As previously posted in my entry about road side spirit houses, now I'll write about our very own spirit house in front of our very own house.
Last December, we got our own set of Spirit Houses, to guard over house. Here they are, waiting in the shade of our house, before they will be placed at their permanent place.
They can't be placed wherever you like, a special person who has the skills and knowledge to determine where they can be placed has to do this. Well meet this person on one of the pictures soon enough and since than, I've met this old man on various occasions at the Chaweng temple.
With the Spirit Houses comes a whole set of attributes which are necessary to make sure that the Spirits look well after our place. Most of the attributes are on display here, amongst others various statues, vases for flowers, candle holders, banners etc.
During the inauguration ceremony, loads of food are offered to the various deity's, as one can see here on this picture. This includes a broiled chicken, various fruits, assorted sweets and rice.
This picture shows the old man with 'the Gift' to determine where the Spirit Houses need to be placed and he's conducting the ceremony as well. Here he can be seen building a multi layer food tray, made out of coconut trays and banana leaves.
This picture shows the smaller Spirit House in it's complete state. Inside are statues of an elderly couple, a Grandma and Grandpa.
This is the main Spirit House, with a deity statue staying inside. In front are various smaller statues and lion alike statues.
The whole time, the old man is conducting various prayers during the whole ceremony when the Spirit Houses are placed and inaugurated. The umbrella is for sun protection, by the way.
Here they are, in full glory, after the ceremony is completed.
My wife refreshed the flowers and prays in front of them on a regular base, mostly around the full moon period, when there are (important) Buddha days.
Camille
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