Fads are everywhere in Thailand. Remember Mr Bun and Roti Boy? (Does anybody still eat at those places?) You’d be forgiven for thinking that Thailand was a country full of people wearing replica Olympic medals. Everybody seems to have these great big medallions – a sort of combination between Mr T and Derek Trotter. These medallions are, of course, Thailand’s bizarrely popular Jatukam Rammathep amulets.
The idea is that these things bring you luck. They come in different flavours: money, work, love – whatever you want, there’s a Jatukam out there for it. I’m always keen to try new things, so I bought my own Jatukam Amulet. Actually, I got a friend of a friend to buy me one.
The cost for eternal good fortune? A mere 500 baht, which I’m told is cheap for Jatukam Amulets. I decided against wearing my Jatukam as a medallion and instead keep it in its little plastic container. Although it wasn’t my choice, my amulet will apparently bring me great wealth. I’ve been putting it to the test and carrying the Jatukam with me everywhere I go. So far, no good luck.
Jatukam Rammathep amulets are sold across Thailand. The story goes that a Thai policeman received some guidance from Jatukam Rammathep in solving a murder case 20 years ago. When the policeman died last year, the Jatukam craze began.
The amulet originate from Nakhon Sri Thammarat, which is where mine comes from, although now you can buy them almost anywhere now. The Jatukam I have was blessed three times by monks. If I don’t get rich by the end of the year then those monks will have some explaining to do.
You may be wondering who Jatukam Rammathep is. According to The Nation, it’s actually two people:
Jatukam Rammathep is two people, not one. The names are the aliases of brother princes Inthara Sairen and Inthara Khao Kheo, sons of King Jantharaphanu, who ruled the Sri Thammasoke realm, the capital of the Krung Srivijaya Kingdom (757-1257) in southern Thailand, after his father who founded it.
The first Jatukam amulets cost just 39 baht. How times have changed, with some amulets fetching more than a million baht now. It’s such a strange trend because it really has nothing to do with religion; it’s entirely superstitious. It’s not even Buddhist, and yet these amulets are sold by Buddhist monks. Jatukam Rammathep is a Hindu character.
Most of the people wearing these amulets are not Hindu. Having an amulet is like owning a rabbit’s foot or a four-leaf clover. I never had a lucky charm as a child except for a compass that I broke and then lost.
Time to make up for lost time.
http://whatismatt.com/thailands-jatukam-rammathep-amulet-craze/
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