History of Thailand Sak Yant Thai Tattoos

History of Thailand Sak Yant Thai Tattoos

The end of Absolute Monarchy

A group of military officers and civil servants led the Siamese Revolution of 1932. The group took hostages of the Royal family while King Rama VII was at his summer Palace in Hua Hin. This coup changed Thailand from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy with the Prime Minister presiding over the government. This was not the first time a change had been attempted, in 1912 a group of military officers were arrested while plotting a similar coup. King Prajadhipok, Rama VII accepted the change but he abdicated shortly after, citing conflicts within the government. The King’s ten year old nephew Ananda Mahidol, was installed as the new King. The next ten years saw turmoil within the government as power struggles between rival military officers were fuelled by communism fears until the military faction eventually overcame their opponents. They installed Plaek Phibunsongkhram as the new Prime Minister and in 1941, they decided to ally with Japan. After the shock death of young Ananda Mahidol, King Rama VII, in 1946, his brother Bhumibol Adulyadej was crowned King.
In January 1941, Thailand invaded French Indochina with the Thai force vastly outnumbering the French and they retook Laos. The French retaliated with a naval battle (battle of Koh Chang) on January 17th 1941 and sank two Thai Navy ships, one a battleship. This was shortly followed by a treaty between the two countries which was signed in Japan on December 9th with the French handing back disputed territories.
On December 8th 1941, a few hours after Japan attacked Pearl Harbour, Japan invaded Thailand and began to move troops across Thailand to the Malayan border. The Thai army retaliated and there was fierce fighting until Plaek Phibunsongkhram, a prominent politician, ordered hostilities to cease. Not long after this, the Japanese army were  given free passage and on December 21st 1941 and agreement was signed with Tokyo promising to help Thailand regain territory lost to the British and French, namely Malaysia, Singapore, Burma, Laos and Cambodia. Thailand then agreed to aid Japan in the war against the allies and there was deep mistrust on both sides. There was a freedom movement called Seri Thai which operated underground and their goal was to rid Thailand of the Japanese invaders and they supported the allies in the war against Japan. The movement was founded by Seni Pramoj, Thai Ambassador to USA, who was actually a descendant of Rama II.
The Prime Minister of Thailand declared war on Great Britain and the United States of America on 25th January 1942 and the Ambassador to Great Britain delivered the declaration however Seri Pramoj refused to do so, preferring to organise a resistance movement in the US. After a short meeting with his American counterpart, Seri returned to his staff and they decided to take matters into their own hands and side with the allies. Looking back, this was a monumental step taken by one man and it avoided a certain invasion and defeat of Thai military forces by the allies.
He returned to the US office and told them of their decision to back the allies, citing that some politicians in Thailand had business connections with Japan therefore they were overly sympathetic to their cause. Seri succeeded in unlocking Thai assets frozen in the US in order to facilitate the anti-Japanese movement in Thailand. The US government decided to accept Seri as the representative of the Thai government and many Thais refused repatriation after the declaration of war.
Seri Pramoj was made Prime Minister upon his return to Bangkok on September 17th 1945. After Japan’s defeat earlier in the same year, a close bond was formed between Thailand and America. The US saw Thailand as a steadfast against communism and they were very concerned about its spread in South East Asia at that time. Indeed it was the CIA who introduced to practice of playing the National Anthem twice a day as they wanted to strengthen the Thai nationalistic feeling to keep out communism.

