Jul 02 2008
Fresh Ink — The ‘Sak Yant’ Edition
So I’m feeling pretty stoked right now. I did something today that officially qualifies as being one of the coolest things I’ve done since moving to Thailand:
I took a trip to the most famous temple in the world for ‘Yant tattooing’ — Wat Bang Phra, in Nakhon Chaysri, Nakhon Pathom Province, Thailand (it’s said a tattoo from this temple can protect from danger or even death — and given my track record, you can see why I went there).
For those who are unaware (myself included, to some extent):
Sak yant (Thai: สักยันต), also called yantra tattooing, is a form of sacred tattooing practiced in Southeast Asian countries, including Cambodia and Thailand. Sak yant are normally tattooed by Buddhist monks or Brahmin priests.
The Wat Bang Phra Buddhist temple, about 30 miles west of Bangkok, is one of the most highly esteemed locations for Sak Yant. Dozens of monks and master artists, who have spend years perfecting the art, can be found there. Many people — including two (2) monks I wound up giving a ride back to the Bangkok bus station — travel from far reaches of Thailand and Cambodia just to get ‘inked’ by the monks there.
I don’t yet have a picture of the new tattoo (located on my upper shoulders, extending up the length of my neck to the base of my skull), but I’ll post one as soon as I get the chance.
The experience was kinda trippy in and of itself — a local friend of mine recently got a yant tattoo from Arjan Noo, the preist here in Bangkok that received worldwide fame for giving Angelina Jolie the yant designs adorning her back. So, together with a friend who was here yesterday visiting from the States, I decided to go and get inked by this guy.
The only problem? Now that Ajarn Noo is famous, a blessed tattoo from him costs about US$1000.00 (ONE THOUSAND U.S. DOLLARS) — which translates into three surfboards, for the rest of us. Naturally, we were inclined to say ‘fuck it’ to that high-fallutin’ shit.
Just the same, we still wanted to look at getting inked. So we wandered over to the shop on the Sukhumvit that I got my last design done, where the artist told us that we could also get Sak Yant done at the sacred Wat Bang Phra — where Noo apparently trained — for the equivilent of US$5.00 (FIVE U.S. DOLLARS).
Okay, let’s review … admittedly talanted yet incredibly over-hyped ‘tattoo artist to the stars’ — versus — true Buddhist monks practicing a sacred craft, hand crafted traditional artistic designs, ‘blessed’ protective mantras on me for all time, no celebrities, no bullshit, … and oh yeah, for only Five Bucks?
That’s a pretty tough call, right? Yeah, that’s what I said too.
Unfortunately, my friend left last night, so she couldn’t get any ink done. So I made solo arrangements for the trip to the temple instead.
Despite having been told, and reading online accounts (the Wikipedia account was particularly accurate) about the Wat, I STILL had trouble at first figuring out how the whole process works (c’mon, it IS bloody Thailand). However, I was lucky enough to run into 2 monks who spoke decent English and helped me along. The pair had travelled 250 kilometers from their temple near Cambodia for the day, just to get tattooed at the Wat.
Thanks to them, I was also lucky enough to be admitted into the group of people waiting for Hiwong Pi Nan, one of the younger masters to come up in recent years, who has developed a rather large following of disciples since his tattoos are finely detailed and absolutely beautiful.
Before entering the temple, you must buy flowers and cigarettes (about US$2.00) as an offering to Buddha. These offerings are given to the monk, and then ‘recycled’ for the next batch of devotees, with the money used to support the Wat. The tattoos are done in groups of about 15-20 people. When the previous group is complete, the monk blesses the next batch of offerings and the next group of people.
When tattooing, the monk dips a slender 15 inch double-pronged metal rod (think barbeque skewer) into a dark inky liquid (said to contain a combination of coloring agent, palm oil, herbs, and snake venom). He then repeatedly, rhythmically, and quickly punctures the skin. Small dots of ink and blood appear, and with repeated applications, the small dots eventually form an overall design.
For me, the precess was far more painful than the modern machine-needle tattooing (or even the bamboo needling) I’ve had done in the past. As such, I eventually resorted to rythemic breathing and chanting mantras to focus out the pain. It helped for a bit … until I could hear/feel the metal rod literally ‘POPPING’ in and out of the skin of my upper neck — at which point, I kinda lost concentration and started giggling (which I think may be a ‘no-no’ in a Buddhist temple, I’m not sure).
After finishing, the monk say a quick prayer and blows of the tattoo. You then go to the next temple building, where the temple’s master himself also blesses the tattoo (and, in my case, he also ‘topped-up’ the pre-existing “OM MANI PADME HUM” Sanscrit prayer mantra I already have on my upper back).
And that was that.
Honestly, I feel incredible right now. I mean, really freakin’ good!!
Usually, I come out after getting a new tat feeling kinda worn out. But for some reason, that’s not the case today.
Is it the protective blessing placed on me through the new tattoo? Who knows. I don’t particularly believe in any of that religious mumbo-jumbo, but there are more things in Heaven and Earth, dear Horatio, so you never know …
Or it could just be the mutherfuckin’ snake venom.
