At first glance, the middle-aged businessman driving a luxury car seems to have nothing in common with the young gas station worker. On the surface, there are the obvious disparities in age, lifestyle and income, yet both have a similar preoccupation with what the future holds in store.
The businessman – we’ll call him Kamron – dresses smartly in brand-name suits, while Kai, the worker, wears jeans and a T-shirt. But neither would leave home without donning their most treasured accessory – a Jatukam amulet the size of a small coffee cup.
Jatukam is the most popular deity in Thailand today. His full name is Jatukam Ramathep and his image can be seen almost everywhere – on amulets, coins and statuettes, and even on incantation cloths.
His many devotees, ranging from the rich and famous to the poor and voiceless, believe that worshipping Jatukam guarantees them good fortune.
A decade ago, the Kingdom’s most popular deity was King Rama V. Then it became trendy to pray to Trimurati, the Hindu trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, or the living Arahant (Arahat), an enlightened Buddhist monk. Two years ago, Pi Siew, a Chinese lion-like talisman, was all the rage. Now it’s the Jatukam.
Among Thailand’s Buddhist majority, the practice of dharma involves faith in self-reliance. But as human weakness is a fact of life inevitably leading to problems and stress, Thais need to believe that their fragile sides will be protected by a guardian spirit. So they invoke the help of deities who they regard as strong and benevolent.
In return, they promise to follow the path of the deity they’ve chosen.
Those who have faith in Jatukam don’t regard themselves as superstitious. His worshippers are instructed to offer him candles, joss sticks, flowers, fruits and water every day before chanting and praying for what they want.
“I worship the Jatukam deity in the way I worship the Lord Buddha and Arahants,” Kamron says. “The Jatukam deity is a bodhisattva [an enlightened one dedicated to assisting humanity]. The bodhisattva always gives his blessings and protects his followers from danger.”
Travelling frequently for business, Kamron says he was involved in four car accidents over a five-year period. But since donning the amulet he bought for Bt200,000 two years ago, he hasn’t had so much as a dent.
Kai, on the other hand, found the amulet in a specialist shop on New Year’s Day.
“It’s a miracle. I intended to spend no more than Bt1,000, but on the day I went to the shop, there was only one amulet in stock at Bt700, with the others all more than Bt3,000. I knew that the amulet was created for me.”
Kai had read up on Jatukam in the local newspapers.
“The Jatukam deity won’t help bad people. His worshippers have to at least practise the five Buddhist precepts. And the deity won’t help us if we ask for things that we can’t afford or things that aren’t moral. I hope to buy a small house for my family and I believe the Jatukam deity will help me,” he says.
The 400 or so different Jatukam amulets, coins, statuettes and incantation cloths currently available have prices ranging from Bt40 (for fakes) to Bt2 million. The first amulet, made in 1987, cost less than Bt100 – it’s now worth between Bt500,000 and Bt600,000. Today, the most expensive amulets cost between
Bt1.5 million and
Bt2 million apiece.
The talismans are made in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Songkhla and Ayutthaya by laymen and Buddhist monks.
In Nakhon Si Thammarat the Jatukam is big business, with almost every Buddhist temple and even schools purporting to sell amulets for charity. Posters and billboards advertise the talismans and every local is expected to be an expert on the deity.
And while it’s true that the idea to produce Jatukam amulets and coins stems from a group of worshippers in Nakhon Si Thammarat, there are some different views on the deity’s origins.
In 1987, mediums recommended that a new lak muang (city pole) be commissioned as the old pole had lost its protective aura. The late Pol Maj Gen Khun Pantarakrachadej, a veteran police officer famed for his knowledge of the occult, (it’s rumoured he arrested criminals through magical powers), suggested that the warning through the mediums came from the spirit of the former ruler of the Srivijaya kingdom, King Chandrabhanu, otherwise known as Jatukam Ramathep.
According to historians, old Nakhon Si Thammarat was a part of Srivijaya, a coastal kingdom incorporating Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, mainland Indochina and western Borneo that flourished from around 500 CE until the late 11th century.
History also tells us that the Vajrayana sect of Mahayana Buddhism held sway in Srivijaya, and that its ruler considered himself a bodhisattva.
Legend has it that King Chandrabhanu, who was also known as Pangpagan, was a black-skinned warrior who courageously battled evil. This is why amulets of Pangpagan and Rahu (a black deity who inspires terror) are included in the group of Jatukam talismans.
The classic Jatukam is depicted seated, with his right leg slightly lifted; sometimes he has a seven-headed serpent behind him.
The black Pangpagan is shown seated cross-legged with his hands raised to cover his eyes, and flanked by serpents. Rahu can be recognised as a demon’s head.
Other symbols on Jatukam talismans include the sun and the moon, the animal signs representing the 12-year cycle and symbols of old Nakhon Si Thammarat’s 12 cities.
Not everyone agrees, however, that the Jatukam deity’s true identity is the Chandrabhanu bodhisattava. Some locals believe that the Jatukam is the guardian of the Maha That (the remains of Lord Buddha) in Nakhon Si Thammarat’s Maha That Temple, built around 854 CE.
According to ancient beliefs, Maha That was the sacred centre of both the city and the universe.
Two statues of the deity, with names engraved at their bases, stand at the entrance of the Maha That pagoda: Tao Katukam at the west gate and Tao Ramathep at the east gate, while the head of Jatukam decorates the top of the new city pole.
Some Nakhon Si Thammarat natives say the Jatukam deity is none other than Tao Katukam and Tao Ramathep, probably the Hindu gods Brahma and Vishnu who were worshipped in the city in ancient times.
But for today’s Jatukam worshippers, the ancient history is probably irrelevant. They’re more interested in the “quick fix” that’s become associated with their chosen deity’s name.
And no doubt they will go on collecting these expensive talismans until Jatukam falls from favour, only to be replaced by a new, trendier deity.
Nithinand Yorsaengrat
The Nation
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