The road to democracy

After 1973, the transition from military rule to a democracy has been long and often bloody with several reversals taking place. In the 1980’s Thailand’s Prime Minister was a strong willed man who restored and maintained parliamentary politics. The country remained democratic with the exception of brief military rule in 1991 and 1992. The Thai Rak Thai party, led by Thaksin Shinawattra, a successful business tycoon and former Police Colonel came to power in 2001. Thaksin was very popular among the rural poor because of his social development programs but he came under attack from the loyalist elite, who feared a parliamentary dictatorship. In 2005, Sondhi Limthongkul, a media tycoon, formed a protest group called Peoples Alliance for Democracy (PAD). The government dissolved parliament on September 19th 2006 and Thaksin became the leader of a provisional government. While Thaksin was in New York attending a UN meeting, there was a bloodless coup led by General Sondi Boonyaratglin with the support of the Democrat party and other anti-Thaksin factions. A general election was held on December 23rd 2007 and a newly elected government was headed by Samak Sundaravej of The People’s Power Party. In 2008, PAD led growing numbers of people in protests against Samak’s government, alleging that he was involved with the ousted former PM Thaksin Shinawattra.
In August of 2008, PAD supporters seized some government buildings, including Government House, which they ransacked, while demanding the government step down immediately. Then they took the extraordinary step of seizing Suwannaphum airport, leaving three thousand passengers stranded, causing it to close. The seige began on November 26th and lasted until December 2nd when the protesters finally agreed to leave. The clean-up took three days before flights could resume. A strange thing is that no one has ever been prosecuted for this. The siege ended after a constitutional court disbanded three political parties that made up the government, for election fraud.
The new government was an alliance between Democrat and smaller factions with Aphisit Vejajiva as the new Prime Minister and Suthep Thaugsuban as his deputy. However the red shirts, United front for Democracy against Dictatorship or UDD, refused to accept the new government saying that the military had interfered in politics and therefore it was not democratic.
In April 2009, just before the traditional Thai New Year celebrations, the UDD amassed 100,000 people and marched to Government House. The government declared a state of emergency and the military were brought into the capital. Fighting broke out between pro-government supporters and red shirts, with the neutral population also angry at the continual disruptions caused by the protests. On Monday 13th April (Songkran Day) the army fired tear gas and live rounds to disperse a large crowd at the Din Daeng intersection, with more than 70 casualties. Aphisit’s government were aware of the damage that Thakin’s live broadcasts were causing them so they decreed a censorship law which blocked the cable channels that broadcast the protests. On 21st April, Aphisit stated that he would use the media to discredit the UDD, with the government distributing millions of VCD’s highlighting the government stance. The state of emergency was finally lifted on 24th April 2013. Aphisit went on to revoke Thaksin’s passport, he had already revoked his diplomatic passport some time before, as well as issuing arrest warrants for protest leaders.
More than 120 people died during these unrests and Thailand lost billions of dollars due to the airport closure and the riots across the city. There have been many complaints of unlawful shootings but none have been substantiated.
The following year, 2010 saw continued unrest,
The Thai Supreme Court ordered a freeze on Thaksin’s assets in Thailand and the UDD publicly stated they would not protest if that happened however they did call for nationwide movement to call for elections on March 14th. The government increased security measures and made preparation for an increase in unrest and on March 9th, invoked the Internal Security Act, then mobilised a 50,000 strong security force in Bangkok. Police checkpoints were set up along the northern routes that UDD supporters would take, looking for weapons and generally trying to deter them from making the trip.
The March 14th protest was very large and peaceful. The protesters gathered at Government House and other government buildings, before collecting a tiny drop of blood from all the supporters and symbolically smearing it on the floor and surrounding area as a form of sacrifice against the government. Negotiation were set up and continued into May but they failed to reach an agreement. There were dozens of bombings in the capital and UDD protesters confronted the army in some areas, and Aphisit declared a state of emergency on April 8th 2010. Soldiers surrounded a TV relay station in a bid to close down People Channel, the UDD’s main media outlet and many protesters arrived and surrounded the station in the afternoon of April 9th. They stormed the gates and the military withdrew to avoid bloodshed as they feared many of the protesters were armed. On April 10th, more clashes erupted when troops stormed a red shirt encampment, firing live ammunition. Twenty five people were killed and more than 700 injured in that incident and tensions mounted. On April 22nd, a series of grenade explosions rocked the city, killing at least one and injuring more than 60 people, some foreigners included. On April 28th, government forces again clashed with protesters, firing live rounds over the red shirts. One soldier was killed by friendly fire and sixteen protesters were hurt. On May 19th there were more clashes and the Red shirt leaders, Jatuporn Prompan and Nattawut Saikua surrendered to police to prevent more bloodshed. Many buildings in Bangkok were torched but by the following day, the army had cleared all areas.

