Status and Roles of the Royal Guardian Spirits of Nakhon Nan

Abstract

This thesis aims 1) to study the history and importance of the Royal Guardian Spirits of Nakhon Nan, 2) to study the traditions and rituals related to the Royal Guardian Spirits of Nakhon Nan, and 3) to study the status and roles of the Royal Guardian Spirits of Nakhon Nan on the way of life of the people of Nan Province. This is a documentary research Content analysis present descriptive analytical data
The study revealed that 1) primitively Nan people believed in ‘Phi’ or animism before embracing Buddhism. The so called Phi both the good and bad ones reside everywhere. However, the most important Phis who have been highlyregarded as the royal guardian spirits, are those kinds of local guardians and ancestors. They have been regarded in highly sacredness and leading to peaceful livelihood of people. There are 14 royal guardian spirits residing over each places. 2) Regarding the traditions and rituals related to the royal guardian spirits in Nakhon Nan, there are two traditions: (1) the tradition of offering the sacrifices to the royal guardian spirits which were held in a specific cases such as in the time of diaster or turmoils in the city, and (2) the ritual of worshiping the spirits of royal guardians which were annually held. For the rituals related, they are divided into 2 rituals: (1) rituals of worshiping the spirits of those royal guardians. (2) rituals relating to Buddhist chantings performed by monks and dedicating fruits of making merits to the those spirits. 3)The status of the royal guardian spirits is uplifting from the local spirits such as the guardian spirit at Bolek, in the past was an iron lake where there were irons and later were regarded the royal guardian. For the ancestors who were regarded the royal guardian, The roles of those guardian spirits on the way of life of the people in Nan province can be devided into 3 aspects: (1) role of beingmental refuge, they are respected and held in mental refuge and safety (2)role of socialization, the beliefs and ritualsrelating to them become the remarkable points in each locals and they are believed to maintain the social order, and (3) role of preserving tradition, the beliefs and traditions in them create identity and sustain the tradition until the prese.