Yantric tattoos, also known as Sak Yants, have long been
part of Southeast Asian tradition. The tattoos are applied using either a
sharpened bamboo stick or a metal rod (thank you, modernization). Performed by
a Buddhist monk, the tattoos are believed to bestow blessings, fortune, and
good luck on the recipient.
At Wat Bang Pra, Thailand’s most famous Sak Yant Temple, there are two ways to get the tattoos. Downstairs: two monks sit at the front of the room giving tattoos in exchange for donations of flowers and cigarettes, as the room slowly fills with people waiting. The tattoo an individual receives is up to the monk. Upstairs: the tattoos, chosen by the recipient, are given by the “master” in a cleaner, air conditioned room in exchange for a higher donation (500 to 1,000 baht). Personally, spending around $20 for options and better conditions makes sense when it comes to getting a tattoo.
Our first attempt to get temple tattoos, for my birthday
last year, was less than successful. Taking the local bus got us to the temple
around lunch time, so we arrived to a room full of waiting Thais. We also
showed up on a day when the upstairs area was closed. On our second trip to Wat
Bang Pra, we arrived in the morning and the upstairs area was open.
I have other tattoos, including one that goes from my
shoulder, down my ribcage to my hip, and I don’t think that getting them done
is a particularly painful experience. Sak Yants are a different story
altogether. I don’t know if I have ever felt such pain in my life. I have an
incredibly high pain threshold, but this was something else entirely.
Any imagery is tattooed by a layman outside of the air
conditioned room. Between the heat, having not had breakfast, and the pain (probably
mostly due to the pain), I fainted about halfway through my tattoo. Based on
their calm, collected reaction, I am guessing I wasn’t the first.
The script is then applied by the Buddhist monk. Since monks
aren’t allowed to touch women, he wore latex gloves while finishing my tattoo. The
image, in my case a lotus, is surrounded by Khmer-Thai hybrid blessings made up
of phonetic abbreviations of Pali, the language of the original Theravada
Buddhist texts.
Win, who tolerated the pain much better than I did, got a
beautiful Ganesha image on his back. Once both our tattoos were complete, which
included the monk rubbing the area with oil and blessing the tattoo, we presented
our donation alongside flowers, cigarettes, and incense to the monk and were on
our way.
If I had it to do over again, I would. It was an incredible,
spiritual experience, despite (or maybe because of) the pain. But, I think I
would probably eat breakfast beforehand.
