The Wat Bang Phra Tattoo Festival

Posted on September 20th, 2010 in Thailand | 1 Comment » |

Every first Sunday of March, tens of thousands of devotes from all over the world flee to the Wat Bang Phra temple of Nakhom Pathom, Thailand to celebrate a bizarre festival called the Wat Bang Phra Tattoo Festival. The Wat Bang Phra temple is renowned for its special tattoo called “Sak Yant.” These Sak Yant tattoos are believed to have magical powers that may bring luck, fight off evil spirits, or even stop bullets and blades from piercing their skin. A tattoo around the neck often means that it will protect its wearer from getting decapitated while a fog on the arm may symbolize protection against getting caught from stealing.

The festival attracts all kind of people from around the world, but most of the attendees are local Thai police officers, army men, and gangsters from the underworld. People who already got Sak Yant tattoos often come back to have their magical tattoos recharge and pay respects to their teacher, Luang Poh Pern.

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One of the most interesting things about the festival is that some of the people with Sak Yant would become possessed by the spirit of their chosen talisman. If they have a tiger tattoo, then they would growl like a tiger. If it’s a snake, they would crawl on the ground like a snake. Many people are fascinated by this ceremony and some would even travel half way across the globe just to receive this so called magical tattoo from the Buddhist monks. So much so that even the famous Angelina Jolie herself has received a tattoo from the Wat Bang Phra temple.



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Tags: Bizarre, Celebrate, celebration, event, Festival, Luang Poh Pern, Nakhom Pathom, Odd, San Yant, tattoo, temple, Thailand, Wat Bang Phra