The elephant ordination ritual of the Kui ethnic group expresses the group’s Buddhist and animistic beliefs. The Kui are Buddhists, believing in the Law of Actions and Consequences, reincarnation, and goodness being rewarded. Being ordained to study Buddhist teaching is beneficial to practitioners and to the existence of the religion. A general belief is that parents receive merit from the son’s ordination. When they die, they would hold the yellow robe of their son on their way to heaven. Therefore, a son is expected to be ordained by his family (p. 87).

The Kui also believe that after their ancestors passed away, their spirits would oversee and protect their children to ensure that they would have a happy livelihood. The ethnic group has great respect for the Pakam Spirit, because they believe that their ancestors’ spirits reside in the Pakam rope which was used to tie up elephants in ancient times. Therefore, a Pakam shrine is constructed in every home, especially in those where elephants are raised. At the Pu Ta Wang Thalu Shrine, a Pakam shrine is used for keeping the rope and for conducting sacrificial rituals. Before any ceremony in a home or community takes place, the ritual to inform the ancestors’ spirits or Pakam Spirits must be carried out first. As a minority in the mainstream culture, the belief helps unite the ethnic society and maintain its conventional lifestyle, culture and language (pp. 87-88).

The belief in elephant ordination is an assimilation of Buddhist and animistic beliefs. Important elements of the two beliefs have not been neglected but integrated into the ethnic lifestyle. Ordination rituals and sacrificial items are strictly observed and maintained like in any Buddhist community. However, the ethnic belief is added to the religious belief by paying respect to their ancestors’ spirits at the shrine. The ordination ritual is a perfect assimilation of the two beliefs and an expression of the ethnic identity.