On July 3rd 2011, the Peu Thai Party, led by Yingluk Shinawattra (Thaksin’s younger sister) won a landslide victory at the polls and formed a new government. Despite criticism that she was merely a puppet for her brother, Yingluk has gained a lot of support, her government held up well during the floods of 2011 and it has been seen to develop the economy and infrastructure since coming to power. In 2012 the government attempted to push through an amnesty bill, to absolve those involved in the previous political protests, however the opposition alleged that this was initiated to clear the prison sentence passed on Thaksin during a brief visit to Thailand in 2008. He was sentenced in his absence, to two years in prison for abusing his political position to help his wife, Pojjaman buy some land. When the protests became quite large, Yingluck did a U turn and agreed to shelve the amnesty bill completely.
Before the Amnesty bill was withdrawn, it went through a series of amendments from only covering civilians and not government leaders or military personnel to cover all political events from 2004 – present. This would include the murder charges that Aphisit Vejajiva, the former Democrat Prime Minister and Suthep Thaugsuban are currently facing. It would also have white washed Thaksin’s prison sentence and this is what has infuriate his opponents.
A revised version of the bill was passed by the House of Representatives on November 1st 2013 and as well as opponents of Thaksin protesting, the UDD (United front for Democracy against Dictatorship) leaders also complained, saying it would absolve the leaders of the crackdown in 2010 in which more than 90 red shirt protesters were killed.
Despite the Prime Minister’s sudden U turn, the Protests have continued. Initiated by Suthep Thaugsuban, against the Amnesty Bill, it now focused on Yingluck and her government. Suthep rallied thousands of supporters and they marched on Government House, seized several government offices, including the large complex at Chaengwattana and the Ministries of Finance and Education. Suthep accused Yingluck of being a proxy for her brother Thaksin and publicly announced that he would not compromise on his terms, which were for Yingluck and her administration to resign immediately. For the next few days Suthep’s rallies moved around the city without any violence erupting and then at the end of November, the UDD red shirts decided to hold a rally at Hua Mark stadium on Ramkhamhaeng road. It was to be held on a Sunday and the evening prior to that saw thousands of coaches coming from the north east, converging on the arena. There were clashes with Ramkhmahaeng University students who claimed that some red shirt supporters desecrated a memorial of the founder of the university. Three people were killed and twenty five injured as cars and buses were burned. Things calmed down after the red shirts finished their rally and went home. Shortly after this, more than 130 Democrat MP’s, including Aphisit and Suthep, resigned from the House. Almost immediately the Prime Minister announced the dissolution of parliament and called for new elections to be organised within 60 days. Suthep still refused to stop his protests, demanding that Yingluck and her government resign immediately whereas Yingluck has stated that, according to the constitution, she is bound to stay on as caretaker until such time as a new government has been formed. To leave before that would be against the constitution, she added.
It seems that Suthep and his followers are determined to have their demands met, not only calling for the government’s immediate departure, they now want a political reform before the next election. There are those who say that Suthep knows the Peu Thai party will win another election and therefore he will not take part. Having watched some of his rally speeches (I’m fluent in Thai) I can say that he is using very strong language to incite the people. Things like asking them to withhold government taxes and refusing to work. Several arrest warrants have been issued against him including one for high treason, although he still remains at liberty. The stance of the Prime Minister is that she has tried to negotiate, she retracted the amnesty bill, as the protesters asked, she dissolved parliament and called for a new election, as they asked but she states she is not able to walk away from her position as this would be unconstitutional.
From a neutral point of view, I think Yingluck is steadily gaining popularity whereas Suthep is coming across too rigid and extreme and the longer the protests continue, the more people will be affected by his actions. The tourism industry is reporting a 30% cancellation of bookings over the New Year, while at least twenty countries have issued travel warnings to Thailand. He stated today (December 19th) that he wishes to have a reform panel before the election. To do what? This government was democratically elected and the number of people behind Suthep is not representative of the total electorate. If Suthep wishes to have the government removed, surely he should campaign for the next election, and let the people decide. Seizing government buildings and giving demands to the government is hardly democratic. The latest move by the anti government group is to shutdown Bangkok. They have occupied seven main areas and closed off the busy intersections, citing their wish to stop government workers from going to work. We are into Day 5 of the planned shutdown and the atmosphere in the whole city is tense.

