Animism in Southeast Asian Myths and Its Impacts on Acts of Environmental Protection

Animism in Southeast Asian Myths

and Its Impacts on Acts of Environmental Protection

Nguyen Thi Mai Lien

Abstract:                                

The ancients believed that both living and non-living things had souls. Grass, flowers, birds, and other non-human animals also have souls. Natural phenomena were considered divine. Human beings and the universe had an intimate and magical connection. This idea is also seen in the myths of several other countries in the world. For example, in Japan, a religion worshiping the souls of all things (kami), called Shinto, exists to this day. The Southeast Asian region has similar beliefs, which influence the behaviour of local inhabitants towards nature and the environment. They live in harmony with nature and appreciate environmental protection instead of exploiting nature. My paper examines the ideas of animism in the myths of Southeast Asia and its impacts on environmental behaviours of ancient tribes in the region. The paper also addresses the question if animism is still alive today and how it can offer deep lessons for contemporary times with regards to environmental protection.

Keywords: Southeast Asian Animism, Environmental Protection

Animism and its Presence in Ecocriticism

     Animism is derived from the Latin word "anima" which means "breath, spirit, life". It is the belief that things and creatures have their own spirits. Animism is the oldest form of belief system in the world. Although each culture has different myths and rituals, "animism" is the most fundamental element in "spiritual" or "supernatural" concepts of native communities.

     The most widely accepted definition of animism was one developed by Edward Burnett Tylor in the late nineteenth century. Tylor is the first academic who wrote about animism as one of the earliest notions in anthropology (Bird-David S67). In Edward Tylor’s book Primitive Culture (1871), animism is seen as "the general doctrine of souls and other spiritual beings in general" (260). According to Tylor, animism includes “an idea of pervading life and will in nature” (260), which means a belief that all non-human natural objects have souls. This formulation was not different from what Auguste Comte calls “fetishism” (Adam 85). For Tylor, “animism represented the earliest form of religion, being situated within an evolutionary framework of religion which has developed in stages and which will ultimately lead to humanity rejecting religion altogether in favor of scientific rationality^” (Graham 6). In 1869 (three years after Tylor proposed the definition of animism), John Ferguson McLellan argued that the belief that all things possess souls which were clearly expressed in fetishism gave rise to a religion that he called Totemism. He affirmed that the primitives had believed that they had inherited a number of traits similar to their totem (Adam 85).

Several ecocritics have recently attempted to understand the connections between animism and environmental consciousness of modern people and the impacts that animism has had on the modern conception of environmental protection. Greg Garrard asserts that although there is historical evidence about connections between animistic beliefs and a sustainable environment, these connections have not been theorized in detail within the fields of history, literature or ecology. The book explores relations of animistic traditions of the Native Indians in the United States with sustainable ecological practices in present-day contexts. While figuring out ways in which ecofeminism finds correlations between animism, ecology and feminism in Native Indian tribes, the book makes an argument that in the reading of modern ecocritical literature, it is necessary to believe that "devotional ecology" or animism is not only complementary to scientific ecology but has, in many instances, emerged as an aspect of environmental consciousness. Esthie Hugo in the article “Looking Forward, Looking Back: Animating Magic, Modernity and the African City - Future in Nnedi Okorafor’s Lagoon (Social Dynamics 2017 43:1) analyses forms of existence in a world in which there is respect for (human) others, respect for plants, animals, inanimate things and invisible forces.

This paper affirms the fundamental importance of this attitude in that it breaks the familiar attention of Western intellectuals about the artificial division between one and the other, between man and the non-human world, or between people - the environment, culture and nature. This is a division that many Western cultures are trying to overcome in an effort to establish a more sensitive attitude towards the earth. Andy Fisher in Radical Ecopsychology: Psychology in the Service of Life (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2013) argues for the need of perceiving animism as a solution to an increasingly unproductive world, where people growingly feel alienated and separated from the universe. Animism is needed because it encourages people to feel connected to nature and has an emotional unconscious identity with natural phenomena. In this world there is no voice for stones, trees and animals, nor is there any human conversation with them that they can hear. Animism allows ecocritics to understand and describe human psychology as part of the natural world, a phenomenon of nature, including organisms and other entities.

