Satsana Phi holds that guardian spirits are organized by the scale of the place they protect: phi ban guard a single village, phi muang guard a wider region or principality, and other tiers of phi are recognized above and below these. The hierarchy gives every settlement, from a village to a former principality, its own named protector spirit and its own obligation of yearly offering, rather than treating spirit belief as one undifferentiated category. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Origins
Historical OriginSourced to the subject's own accountBelief in phi organized by the scale of what they guard predates the arrival of Buddhism in the Tai and Lao speaking region. Rather than displacing it, Theravada Buddhism was received onto that existing spirit hierarchy, so village and regional temples and their calendars sit alongside phi ban and phi muang observance as a standing accommodation rather than a doctrine one tradition eventually defeated. 1 Status
Standing as a Comparative CategorySourced to the subject's own accountA standard analytic category in the study of religion 1 Doctrinal category (class)Sourced to the subject's own accountMyth and Sacred Narrative 1 Connections
Belongs to Tradition
Source Tai Folk Religion (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
Sources
1. Tai Folk Religion (Wikipedia)
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