Page:Siamese ghostlore - Irwin - 1907.pdf/1



In all countries and at all times there seems to have existed some belief in spirits or ghosts, and Siam is not an exception to the general rule. There is no doubt that among most classes of people in this country beliefs are held in the existence of spirits good and bad, both of this world, and, to a much more limitecl extent, of other worlds. These spirits are referred to by the general term "pi" (ผี) to which is added the name of any particular spirit alluded to, as "pi ruen," "pi pa." The subject is one that is of interest to many, partly from the wish to learn the ideas regarding such matters of those amongst whom we live, and partly from the desire to obtain data for comparing their beliefs with those existing in other countries with which we are acquainted. The subject of spirits — the belief in them, and the worship of them — is however a very wide one, and no claim is made to touch on more than the verge of it in this paper.

There is a good deal of difficulty in collecting in formation about such matters. Persons holding certain beliefs may not wish to speak of them, especially if they think that the particular "pi" under discussion is anywhere in the neighbourhood. Again two or more persons may each in describing the same "pi" give a different account of its appearance or attributes. Perhaps also the same "pi" may have different faculties assigned to it in different parts of the country. It is quite probable that many members of the Siam Society may have collected, or come across, information on this subject which is quite at variance with statements made l1ereafter in this paper, but which may be quite as well, or even