Charoenpong Sawatsuk got his first tattoo as a teenager from Kamphaeng Phet province in north-central Thailand.
The tattoo artist, a Buddhist monk, inked a pair of lizards, the same ones Charoenpong’s father had, onto his inside forearm. As he did so, the monk recited blessings intended to imbue the tattoo with spiritual power that would enhance Charoenpong’s charisma and attractiveness. He also recited rules based on Buddhist moral teachings that the boy must follow to sustain its power.
The tattoo seemed to have an immediate effect, Charoenpong said, as he persuaded the woman to sleep with him later that day.
Chalorenpong went on to get two more spiritual tattoos. However, over the years, the magical tattoos proved ineffective in steering his life in the right direction. In fact, he was given a life sentence for dabbling in illegal drugs, but later got an early release due to his talent in martial arts, and then met a Christian friend who helped change his life.
Sakyanto Tattooing, which dates back centuries in Southeast Asia, was originally a way to enlist the help of local animist spirits, but later became associated with Hindu and Buddhist yantras, mystical geometric designs used during meditation. Followers of Sak Yant believe that tattoos provide specific benefits, such as physical or spiritual protection, popularity or success.
Sak yant’s intricate designs and patterns have become popular among Thais and foreigners looking for a cool tattoo, but Christians worry about its spiritual implications. Thai pastors encourage new converts with Sak yant tattoos, like Charoenpol, to realize that God is more powerful than any spirit.
“[Sak yant] “In Thailand we need to believe in an invisible God, but Christians don’t worship statues that represent God,” explains Tanit Lokesukrawee, director of Chiang Mai Theological Seminary. “It goes completely against Thai thinking, but we need to believe in an invisible God.”
Superficial animism
Sack It is a Thai word meaning tattoo. Yant Yantra meaning. Historians believe that the practice is at least a thousand years old and was often used to protect men in battle. Tattoos predate Buddhism, but Sak Yant and other animistic beliefs were incorporated into its popular expression as the religion took hold in Indochina.
Sak Yant tattoos include a variety of pictures, symbols, or words written in the ancient Khmer script. Followers believe that only tattoos done by professionals who can properly perform the necessary chants and rituals can have any spiritual potency. Today, Sak Yant artists are usually Buddhist monks or other clergy.
The rules the monks give their clients to ensure their tattoos last include moral guidance as well as some seemingly arbitrary stipulations — Charoenpong, for example, was told not to walk under unfinished bridges; breaking the rule is said to weaken the amulet’s power.
After getting their tattoos, Sak Yant followers regularly take part in ceremonies to re-enchant their tattoos. Every March, about 10,000 people travel to Wat Bang Phra, a temple 30 miles outside of Bangkok, for a festival to honour the famous deceased monk and re-enchant their tattoos. Videos of the ritual show devotees going into a trance-like state, jumping, screaming and charging towards the stage. Many believe they are possessed by spirits associated with the tattoos.
Decoding Thai Spiritualism
Sak Yant has become popular worldwide, with celebrities such as Angelina Jolie, Brooke Shields and Ed Sheeran having had the practice. As a result of increased demand, more and more tattoo artists in Thailand are now performing Sak Yant without a monk or ceremony.
In 2011, Thailand’s Ministry of Culture called for a ban on foreigners getting tattoos, due to concerns that religious tattoos were being placed in inappropriate body parts. In Thai culture, the head is considered sacred, and the lower parts of the body are increasingly considered less sacred. Thus, Thais may be uncomfortable seeing tourists with sak yant tattoos on their legs, which are more stigmatized than the neck or upper back.
Many Westerners are fascinated by the aesthetics of sak yant, but often struggle to understand the Thai beliefs that involve calling on spiritual forces through tattoos, amulets and rituals.
Chris Flanders, a former missionary in Thailand and now a professor of missions and intercultural service at Abilene Christian University, often compares animistic spirituality to a technology his students are familiar with: Wi-Fi.
Just as one needs a mobile phone to connect to the invisible world of Wi-Fi signals, people whose worldview includes countless invisible spiritual beings that must be engaged and appeased must have the appropriate devices. Flanders says that for many Thais the spirit world is mysterious and frightening, but also potentially useful – but only if people know how to harness its power.
