pot. It is not until the third day following death, that the deceased become conscious of his/her death. Before that, there was no awareness because he/she was in a state of sleep and dream, or half asleep and half-awake. Bad souls are the souls of women who died in child delivery, of men who were devoured by tigers etc.. They would appear in the graves, would cry or return to the village and tease the living. They may come back and demand clothing, shoulder baskets, knives etc.. In such cases, poor families would cut banana leaves into various forms – the T symbolizing clothing, the V symbolizing pants – and thrust them across the door. Rich families would hurl out 2 pieces of cloth. And all these families say almost the same thing to the souls:”we have given you presents, please refrain from asking more, please refrain from disturbing us, please bless us”. Spirits are different from the soul of deceased humans, and there are many types of spirits. The brau brieu spirit is a kind of forest spirit that can bless human beings but can also cause illnesses. It can also direct tigers, snakes and other wild beasts and cause them to harm human beings. In the past, the Ta-oi held annual rituals dedicated to the spirits: the heavens spirit (abang), the earth spirit (katek), the forest spirit (krum kaek). The ritual dedicated to the heavens spirit (giang abang) was held once every 10–12 years. In case prosperity, bumper harvest are enjoyed by the village along with absence of illnesses and death, the village must hold a thanksgiving ritual dedicated to Giang kmuk (ma người chết nói chung). In case the village is hit by floods and other natural calamities, it must hold ritual dedicated to the heavens spirit, the earth spirit, the Rong house spirit, and the house spirit. Rituals dedicated to the heavens spirit must involve 12 types of foodstuffs, to the earth spirit 8 types of foodstuffs, to Giang kmuk 5 types of foodstuffs. These foodstuffs are: buffalo meat, pork, chicken, blood pudding, grilled meat, mon thai, soup, glutinous rice. Rice must be put in bowls, “doak” liquor must be served in jars, cups. Incense sticks must be burned. Water spirit (giang dak) The Ta-oi inhabitants imagine the water spirit as a short old man with white hair and white beard. They also respectfully refer to