Brendan Myer in the thesis Animism, Spirit and Environmental Activism (2000) affirms that animism is the metaphysical framework of knowledge in which human beings place all living things, realities, and themselves into it, because they do not assume a strict hierarchy of rank or dominance among living creatures. All these, the thesis argues, forms a holistic environmental attitude. According to Myer, animism is a fundamental principle of environmental philosophy; it recognises a lasting relationship between man and the environment; it shows how all life, including human life, exists and remains within the boundaries of an integrated ecological system, that is, the world. It points to a way of thinking in the direction of the distinction between the environment and the human being that causes unnecessary suffering (towards both environment and humans) and environmental waste. Maheshvari Naidu’s paper in Animated Environment “Animism” and the Environment Revisited posits an analysis of the concept of animism and environmental correspondence and simultaneously predicts the possibility of harmony of animism and "spiritual tendencies" in contemporary environmental consciousness. In “Relational Epistemology, Immediacy, and Conservation: Or, What Do the Nayaka Try to Conserve?” (Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture, 2, 1, 2008, 55-73) and “Animism” Revisited: Personhood, Environment, and Relational Epistemology (Current Anthropology, Vol. 40, No. S1, Special Issue Culture—A Second Chance? (February 1999), pp. S67-S91), Nurit Bird-David affirms that spiritual practices form a specific cultural and indigenous understanding. Bird-David criticises the view that animism is a simple religion and a failed knowledge and offers ways in which animistic ideas work in the sphere of social practice and particularly in the constructs of locality between man and the relation of concepts of environmental ecology. In complementing ecocritical interpretations of animism and a modern thinking of the environment, this paper examines the existence of animism in Southeast Asian myths and its impacts on constructions of relationships between humans and nature in the region. Studying animism in myths of some Southeast Asian countries in relation to modern scholarship about the environment, this paper emphasises the attitudes of respect and worship that the native people in Southeast Asia have towards nature. The study of myths reveals that the ancients must have shown their caring attitude, respect, and protection towards natural habitats. This paper argues that studying animism in myths is a form of ecocriticism.

Animism in Southeast Asian mythology

Like myths of other nations in the world, the Southeast Asian myths were born in primitive times when humans were dependent on nature for survival. People were explaining natural phenomena with their imagination and a sense of the homologous self. As such, natural phenomena were associated with spiritual aspects. Specifically, Khmer groups in Cambodia believe in God Soil, God Water, God Fire, God Wind, and God Fauna (Chouléan). Meanwhile, the Laotian people called the spirit of animals and plants, and natural phenomena thẻn (god) and phi (ghost). Thẻn is the deification of natural phenomena, and phi is the sacrification of animals and plants. Thẻn and phi have their own place in the heavens, not in the same section with humans. Thẻn and phi divide the world into separate sections for governance. Governing the upper part of the world is thẻn Luổng (God of Heaven), and the underworld is governed by thẻn Water, thẻn Sun, thẻn Rain, and thẻn Wind. Phi is also divided into many forms to manage different parts of the earth: house’s ghost, commune’s god, forest’s ghost, river’s ghost. In old Laotian belief, the image of thẻn and phi are used to explain the origins of the universe and natural phenomena. For example, in the myths Giving birth to soil and water, Bua La Phan, and The Creation of the World, thẻn Sky created the heaven, the earth, mountains, rivers, and modelled the moon, the sun, stars and humans from the chaos by his own breath, hands and strength.