Since then everything as become normal and Bangkok is now the most visited city in the world with over 26 million visits from tourist from every country.

Welcome to Thailand

Lersi, Ruesi, Shamans, Hermit sages, all masters of knowledge 

Lersi, Ruesi, Shamans, Hermit sages originated in the forests of India and Nepal many thousands of years ago. There is just a few left in Thailand who still follow the strict way of a Ruesi Lersi. We only know of one Ruesi or Lersi. They have to leave there worldly goods behind them. No money, car, motor bike, house or family. That means no children, wife or sex or alcohol. The list is quite long. Also you will see from images that they have long hair and always skinny due to the fact they do not cut there hair, just eat fruit and starve themselves for long periods of time, like fasting to focus there minds on meditation. It is believed that Lord Buddha was a prince of a rich royal family. Who left all that behind him on the journey of enlightenment and became a Lersi / Ruesi. Then he went on to start Buddhism which he found enlightenment through meditation but before that he starved himself near to death to experience enlightenment.

There are different Lersi / Ruesi, some deal in medicine, massage, and Sak Yant tattooing. Lersi / Ruesi thousands of years ago were village medicine men who practiced healing using natural plants, roots and herbs gathered from the forest. In order to develop themselves spiritually, they had to become detached from the villagers and so they spent many years deep in the forest, which led to them being called Hermits. This gave them the freedom to practice their art.
These Shamans were around long before Buddhism, with Brahmism being the religion of the times. Then Lord Buddha was born and he had contact with Ruesi. It is depicted on wall paintings in temples that Sharmans actually visited Lord Buddha when he was a child. A Ruesi is seen standing in front of the child wearing his Tiger skin robe foretelling the people of Lord Buddha’s future. It is believed there were 4 main Ruesi who had reached a high level of magic who could predict the future.

It is believed that the Ruesi compiled the Sacred Vedas of the Hindu religion and it is these Vedas which the Brahmist (In Thai Brahm) religion holds as the basis of all knowledge. At that time, Brahmism was the main religion of an area that included India and Nepal. The knowledge within the Sacred Vedas was exclusive to the Ruesi and they transformed that knowledge and power by inscribing Yantras, sacred designs that could tap into hidden powers. At this time Yantras came in the form of a piece of cloth, or even a shirt, to be worn to give protection. They were kept at home to ward off evil spirits. These Yants (sacred geometrical designs) were incorporated into the Khmer culture and subsequent cultures as Siam was formed and then what is now known as Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos.
It is said that the Lord Buddha himself studied with Ruesi then he realized this would not take him to the path of enlightenment, rather just a higher level of consciousness. The word Ruesi can be compared to a wizard in western cultures, someone who possesses supernatural powers. It was said that the Ruesi could leave their bodies at will and foretell the future.
The art of tattooing Yantras originated in the Khmer Empire, soldiers were often covered in different designs to protect against a variety of weapons. As time went by, the art of Sak Yant became entwined in Buddhism and each culture added something to create what we have today.
As for Thailand, it is known that in the Ayutthaya period, government officials were tattooed on their wrists to show their status. The popularity of Sak Yant grew steadily, most rural Thai men would have at least two or three Yantras tattooed somewhere on the body. Sak Yant became entwined with Buddhism and there have been many Yantras created by Ruesi and Sak Yant Masters for all kinds of reasons. Soldiers and Muay Thai fighters began to use Sak Yant as a form of protection when in combat. Indeed it is written that several army chiefs who were tattooed with theses Yants, had miraculous escapes from injuries in battle. To date there are many different Yantras, all with their own unique design and with specific powers (see Sak Yant meanings).
In present times, the Ruesi still play a role in Thailand, though they would appear outwardly as any normal person, they still practice the ancient art of Sak Yant. Sak Yant seems to be growing in popularity among Thais and there are many Sak Yant masters throughout Thailand.
It is important to understand that the wearer of a Sak Yant does not automatically receive its protection. One must adhere to certain principles, as well as trying to attain the things one desires. Only then will the magic work.