Pattana Kitiarsa's study of popular religious practice in contemporary Thailand, published by Silkworm Books in 2012, examining how spirit mediumship, amulet veneration and Brahmanical deity worship sit alongside institutional Theravada Buddhism rather than in competition with it. It documents the Erawan Shrine in central Bangkok, built in 1956 around a statue of the four-faced Hindu deity Brahma known in Thai as Phra Phrom, and its rise into one of the most visited devotional sites in the country, drawing worshippers seeking worldly fortune regardless of religious affiliation. Its strength is a sociological reading grounded in extended observation of contemporary urban Thai practice. Its limit is a focus on the present-day devotional economy rather than a full historical account of the shrine's founding decades.
Facts
Citation
AuthorPattana Kitiarsa
PublisherSilkworm Books
Publication Year2012
Source Typeacademic monograph
Assessment
Reliability Tier1
A standard academic study of Thai popular religion by a named specialist, grounded in extended sociological observation of contemporary practice, published by a respected regional academic press. Connections
Associated With
This source names Bangkok directly: "It documents the Erawan Shrine in central Bangkok, built in 1956 around a statue of the four-faced Hindu deity Brahma known in Thai as Phra Phrom, and its rise into one of the most visited..."
Source Mediums, Monks, and Amulets: Thai Popular Buddhism Today (Kitiarsa)Pattana Kitiarsa
This source names Brahma directly: "mediumship, amulet veneration and Brahmanical deity worship sit alongside institutional Theravada Buddhism rather than in competition with it."
Source Mediums, Monks, and Amulets: Thai Popular Buddhism Today (Kitiarsa)Pattana Kitiarsa
This source names Erawan Shrine directly: "It documents the Erawan Shrine in central Bangkok, built in 1956 around a statue of the four-faced Hindu deity Brahma known in Thai as Phra Phrom, and its rise into one of the most visited..."
Source Mediums, Monks, and Amulets: Thai Popular Buddhism Today (Kitiarsa)Pattana Kitiarsa
This source names Thailand directly: "religious practice in contemporary Thailand, published by Silkworm Books in 2012, examining how spirit mediumship, amulet veneration and Brahmanical deity worship sit alongside institutional..."
Source Mediums, Monks, and Amulets: Thai Popular Buddhism Today (Kitiarsa)Pattana Kitiarsa
This source names Theravada directly: "worship sit alongside institutional Theravada Buddhism rather than in competition with it."
Source Mediums, Monks, and Amulets: Thai Popular Buddhism Today (Kitiarsa)Pattana Kitiarsa
Claims Backed By This Source (22 claims)
This source backs 22 claims across the atlas. As facts: 11 well-attested. As cited relationships: 9 holds, 1 connected. Plus 1 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.
Disposition By Topic
- Sacred Sites, 11 claims: 5 well-attested, 4 holds, 1 connected, 1 general references.
- Sources, 11 claims: 6 well-attested, 5 holds.
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