Anyhoo, I’ll post picks of the new ink as soon as I get a chance (hopefully before I leave for the Philippines tomorrow).
You did it!!!! COOL!!! I am stoked for you!!!
Wish I was there with you, but now I am thinking I may just go back there before I head back to the states in august…hmm…
glad you are feeling so good …… let me know when you want a tarot reading…..heehee
How exciting! It was funny thinking of in surf board currency though.
A stupid question: weren’t you afraid of sanitation issues with the needles?
[...] Okay, for anyone interested — here are a couple of pictures of the new Sak Yant tattoo I got yesterday. [...]
Haha, oh man!
A very good friend of mine took me to Ajarn Noo back in 2006. She said a tattoo is 1000 baht (~ $30) – which was true as long as you are Thai. For me, they wanted 10.000, and after my friend talked to them agreed to do it for 4.000.
I told them we are all human beings, and would appreciate to get tattooed for 1000, but they politely declined, and so did I.
So now he charged 1000 USD per tattoo? Oh gee…
Good thing you went to Wat Bang Phra. Congratulations on the tattoo, saw the picture.
Cheers,
Ram
Me and my girlfriend are going travelling for a year (including thailand) and possibly getting a few tattoos along the way
i was wondering what your tattoos mean?
Chard
hey bro,
whats the best time to go to the temple? in the am or pm?
did you get to pick the design?
i am going on the 9th and want to get another sak yant, but wanted to do it traditionally…
thanks
dante
dante.halleck@hotmail.com
Dante,
Most people suggest getting there in the morning to avoid the crowds and to ensure they have room in day to get to you. But I went both early and in mid-afternoon — both times, there were bunch of peeps waiting around for the monks and I both times wound up waiting (which is cool, in and of itself) for about 1 hr. Only diff I saw was that there were more falangs in morning, since all the tourist info, tattoo sites, etc. recommend that.
As for the design, you CAN pick it, but IMHO, let the monk do it (typically, the first one is the Nine Spires Yanthra). Good luck and namaste.
I got my first sak yant at Wat Bang Phra three years ago. I had a Thai driver to take me there for 2,000 baht. He did the negotiations with the monks, and asked me for 100 baht to move ahead in the line, and 1,000 baht to pay for the sak yant ($30). I had no problem with that, and I loved the small gao yord I received with a bamboo needle. When I wanted more work, I went to the amulet market in Bangkok on Th. Mahathat and asked around, and found someone who drove me to an Ajarn Di in Phuttamonthon, about 30 km from Bangkok, at Thamnak Thanpawgay. I have gone back several times for more sak yant work. Ajarn Di is not a buddhist monk, but a brahman priest. To get to his place, take the Pin Klao bridge from Bangkok, stay on the bridge road as it curves to the left, and keep going about 25 kilometers, following the signs to Nakon Phanom. When you see the signs for Phuttamonthon Sai 1, you know you are going the right way. Take Phuttamonthon Sai 4 which is a left turn. Go 3-4 kilometers and turn left on Soi Pradoo 22, also called Soi Gratoom Lom 22. The sign is in Thai, just look for the number 22 on the blue street sign. Drive about 2 km past where the road makes a few turns and look for a big house on the right. If you ask people about “sak yan”, or make sign language for poking the skin, they will show you the place.
I have received a very warm reception there, even though there is not often anyone who speaks more than a bit of English. They have books to select sak yant from, and you make a donation into a tray. I did my best to hide the 1,000 baht ($30) I paid by stuffing under the pile of 20 baht notes, but the ajarn saw and made me write my name on a poster as a benefactor to their place. I see the Thai men donate 100 or 200 baht. I have had to wait about an hour, as I arrive in the early afternoon and their are usually several Thai men waiting. They don’t mind me taking photos of the temple or the ajarns or the people receiving sak yant.
I also visited Ajarn Noo’s place last year, and was not pleased by his giant house and all the advertising plastered everywhere for a current horror movie featuring his sak yant. The ajarn I spoke with was extremely rude, which is unheard of in Thailand. He criticized my existing sak yant and said he would give me a small one for $1,000 US. His energy was so nasty I left immediately, and would not recommend him to anyone except those wanting to flaunt their money. They are now far from the sacredness of the sak yant, and money has clearly become their god. Too bad, but I guess we can thank Angelina Jolie for that. Not that I am criticizing her, but she made him famous, and the result is not pretty.
Was great! Got a complete back piece. I already had the 9 spire on my neck. So I opted for a creation piece. Was a great experience. Felt charged and alive.
Going back to finish a small piece between my new one and old one. Then all will be well.
Thanks for the advice..
Dante
Its a nice idea, there is a sense of somthing magical about getting a tattoo by a monk but i really couldnt let myself be stabbed with a needle thats probably been stabbed into 10,000 other people, washed or not…. Ill get the designs in thailand and then go see an actual tattoo studio where everything is clean and new… THEN i can get a tattoo blessed when i visit a temple…. saftey first haha
that arjan noo charges 2000 us dollers now. i opted for another place, 300baht