Abstract:
The purpose of the thesis is to study a belief in the orgin myth of Taen, Lan-Chang guardian spirit in its content and functions according to the folk worldview in the past. The study also explores the decline of the belief at the present time. Starting from the version of myth at the beginning of Lan-Chang Chronicle, the researcher conducts field work in a Northeastern village of Thailand. Functionalism is used to investigate the social functions of the belief in the past and its transformation. The belief of Thaen played a significant role for Northeasterners in the past. It determined the peoples ways of life, their social, political and economic thought, their health practices and their recreational pattern. The analysis of a belief of Thaen proceeds in four aspects : cosmology, heroie cult, animism and rites. It is found that the belief in cosmology is assimilated by other folk beliefs and Buddhist belief in the term of heaven and hell. The belief in Thaen and Khun Borom as heros has declined totally. However, the belief in Thaen as a spirit exists, but Thaen has become a specific spirit and known in other name; for example, Thaen-na is known as Phii-ta-haek. As for the existence of a belief in Thaen in the folk rites, it appears in the tradition of the sky rocket festival (Bunbangfai) which is practiced all over the region.