homeowners will be content knowing that any ill will has been removed,” a neighbor explained.

A satong is a small square-like tray made from a banana plant. It is adorned with flags on the corners and filled with food that the homeowners use in daily cooking. During a house dedication ceremony, one satong is placed in the center of the house and then four others are place in front of each corner on the outside the house. Buddhist monks then chant over each of the satongs for a few minutes and sprinkle holy water on it. Then they place a rock in the satong before moving on the next one. The monks always start in the NE corner and work their way around the house clockwise.

I went over to my next-door neighbor’s house and asked questions regarding a house dedication ceremony I attended a while ago. A house dedication is a huge event made up of several different observances spread over a period of 1-2 hours. I brought over my laptop and showed pictures I had regarding the ceremony to be a visual aid for my interview.

Using magic to manipulate the spirits for human benefit is common practice here. I’m interviewing my neighbors to see if the use of a satong is a part of this major theme in the Lue worldview.

Questions To Self: Does the satong actually remove the spirits or do the monks help somehow? Why was one satong placed in the center of the house and not in any other place?

One Response to “Banana Trays Expel Animal Spirits”

  1. James Says:
    September 19th, 2008 at 7:55 am

    Hi, I found your blog on this new directory of WordPress Blogs at blackhatbootcamp.com/listofwordpressblogs. I dont know how your blog came up, must have been a typo, i duno. Anyways, I just clicked it and here I am. Your blog looks good. Have a nice day. James.

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