Phi Chao Nai Revisited:
In Memory of Ajarn Shalardchai Ramidhanond
Abstract
This paper considers major points raised in Shaladchai Ramidhanond’s Phi Chao Nai (1984) in order to clarify the ways by which it is located in the ‘functionalist’ analysis dominant in anthropology during the twentieth century. Subsequently, I take an attention to new dimensions of study focused on such concepts as ‘enchantment เสน่ห์’ and ‘affective contact สัมผัสทางอารมณ์’ in order to shed light on the interactions within the body of the spirit medium and between the spirit medium and clients or followers in the spirit cult. In this way, the paper tries to follow the way in which the study of spirit mediumship in Northern Thailand has greatly transformed its theoretical focuses since Shalardchai’s pioneering work
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