The Nation: Deconstructing Jatukam Ramathep

The facts behind the Jatukam Ramathep talisman nonsense


In the past month or so, several articles have appeared in the Thai and English media concerning the phenomenal popularity of a magical talisman, promising instant wealth to those who wear one.

Michael Wright

Special to The Nation

The talisman features a divine being called Jatukam Ramathep, unknown in Buddhist or Hindu sacred literature. He seems to be the invention of a confused imagination, and most intelligent commentators condemn this new cult as indicating a corruption of both Buddhist morality and Thai animistic spirituality.

In order to understand the problem, we need to get the god's name right:

Jatukam Ramathep is the Thai pronunciation of the Pali Catugamaramadeva, meaning God Rama of the Four Villages. This is near nonsense as no ancient literature, Buddhist or Hindu, connects Rama to "Four Villages". Thus the name seems to have been created out of thin air.

However, the talisman is connected in the popular imagination to the Great Stupa of Nakhon Si Thammarat. According to respectable tradition preserved in an ancient document (see Wyatt, DK, "The Crystal Sands: The Chronicles of Nagara Sri Dharmmaraja", Cornell) the relics enshrined in the Great Stupa there came from Sri Lanka and the stupa was established with the assistance of traders from Sri Lanka, where Buddhism has always been protected by Hindu gods.

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I thought this was an excellent deconstruction of Jatukam Ramathep, considering the limited space he had to explain everything.

All religions are not really religions but cults. This Jatukam craze is not inconsistent with the history of other cults in Thailand and Southeast Asia. For example, at Angkhor Wat in Cambodia or the Grand Palace in Thailand, one can see the combination of different Hindu and Buddhist cults mixed together to form a unique cult that served whoever was in power at the time.

A lot of the hocus pocus that Thais believe in has no basis in reality; a lot of it originates from ancient myths, legends and mixtures of Hinduism, Buddhism, and local spirit cults. When it comes to Thai history, most it is made up, just like the movie "King Naresuan," which really isn't based on anything that was true. Rather, it was a projection of what the director wants to be true. And since most Thais and foreigners don't know anything about Thai history, they just take the director's word that it is true. And I think Michael Wright in this column is trying to make the same point about Jatukam Ramathep. Distort, market and sell, oh my. Distort, market and sell, oh my.

Read Simulacra and Simulations by Jean Baudrillaurd and you'll get the picture.

Before Matty yells at me for being anti-Thai, the truth is that all religions are built on shaky foundations. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are nothing but ancient Middle Eastern cults that have taken bits and pieces of other cults and religions from other parts of the planet over thousands of years.

Bangkok Post and The Nation: Editorials on the Jatukarm Ramathep Craze

EDITORIAL

Bangkok Post

A dangerous obsession


Buddhism teaches the law of causation: that there is a cause to every effect even though the chain may be long and not immediately visible. In this regard, the out-of-control craze over the Jatukarm Ramathep talisman has its roots _ in the inefficacy of the Sangha Council


What is most worrying is that many people are buying the talisman _ featuring the image of an ancient king of Srivijaya who was victorious against his attackers _ in the hope of getting rich quickly or having their wishes fulfilled without having to lift a finger. One pitiful sight is that of children wearing the exceptionally large talisman to their exams in the hope of passing with flying colours through the help of this unseen power _ a belief that is diametrically opposed to the Buddha's teaching that one receives what one works for. So how have we come to this?

Some may argue that animism has been part and parcel of the development of Theravada Buddhism in Thailand since we adopted it from Sri Lanka in the 13th century. That may be true. Still, we have to ask ourselves: has it been this bad? Has the animist part of our culture been allowed to grow so large and invasive that it is threatening to engulf our core faith?

EDITORIAL

The Nation

Kick amulet trade out of temples


Places of Buddhist worship should not be used for the crass sale of Jatukam Ramathep and other talismans


The Religious Affairs Department and the Office of the Sangha Supreme Council did what they could to control the damage done to the Jatukam Ramathep amulet trade following the death of a 51-year-old woman who was killed in a stampede set off by an unruly crowd waiting to purchase a "special edition" of the amulets in Nakhon Si Thammarat on Monday. The Religious Affairs Department announced that it planned to regulate the manufacturing, consecration and distribution of the much-sought-after charms as the cult of Jatukam continues to spread among a growing number of wayward Buddhists. Profiteering on the popular amulets has kicked in as monastic and lay administrators of Buddhist temples countrywide, motivated by naked greed, are selling the amulets as fast as they can churn them out.

