Southeast Asia In
mainland Southeast Asia, most houses and businesses have a spirit house placed in an
auspicious spot, most often in a corner of the property. The location may be chosen after consultation with a
Brahmin priest. Spirit houses are known as () or () in Burmese; (, 'house of the guardian spirit') in Thai; and (, 'shrine for the guardian-spirit') or () in Khmer. '' among the
Itneg people (1922, Philippines) In
maritime Southeast Asia, spirit houses are connected to the various traditional
animistic rituals involving spirits. In the Philippines, spirit houses are dedicated to ceremonies or offerings involving the
anito spirits. They are also referred to as shrines. They are known in Visayan; or in Tagalog; , , or (for various small roofed altars), and or (for larger structures) in Itneg; in Subanen; in Tiruray; and (for those built near roads and villages) and (for those built near rice fields) in Bagobo.
East Asia In Chinese,
spirit houses are called 土地神屋 or
Tudigong Houses, representing a link between the concept and the concept of an
Earth Temple dedicated to a
dizhu shen or a
Tudigong.
South Asia In
Tamil Nadu, spirit houses and shrines house local
tutelary spirits, guardian deities, and deified ancestors who derive from
ancient Dravidian animistic beliefs. They tend to be located on the periphery of villages, known as the "katu," due to the belief that these spirits are "too dangerous and unpredictable to [have] reside in the village... and seem to be disturbed by the sounds of village life." Many of these spirit houses are dedicated to the spirit of a deified hero, especially—
Madurai Veeran,
Karuppuswami, or
Aiyanar. Offerings of bananas, coconuts, oil lamps, meat, and alcohol are routinely left at these shrines to ensure the health and safety of the village. This starkly contrasts the Vedic Hindu practice of only offering vegetarian foods to deities. As a result of countless Tamils falling into the British Raj's
indenture system, these shrines have spread throughout the Indian diaspora. In
Kerala, each family home complex (for
Nairs and
Ezhavas), known as a
tharavadu, has a spirit house located towards the northeast corner. Known as "kavu" or "
sarpa kavukal," these shrines consist of a small grove with symbolic houses and carved stone effigies of guardian
nagas, and other "gods, spirits,
yakshi, [or] ancestors." The Malayali people traditionally believe that the construction and maintenance of these sacred shrines keeps tutelary spirits docile and can even serve as atonement for "angry serpent gods [who were]... left unattended." Spirits of the kavu are most commonly offered "raw rice, unbroken coconut fruits, betel leaves, and areca nut," as well as an "oil lamp in front of the deity at dusk." Occasionally, these kavu serve as locations for shamanistic rituals known as "pampin kalam" where mediums channel the deities and perform sacred rites around hand-drawn
mandalas made from coloured powder. ==Spirit house offerings==