Those hoping for an early return to democracy in Thailand may be a bit unnerved by a fascinating ritual reported to have taken place in Chiang Mai. The Bangkok Post reports (and thanks to Bangkok Pundit for bringing this to my attention):
Senior military members of the Council for National Security yesterday flew to Chiang Mai on a trip which reportedly took them to a prominent fortune-teller who was to perform a religious ceremony to ward off bad luck over their staging of the Sept 19 coup. The team, led by army chief and CNS chairman Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin, flew on a C-130 transporter to meet Varin Buaviratlert, a well-known Chiang Mai fortune-teller in the heart of town, said a source. A sueb duang chata (prolonging life) ceremony would reportedly be held at the house of the fortune-teller for the coup-makers. The ceremony was prompted by fears among some council members that their efforts to tackle problems plaguing the country could face unexpected obstacles. Joining Gen Sonthi on the trip were CNS vice-chairman ACM Chalit Phukphasuk, Supreme Commander Gen Boonsang Niampradit, CNS member and navy chief Adm Sathiraphan Keyanont, CNS secretary-general and permanent secretary for defence Gen Winai Phatthiyakul. The top brass were Gen Sonthi’s classmates at the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School.
Before this is dismissed as some bizarre superstition, or dabbling in voodoo, it should be noted that the sueb chata is an important component of northern Thai ritual practice. In its simplest form the ritual is used for a person who is experiencing ill health or particular challenges in life. (I first saw the ritual performed for a young man in the terminal stages of AIDS.) It may also be performed for those seeking success in business or other enterprises. At its most elaborate it is performed for the city of Chiang Mai itself in the famous sueb chata muang held each year in the auspicious ninth northern month. Here are some images from the sueb chata muang held in 2005.
There are a number of key elements in the ritual (which should be performed in the morning on an astrologically correct day). Most important is the tripod-like arrangement of wooden stakes (under which the person for whom the ritual is being performed sits). These wooden stakes are maay kham – the forked wooden stakes used to support the branches of the Bodi tree in temples throughout the region. In the sueb chata they function to support and sustain the life that is being prolonged. Other elements include auspicious thread, coconuts, banana leaves, sugar cane and various offering trays of money, betel nut and northern Thai snacks such as miang (fermented tea). These are all “good things” that represent life, prosperity, and abundance. The ritual often takes the form of an elaborate soul calling, whereby the 32 souls (that are prone to wander) are called back to the body:
32 souls, don’t go away anywhere – don’t go to heaven, hell, the ocean, the forest or anywhere else. Please don’t go .Please come and be with legs, chin and cheeks and the empty parts of body. If you went to the wrong point please come back and be stable at your positions forever.
I get the impression that the ritual is becoming more popular. In recent years the ritual has been adapted to extend the life of river systems. Local communities, often working in conjunction with various state agencies, have performed environmentally oriented forms of the ritual to demonstrate their credentials in relation to river catchment and forest protection. I have also heard that an increasing number of Bangkok’s high society are making their way to the north to undergo the ritual themselves. I know of one meditation temple that actively promotes the ritual to its influential followers and a ritual specialist in a nearby village is making a good supplementary living from officiating at sueb chata.
Those who seek to explain (or justify) the overthrow of Thaksin in terms of Thai style democracy may argue that legitimate power in Thailand is based on narrowly defined Buddhist virtue. But it seems that even the Generals recognise the sacred power of peripheral practice. This ritual incursion into Thaksin’s northern heartland is an attempt by the junta to align itself with forms of belief that are often disparaged by Thaksin’s critics as superstition, ignorance and voodoo. General Sonthi clearly knows better.
The Bangkok Post reports that after the ceremony General Sonthi would be visiting northern military units. Power and influence comes in many forms.
24 responses so far ↓
1 Bystander // Nov 5, 2006 at 6:44 pm
Now.. what about this fortune teller (in Thai):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmRR-hvLpJI
2 nganadeeleg // Nov 5, 2006 at 7:52 pm
That’s one way of looking at it, Andrew, however another take on it could be that they are genuinely worried for their own lives because the know how ruthless Thaksin can be (see the discussion of the ‘war on drugs’ extra judicial killings in another thread).
You must know that superstition prevails in Thailand.
3 lurker // Nov 7, 2006 at 8:56 am
I just realized something. In 2005, Thaksin was getting very weak because people were accusing him of corruption and his extrajudicial killings in the war on drugs. Yet he still won the 2005 election in a landslide. Despite his falling popularity, what made him so successful in the election? The tsunami.
