Transcript File

Body Adornment and
Modification
Sak Yant - Thai Buddhist Tattooing
Once a year, thousands of
tattoo enthusiasts from
around the world descend on
the temple known as Wat
Bang Phra, located 50 km
outside Bangkok, where
dozens of heavily tattooed
Buddhist monks are masters
of the tattoo art. This Wat is
also known as the Temple of
the Flying Tiger.
Thai tattoos comes steeped
in spiritual, or superstitious,
meaning.
Protection,
Good luck
Blessings from on high
Protection
These are what the tattoo
devotees are seeking.
It’s a long tradition in
Thailand for soldiers to
take on these protective
tattoos, called Sak Yant.
The belief in their powers
as charms is so great that
it's commonly believed
that the right tattoo by
the best tattoo master
can stop bullets.
Many arrive already
heavily tattooed and are
there to simply get their
designs 'recharged', by
having the Buddhist monks
re-bless their body art.
It's not only the Buddhist
designs that are potent,
but the accompanying
prayers. They're
chanted by the monks
as the nearly metre-long
tattoo implements do
their work. The fingers of
one hand directs the
needle, cradling the tip
almost as if it were a
pool cue, while the other
hand drives the needle
up and down.
The most popular Thai
tattoos depict Buddhist
deities or temples.
Often, the tattoo is not a
recognizable image at
all, but Thai script
reproducing prayers.
The art of spiritual tattooing as
practiced in Thailand is one that
goes back to ancient times. Like
the classical Japanese tattoo
masters, the Thai monks undergo
the long training necessary to find
that mystical place inside them
where they aren't distracted. Only
in that state -- and working from
that very still place -- can the
tattooist orchestrate his mind,
body into the necessary
coordination to perform the tattoo
miracle.