khunPer Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 Anyone know why the're chickens at Chaweng Noi View Point..? I'm talking about the Spirit Houses at Chaweng Noi View Point – the en route Chaweng to Lamai road turn just after Dr. Frogs, where Thai drivers honk their horn twice when passing – standing next to the view point parking... On the ground next to the Spirit Houses are a lot of chicken figures (hens, cocks, I'm not an expert), like a "terracotta chicken army"... Do anyone know the reason why they are there..? Thanks a lot... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samuijimmy Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 Perhaps to symbolize those who did not make it across the road!.... Some of these spirit temples have a barn yard of different animals ... never quite understood the significance either! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evadgib Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 Extras for an exotic animated sequel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunPer Posted November 21, 2016 Author Share Posted November 21, 2016 2 hours ago, samuijimmy said: Perhaps to symbolize those who did not make it across the road!.... Some of these spirit temples have a barn yard of different animals ... never quite understood the significance either! Yes, but that should be to praise the dwellers of the house – it's said in many articles that they need helpers like angels, dancing girls, elephants, and other animals. The Spirit Houses by road turns are for the spirits "living" or haunting in that area, so they allow safe passage of the road – however Spirit House by a road can also be for soul(s), which have not found rest, after someone suffering a violent death. In the Chaweng Noi Viewpoint turn are three Spirit Houses – with huge red Fanta offerings – and also a spirit living in the tree next to the houses, presumably a female spirit, as it has been given a nice silk-dress, so could be "nang Ta-khien" – I don't know her story, maybe something similar as "nang Thani", the young female ghost from banana plantagens..? But a terracotta chicken army, I've not seen mentioned anywhere... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notmyself Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 I've never had a definitive answer to this question regarding statues of chickens other than it is always to do with luck or fortune with respect to death or decay. For some it a symbol of good luck or good fortune while for others it is symbol to avoid (have influence over) bad luck or misfortune. It is semantics but I could say to someone that I hope they gave good luck (fortune) when going for a job interview and could equally say that I hope they do not have bad luck (fortune) when going to a job interview. Chickens are also a symbol of life in many cultures as the egg means birth, rebirth, a sign of plenty or good fortune, purity. For example you have the orthodox Jews who pass their own sins onto a chicken while swinging it about their head before slitting its throat as it is pure and will be reborn. Other cultures also sacrifice chickens as a symbolic gesture of purity though other animals are use such as large parts of Africa where is more traditional to use a goat. You disembowel a goat and spread the entrails around your house to ward of evil spirits. We have fortunately moved on (for the most part) in we no longer use children (pure, innocent) to make the same offerings or achieve the same goal. Ice babies found in the high mountains of Peru or child remains found at the bottom of post holes in Europe and elsewhere for example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron19 Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 These are very common in our area.When I get back on the comp I'll post a couple of shots from here.Sent from my iris 755 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denim Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 Not chickens ..... Cocks . A lot of cocks too. There is a variation of this superstition.......zebras. Near the ministry of commerce in Bangkok there used to be a whole section of pavement 100 meters long jam packed with them. There is a video on YouTube of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phetphet Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 I think they are for good luck. My Thai friend has them to help win his bets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron19 Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 This one taken at Wat Kiriwong Nakhon Sawan. I believe they are put there by visitors and my wife tells me it is for good luck. I have another one taken in the grounds of the Phichai hospital with the cocks surrounding a statue of Praya Phichai. