Nakhon Si Thammarat _ The demand for Jatukarm Ramathep amulets has faded with few requests now being made to a temple to perform rituals for the talismans. Phra Rajthammasuthee, abbot of Wat Phra Mahathat Voramahaviharn in Nakhon Si Thammarat and provincial chief monk, attributes the declining demand for Jatukarm Ramathep talismans to oversupply. However, public faith in the amulets remains high, he said.
During the Jatukarm amulet craze, the temple, where the talismans originated, had been fully booked for rituals, said the abbot. Now only a few amulet makers made requests for his temple to perform rites for new models of the talisman. Previously, the temple received 700-800 requests a month.
The oversupply of amulets including the sale of the fake ones caused prices to drop sharply. Some fake amulets sell for just five baht each.
A source said the atmosphere at the temple was quiet. Owners of amulet stalls in the temple compound had to sell other products just to survive. Over the past few months, crowds of people from all regions flocked to this temple to buy amulets, which brought quick riches to the makers and retailers. Some company employees quit their jobs to enter the business which yielded handsome profits during the boom.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/13Aug2007_news03.php
05 September 2007
04 September 2007
Learning political lessons from the runaway Jatukam train
Published on September 5, 2007
Makers of Jatukam Ramathep amulets may be getting a bit too inventive for their own health.
As the multi-billion-baht bubble is about to burst, we could foresee using cosmic dust as a key component in new amulets, as well as making them candy-coloured and conducting blessings at zero gravity. But dead infants' ashes?
Religious authorities initial reaction to this latest Jatukam innovation was predictable: they said there's "nothing illegal" about it. It may not have occurred to these officials, though, that mixing infants' ashes in amulets is not unlawful probably because no lawmakers in the past, here or anywhere else on earth, had anticipated something that bizarre. In other words, just because there's no law prohibiting people from crossing the street on their hands does not necessarily mean you have the right to try it.
The Jatukam phenomenon and Thai politics are giving us great food for thought, with the superstitious craze in Thailand going a long way in explaining our political predicament. Matters sound familiar indeed: first there was a little hype, then it turned into something pervasive, and once the "masses" are hooked, a semblance of legitimacy begins to build. Instead of strengthening principles, this "legitimacy" weakens them.
One may be tempted to think that ardent Jatukam believers are operating on blind faith, but they are not much different from people adoring a politician or political party. In a society that is supposed to value simplicity and modesty but has gone wild with amulets, which its producers boast will deliver unimaginable wealth and invincibility to the wearer, a distorted political system is anything but a surprise.
Anyone who has studied the Jatukam boom closely should be able to write a manual on "How to Win Elections". Go overboard with promises and full-blown marketing efforts because people will love them. And the names of the different types of Jatukam amulets teach us that there ought to be no sense of shame when it comes to bluffing your opponents. After an "Incredibly Rich" model was issued, rival versions popped up including the "Immediately Rich" model, the "Rich Without Reason" model, and the "Exploding Sky Rich" model, to name just a few.
More importantly, only cowards and losers stop at the line. You cross it, back and forth, until it's no longer there. Jatukam makers have managed to get the best of both worlds through this strategy. On one hand, they successfully sell the amulets as spiritual recourse; on the other hand, they tell their customers that being ridiculously rich is life's main purpose. And don't forget to claim credit by saying that you're doing it for the poor, like the producers of the baby ashes model did when they argued that some of the proceeds from the amulets would go to building a crematorium for the destitute.
Once you step over the line, you not only help yourself, but also both your customers and competitors. Putting babies' ashes in amulets in a Buddhist nation may be hardly acceptable initially, but it will only take like two days. If your ends win over the masses, they won't question your means that much. It's even easier for your competition, whose hypocritical side can't wait to rear its head. They will embrace your initiative, but hate you for getting there first.
Once you manage to make everyone believe that dead infants' ashes can be the essence of something spiritual and sacred, everything else is all yours. You can even proclaim that you truly represent the religion. After all, it's "you" who bring millions of people back to the temples like nobody had ever done before. How good will it feel to associate your name with the highest and most valuable doctrine, which you actually smear, and have those who question your means labelled heretics?
Just be careful about the bubble. You will be thriving on a shaky foundation that you yourself undermine. When it crumbles, you may feel like blaming your enemies, who force you to come up with weirder and weirder plans like the baby ashes in order to stay afloat, but remember it's you who crossed the line first. Now you may want to redraw the line, to get back to the principles that you once showed contempt for, but it's already gone forever.
No, making dead babies' ashes a component of amulets for people to worship is not illegal. A lot of your "customers" may still love it and you may argue that some of your competitors have even done nastier things. But the point is Jatukam is big and the bigger they are, the harder they fall. Just because there is no law specifically against it doesn't mean that such a practice cannot bring the whole industry down.