“Sak Yant is a kind of spiritual technology,” Flanders says, “It gives us access to the spiritual forces that are all around us, but we don’t realize it because it’s invisible like Wi-Fi.”
Sak Yant and the Church
For Thai Christians, seeking spiritual protection or help through sak yant or other practices is clearly outside the scope of their faith. Thai pastors say there is no requirement for new believers to remove sak yant tattoos they got before converting, especially since tattoo removal can be difficult, expensive and painful. But even if the ink remains, pastors are willing to help erase the spiritual imprint of the tattoo.
“I have no problems. [Christian converts still having sak yant tattoos,] “As long as they understand that Sak Yant doesn’t have the power,” says Nathy Tanchanpong, senior pastor of Grace City in Bangkok and former dean of Bangkok Bible Seminary, “the power to protect them comes from the God of the universe who created them, and He is capable of doing more than we could ever ask or imagine.”
Tanit, the seminary’s principal, grew up in a Buddhist family and remembers noticing the sak yant tattoos of a male relative as a child. He became a Christian after meeting a Thai missionary while at university, and has witnessed Thai Christians’ struggle to fully let go of old ways of dealing with fear and feelings of helplessness.
“When life is going well and you’re happy, [old beliefs] “These beliefs lie hidden,” Tanit says, “but then once a crisis hits, they come back to haunt you.”
In his role as a pastor, Tanit says it’s important to “de-emphasize” the sak yant tattoos and help Christians see them as simple ink patterns. But this can be an ongoing challenge, even for mature Christians who came to faith years ago, and Tanit doesn’t always know how best to help.
“We need the wisdom of God,” he said. “People in the past have survived harm, conflict and war with this kind of faith. So it’s not easy. [to give it up]. “
Different person
For Chalorenpong, the power and love of God gave him something his three sak yant tattoos never could. As a teenager, he had a promising career in boxing, but he fell in with the wrong crowd and became addicted to drugs. When he ran out of money, he started selling drugs.
One day, Charoenpong met with another drug dealer in a rice field to settle a dispute, but the man was carrying a handgun. Fearing for his life, Charoenpong attacked him, took the gun and fired a shot. He intended to scare the dealer away, but the bullet killed him.
A court initially sentenced Charoenpol to death, but the King of Thailand commuted the sentence to life imprisonment. The 19-year-old appeared destined to spend the rest of his life in Thailand’s harsh prison system.
During his incarceration, Chalorenpong resumed his martial arts career, competing in boxing and Muay Thai tournaments inside the prison. He won more and more, eventually becoming the national prison champion. This success led to his sentence being reduced, a reward given in Thailand to well-behaved prisoners who win martial arts tournaments. He was released at the age of 33.
The newly released boxer wanted to continue his boxing career, but promoters were hesitant to work with a former death row inmate. During this time, Chalorenpong spoke with a Thai Christian who encouraged him to pray to God about his situation. Although the Christian faith is strange and foreign to Chalorenpong, he and his wife Sarunya decided to pray to God to give him the opportunity to compete.
Within a week, Chalorenpong was invited to a boxing match in China. But when he arrived, he was told he couldn’t compete. Disheartened and in doubt, he prayed that the match would go ahead.
“If you’re real, please let me compete,” he remembers praying, “and when I get back to Thailand, I’ll go to church.”
After a tense wait, it was announced the bout was back on. Since that first bout, he has continued to compete and win international championships in boxing and Muay Thai.
Upon his return, Chalorenpol kept his promise. Another ex-prisoner, who had become a Christian, helped him find a church. From his first day at Taweepong Church in Ayutthaya, a city 50 miles north of Bangkok, he felt what he had been missing all his life: unconditional love. People didn’t judge him for his past sins or worry about his tattoos.
“The Christians I met at church paid no attention to my Sak Yant tattoos,” Charoenpoln recalled. “They all came up to me and said: Don’t worry, welcome! Everyone loves you. God loves you. You are saved.. “
Chalorenpong said God changed him dramatically when he learned about his new faith, replacing his old vices with a strong desire to honour his Creator.
His tattoos are still visible and even earned him the nickname Contourrai (“the tattooed one”) in the boxing ring, but his belief in their power has disappeared; instead, he prays to God for help and protection.
“Becoming a Christian was a really big change for me,” Charoenpoln said. “It was like I became a different person.”
