The Persistence of Inthakin Pillar Worship: The Integration between Indigenous Belief and Buddhism in Present Day Rituals

Abstract

This paper aims at examining and analyzing the persistence of Inthakin pillar worship, which today has become one of the rituals performed in connection with the worship of the Chiangmai city guardian spirits. The analysis identifies the characteristics of religious integration between indigenous belief and Buddhism from both concrete components, such as ritual space, ritual offerings, ritual performance, and abstract components, such as belief, social value, and ritual meaning. The research reveals that with respect to both components, more and more of a Buddhist element has been inserted into the Inthakin pillar worship such that the ritual performance is now presented as a Buddhist ritual. The indigenous belief in the city pillar, which was the origin of the ritual, has now been partially replaced in its meaning by Buddhism, leaving only a certain role and meaning of the indigenous belief to persistent in the ritual.