Isn’t that convenient? Thaksin’s popularity was falling drastically, yet the tsunami lets him portray himself as a strong and decisive leader. Here’s what I think: Thaksin used his cambodian voodoo black magic to cause the tsunami! He knew that such a crisis would kill thousands, but he also knew that it would give him the boost he needed to win the elections. Isn’t this so typical of Thaksin’s ruthless ways?
He already shewed that he was willing to kill thousands of innocent villagers in the drug war. Do you really think he would have any conciounse about killing thousands of innocent seaside villagers in order to win the 2005 elections? The more I think about it, the more the facts link up. This has to be true.
4 polo // Nov 7, 2006 at 9:38 am
Lurker, Are you sure you didn’t see that reported as fact in the Nation?
5 Bangkok Pundit // Nov 7, 2006 at 11:22 am
Polo: No, it was reported in The Manager.
Lurker: Thaksin faced criticism in 2004 for the violence in the South and bird flu.
6 New Mandala » From the New Mandala archives // Nov 9, 2006 at 9:41 am
[...] In a bizaarre turn of events, about which I claim no special insight or voodoo-induced perception, something special happened almost exactly 3 months after I wrote this post. On 20 September 2006, Thailand woke up to the news that a coup had occurred and a Royalist, military government was in control. Yellow t-shirts were, I understand, still worn that day, exactly three months after my original post. [...]
7 Vichai N. // Nov 10, 2006 at 2:46 am
Andrew Walker if you sincerely wish to meet the best voodoo or black magic shamans, you should consult Thaksin Shinawatra. Thaksin Shinawatra can only afford the best, what else?
There was that E-Thi Myanmar witch that Thaksin regularly consulted. There was that Buriram hick Newin who was Thaksin’s spiritual adviser. And there was that mysterious Khmer shaman that Thaksin had employed and sought in so many occasions . . . praying to Khmer talismans for super-powers unlimited and and even more wealth (greedy as always).
Andrew Walker you should research whether Thaksin Shinawatra still employ black magic shamans at London (yes there are lots of voodoo specialists in UK) these days or had resigned himself simply to popping viagras for potency.
8 polo // Nov 10, 2006 at 9:12 am
You know I don’t understand the problem of whether the generals or Thaksin are more superstitutious when the royal family and all the people in the palace spend it seems half their times on rituals of fortune and fate and numerology. Why all these royal rituals where it says “it began at 11:29.07 pm, an auspicious time chosen by palace astrologers” ?? Good or bad, everyone in Thailand is into it. VIchai, just go guy yourself a lottery ticket on 999. It did win a few years back I remember.
9 Vichai N. // Nov 10, 2006 at 12:34 pm
My thesis is people around people who worship Khmer/Myanmar black magic/talismans are the ones who suffer the most. Look at the Myanmar people who had to bear the sufferring just because their generals worship talismans from darkness. The province of Buriram remain one of the poorest in Thailand because of this Khmer shaman-worshipping Newin who is this area’s elected parliamentarian.
Now we have the Thaksin kids, still innocents in the world, suddenly having to face multi-billion Baht tax evasion lawsuits, and wife Potjaman to be investigated for a land purchase deal, Temasek yet to calculate the billions in real (not paper) losses after entering into a business friendship with Thaksin, and the 3 election commissioners to be jailed for being so loyally Thaksinist, and those many friends and associates of Thaksin at Thai Rak Thai party biting their nails at the many corruption/criminal probes sure to come . . . all because Thaksin was devoted to Khmer/Myanmar talisman worship.
Fortune telling is harmless people . . . it is the worship of talismans from Khmer/Myanmar voodoo talismans that will give your loved ones lots of anguish.
10 Vichai N. // Nov 10, 2006 at 12:34 pm
My thesis is people around people who worship Khmer/Myanmar black magic/talismans are the ones who suffer the most. Look at the Myanmar people who had to bear the sufferring just because their generals worship talismans from darkness. The province of Buriram remain one of the poorest in Thailand because of this Khmer shaman-worshipping Newin who is this area’s elected parliamentarian.
Now we have the Thaksin kids, still innocents in the world, suddenly having to face multi-billion Baht tax evasion lawsuits, and wife Potjaman to be investigated for a land purchase deal, Temasek yet to calculate the billions in real (not paper) losses after entering into a business friendship with Thaksin, and the 3 election commissioners to be jailed for being so loyally Thaksinist, and those many friends and associates of Thaksin at Thai Rak Thai party biting their nails at the many corruption/criminal probes sure to come . . . all because Thaksin was devoted to Khmer/Myanmar talisman worship.
