The high cost prevents an owner from holding such a housewarming ceremony just after the completion of their house. Many married couples postpone holding the ceremony until they have saved up enough money to for it. For example, the ceremony described above cost 60 thousand baht, ten times the couple's total monthly income, although they did, in fact, receive 40 thousand baht from guests as gifts at the ceremony. To hold the big party, they put it off till six months after the building's completion, borrowed from the wife's mother and sisters, and in addition sold a rice field. This was not exceptional. Couples often borrow money from kin, friends or banks, or sell properties in order to hold grand housewarming ceremonies. During my stay in Village N, most of the houses completed were those of factory women. In one case, I observed the housewarming ceremony of a non-factory hostess. She was a housewife. Her husband was the only villager working in a foreign country. Their new house was a big western- style house, with white plastered walls and a red tiled roof, which most factory women dream of. They had only a big housewarming rite, which means that they invited nine monks to the rite.9 The wife explained the reason for the lack of a party by saying, "I do not work in the estate Here, questions arise. Why do the factory women invest their incomes so extensively in houses and the high-priced household goods? Why are they keen on holding grand housewarming parties? To answer these questions, we should inquire into the relation between the woman and the house, and the meanings of the housewarming ceremony in the Northern Thai village