Schools in northern Thailand are promoting belief in "ancestor ghosts" in order to discourage children from taking drugs and engaging in premarital sex. Under a pilot scheme introduced 18 months ago in Lampang province, 560 kilometres north of Bangkok, educators hope to revive an ancient system of ghost worship that has faded over the past 50 years. "Before we introduced the ghost system, the generation gap was very wide," The Nation newspaper quoted Lampang ghost expert Adul Dunagdeethaweerat as saying. "Old people were unable to teach the younger generation, who thought they were much more clever because of their formal education. "Since we reintroduced the ancestor ghost tradition, the gap has closed significantly. Families have grown closer together. They find they can talk more easily about each other's problems and help each other solve them." By instilling a fear of retribution by the ghosts of dead ancestors, he said, children tend to follow rules such as "no drugs" and "no sex before marriage". Adul said teaching about ghosts in schools, including holding ceremonies to apologise to angry ghosts, had initially encountered some resistance from student and teachers.
View: Full Article | Source: smh.com.au
