Thais are fond of amulets, of course, but the latest to hang from Thai necks exceed most others in value and size. The new amulet, Jatukam Ramathep, is the object of a nationwide craze, with each new issue fetching ever higher prices.
The intrinsic value of the Olympic medal-sized amulets isn’t great, and as a work of art they’re mundane, depicting a man in traditional regalia sitting in a meditative pose, left hand on his knee, and right hand held shoulder-high, palm outward. Yet when a fresh set of amulets went on sale in April, buyers stampeded, trampling one woman to death. Thieves raid homes, shops and temples in search of them.
So what’s the reason for the hysteria? The usual explanation is advanced—the amulets are supposed to possess magical powers. They first appeared in the southern Thai town of Nakhon Si Thammarat, where the provincial police chief, Maj Gen Phantarak Rajadej, was said to be able to exercise these powers. He died last September at the age of 103, and a holy site he had been involved in constructing, the City Pillar, became the center of the Jatukam trade.
Some people swear their medallion has saved them from death or serious injury. Others are thought to buy the medallion as a good luck talisman in the present times of political and economic uncertainty. Skeptics say the fever is symptomatic of the “confused state of Thai Buddhism,” according to the English language newspaper, The Nation. Some accuse monks of making large sums of money from the sale of the amulets, which fetch up to 100,000 baht (US $2,800).
“There’s a tremendous amount of money floating around in the amulet market,” according to Sanit Rangnoi, director general of the Thai Revenue Department. It’s estimated that the total value of known sales so far is at least 20 billion baht ($560 million).
article source http://www.irrawaddy.org
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