Tulsathit Taptim
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/09/05/opinion/opinion_30047779.php
Makers of Jatukam Ramathep amulets may be getting a bit too inventive for their own health.
As the multi-billion-baht bubble is about to burst, we could foresee using cosmic dust as a key component in new amulets, as well as making them candy-coloured and conducting blessings at zero gravity. But dead infants' ashes?
Religious authorities initial reaction to this latest Jatukam innovation was predictable: they said there's "nothing illegal" about it. It may not have occurred to these officials, though, that mixing infants' ashes in amulets is not unlawful probably because no lawmakers in the past, here or anywhere else on earth, had anticipated something that bizarre. In other words, just because there's no law prohibiting people from crossing the street on their hands does not necessarily mean you have the right to try it.
The Jatukam phenomenon and Thai politics are giving us great food for thought, with the superstitious craze in Thailand going a long way in explaining our political predicament. Matters sound familiar indeed: first there was a little hype, then it turned into something pervasive, and once the "masses" are hooked, a semblance of legitimacy begins to build. Instead of strengthening principles, this "legitimacy" weakens them.
One may be tempted to think that ardent Jatukam believers are operating on blind faith, but they are not much different from people adoring a politician or political party. In a society that is supposed to value simplicity and modesty but has gone wild with amulets, which its producers boast will deliver unimaginable wealth and invincibility to the wearer, a distorted political system is anything but a surprise.
Anyone who has studied the Jatukam boom closely should be able to write a manual on "How to Win Elections". Go overboard with promises and full-blown marketing efforts because people will love them. And the names of the different types of Jatukam amulets teach us that there ought to be no sense of shame when it comes to bluffing your opponents. After an "Incredibly Rich" model was issued, rival versions popped up including the "Immediately Rich" model, the "Rich Without Reason" model, and the "Exploding Sky Rich" model, to name just a few.
More importantly, only cowards and losers stop at the line. You cross it, back and forth, until it's no longer there. Jatukam makers have managed to get the best of both worlds through this strategy. On one hand, they successfully sell the amulets as spiritual recourse; on the other hand, they tell their customers that being ridiculously rich is life's main purpose. And don't forget to claim credit by saying that you're doing it for the poor, like the producers of the baby ashes model did when they argued that some of the proceeds from the amulets would go to building a crematorium for the destitute.
Once you step over the line, you not only help yourself, but also both your customers and competitors. Putting babies' ashes in amulets in a Buddhist nation may be hardly acceptable initially, but it will only take like two days. If your ends win over the masses, they won't question your means that much. It's even easier for your competition, whose hypocritical side can't wait to rear its head. They will embrace your initiative, but hate you for getting there first.
Once you manage to make everyone believe that dead infants' ashes can be the essence of something spiritual and sacred, everything else is all yours. You can even proclaim that you truly represent the religion. After all, it's "you" who bring millions of people back to the temples like nobody had ever done before. How good will it feel to associate your name with the highest and most valuable doctrine, which you actually smear, and have those who question your means labelled heretics?
Just be careful about the bubble. You will be thriving on a shaky foundation that you yourself undermine. When it crumbles, you may feel like blaming your enemies, who force you to come up with weirder and weirder plans like the baby ashes in order to stay afloat, but remember it's you who crossed the line first. Now you may want to redraw the line, to get back to the principles that you once showed contempt for, but it's already gone forever.
No, making dead babies' ashes a component of amulets for people to worship is not illegal. A lot of your "customers" may still love it and you may argue that some of your competitors have even done nastier things. But the point is Jatukam is big and the bigger they are, the harder they fall. Just because there is no law specifically against it doesn't mean that such a practice cannot bring the whole industry down.
Tulsathit Taptim
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/09/05/opinion/opinion_30047779.php
03 September 2007
Cookie shortage: Jatukam T-shirt, anyone?
The overwhelming success in marketing Jatukam cookies as an antidote to amulet fever has resulted in inspired outspoken Buddhist monk Phra Payom Kalyano to extend his production line to Jatukam T-shirts to combat superstition and magical thinking about money with clothing instead of munchies.
Indicating that orders for Jatukam cookies had exceeded his production capacity, Phra Payorm, abbot of Wat Suan Kaew in Bangkok's north suburban province of Nonthaburi, said Tuesday the pure reason behind the distribution of Jatukam cookies was to urge people to stick to good deeds and hold on to the Lord Buddha's teachings.
The cookies were made almost the same shape and design as Jatukarm amulets which have been produced in mass and sold in great volumes. The nationwide marketing of Jatukarm amulets has sparked off criticism among some people who strongly disagreed with what they termed "Buddhist commercialism."
