By : KhunSanuk

If you spend even a little time in Thailand you will notice that a lot of men are adorned with tattoos, some may have only a single small tattoo, while others seem to be virtually covered in them. Contrary to the West, these traditional Thai tattoos, or "sak yan" ('magic tattoo'), are not applied for cosmetic reasons. The are to protect the wearer, or impied him/her with special powers.

They are often applied in a temple, although this is not specifically required, by a man, called a "khruu" (teacher) or "aajaan sak", who uses a long (roughly 2 foot) metal stick. The tattoo is made by tapping the top of the metal stick, which causes the pointed tip to break the skin and insert the ink. During the process the tattoo artist chants an incantation to weave the magic into the tattoo.
The tattoos usually consist of sacred images (animals, Buddhas or temples) as well as a written part, and can be placed on just about any part of the body depending upon the type of blessing it is supposed to give. For the written part the holy script, "khom", is used. This script is related to (old) Khmer and is also used in other religous rites.

If the person applying the tattoo is not a monk then he is not bound to apply only positive / defensive tattoos, but can apply tattoos with a negative / aggresive meaning as well. The defensive tattoos are on the upper halve of the body, while the aggresive ones are made below the waistline.
As mentioned monks are forbidden to apply the aggresive tattoos, nor are these done in temples. The people doing these tattoos are refered to as 'moh pii'. They are also the only people who will tattoo women.

The tattoo is applied completely from memory; there is no book with drawings to choose from (every tattoo has a specific name), nor is an example used or sketch made on the skin. It is applied in one setting, and wiped with goldleaf once finished.
The tattoos can take weeks or months to complete and the process is said to be rather painful, as well as potentially unhealthy. The needle is not steralized, but then again when you are getting a magic tattoo to protect you from all kinds of danger, worrying about getting infected does sound a bit weird.

As with a lot of other events, the day of the week plays an important role as well in determining when to apply the tattoo (Thursday is considered the best day, since it is "wan khruu", the day of the teacher). Even the 'payment' is subject to superstition, and should be seen more as an offer than a payment. Offers could include incense, cigarets and a pre-determined amount of money (some amounts are good, others completely out of the question regardless of whether they are higher or lower).
There are a lot of different spells that can be applied, each giving the wearer a different 'special power', like strength, health, wealth, virility, protection, etc. Some are even said to protect the wearer from bullets, but I kinda doubt that this really works :)
It is also rumoured that the 'khruu' can limit the power of the tattoo (for instance by making the tale of an animal a little shorter, or leaving out the last letter of the 'khom' script) if he feels that the wearer may not be able to handle the full power of the tattoo.
Besides the normal tattoos for which ink is used, the monks can also create 'invisible tattoos', which are particularly popular with women. The procedure for these stays the same and the tattoo is applied as usual, but instead of ink, oil is used. Since the oil is absorbed by the body, the tattoo does not show. The effects are the same though.

Once the tattoos are completed the wearer must maintain the tattoos and treat them with the proper respect, or risk them losing their powers. One of the rules, for instance, is that after getting the tattoo that the first time alcohol is consumed, you can only drink from your own glass.
Often they are also tested on the spot once completed, in other words it is not uncommon that someone will unexpectedly swing a knife or a piece of bamboo at you.

The rules also provide an explanation as to tattoos not working. For example, if someone with the aforementioned 'bullet proof' tattoo dies from a gunshot wound, it does not mean that the tattoo did not work. It means that the man did not treat his tattoos with the proper respect.
Regardless of the respect though, over time any tattoo will start losing its magic. Some things may even speed this up, especially menstrual blood and other vaginal fluids are said to be particularly damaging to a tattoo's power, whereas chanting the right spells at the right times, as well as taking care in what to eat/drink will minimize the loss of power.
A very powerfull, and sometimes spectaluar, way of 'recharging' the tattoo is the 'wai khruu' (respect teacher) ceremony. During this ceremony people with a magic tattoo will pay respect to the person, the 'khruu', who applied it.
One of the biggest ceremonies is the one held in yearly in Wat Bang Phra.

Wat Bang Phra 'wai khruu' ceremony
The ceremomy at Wat Bang Phra, a few kilometers outside of Nakhon Chaisri, is regarded as the best 'wai khruu' ceremony in Thailand. It is held every year around the second week of March and is rather elaborate.
People with a tattoo will be seated inside an area, enclosed by blessed string. Women on their period are strictly forbidden from entering this area. In front of them on a podium are the monks/'khruu's, and directly in front of this podium are volunteers.

To an outsider this may seem like a fairly normal ceremony, until the first people in the audience fall into a trance that is. Once in this trance, they start screaming and acting like being taken over by the images in their tattoos. After a little while they will run/crawl/jump towards the podium, regardless of what is in their way or that they may have hurt themselves.
The volunteers in front of the podium will catch them and lift them off the ground, before blowing in their ears to release them from their trance. Once out of this trance they calmly walk back to their seat.

With the passing of time, more and more people will enter a trance until finally all hell breaks loose and lots of them run towards the podium at the same time. At this point blessed water will be sprayed on them and everybody will start grabbing for the sacred strings with which the area was enclosed. These strings will then be tied around the wrists.

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