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLobster Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 For good luck/fortune apparently. My wife seems to think people put them there after they have had good luck or something has gone well for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunPer Posted November 22, 2016 Author Share Posted November 22, 2016 Many thanks for replies, and thanks to Ron for posting the picture from Wat Kiriwong Nakhon Sawan – those looks like big real cocks, the figurs at the road turn are very small; two of them had jumped up to taste the delicious Red Fanta, when I was there to snap photos last week... I found out – simply asking my GF, who don't know however why the "chickens" are there – that the text on their base says either "money gold" or "rich money"; there are two different writings. The ones that jumped to the Fantas have different signs, and simply read "rich". Something with "luck" or "good luck" perhaps..? The zebras, by the way, is supposed to mean safety – perhaps that's why thye sometimes are painted as animals, instead of just "zebra stribes" in pedestrian crossings... The newspaper I cannot link to says about that: »A zebra statue, like the one pictured here, is a popular offering meant for a roadside spirit shrine. People who believe their wishes have been granted by the power of a shrine will repay it with a zebra statue. We assumed this was probably because Thai deities like exotic animals but, according to archaeologist Assoc Prof Srisak Vanliphodom, a zebra represents safety as the animal is linked to pedestrian crossings and is therefore auspicious.« Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evadgib Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 My wife thinks it might have something to do with enabling the departed to engage in cock fighting in the afterlife but isn't entirely sure. HTH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higgins Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 My wife says the same. Its because man like chicken. Chicken for fighting (in the afterlife) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PoorSucker Posted November 23, 2016 Share Posted November 23, 2016 16 hours ago, evadgib said: My wife thinks it might have something to do with enabling the departed to engage in cock fighting in the afterlife but isn't entirely sure. HTH This sounds very plausible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notmyself Posted November 23, 2016 Share Posted November 23, 2016 On 22/11/2016 at 2:16 PM, khunPer said: Many thanks for replies, and thanks to Ron for posting the picture from Wat Kiriwong Nakhon Sawan – those looks like big real cocks, the figurs at the road turn are very small; two of them had jumped up to taste the delicious Red Fanta, when I was there to snap photos last week... I found out – simply asking my GF, who don't know however why the "chickens" are there – that the text on their base says either "money gold" or "rich money"; there are two different writings. The ones that jumped to the Fantas have different signs, and simply read "rich". archaeologist Assoc Prof Srisak Vanliphodom, a zebra represents safety as the animal is linked to pedestrian crossings and is therefore auspicious.« A place that attracts good spirits for whatever reason is a good place for other 'requests' because there are many good spirits there. Like gate crashing a party in the hope that you might score a free drink. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mole Posted November 24, 2016 Share Posted November 24, 2016 The chicken statues are also offered after somebody made a wish at that shrine and their wish came true. Usually it's about wishing to win the lottery or something like that. So Thai people believe that the spirit granted their wish, and if they don't come back to repay by placing a statue there, whatever their wish which was granted may be taken away from them. A statue is placed there only after a wish has been granted as a gratitude to the spirit in that shrine. If one starts believe in these things, it's a vicious circle. If you make a wish, and it gets granted, then you will forever be worried that you will lose it, until you go back to the same shrine to แก้บน "kae bon" by repaying the shrine again. I had a friend who made a wish at a shrine in Hong Kong (he didn't tell me what he wished for, but I suspect it was wishing for a girlfriend). When he indeed got a girlfriend and they were even engaged, he traveled back to Hong Kong to "repay" the shrine. But not long after, I heard the engagement was broken and they've split. So much for "repaying".... The น้ำแดง "red soda" represent blood. In the old days, one had to offer fresh blood to spirits, but nowadays one use the "red fanta" to symbolize blood offering. Some shrines accept only cocks, such as the one near the viewpoint in Samui, while other shrines accept zebras. Many shrines people have forgotten why this particular shrine accept a particular offering, but it appears that if somebody got their wish granted and they place a zebra, then other people see it, they also do the same in the hope that the spirit which lives at that shrine will also grant their wishes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deonvz Posted November 24, 2016 Share Posted November 24, 2016 There seems to be a few of these around and i was told that it was dedicated