In Burma, the Burmese also express their faith in spirits of all things through myths of natural phenomena and animals and plants. They call their spirits nats: nat Soil, nat River, nat Mountain, nat Tree, nat Rice, etc. They believe that the universe, humans, nations, ethnic groups, ancestries, and lords are all derived from and blessed by nats to be survived and developed. A common myth explaining the human origin in Myanmar emphasises that people’s survival is blessed by spirits of trees: Once upon a time when there were no humans on earth, and nine Biamma gods left the heaven and came down to earth. First, they begged the Sun, the Moon, and Stars for light. The Sun, the Moon, and Stars were moved by the entreaties, and they gave the gods light. Tasty soil was their first food. They ate until such food ran out, and then they ate paxalata, a kind of liana to survive. Then paxalatas were gone, they looked for thalesan tree, a flavoured rice, to eat to make their bodies stronger. (Luu Duc Trung 178; Obayashi 43-66; Scott 118). The Burmese believe that it is the gods that govern natural phenomena that bring humans the source of light and food. Moreover, Burmese legends also demonstrate a common belief in the existence of spirits in natural resources: A dragon princess living in the mountain to the north of Myanmar copulated with God Sun and gave birth to three dragon eggs. Consequently, God Sun was very happy, immediately sent her a ruby to build kingdoms for their children. Unfortunately, on the way from the heaven to the earth, a merchant fraudulently replaced ruby with buffalo dung. The princess received the dung, getting so distressed and frustrated that she had a stroke and died. Three dragon eggs were dropped into a river. One egg hit a reef, bursting to countless rubies. Another egg fell to the central region of Myanmar and transformed to a tiger. The last fell to the south and transformed to a crocodile” (Luu Duc Trung 181; Morgan 15-16; U Khin Maung Nyunt 269-289). The story explains in an animistic way that all plants and animals in Myanmar are gods by their origin.

In myths of Indonesia, the origin of the world and its natural phenomena are seen as the products of gods’ creation. As told, at first, the world was a messy mix of light, foam, and steam. Then, a god created the first three components: earth, water, and heaven which then formed main materials of the earth. The god’s children who lived on the earth cramped living in a tiny space, they returned to the heaven. The first child became Thunder god; the second became Lightning god; the third Rain god; the fourth Flood god; the fifth Thunderstorm god; the sixth Earthquake god; and seventh Rainbow god. The myth indicates a strong deification of the natural world in Indonesia (Dupré 80-85). Similarly, in traditional Thai folk culture, some sacred spirits play important roles in agriculture and associated natural phenomenon. For example, Phosop is the traditional and ancient rice goddess, whom Thailand people believe that to be blessed by her they must perform a periodic ritual called Cha Laeo. In Thailand, female entities that reside in trees are known as Nang Mai, Lady of the Tree or Lady of the Wood. Nang Tani is a female spirit who resides in banana trees and is usually present on full moon nights. For Thai people, souls or ghosts are elsewhere: in trees, in houses, in mountains and in forests (Nguyen Duc Ninh 133; MacPherson 10-30; Guelden 208)

In Vietnam, the belief that all natural objects have their own souls is also very popular. The ritual of worshipping Tứ phủ [four palaces] of the goddesses of clouds, rain, thunder and lightning, is indicative of such belief. This ritual is practiced largely in provinces in northern Vietnam such as Ha Noi, Bac Ninh, and Ha Nam. When Buddhism migrated to Vietnam, the practice of worshiping the four gods was honoured with Buddha in temples.

Besides worshipping natural phenomena, the ancient Vietnamese people also worship geographical areas, which is evident in Đạo Mẫu [the worship of mother goddesses in Vietnam]. Đạo Mẫu worships four goddesses that represents four main geographical areas of the earth

: Thiên phủ [Heaven Palace], the superior palace, governs the heaven, managing rain, storm, thunder and lightning. Nhạc phủ [Forest Palace], the second palace, takes care of forest and provides food for beings. Thủy phủ [Water Palace] the third palace, reigns over rivers, facilitating wet rice and fisheries. Địa phủ [Soil Palace), the forth palace, controls the land, the source of all life (Ngô Đức Thịnh). The ritual of worshipping four goddess palaces demonstrates a popular animistic belief in Vietnamese culture.

Moreover, myths in Vietnam also indicate the presence of animism. For example, the sun appears in Vietnamese myths as a spirit dwelling on a carriage carried by humans. In winter, the sun is carried by strong young men so it can move very fast from the east to west. This story is to explain in a mythic way the natural phenomenon that daytime in winter is for a short duration. In summer, gods are carried by weak old seniors, so daytime in summer is much longer. Meanwhile, god of the sea is imagined to be a giant turtle lying on the ocean floor. When the god breaths in, the ocean water descends, which aims to explain tidal phenomena. Moreover, the myth of Son Tinh – Thuy Tinh  [The Genie of the Mountains and the Genie of the Waters] explains the phenomenon of annual floods at river deltas in northern Vietnam and the achievements of dealing with the flood in ancient Vietnam. Specifically, Son Tinh is the divine form of the phenomenon of annual floods in the Red River Delta, which destroy crops and lives of the local residents. Images of Thuy Tinh lifting the mountain up against the flood is reminiscent of the image of the ancient Vietnamese building dikes and damping up to protect themselves from the floods (Huu Ngoc 315; Nguyen Thi Thanh Binh and Healy 146-148).

