Beliefs

Beliefs

Our region spreads across a vast area from China in the North to Indonesia further South, encompassing a rich diversity of peoples, religions, beliefs and traditions. The region also spans a variety of geographies from mountains and fertile valleys to river deltas, coastal strips and islands. Layered across this varied landscape is people from a rich variety of backgrounds.

People have populated much of the region for more than a thousand years and have developed sets of beliefs which are often associated with natural things such as mountains, trees, rivers and lakes. Animist groups believe that spirits live with these naturally occurring things so have developed various rituals in order to appease the spirits that ‘own’ the place they inhabit. It is assumed that much of these belief systems pre-date the arrival of the major religions such as Buddhism, Islam and Christianity. With the arrival of major religions in the region, many of the existing beliefs were incorporated into or withheld alongside the religious activity creating unique sets of cultural values which guided everyday life.

Beliefs are one of the aspects of Asia that make this region such an amazing place to visit. There is always something different to see and learn, offering a rich cultural experience like no other. In Thailand, visitors will see small ‘spirit houses’ in the grounds of almost every house or building where daily offerings are made. Small effigies may be seen in these spirit houses which represent servants to the spirits that may reside in the house.

In Vietnam where Buddhism, Catholisism, Confuciansim and Taoism make up the major doctrines, folk beliefs consist of belief in fertility, worship of nature and worship of man. Human beings need to be reproduced, crops need to be lushly green for the nourishment and development of life, so belief in fertility came into existence. Among the human-revering beliefs, the custom of worshiping ancestors is the most popular. The Vietnamese choose the death-day rather than the birthday to hold a commemorative anniversary for the deceased.

Another example of how belief systems and religions have interwoven to create such a colourful array of rituals and festivals is in Bali in Indonesia. Bali is an island in the country with the world’s largest Muslim population, however Hindu is the major religion of the island. Balinese Hinduism is unique in that religious expression is deeply interwoven with art and ritual, and is less closely preoccupied with scripture, law, and belief. Balinese Hinduism lacks the traditional Hindu emphasis on cycles of rebirth and reincarnation, but instead is concerned with a myriad of local and ancestral spirits.

One of the most obvious expressions of belief can be witnessed daily on the streets of Bali as people place small offerings – often a small woven basket with burning incense, a flower and maybe some sticky rice – on the ground at the front of their shop or house. This scene is replayed daily throughout Bali.

Despite East and Southeast Asia’s rich ethnic and cultural diversity, there are shared values throughout the region such as the importance of the family unit, while others may inform family life, marriage, and divorce. Difference is interwoven with similarity and this is what makes our region such an interesting and amazing place.