Phra Payorm said a limited collector's edition of 999 Jatukam T-shirts will be produced and sold for 180 baht each. The front of the T-shirt is printed with a Jatukam logo and carries a short statement encouraging people to work hard and save money.
Wearing the Jatukam T-shirt is almost equivalent to possessing the Lord Buddha's teachings, according to the renowned abbot. He did not deny that the sale of the T-shirt was more or less "Buddhist commercialism" but he asserted that the "revenue from the sales will go to help the poor and develop temples." (TNA)
the Nation
Indicating that orders for Jatukam cookies had exceeded his production capacity, Phra Payorm, abbot of Wat Suan Kaew in Bangkok's north suburban province of Nonthaburi, said Tuesday the pure reason behind the distribution of Jatukam cookies was to urge people to stick to good deeds and hold on to the Lord Buddha's teachings.
The cookies were made almost the same shape and design as Jatukarm amulets which have been produced in mass and sold in great volumes. The nationwide marketing of Jatukarm amulets has sparked off criticism among some people who strongly disagreed with what they termed "Buddhist commercialism."
Phra Payorm said a limited collector's edition of 999 Jatukam T-shirts will be produced and sold for 180 baht each. The front of the T-shirt is printed with a Jatukam logo and carries a short statement encouraging people to work hard and save money.
Wearing the Jatukam T-shirt is almost equivalent to possessing the Lord Buddha's teachings, according to the renowned abbot. He did not deny that the sale of the T-shirt was more or less "Buddhist commercialism" but he asserted that the "revenue from the sales will go to help the poor and develop temples." (TNA)
the Nation
02 September 2007
Officials sued for fraud over amulets
Angry buyers say they were duped by ads
In a dispute over the "Ruay Lon Fa" series of Jatukham Rammathep amulets, Nakhon Si Thammarat residents yesterday filed a lawsuit against a kamnan, a court official, a military officer, an attorney, a bank clerk and a state official.
Muang Nakhon Si Thammarat-based lawyer Wisanu Saowapa and 15 other residents sued Chian Yai district's Tambon Khao Phrabath kamnan Yongyos Kaewkhiew and five other people for fraud.
The five were Ratchaburi Provincial Court official Arun Khaosaeng, Lt-General Chatri Thatti from the Defence Finance Department, public prosecutor Wichet Musikrangsi from the Attorney-General Office's special case division, Krung Thai Bank clerk Surat Srimai and Nakhon Si Thammarat Educational Area 1 official Nipa Thongnok.
The plaintiffs have accused the six defendants and unnamed accomplices of providing false advertising and using the provincial court's office to make reservations for the amulets in February, leading the public to believe the court had made the amulets.
Besides producing leaflets with different information regarding patterns, the amount of Jatukhams made and the price, the group was also accused of promising the public it would produce the amulets exactly as advertised, when the actual amulets were found to be quite different.
The plaintiffs filed a compliant with Muang Nakhon Si Thammarat police station.
Yongyos then promised to refund the locals on June 30. However, no refund was paid on the day or the rescheduled date of July 16 - leading to the lawsuit.
Meanwhile, Yongyos declined to comment on the case, saying he would let justice run its course and he did not want this to be a conflict in the province.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/08/22/national/national_30046004.php
In a dispute over the "Ruay Lon Fa" series of Jatukham Rammathep amulets, Nakhon Si Thammarat residents yesterday filed a lawsuit against a kamnan, a court official, a military officer, an attorney, a bank clerk and a state official.
Muang Nakhon Si Thammarat-based lawyer Wisanu Saowapa and 15 other residents sued Chian Yai district's Tambon Khao Phrabath kamnan Yongyos Kaewkhiew and five other people for fraud.
The five were Ratchaburi Provincial Court official Arun Khaosaeng, Lt-General Chatri Thatti from the Defence Finance Department, public prosecutor Wichet Musikrangsi from the Attorney-General Office's special case division, Krung Thai Bank clerk Surat Srimai and Nakhon Si Thammarat Educational Area 1 official Nipa Thongnok.
The plaintiffs have accused the six defendants and unnamed accomplices of providing false advertising and using the provincial court's office to make reservations for the amulets in February, leading the public to believe the court had made the amulets.
Besides producing leaflets with different information regarding patterns, the amount of Jatukhams made and the price, the group was also accused of promising the public it would produce the amulets exactly as advertised, when the actual amulets were found to be quite different.
The plaintiffs filed a compliant with Muang Nakhon Si Thammarat police station.
Yongyos then promised to refund the locals on June 30. However, no refund was paid on the day or the rescheduled date of July 16 - leading to the lawsuit.
Meanwhile, Yongyos declined to comment on the case, saying he would let justice run its course and he did not want this to be a conflict in the province.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/08/22/national/national_30046004.php
01 September 2007
A wing and a prayer for Jatukham craze
The Jatukham Rammathep craze has literally gone sky-high. The Royal Thai Air Force took some much-sought-after amulets on routine flights on F-16 and F-5 fighters in the hope of boosting their supernatural powers and market value.
