Cultural Myths of Belief and Ritual: Transition to the Digital Era

Abstract

Cultural myths of belief and ritual in Thai society have been shown through the findings of symbols of meaning. The appearance of images about belief consisted of formats of belief and ritual. To illustrate, the Southeast Asian era was derived from traditional beliefs and rituals; The “Hae Nang Maew” tradition of praying for rain, myths of belief, faith in buying small Buddha images, and the online ceremony of walking with lighted candles in hand around a temple in the digital era of Thai society. The important issue about the myth of belief and the transition of belief to the rite was the expression of cultural phenomena and the image of myths of belief. From the comparative case study of cultural beliefs and rituals between the two eras, it was found that, for community culture, rituals consisted of promoting community activities that combined beliefs and the Thai lifestyle in an agricultural society. However, for the rituals of people in the digital era, the perception of information about belief and ritual was through online communication. The speed of receiving and sending information has led to the transition of people’s lifestyles to different eras which were still based on the same set of beliefs. At present, Thai society faces the COVID-19 pandemic, and electronic devices are alternative ways to get access to beliefs and rituals, which has led to the reduced role of community culture. The beliefs and cultures of the two eras reflected the principles of cultural myths of belief and ritual, which were connected through the perceptual process of the semiotics of information. The formats of belief and/or images were changed according to the era with specific characteristics.