It is also in Vietnamese belief that long-living animal species can transform into goblins that turn tinto a support-system for people or be a bad influence on people. The legend of Lac Long Quan and Au Co, widely-believed to be ancestors of the Vietnamese, tells the story of fairy father Lac Long Quan defeating fish goblin, fox goblin, and tree goblin. The fish is described as follows: it lives for a long time; its body is fifty stick at length; its tail is like a sail; its mouth can swallow ten people at a time. When it swims, waves soar, boats sank; and all people on board were swallowed up. Fishermen are very afraid of that monster, calling it fish goblin (Fjelstad and Nguyen Thi Hien 22-23; Vo 20). Images of fox-goblin in the Vietnamese myths is of a nine-tailed fox that can live for more than a thousand years. It resides in a deep cave, at the foot of a rocky mountain. This goblin often transforms into a human figure, infiltrating itself into the people and abducting girls to the cave (Kröger and Anderson 80). Not only animals, flora is also believed to able to transform into goblins: it is commonly told that in Phong Chau, an area nearby Red River Delta, there was once an old tree called Sukaramaddava, thousands of feet in length, and its lush foliage was covered with a vast landmass; many years later, the tree withered and turned into a goblin which is usually called tree-goblin. This goblin was very devilish and extraordinarily insidious; it did not have a certain residence, it appears everywhere, transforms into different figures, for the purpose of capturing animals and humans for food (Bùi Văn Nguyên 185)

Belief in the spiritual nature of all things is a pervasive and lasting cultural belief in Southeast Asian communities. Although each ethnic group in the region has their own myths and possesses different explanations about the origins of the universe and the geographical and natural phenomena, they express a shared perspective that all things have souls and deserve respect. This paper shows how this shared belief has impacted environmental awareness of the Southeast Asians and if this belief remains and influences on the acts of environmental protection of peoples in modern time.  

Impacts of Animism on Acts of Environmental Protection   

It is possible to say that animism played an important role in the environmental consciousness of Southeast Asian people in the past as well as in the present. Believing that all things had souls, Asian natives did not only deny destructive acts towards environment but also worshipped them. The ancient Vietnamese built shrines in villages, worshipping banyan trees in order to protect the trees as well as to be protected by the gods of the banyan trees. Consequently, trees of thousands of years old are protected, not being cut down. Many Vietnamese villages even considered the ancient trees as the guardians of the villages, such as the banyan tree in Figure 2, the goddess of Tien village, Kim Thai commune, Vu Ban district (Nam Dinh)

. In the present-day context, the villagers still share stories about the sacredness of this tree with each other. It is said that during wartime no guerrillas were arrested by enemies when they hid themselves under the tree. There has never been a fatal accident in the 200m radius of the tree. Therefore, the villagers, from time immemorial construct the shrine to worship this ancient tree so that the tree spirit continues protecting the villagers from harm.

   The custom of worshipping fish, such as the Whale Worshipping in coastal fishing villages of central Vietnam, still exists today. Fishermen believe that the whale is a guardian spirit that is sacred and friendly, it presents itself only for the purpose of supporting people. If fishermen have an accident at sea while fishing, the whale spirit will appear to save them. Therefore, whales are usually called ông [grandfather or sir] and protecting whales becomes an ethic of the local fishermen. When whales die, fishermen and other villagers hold a solemn funeral and build shrines to worship them. 

