Thai Tattoo Festival

**zehner** · 6th March 2009 07:25

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Thailand is notorious for its range of arcane festivals. But one of the strangest is the tattoo honouring ceremony held each March at Wat Bang Phra temple about 50 miles west of Bangkok near a town called Nakhon Chai Si

Like Phuket's Vegetarian Festival, with its mass piercings, and the Bun Bang Fai rocket festival, where thousands of giant fireworks explode into the sky in a giant fertility rite, it is linked to Thailand's spiritual domain.

Wat Bang Phra's former abbot Luang Phor Phoem, who died a couple of years ago, was famous for creating particularly powerful sak yant (tattoos) and attracted thousands of committed devotees. The monks of the temple continue the tradition using a single thin needle about 18 inches long

In Thai culture the sak yant is often worn as a symbol of spiritual and physical protection and they mostly display a mixture of cabalistic spells in ancient Khmer/Cambodian script or animals such as tigers and monkeys

During the festival devotees who have been tattooed return to the temple to have their tattoos re-empowered by the monks in a large puja (festival) that attracts a couple of thousand people

The crowds usually begin to congregate shortly after sunrise with the thick heat of the Thai summer (March and April) enveloping the gathering

It is a deeply spiritual festival, with intoxication of any form completely forbidden and the seated monks and devotees who attend can often be glimpsed in deep meditation

Some will sit shirtless proudly displaying large elaborate tattoos. At first, a sense of ordered calm pervades the festival. Many devotees will fall into a trance-like state

This serenity doesn't last long. Eerie cries begin to ring out from within the crowd and a few of the devotees begin to contort their faces and bodies

They leap to their feet, clench fists and let out long screams, clawing at the ground and air. It is a frightening and bizarre spectacle to a Westerner but many Thais will sit giggling or remain indifferent

The devotees are in fact undergoing what they believe to be a form of possession by the animal spirits inculcated into their tattoos. Some are very clearly monkeys

Others are tigers and buffalos. During the possession some will seemingly become enraged, attempting to charge the plinth where the senior monks are delivering the spritual prayers

Conveniently for the leaping tigers or crouching monkeys, the crowd has already formed into neat patterns with runs cleared for possessed devotees to sprint towards the plinth

There is an air of order amid all the wild screams and roars, with drink sellers and noodle stalls nearby should you need respite. Families with children attend - for some Thais it is an engaging day out

To break the spell of possession the devotee must be lifted into the air and have their ears rubbed

For this very purpose a platoon of soldiers is drafted in to protect the senior monks sitting on the plinth. Suitably calmed, the devotee immediately wanders oblivious back into the crowd

In the past it was common for almost all Thais to be tattooed. These days many still have discreet protective sak yant placed above the hairline on the nape of the neck or use transparent sesame oil to create an invisible marking. But the tattoos from Wat Bang Phra temple are believed to have magical powers protecting against knives and guns

Most tattoo devotees are men in 'dangerous' professions. These can include policemen and soldiers through to labourers, motorcycle taxi drivers and, of course, members of Thailand's notorious criminal underworld

The festival ends when the monks spray holy water on to the crowd. In the minutes leading up to this, the possessions are at their most intense and can happen in large numbers. The water spraying comes as a relief in the burning heat and the crowd quickly disperses afterwards, the devotees placated for another year

This year's festival takes place on Saturday 7 March. The date is usually the Saturday nearest the last full moon before the April Thai New Year (Songkran).

**zehner** · 6th March 2009 08:06

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and...

Wai kroo - Wat Bang Pra master day

Saturday the Seventh of March is the set day for Wat bang Pra temple’s Master Day 2552 B.E.

Bhikkhu tattooing at Wat bang Pra

Please remember to wear at least a white shirt if not all white, and to keep precepts whilst on the temple grounds, meaning no intoxication for one thing. Thais are being advised that if they have a girlfriend not to bring them as last year many people had to worry for their girlfriends, as the devotees are unconscious of what they are doingwhilst in trance, and rush forward through the crowd to reach Hlwong Por. Many females were bruised last year through being charged into by devotees in trance. if your Girlfriiend is menstruating, she should not enter the temple grounds on this day. Looksit Hlwong Phor Phern are called to appear on Saturday the Seventh of March to pay respects to the Master of Sak yant, and receive the blessings of Wat Bang Pra (and enjoy the spectacle of course).
Don’t forget to show respect by wearing as much white as possible.

A devotee of Hlwong Phor Phern springs in trance at the 2007 Wai kroo master Day ceremony

Wai Kroo - Wat Bang Pra Master Day Tattoo festival | Sak Yant Thai Temple Tattoos