@article{oai:minpaku.repo.nii.ac.jp:00004312,
 author = {林, 行夫 and Hayashi, Yukio},
 issue = {1},
 journal = {国立民族学博物館研究報告, Bulletin of the National Museum of Ethnology},
 month = {Jul},
 note = {The aim of this article is to understand socio-religious aspects
of the mo tham (literally, 'specialist of dharma') practitioner and
the historical development of the notion of thamma (dharma, but
practically sacred words picked out from Buddhist Pali texts)
power among Thai-Lao peasants on the Khorat Plateau of
Northeast Thailand, which is the powerhouse of the country's
Theravada Buddhist sangha today. Mo tham in the village life
world, many of whom are village elders or ex-monks, play
significant roles in the predominant rituals. They use knowledge
of thamma learned from a master to diagnose, identify and drive
away the evil or offended supernatural spirits, who are believed
to cause an individual's illness or calamities.
From a structural-functionalist point of view, as S. Tambiah
has shown, the ritual role of mo tham appears to be as an 'exorcist'
or 'mock-monk' in the local context. That is, while Theravada
Buddhism, as in most of rural Thailand, is represented by monks,
the village temple and its associated rituals and villagers' religious
activities are closely related to their everyday lives, the practice
of mo tham for curing the patients is transient and a most peripheral
one in village religion. Additionally, because of expelling evil
spirits the way to use of thamma is violent and esoteric, whereas
the monks chant it to transfer bun (merit) and phon (blessing) to
the whole laity.
However, when we see the Thai-Lao villages located along
Chi River draining the central part of the Khorat Plateau, it
should be pointed out that the formation of 'religious field' of the
villages differs from one village to another, although Buddhism is
the most dominant religion in every village. That is, some
village continue to practice the ritual for guardian spirits (e.g.,
phi puta), some village ceased to worship it and there are a number
of mo tham. Socio-religious status and roles of mo tham in the
villages which their guardian spirits were replaced by thamma
power are extremely different from those of mo tham in Tambiah's
study. Mo tham perform their ritual role not only as a healer
but also as a pious leader of lay Buddhists.
At the same time, in those villages indigenous beliefs were
gradually eliminated by the Buddhistic notion of thamma power
introduced by mo tham or phra thudong( 'forest monk' who practice
meditation and wandering with precepts) as his master. Such
a transition can also be seen as the process of 'upgrading' of
Buddhism within the local belief system, which may be paralleled
with the hierarchical institutionalization of Buddhism and the
centralization of provincial administration by Thai (Siamese)
government dating from early this century. It means that the
process of making of thamma power among Thai-Lao peasants
should be analysed focusing on its meaning and ideological role
in relation to historical centralization of the Thai State Power.
First, in chapter 2, the historical development of the Thai-
Lao peasants village formation as a result of the opening
the frontier is examined to clarify the variability of the
composition of village 'religious field' and the influence of Thai
State policy on the central Chi River valley. The villages were
opened by pioneer settlers who emigrate in search of better paddy
land, dating from the late 18th century to the middle of the
19th century, it made general flow of people in Northeast Thailand
moving from southeast to northwest up to comparatively
modern times.
In chapter 3, the native concept of spirits world for the
pioneer settlers and its transition are analysed as preliminary
discussion of the degeneration of guardian spirits and domination
of thamma power. After that the thamma, which can be operated
by a pious Buddhist who observe precepts strictly, is defined as
one type of khong haksa [raksa] (spiritual power or knowledge to
keep off affliction) in a native sense, teachings and rituals held
by mo tham are described in detail.
Theoretically, ordinary villagers can choose any mo tham
they wish to rely upon when they need. But, in reality, each
mo tham who is regarded a powerful as well as pious Buddhist has
a continuous 'line' with certain ordinary villagers. Most
ordinary villagers, especially women, ask their own mo tham to
conduct ritual performances as luk phung luk thian (literally,
pious Buddhist disciple), and offer flowers and candles at their
mo tham house every Buddhist Sabbath day. Description and
sociological analysis in Chapter 4 makes clear a salient feature
of the patron-client relationship between mo tham and luk phung
luk thian, and we can understand that the ritual role of the mo tham
has some ideological efficacy to give the male dominance and
hierarchization of the authority to ward off dangers in villagers'
everyday lives.
In chapter 5, the viewpoint is shifted to the process of the
establishment of 'state Buddhism' since Rama 4. To understand
its religious meaning and political effects as a whole, the historical
role of 'forest monks' in the Northeast village society is analysed
through hagiography and biography of the some Buddhist Saints.
It shows that the construction of authorized 'state Buddhism'
was accomplished with their charismatic activities which sometimes
contradict the 'orthodoxy' of Buddhism.
Mo tham is a type of healer to use Buddhist formula found in
almost all over Theravada Buddhist cultures. But the role of
mo tham among Thai-Lao peasants is much more than that.
Historically, it can be seen as a representation of Thai-Lao
peasants' Buddhism itself. As a historical production in the
period, which drastic change of the Central Thai statecraft and
the closing the frontier of Thai-Lao peasants life world occurred
in twofold, mo tham is an ideological form to operate on the
realizaion of mail authority expressed as authentic lay Buddhist, .
and on the hierarchization of the politico-religious power for
Thai State.
In appendix, to show concretly the process of introducing
the thamma power to the village, the genealogy of the relationship
between master and disciple of the mo tham is depicted by
reconstructing villagers' oral history. It explains that the origin
of the teachings of mo tham came from 'forest monk' who had
appeared in the Northeast and propagated that Buddhist
meditation master can produce supernatural power around early
this century.},
 pages = {1--116},
 title = {ダルマの力と帰依者たち : 東北タイにおける仏教とモータム},
 volume = {14},
 year = {1989},
 yomi = {ハヤシ, ユキオ}
}