Phi Fa

Phi Fa (Thai: ผีฟ้า, Lao: ຜີຟ້າ) is a ghost or spirit in the local folklore of northeast Thailand and Laos. It is also known as Nang Fa (นางฟ้า) or Phi Thaen (ผีแถน) and is often represented as a malevolent woman related to the cannibalistic pop phi. Phi Fa is believed to bring about disease and natural disasters.

The Phi Fa ritual is a practice preferably celebrated for a person who recovers after convalescence from a serious disease. The shaman is the medium, that is able to contact Phi Fa and invite her to take part in the ceremony. The shaman selects the suitable date and location for the ceremony, instructs participants during the preparation of the ritual, controls the correct decoration of the sacrificial altar, and conducts the ceremony.

Music, chanting, and dancing are indispensable elements of the Phi Fa ritual. The khaen, a bamboo mouth organ, is the primary musical instrument of the ritual. It is creates a sacred atmosphere accompanying ritual prayers and devotions and encourages dancing around the sacrificial altar. The khaen is accompanied by the phing, a guitar-like stringed instrument, by a drum, and by ching, small bells, cymbals. The chanting is very similar to mor lam, the traditional music of Lao and northeast Thailand.

Phi Fa ritual participants dance around a decorated sacrificial altar. The dance lasts a full night and creates trance conditions for many of the participants. They believe Phi Fa will participate the ceremony and they expect healing and protection from unfavorable fortune.

The steps of the ritual are related to the songs chanted by the shaman and are always accompanied by the khaen. This is because the khaen is believed to be an important mean to communicate with the gods and the spirits. The steps of the ritual are as follows: inviting the gods or spirits, explaining the reason for the invitation, praying for assistance, praying for protection, consoling the patient, re-calling the spirit that has fled the patient, inviting Phi Fa to accept the offerings, Baasii ritual, fortune telling, and taking leave of Phi Fa.

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Wikipedia