Moreover, many ethnic groups in Vietnam practice rituals of worshipping gods of natural objects such as God of the Forest, God of the Mountain, and God of the Stream, showing them their gratitude and respect for their being protectors. These rituals form the culture of forest protection in many ethnic communities in Vietnam. For example, the feast of forest god of the ethnic group Pu Péo in Ha Giang, a mountainous northern province of Vietnam, has long existed through many generations of Pu Péo people. The festival is held on the sixth day of the sixth month in the lunar year, the time when the Pu Péo ethnic people think is the brightest and purest; thus heaven and earth are more sacred. The offering ceremony is prepared diligently. Each family prepares goats, chickens, rice, and wine as their offerings. This ritual demonstrates a beautiful culture in Pu Péo people that is the culture of protecting the forest. Liu Linzan, a researcher of cultures in Ha Giang province, states that

        [t]he worship of the forest gods aims at supporting the villagers’ health, bringing good food, prosperity, and lush crops [...]. In the village where Pu Péo people live, the forest  is always preserved. (Lễ cúng thờ rừng).

Besides being a spiritual ritual, the ceremony of worshipping the Forest god bears a real meaning, that is, it constantly reminds people to protect the forest as well as to preserve natural beauties of Ha Giang’s rocky mountain areas (Lê Đại Duy 249-260; Trần Văn Ái).

Figure 12.5. Ceremony of Worshipping the Forest God by Pu Péo people, Hà Giang Province, Vietnam (dulichhagiang.vn)

     Like Pù Péo in Ha Giang, Katu ethnic people in the Central Highland region of Vietnam also have their own perception and practice of animism. In their culture of choosing land to establish villages, the Katu highlight the belief that places where there are forests, rivers and streams are places where it is possible to build new villages that can exist and are thus conducive for a family life. For Cowtu people, the forest is not just a living ecosystem of plants, animals and grass, but also a source of culture because they believe that forests are the guardian gods that protect them from cannibal animals and other enemies. Therefore, Katu always consider the forest as the Great Spirit, the great benefactor of the village. They also believe that if deforestation takes place, forests will punish human beings by making them sick, not giving them the capacity for giving birth to children; thus, the whole village will be infected and disaster will strike. Therefore, one village of the Katu named Kiet has set up many customary laws to make sure that no one would harm the forest. For example, there is the law strictly regulating shifting cultivation and cutting trees for housing (Phan Đăng Nhật Đại cương 130-150; Phan Đăng Nhật Văn hóa các dân tộc tập 2 120-123). Cơ Lâu Nhấp, the oldest headman of Lăng commune, said:

“Works of slash and burn cultivation are discussed carefully by village seniors and elders. Families are accepted to swidden fields only when they meet requirements related to the use of land and forest that are decided by the village patriarchs” (Độc đáo). He explained in detail that the requirements include not forest land cultivated are not so young, not old; an absolute ban on cultivating grave land and sacred forests - forests with many precious kinds of wood- and watershed forests. In order to emphasise the rigor in the regulation of forest protection of Lăng community, he said that headmen and seniors of the village usually hold meetings to give decisions on which trees to be cut down and where to make the cutting on the selected trees so that not to harm the seedlings, sacred forests of their village and villages of others.

Since time immemorial, the Katu in Tây Giang district (Quang Nam province) are always aware of their responsibility to protect the forest. They imparted to the descendants the love of forests, the sense of cherishing and worship tree gods and forest gods, so that they do not invade and exploit rare old forests illegally. Therefore, although the Katu live mainly on slash-and-burn cultivation, they still retain the precious woods such as lima, pomelo, cherry, and thousand-year-old banyan trees. The forest covers 70% of the natural area of ​​the district. The most famous are forests of rare woods such as erythrophleum fordii forests (in Lăng commune), and the two-thousand bois de Siam tree garden (in Tr'hy and Aan communes), of which 725 are Vietnamese heritage trees. It is apparent that it is the worship of forest gods that make Tây Giang district a beautiful, green forest-covered area. This means the climate in the Tây Giang is very cool, to the point that it is told to be like "a refrigerator hanging in the sky." Tay Giang has become an ecotourism area attracting many visitors (Góp phần tìm hiểu).