to a certain monk but not sure........this is one i found next the road between Sakeow and Chanthaburi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunPer Posted November 24, 2016 Author Share Posted November 24, 2016 Many thanks for replies, and good potential explanations, and amazing photos of cock-offerings. When reading about the Red Fanta offerings, it's always mentioned that there are several possibilities for an explanation. I think the one mentioned above by Mole sounds right, and in an article in the newspaper I cannot link to, it was also said that blood was offered in older time, but people manage to fool the ghost, by giving them Red Fanta (red drinks) instead. Another suggestion in the same article is, that it's to please kuman thong, represented by a figur of small boy, or nang kwak, the beckoning girl; both are child ghosts, and children likes sweet and colorful drinks... By the way, about the female spirit in the tree (I say "female", because there's hanging what seem to be a ladies dress in the tree): if she is the same as the female spirit in the tree by Namuang-1 Waterfall, phi nang Ta-khian, then the story is, that she is named after the tree "ta khian" (merawan) used to make long-tail boats from, and if somebody cut that kind of tree and make anything else than a boat, for example build a house, the spirit is disturbed and will take revenge by something bad happening, or even death. It's was mentioned in the article, about long-tail boats, that the story may have been spread to limit use of merawan-tree for anything else than building boats. (ArticleLink: How long-tail boats keep southern Thailand afloat) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronaldo0 Posted November 24, 2016 Share Posted November 24, 2016 Bigger the cock the more luck !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tchooptip Posted November 24, 2016 Share Posted November 24, 2016 My wife says it is to thank the spirits for something, anything. In the country it was not unusual to offer a chicken to someone to thank him for something so she says maybe some win lottery, some had a new car or anything they asked for, so they offered a chicken. She looks at me as if it was logical, kind of, you never offer a chicken to thank someone? ...no Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ByblosYuNaiSoi Posted November 24, 2016 Share Posted November 24, 2016 Here's the origin, although clearly Thai people aren't that up on it. His temple in Ayuttaya is impressive. Showing Thai nationalism at its...er...strongest: From http://www.ayutthaya-history.com/Historical_Sites_MemorialNaresuan.html These roosters are suggestive of a poplar legend in which a young Prince Naresuan wagered a bet with a young Burmese prince that Ayutthaya would be freed if Naresuan's rooster emerged victorious in the cock fight. Prince Naresuan's rooster naturally won the bet, and the Burmese prince was humiliated in the process. After the release of a popular movie about King Naresuan, these rooster statues began to appear mysterious at temples across Ayutthaya. They are most highly concentrated at temples associated with this royal warrior (Wat Worachet, Wat Worachetharam, Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon, etc.). However, the rooster statues around this particular memorial can number in the hundreds, and Thai citizens bring them from all over the country as offerings. https://www.google.com.ec/search?q=king+naresuan+temple&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjm9ovtycHQAhXIPCYKHWPGApUQ_AUICCgB&biw=1707&bih=797&dpr=0.8 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naresuan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeeJay1959 Posted November 24, 2016 Share Posted November 24, 2016 They have a similar thing in Portugal The legend of the Rooster of Barcelos tells the story of a dead rooster's miraculous intervention in proving the innocence of a man who had been falsely accused and sentenced to death. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunPer Posted November 24, 2016 Author Share Posted November 24, 2016 2 hours ago, PeeJay1959 said: They have a similar thing in Portugal The legend of the Rooster of Barcelos tells the story of a dead rooster's miraculous intervention in proving the innocence of a man who had been falsely accused and sentenced to death. Many thanks; and that figur I know well. We had one my childhoods Danish summer house my parents bought in 1953, it was part of the inventory, as the area is named "Cock Hill" (Hanebjerg) – but I/we did not know the figur was Portuguese, or the story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notmyself Posted November 24, 2016 Share Posted November 24, 2016 Perhaps we can talk about why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evadgib Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 On 11/24/2016 at 5:00 PM, ronaldo0 said: Bigger the cock the more luck !! If you drive past one day and spot one of these you'll know my prayers re the ex wife have finally been answered :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.