making up the
remainder.
It must be born in mind that Thai style Buddhism is a mish mash of true Buddhism and paganism, which has filtered down from the days of the Lanna kingdom.
Most Thais have their own spirit house in the garden for the spirits of the ancestors to reside in and offerings will be made to keep the spirits happy.
The temple is the hub of village and community life. Local government whilst centred in the Ampher House (town hall) gets its message across in the local temple. This is
the same when election time comes around, it all centres on the temple.
Every family expects their sons to join the monkhood in their teens and consider it a great honour for the family. Great ceremony is placed on the son joining the church
followed inevitably by a great party to which everyone is invited. The Thai way is to have a party for any reason however slight and I for one can see no problem with
that.
Weddings are another great opportunity for a party. The day starts with members of the family going to the temple and collecting the community owned tables and chairs
in their trucks and setting them up in the grounds of the brides family home.
The previous evening the fatted pig would have been killed and cut into mouth sized portions and cooked in the largest Wok you have ever seen some five feet in
diameter. It is monitored throughout the night to ensure it gets stirred occasionally, in between the rounds of rice whisky drinking.
The night before is rather like a disco with a group on stage and everybody dancing. The men dance together and not with the ladies. It is most disconcerting to have a
Thai male come up to you and ask you to dance. I find