Fortune telling is harmless people . . . it is the worship of talismans from Khmer/Myanmar voodoo shamans that will give your loved ones lots of anguish.
11 BangkokPundit // Nov 10, 2006 at 12:45 pm
Polo: That is exactly my argument, but it is only Thaksin who seems to be criticised for it.
12 nganadeeleg // Nov 10, 2006 at 1:25 pm
Pundit, are you criticising Thaksin?
I concede that superstition and ritual is rife in Thailand (maybe it’s due to all the ghosts) and is a minor criticism of Thaksin, except if the things he did were done because of his ‘voodoo’ worship.
Personally, I think he worships MONEY more than ‘voodoo’, and voodoo was just another way of keeping the masses on side.
13 Frustrated // Nov 10, 2006 at 5:43 pm
I do not see any benefit of this discussion about Thaksin’s believe in ghosts or gods. It is his business and has nothing to do with any of us. If Thaksin had used these in running the country or forced us to watch on TV when he consulted the shaman or voodoo guru or when performed any rituals while he was in power, then it is our business that we need to discuss. After all, ghosts or gods are considered as things of the past for most Thai anyway. It is just another laughable topics, nothing will come out of these.
14 patiwat // Nov 10, 2006 at 6:22 pm
Vichai, could you clarify your thesis.
Are you saying that it is OK to worship Thai talismans, but it isn’t OK to worship Burmese or Khmer talismans?
What about Laos talismans - is it OK to worship them?
15 Vichai N. // Nov 10, 2006 at 8:17 pm
The problem Patiwat is Thaksin Shinawatra seemed to put his faith in the worship of Khmer/Myanmar talismans . . and I am not knowledgeable enough on Thai amulets/talismans to render any judgement on why Thaksin prefer the Thai talismans less. Same with Lao talismans.
Patiwat maybe you should consult Thaksin or Newin on the subject matter . . if you are so bent on making your own personal worship of some talismans. Thaksin was not so lucky in his black magic or Khmer/Myanmar talisman worship . . but if you believe otherwise sure go ahead pal.
16 Vichai N. // Nov 10, 2006 at 11:11 pm
Frustrated it is OUR business to know whether our Prime Minister is a nut or not because the man makes very important decisions that would affect the lives of million of Thais.
Take ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra who made a terrible mess of the Southern unrest situation (Thaksin provoked, by his ineptitude, a Muslim conflagration in this area and serial bombings that continue to this day) and directed the slaughter of thousands of village innocents in his much glamorized anti-ya ba Y2003 campaign.
If you ask me, on these two matters above, Thaksin may have been guided by Khmer talisman worship that so corrupted his soul he caused so much loss of Thai lives. But that is my personal theory only and you may disagree.
17 Thanakarn // Nov 11, 2006 at 1:56 am
Thaksin was highly educated . . Ph.d. It dumbfounds to imagine a man this educated succumbing to voodoos and shamans, and black magic worship. But how else to explain his errors in judgement? Thaksin threw away all his educational upbringing and violated his pledge to uphold the rule of law by that horrific extrajudicially killings in the anti-drugs. Had his worship of Khmer black magic blackened his heart as well? What Vichai suggests above is that all that black magic worships may have caused demons to possess Thaksin as well . . . unless Vichai was merely being sarcastic with his posts.
18 Vichai N // Nov 11, 2006 at 2:59 pm
Thailand’s Revenue Department had always been notoriously corrupt and during Thaksin’s regime probably even more rampantly so. Thaksin had suborned constitutional checks & balances . . . so suborning the Revenue Department would have been particularly easy.
The tax finagling of the 329 million shares transferred to the two Thaksin kids at Baht 1/share then resold 3 days later to Temasek at Baht 49/share, thru the stock exchange of Thailand, would not have passed ‘arms length’ measure of any sale transaction for purposes of tax determination. But surely by Thaksin’s Khmer voodoo black magic, billions of tax due on that particular 329 million share transfer transaction had been made to disappear.
Perhaps we too all should be worshipping Khmer voodoo talismans devotedly, like Thaksin, to help with our tax returns.
19 patiwat // Nov 11, 2006 at 4:48 pm
Vichai, little finangling was needed to prevent the Revenue Department from charging capital gains tax on the ShinCorp sale. That’s because individuals don’t have to pay capital gains tax. It doesn’t matter how many shares are involved, it doesn’t matter how many days the shares are held, it doesn’t matter how much profit was made, it doesn’t matter who the father of the shareholders is, it doesn’t matter whether they worship Thai gods or Khmer gods - individuals do not have to pay capital gains tax. Just ask your broker or mutual fund manager or pension fund manager.
