Yao: A ritual belief to cure illnesses among the Phu Thai people

Abstract

This academic article aims to study the beliefs in the Yao ritual to cure diseases of the Phu Thai people. The results of the study found that the Phu Thai people believe that the Yao heals ghosts and that modern medicine heals diseases. The Yao ritual is a belief in healing in the Phu Thai community that has been passed down from ancestors. It stems from the original belief in worshiping ghosts, which is a ceremony to communicate between ghosts and people, so that ghosts will help solve problems, especially illnesses. It uses poetry and Lam melody, with a Khaen to provide rhythm. The communicator is the Yao doctor. Each Yao will have a spitting device to accompany the Yao ritual. It is considered a traditional treatment method that treats illnesses of villagers due to violating or creating dissatisfaction with ghosts. Villagers believe that ghosts have the power to make them sick. When illnesses or natural disasters occur, they believe that it is caused by violating ghosts. Therefore, they must perform a ritual to worship, pay homage, and make offerings to the ghosts to help cure their suffering. They also believe that ghosts can help relieve their illnesses. The Yao doctor will sing Lam to comfort the patients and use various Lam verses, such as informative poems, guiding poems, and encouraging poems, with the intention of telling stories or giving encouragement to the patients so that they can recover from their illnesses and return to normal. And the Yao ritual is a culture that reflects the belief in traditional healing of the Phu Thai community up until the present.