Satsana Phi

Satsana Phi is the old native religion of the Tai peoples, among them the Shan, the Dai of Yunnan, the Lao and the Ahom of Assam. It is based on the worship of spirits called phi, of the vital forces called khwan, and of ancestors, and it was dominant until Hinduism and Buddhism arrived.

Guardian spirits watched over temples and the town pillar, the lak mueang, while others were old sky gods, the phi thaen. Everyone was thought to hold thirty-two khwan, and in the baci ceremony the lost khwan were called back and cotton strings tied round the wrist.

The Ahom carried the faith from Möng Mao into Assam with Sukaphaa in 1228. After 1397 Brahmin influence grew at court, and King Suhungmung, who reigned from 1497 to 1539, took the Hindu title Swarganarayana.