Magic, Mysticism & Mana: Superstition in Thailand (2.10)

At the risk of offending some 70 million Thais, we're looking
at the religious, spiritual, and magical thinking endemic to
Thailand. At least from the point of view of a couple of skeptical,
non-religious Westerners.

Buddhism isn't the official religion of Thailand. But the
overwhelming majority of people are Buddhist. Still, what you
think of as Buddhism may not match up to the reality of the
world. This is Theravada Buddhism that draws heavily on Hinduism
and has more than a dash of animism mixed in. That makes things
rather interesting.


(Direct download .mp3)


One thing Westerners often comment on is all the
shrine-like dollhouses at every condo, office building, and house
around the city. Those are called "spirit houses" and they are
meant to be a home for… well, spirits. If you want the full
details, check out our interview with Marisa
Cranfill, an expert on the topic of spirit houses in
Thailand. Have you noticed the (mostly)
guys all blinged out with heavy necklaces sporting a variety of
"charms". Those are amulets, and they are believed to either
attract good tidings (e.g. wealth) or offer protection from oddly
specific maladies. It's like taking the lucky rabbit's foot and
Ash Wednesday and cranking them up to eleven.And if
not on their person, a lot of Thais let protections/powers like
that get under their skin. Literally. Thailand is famous for the
magical sak yant tattoo, and the annual highlight for sak yant
aficionados is the Sak Yant Tattoo Festival in Wat
Bang Phra, just north of Bangkok. No, it's not your
typical tattoo festival. Picture thousands of Pentecostals in the
throws of speaking in tongues, but ambulatory and hell-bent on
rushing toward the stage, regardless if you're directly in their
path or not. It's the most intense, odd thing Evo's experience
during his time in Thailand. But we draw the line at
the recent craze of Luuk Thep dolls. Clearly, these
people haven't seen Child's Play. Chucky needs a
date, I think. We wrap the show with another
installation of Love, Loathe, or Leave. Today's topics: saluting
security guards and sharing the sidewalk with motorcycles. If
you're a fellow Bangkokian, you likely have intimate experience
with these two items. Drop us a line and tell us what you think.
Or if you've an opinion or observation on local superstitions,
tell us about it. Go to bangkokpodcast.com
and leave a comment. Or you can Tweet to us at
@bkkgreg or
@evoterra. See you next week on The Bangkok
Podcast!