Building a house

We decided that the time was now right to think about building our own house. I was delighted to hear that Oa's family were willing to give us some land in the village on which to build one. We had looked at land before which we might buy, but for one reason or another I decided against - the usual reason being that I just couldn't afford it. I was also put off by the fact that it was not possible for a foreigner like myself to own land. It would need to be in Oa's name The land was unbelievably cheap, compared to prices back in Europe, but I didn't know how much longer we would be staying in the village. I needed to get work eventually and this would entail moving to a city. I didn't have the money to be buying land and building a house that we wouldn't be living in - even if it was really cheap. A house was another commitment that I was reluctant to make.


With the land donated by Oa's family there was nothing really stopping us from building our own house. It would be a great investment. I could easily see that. Even if we didn't live in it full time it would be nice to have our own place to go to on spare weekends. Renting in the village wasn't the same as owning a house. We knew that the owner could decide that he wanted to give the house to one of his family at any time. There was also the problem that the house didn't seem a particularly safe face in which to raise a child. The electrics were far too dangerous for a toddler exploring the house. I had received an electric shock on a few occasions. At least if we built our own home we could ensure that it was safe.


We arranged to have the land cleared. Oa's family's old house was still on the land so we needed to have it taken down. I am not very good at manual labour. I'm too lazy - although I tell myself that I'm more of a thinker. I also found working in the Thai heat to be too draining. I used the excuse of my degree coursework for my inability to help out much on the land. I was happy to pay somebody else to do it though. I did help out on a couple of occasions, but Oa made fun of the fact that I would give up after an hour.


One of the problems with the land was that it was very prone to flooding. We would need to do something about this before we started to build anything. Oa informed me that we would need to raise the land and build a wall to protect us from the waters during the rainy season. We had a river running about 20 meters from the back of the house. When the rains came this river would sometimes reach the road at the front of the land. Oa would sometimes comment on her failure to understand why her father had bought such land.


Oa told me the story of how her family came by their land, and I found it really interesting how simple things could be in Thailand. A few decades ago the people of Thailand could get land by clearing the jungle and just claiming it. I would have thought that this would mean the jungle would be cleared in no time and all the land claimed. This is not what happened. The Thai people are frightened by ghosts and for a lot of them this fear has a great impact on their lives. In the past they would fear cutting down the jungle because they believed the ghosts who lived there would be upset. They wouldn't dare risk offending the ghosts.


Before cutting down a tree in Thailand it is customary to ask permission of the guardian who lives in the tree. In order to do this they leave an axe lying against the tree over night. If the axe is still upright in the morning, permission has been granted. This complete belief in ghosts is what stopped people from knocking down trees and claiming all the land in the jungle. I sometimes think that the land Oa's father claimed was without the permission of the tree guardian as it spends three months of the year under water.


Another area of Thai life where ghosts are taken into consideration is the home. Every house is believed to contain not only the living family members but also dead relatives and other hanger-ons;that is unless you provide for them their own accommodations. This is why most houses will have a spirit-house where they can stay. These houses are very small (more like hen houses) but extensions needed to be added if you put an extension on the main house; you don't want dead relatives feeling left out as this can lead to all sorts of problems. Families also make daily offerings of food and drinks and leave them on the spirit house.


Oa's dad is actually a maw pii, or spirit doctor, and makes a bit of money from it. His services are often required when villagers want to make offerings to the departed and need him to communicate with the ghosts. They villagers often reward him with bottles of rice whiskey for his services.


Oa's dad is actually quite a fan of the whiskey. I remember a couple of years back we went to some party in another village. He was completely wasted and fell off his motorbike on the way home. I took him to the local clinic where he informed them that a ghost pushed him off the bike. I was amazed to find that they believed him.


The wearing of amulets in Thailand is big business with some fetching as much as a million euros These amulets are believed to protect from ghosts, bring good luck and even stop bullets.


Although the Buddha is believed to have acknowledged the existence of ghosts who lived in different realms, the Thai obsession with ghosts is not really connected to Buddhism, but more to do with their older religion animism. Historically the monks used the Thai fear of ghosts to help teach them Dhamma (Buddhist beliefs), they would demonstrate the strength of the Buddha's teachings by sleeping alone in burial sites or in the jungle. They would also provide the locals with blessings and amulets to protect them.


After living in Thailand a while I have learned to respect their belief in ghosts but wouldn't go as far to say I completely believe in them myself. I remember years ago reading a book called 'Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance'. I can't recall much of the book but one thing I do remember is the authors claim that ghosts exist if people believe in them.