The Self Transformation Ritual in Course of Life of The Lua Borluang in Hot District of Chiang Mai: A study in Folklore Approach

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the recovery ritual ceremony of the “Self Transformation”, via the ritual for welcoming the first son of the noble family or the ritual of invited protecting spirit to return the first child’s body of the Lua Borluang, an ancient ethnic group in Hot district, Chiang Mai province. The concepts and theories of folklore study and structural functionalism were used in the
analysis of the structure of the social relations system and the role of ritual. Results of the study reveal that the ritual happening under the social class relationship structure of the ethnic group and common sense in the traditional cosmology system is the pattern of the negotiation of power. It is the competition for gaining social power and spiritual area between the principal wife who is in the ruling class and the minor wife who is an ordinary citizen of the Lua ethnic group. This competition is the reproduction of the meaning of power of the minor wife who comes from the lower class. It is performed through the ritual of welcoming the first son of the family. This represents the community relation system reflecting through power and competition. The ritual of invited protecting spirit to return the first child’s body which aim to protect the life of the first new man member of a powerful family relies on sacrificial animals that are valuable to sacrifice ancestral spirits in exchange for preserving the life of the new member. It is the negotiation with supernatural powers through the ceremony to show that the new born child has already changed his previous life into this new life. The ritual also encourages the parents that the child can recover from any illnesses. The reproduction of negotiation of power and competition between the social class is through this ritual to achieve the balance of social power for the peace of the community.