Let me give you an example: If you buy 1,000 stock for 100 Baht, and sell them all for 150 Baht, that 500,000 Baht is profit. Technically, that profit is called a “capital gain.” Unlike in some countries, Thailand doesn’t charge a separate tax on the capital gain. This is a good thing - it incentivizes people to invest in the stock market.
But that capital gain is also part of your personal income (”phaasee ngern dai”). Personal income in Thailand is taxed with a maximum rate of 37%. Unlike salaries, stock market profit isn’t necessarily taxed immediately upon earning it (i.e., it isn’t withheld; “kep na thee jai”). You pay it at the end of the tax year, or in some cases at 6 month intervals.
That six month interval for the Shinawatra family ended about a week after the coup, at a time when the family was forced into exile abroad. Lets hope that they are allowed to return to Thailand to settle their income taxes.
There are a lot of valid reasons not to like the Shinawatras. But evasion of capital gains tax isn’t one of them.
20 Vichai N // Nov 12, 2006 at 12:22 am
Patiwat that Streisand song lyrics suddenly seem appropriate for Thaksin the tax finagler:
“Can it be that it was all so simple then?
Or has time re-written every line?”
It seems Revenue Officials rewrote tax precedents conveniently to allow Thaksin to evade tax and we do remember the ‘Ruangkrai saga’ Patiwat, right?
(To refresh your memory, Ruangkrai Leekitwattana is suing the Revenue Department for NOT accepting the return of his tax refund. Having purchased some shares at below-par prices from his father, he was originally taxed. However, after threatening to make a big political issue out of it by citing similarities between his share transfer and those between Thaksin and his children, the department refunded his payment. Claiming the department was guided by political motives and wanted to justify its decision not to tax the Shinawatras, Ruangkrai returned the refund cheque. The department, in turn, claimed that he had a political motive and refused to take back the Bt20,000 cheque.)
The tax evasion is so blatant and obvious surely Patiwat you should be able to see why they want to retrace every Shin/AIS share transfer transaction during the past 10 years to see if the AmpleRich shenanigan above was repeatedly employed by the Shinawatras. It now also appears that income taxes were suspected of having been evaded too on the dividends earned by the Shinwatras or their nominee companies during the past many years.
Perhaps tax evasion charges would be the sin that will put the Shinawatras away. I was hoping Thaksin himself would be put away for MURDER charges for that senseless slaughter of 2,500 innocents during the Y2003 anti-drugs………..
21 patiwat // Nov 12, 2006 at 10:41 am
Vichai, I think you’re misunderstanding things. Ruangkrai raised a ruckus months before the 30 September income tax deadline. He was not demanding that the Shinawatras pay their income taxes - he was demanding they pay capital gains tax. But, as anyone who has ever bought and sold stocks on the SET can tell you, Thailand has no capital gains tax.
The fact that he insisted on overpaying is quite puzzling. But the Revenue Department’s willingness to accept an overpayment is not.
I think it would be better for the military to focus on Thaksin’s alleged misdeeds during the Drug War or his alleged vandalism of the Erawan Shrine. If proven, those allegations could destroy his reputation forever. If the military focuses too much on the capital gains tax issue, other investors will start wondering whether their capital gains will be taxed along with the Shinawatras’. And if people start withdrawing their investments in the stock market, that will be very bad for the economy.
22 nganadeeleg // Nov 12, 2006 at 11:01 am
Patiwat - you are overly simplifying the issue.
Of course there is no capital gains tax when individuals sell listed stock, but you have to look further than that transaction, and look to the transaction between AmpleRich and the Thaksin children.
I’m not an expert in Thai tax laws, but would there have been any tax payable if AmpleRich sold direct to Temasek?
Was there a scheme to avoid tax?
And I suppose you see nothing wrong with the use of a British Virgin Islands company by the Thaksin family?
Sets a good example doesn’t he.
23 Vichai N // Nov 12, 2006 at 3:20 pm
We cover a lot of Shinawatra sins these past few weeks: voodoo and Khmer black magic religion of Thaksin, Thaksin extrajudicial murders, Shinawatra tax evasions. Patiwat we still have not covered INSIDER TRADING of the Shinawatra/AIS shares by the Shinawatra family and in-laws.
But it is Sunday today so let’s take a break.
24 Yoda // May 23, 2008 at 4:14 am
Thaksin is educated….PhD…from where? What institution? Have you ever taken a closer look?
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