Figure 12.6. Guests photographed at the memorial tree in Tây Giang (dantocmiennui.vn)

      Not only Pu Péo and Katu, the Mong ethnic people in Lai Châu and Lào Cai provinces also have the custom of worshiping forest gods. The forest worshipping festival of the Mong people in Tung Qua Lin commune, Phong Tho district, Lai Chau province is held on the day of the Dragon day of the first lunar month every year to pray for good weather, good harvests, and green forest. Forest worship demonstrates a deep message to people that they should always love forests, never cut down forests or cause fires to forests for slash-and-burn cultivation. The divine forest will bless mankind's peaceful life. As the consequence of such an animistic belief, Tung Qua Lin maintains more than 3,000 hectares of forest, including many primary forests, with many large trees that even cannot be held by two people’s arms (Nguyễn Tuấn Hào; Rapin).

Southeast Asians live mainly on rice as their staple food. So far, in the region, rice paddy is considered a divine god. In Java, the rice god is imagined as a goddess called Dewi Sri. Javanese believe that men are not allowed to be near the goddess; thus they are not prohibited from many works in the process of growing rice such as sowing seeds, plowing, and cultivating rice. At harvest time, after the rice is transferred to the store, people held a marriage ceremony for the goddess and the male god Wisna with the purpose of praying for the season to bumper (Pigeaud 328; Meer 102-110; Sharma 45). In Malaysia, rice is called Princess Semangat Padi. Malays hold many rituals to ensure rice trees to be well planted and harvested. Malaysians absolutely forbid anyone to knock on the grain for the fear that Princess Rice would scare away. In some regions, Malay people consider rice as a beautiful, fragile princess that needs to be pampered and loved. They call her Sun Princess or Crystal Princess. At the beginning of the sowing season, or in the harvest season, they do rituals of cherishing a handful of grains so that they are not harmed by devils. The first rows of rice will be cut with small sickles to avoid making the rice plant unhappy. People choose the best seven rows of rice, carefully store them for the next season. That is the way they invite the rice soul home (“Malaysia: The Rice Soul- Myths”; Sharma 45; Nguyen Duc Ninh 200).

For the Thai people in Thailand, they hold the rice ritual when rice paddy starts growing. The ceremony is very formal with many gifts of fruits such as banana and cane. Since rice is seen as a goddess, people also offer her chalks, perfumes and combs. They sprinkle perfume on her body and brush her hair in the hope of making the goddess happy, so that the goddess will flourish and consequently the harvest will thrive (Young 140-145).

   In Vietnam, different ethnic groups have specific rituals of worshipping rice trees. The Khmer called rice Mother. Rice Mother is imagined as a woman riding a fish, her hands holding rice. Meanwhile, Khmú ethnic group imagines rice as a white girl in the upland fields. For Bahnar, rice is Yangsri; this goddess decides life fate of human beings. Thus, the Bahnar hold many rituals expressing their thankfulness for rice, such as the feast of Sanok to show their respect for new rice seeds. The Cotu ethnic group in Central Highland region traditionally worships Grandparents Rice. They occupy the best place in the kitchen to worship Grandparents Rice. On the altar of the rice god is a tơru, a bamboo-woven basket hung on the kitchen stool, in which there are beautiful clothes and small boxes of rice. People choose the best new grains to put in those boxes. When people change places of residence, they will also carry and will continue to worship the tơru in their new resident place. When the rice is harvested, people block all the ways to the fields by hanging the branches so that no strangers can enter. When they finish the rice harvest, they celebrate the new rice with a sacred festival: every house cooks new rice, put cooked rice into the basket and bring to share with each other. The more people give, the happier their ancestors are and the more blessings they will have. Meanwhile, young people dance to welcome new seasons.    

Thus, animism has survived to this day and is richly represented in many forms in many cultures in Southeast Asia. Animism has a strong influence on the way of dealing with the nature of Southeast Asian people from ancient to present. They worship nature, living in harmony with nature; they do not invade and destroy nature. It is apparent that animism is a spiritual resource of Southeast Asia because it provides spiritual bases for people to criticise ideas and practice that tend to dominate nature and create environmental destruction. Moreover, animism helps to construct in cultures of the region a shared sense of environmental protection. With such argument, this paper complements existing ecocritical scholarship about animism and modern environmentalism that has developed by scholars such as Bird David, Garrad, Fisher and many others while also suggesting the need of further comprehensive research on role of animism in answering problems in dealing with environment and exploiting natural resources in present-day in Southeast Asian countries.

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