Origin from 1563
Wat Si Muang is Vientiane's lak mueang, its city pillar shrine, built in 1563 on the ruins of an earlier Khmer Hindu shrine and held to be guarded by the spirit of a local woman, Nang Si. It stands as a working Buddhist temple built directly around a phi guardian spirit, the layered coexistence Satsana Phi and Lao Buddhism are documented as sharing throughout the country rather than only here. 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
Site
Type of SiteTemple or temple complex 1 Type of Site DetailSourced to the subject's own accountThe temple's other well known feature is a rounded stone kept before the main altar, popularly believed to grant wishes to those who can lift it three times off its cushion while kneeling and silently holding a question in mind; failing on the third lift is read as the spirit's refusal, a form of everyday divination distinct from the city pillar rite the site is named for. 2 Status
Status TodayIn active religious use 1 Practice Status DetailSourced to the subject's own accountWorshippers commonly practise a divination at the temple built around a smooth stone kept for the purpose, lifting it while silently asking a yes or no question and reading the answer from how easily it lifts. The practice keeps the site's guardian spirit character part of daily use by ordinary visitors rather than something enacted only on festival days. 2 Origins
Origin Period Connections
Belongs to Tradition
Source Tai Folk Religion (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
Contained In
Source Tai Folk Religion (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
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Located In
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Sources
1. Wat Si Muang (Wikipedia)
page categories
Category:1563 establishments in Asia
Lead section: site type
Wat Si Muang or Simuong (Lao: ວັດສີເມືອງ, pronounced [wāt sǐː mɯ́aŋ]) is a Buddhist temple in Vientiane, the capital of Laos.
Lead section: practice status
Wat Si Muang or Simuong (Lao: ວັດສີເມືອງ, pronounced [wāt sǐː mɯ́aŋ]) is a Buddhist temple in Vientiane, the capital of Laos.
View the Source2. Tai Folk Religion (Wikipedia)
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