Air Chief Marshal Paisal Sitabutr, the Air Force's deputy commander, could not explain the logic behind his reasoning but maintained the jets' supersonic speed would quicken one's good fortune, protection and prosperity. The unprecedented height would make the amulets stand out above the rest, literally and figuratively. Moreover, Paisal told The Nation yesterday, the fact that such a "dignified" institution as the Air Force was behind the making of this series of amulets would boost its reputation and sales.
On Monday, the Air Force organised incantation rites for its amulets in Prachuab Khiri Khan. Paisal said the Air Force decided to join the Jatukham Rammathep fever because it wanted to collect huge sums of money for renovation of Wat Mahathat in Bangkok and the twin pagodas, Phra Mahathat Napha Methanidon and Phra Mahathat Naphaphon Phumisiri, on Doi Inthanon in Chiang Mai. The renovation projects costing about Bt100 million are to commemorate the 80th birthday of His Majesty the King in December, he said. "During these days, what else can be done to generate huge money better than Jatukham?" he said. [Indeed!] Paisal saw nothing wrong in the Air Force generating money by producing amulets and using the fighter jets in the incantation. "We have fighters that fly regularly. We just asked the pilots to take the materials [to produce the amulets] with them. We did not hold any special flights for this thing," he said.
The Air Force's action bemused respected archaeologist Srisakara Vallibhotama. "Why didn't they take them up to Mars?" he asked sarcastically. Srisakara questioned the attitude of the Air Force, which is a security-related institution, towards the Jatukham hype and said the process by which these amulets were created lacked moral authority. "You are doing something against nature. How can things produced by an unnatural process contain Dharma of the Buddha, as Dharma means nature?" he asked.
Since last year, Jatukham fever has spread throughout the country, grabbing the attention of celebrities, politicians and ordinary people. The Kasikorn Research Centre estimated that from late last year more than Bt20 billion had been generated by the Jatukham craze. The Revenue Department was considering whether to tax enterprises related to the soaring sales of Jatukham items. The Air Force's incantation rites took place just a few days after the outspoken abbot of Wat Suan Kaew in Nonthaburi, Phra Payom Kalayano, one of the country's most revered Buddhist monks, launched an edible Jatukham cookie to mock the craze for the popular talisman.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/06/20/headlines/headlines_30037352.php
Air Chief Marshal Paisal Sitabutr, the Air Force's deputy commander, could not explain the logic behind his reasoning but maintained the jets' supersonic speed would quicken one's good fortune, protection and prosperity. The unprecedented height would make the amulets stand out above the rest, literally and figuratively. Moreover, Paisal told The Nation yesterday, the fact that such a "dignified" institution as the Air Force was behind the making of this series of amulets would boost its reputation and sales.
On Monday, the Air Force organised incantation rites for its amulets in Prachuab Khiri Khan. Paisal said the Air Force decided to join the Jatukham Rammathep fever because it wanted to collect huge sums of money for renovation of Wat Mahathat in Bangkok and the twin pagodas, Phra Mahathat Napha Methanidon and Phra Mahathat Naphaphon Phumisiri, on Doi Inthanon in Chiang Mai. The renovation projects costing about Bt100 million are to commemorate the 80th birthday of His Majesty the King in December, he said. "During these days, what else can be done to generate huge money better than Jatukham?" he said. [Indeed!] Paisal saw nothing wrong in the Air Force generating money by producing amulets and using the fighter jets in the incantation. "We have fighters that fly regularly. We just asked the pilots to take the materials [to produce the amulets] with them. We did not hold any special flights for this thing," he said.
The Air Force's action bemused respected archaeologist Srisakara Vallibhotama. "Why didn't they take them up to Mars?" he asked sarcastically. Srisakara questioned the attitude of the Air Force, which is a security-related institution, towards the Jatukham hype and said the process by which these amulets were created lacked moral authority. "You are doing something against nature. How can things produced by an unnatural process contain Dharma of the Buddha, as Dharma means nature?" he asked.
Since last year, Jatukham fever has spread throughout the country, grabbing the attention of celebrities, politicians and ordinary people. The Kasikorn Research Centre estimated that from late last year more than Bt20 billion had been generated by the Jatukham craze. The Revenue Department was considering whether to tax enterprises related to the soaring sales of Jatukham items. The Air Force's incantation rites took place just a few days after the outspoken abbot of Wat Suan Kaew in Nonthaburi, Phra Payom Kalayano, one of the country's most revered Buddhist monks, launched an edible Jatukham cookie to mock the craze for the popular talisman.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/06/20/headlines/headlines_30037352.php
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