Collective Rituals as Meaningful Expressions of the Relationships between People, Water and Forest: A Case Study from Northern Thailand

Abstract

There has been a global trend for religions to respond to environmental agendas, using rituals and ceremonies, with many studies showing that traditions and beliefs have established the importance of places as ‘sacred’. This concept lends itself very well to the ideals and beliefs found in a conservation movement. This article aims to investigate this connection to show how it helps build a meaningful relationship between people, water and place. It focuses on a case study in Pang Jum Pee Village, Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, where a need for change was recognised, from village economies centred on deforestation, to ones with more emphasis on conservation ethics. In the process, a community committee initiated two rituals of Buat Pa and Seub Cha Ta Rum Num. The results indicated that the spiritual and sociocultural meaning hidden in those rituals helped embed conservation in a construction of sense of place. A spiritual belief interplaying with the doctrine of Buddhism influenced the attitude and behaviour of villagers towards the ecological services provided by forests and water, services which supported their livelihood. At the same time, those rituals as social events could reproduce a social unity or sense of community for Pang Jum Pee villagers since the ceremonies required cooperation, by constructing a collective commitment to forests and water as common property. The study also identified the role of reciprocity in ritual performance in connecting a social network of conservation among neighbouring villages and external agencies.

Keywords:

• Conservation
• Rituals
• Spirituality
• Buddhism
• Place
• Reciprocity

Acknowledgements

Katesuda Sitthisuntikul would like to express her gratitude to Dr Andrew Guilfoyle from the School of Psychology, Edith Cowan University, and Associate Professor Avorn Opatpatanakit from Chiang Mai University, Thailand for their comments and suggestions during different phases of the research. Case study work was undertaken while the senior author was a recipient of a Thailand Australia Scholarship from 2010 to 2012 at Edith Cowan University. This manuscript was prepared while Katesuda Sitthisuntikul was employed at Maejo University, Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Notes

[1] This Committee is the most important sector in the administrative structure of Pang Jum Pee village. The mantle of this committee is to advise and cooperate with the village leader for village development, including assisting in government affairs. The Community Committee is chosen by villagers and comprises from 5 to 15 people with the village leader as chairman.

[2] Huk Muaeng Nan Network led by Phrakhru Pitak Nantakun is the name of the organisation which takes an important role in natural resource management in Nan Province, Thailand.

[3] Boon is an invisible sacredness blessing each person. Tum Boon is making good things for others to accumulate Boon. Buddhism believed that Tum Boon will lead to be better in present lives and the next life. There are several ways to Tum Boon; helping any social activities or giving anything to other people without expectation that this be returned to you personally, such as offering food or belongings to monk, donating money for temple construction and giving clothes or food to poor people. In this study, villagers thought that good actions (ceremonies) for water and natural resources in the forests are a way to Tum Boon.

[4] Thuat Pha Pa is a ceremonial performance of Hua Wat tradition inherited from ancient times aiming to raising funds for religious purposes such as supporting Buddhist Priests, temple development or social activities.

[5] Buddhist beliefs posit that Tarn was one way to build and accumulate Boon for the better in present lives and the next life. This meant helping any social activities or giving anything to other people without expectation that this be returned to you personally, such as offering food or belongings to monk, donating money for temple construction and giving clothes or food to poor people.