JATUKHAM FEVER Amulet frenzy brings mini boom

Nakhon Si Thammarat rides economic crest as many rush to buy lucky charm The fatal crushing of a woman in a stampede has had no affect on the insatiable appetite for Jatukham Rammathep amulets, with the temple making and selling them fully booked until the end of the year for incantations.
We can't stop the production and incantations of the Jatukham Rammathep and must admit that the phenomenon has turned the province into an economic boom town," said Sonthaya Senniam, director of the Nakhon Si Thammarat Buddhism Office.Huge numbers of tourists are flocking to the province to worship Jatukham Rammathep statues located in Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawiharn or Wat Phra Nakhon, while amulet creators from across the country have come to use the temple as a place to recite incantations over the amulets.
Local hotels are fully booked each weekend.The first batch of Jatukham Rammathep amulets was introduced with little fanfare in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat 20 years ago.There are now more than 400 different models in the market.The first model, made in 1987, cost less than Bt100. It is now worth between Bt500,000 and Bt600,000.The talisman started becoming a popular item in the middle of last year and is now almost an obsession.More than 200 editions of Jatukham Rammathep amulets are now being made throughout the Kingdom.Creations of "genuine" talismans require permission from Wat Phra Nakhon, and the incantations must be performed at the temple or at Nakhon Si Thammarat's city-pillar shrine.
"The temple has been fully reserved until December by more than 250 creators," said Sonthaya. "Instead of stopping the production of the amulets, we'd rather find stricter safety measures in the public distribution process," he said.The local committee overseeing the Jatukham Rammathep trend includes local administrators, police, temples and the amulet creators. They are now working on finding ways to prevent the chaos that occurred on April 9, when a 51-year-old local woman was crushed to death and dozens of people were injured as thousands forced their way into a technical school in the province to buy reserving coupons for the amulets made at Wat Phra Nakhon.Yesterday, the temple distributed the coupons for the Jatukham Rammathep special edition called Ngern Lai Ma II at three spots in the city: Nakhon Si Thammarat Technical College, Rama IX Park and Thanakhonyanwaropasuthit School.The special edition consists of 30,000 sets, each including 13 talismans and costing Bt500. It could hardly cover the demand from hundreds of thousands of people.The temple made the original Jatukham Rammathep amulets, among them the very popular Ngern Lai Ma edition distributed early this year.
A Jatukham Rammathep "guru" said the amulets were pumping Bt100 million into Nakhon Si Thammarat each week. All flights to the province have been booked out, and passengers must fly to Krabi instead, then take a bus to Nakhon Si Thammarat.Maj-General Sudjai Yanarat, the provincial police commander, said the phenomenon had changed police priorities, because they now had to deal with the massive influx of tourists and Jatukham Rammathep followers from across the country.Traffic police have been under a lot of pressure, due to huge traffic jams.Wat Phra Nakhon abbot Phra Maha Maitri said the Religious Affairs Department had ordered the postponement of the amulets' production, but it was impossible to stop, because of the huge amount of money to be made in the province.The talismans, he added, were sold by the temple at moderate rates, but the price shot up tenfold when resold.However, the distribution of the special edition has been halted until the temple can come up with a safer way to distribute them, Phra Maha Maitri said.
Nonetheless, hundreds of people are still waiting in front of the temple gates, hoping the distribution will start again.The Jatukham Rammathep amulets have gained a huge and almost frenzied following based on claims of their magical powers and the good fortune they can bring to their owners.Although it has no relation to Buddhism, many Thai Buddhists believe in the amulets' power and are prepared to pay large sums for one."The faith [in the amulets] is creating huge benefits for the businessmen now dominating 80 per cent of production. There are several 'organisers' set up to produce the amulets for investors," said a Jatukham Rammathep co-ordinator at a local temple.Another Jatukham Rammathep "guru", Pong Phrakrueng, said the amulets sold in the market cost Bt100 to Bt5 million - and up.He predicted the phenomenon would continue for another couple of years. When more editions are produced, the trend will "moderate", with only the original editions still in demand
Chatrarat Kaewmorakot
Mayuree Sukyingcharoenwong
The Nation
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