A large section of Thai society is lapping them up and actively engaging in the frenzied speculation in the charms which has sent the prices of Jatukam skyrocketing. In the meantime, no one is getting any wiser or having any better an understanding of the essence of the Buddha's teachings, which emphasize the search for a sense of detachment from worldly temptations.

Sometimes I wonder what planet these journalists are from. Thais have always believed in amulets, magic, voodoo, animism and other spiritual traditions totally unrelated to Buddhism.

Buddhism has always been a bourgeoisie religion. And like the Roman Catholic church, the Crown and the Orthodox Buddhist Church of Thailand (The Sangha) had to adapt local belief systems in order to get accepted by the masses. Thai Buddhism has always been a syncretic mix of Theravada Buddhism, Hinduism, Brahmanism, Animism and local beliefs and traditions.

Loy Kraytong and Songkran are not Buddhist holidays, but they are celebrated by most Thais.

Many Thais are not Buddhists. How many actually know anything about Buddhism? How many have actually meditated? I reckon more know about amulets, traditional magic and fortune telling than the basics of Buddhism. And I don't think it is a bad thing. I am a believer in freedom. If some fool wants to pay a million baht for an amulet, up to them.

And who is responsible for the spiritual development of the Thais? The bloody government? The government that supports a cult of personality around the king that has nothing to do with Buddhism. Indeed, most Thai state ceremonies and rituals are Brahman in nature. But you will never hear The Nation and Bangkok Post complaining about the non-Buddhist aspects of the monarchy and the absurdity in buying yellow shirts and Khun Tongdaeng books in support of the business surrounding the royal cult.

On a political note, I think it is strange that these elite journalists at The Nation and Bangkok Post criticize the Sangha leadership and the temples for not practicing real Buddhism, but these same journalists shamelessly make a mockery of their own profession by not practicing real journalism and they don't hold the country's political leadership accountable to real democracy.

International Herald Tribune: 50 year old woman killed in a stampede for Jatukam Ramathep amulets in southern Thailand

BANGKOK, Thailand: A 50-year-old woman was killed and dozens of people injured Monday when a crowd in southern Thailand stampeded during a sale of a popular talisman supposed to bring good fortune, police said.

More than 10,000 people had camped overnight by a school compound in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, 580 kilometers (360 miles) south of Bangkok, waiting to buy the amulets, which in the past few months have gained a huge following for their alleged magical qualities.

The victim fell and was trampled on when the crowd rushed the school gates when sales of a new batch of the amulets was set to begin Monday morning, said police Lt. Suriyon Kaemthong.

Many Thais carry or wear amulets for good luck. The amulets usually show images associated with Buddhism — the religion of most Thais — though amulets are not formally part of its doctrine. A large commercial market exists for collectors, and rare amulets reputedly command prices of over 1 million baht (US$30,600; €22,800).

The Jatukam Ramathep amulets for sale Monday are named for the prince of a kingdom that existed in southern Thailand in ancient times who defeated his enemies.

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Lovely. More people dying over mumbo jumbo. No democracy, no constitution, no political freedom, but hey, let's go crazy for Jatukam amulets and other mindless voodoo that does nobody any good.

Bangkok Post: Jatukarm Ramathep Amulets Selling Like Crazy

SALES OF AMULETS ARE THRIVING

Bangkok Post

Vendors earn more than they dreamed of in Nakhon Si Thammarat


Story by ANUCHA CHAROENPO - NAKHON SI THAMMARAT

Sales of Jatukarm Ramathep amulets are thriving in Nakhon Si Thammarat's Muang district, with many sellers earning more money than they ever dreamed of.

Duangchanok Amornsak closed down her traditional dance school in August last year and began trading Jatukarm Ramathep talismans.

She admits to making a good profit as demand for the amulets _ which are priced from 199 to 150,000 baht _ has surged. She also sells T-shirts bearing the image of the talisman, and books and pictures.

"I used to get about 10,000 baht a month as a dance teacher. Now I earn from 100,000 to 200,000 baht a month from selling the amulets," she said.

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Of all the things I've written about on this blog, the one story I mentioned about Jatukarm has brought me the most traffic.

I have to admit, Thais love their magic, voodoo, amulets, and fortune teller stuff.

Literally millions of baht will be spent on Jatukarm paraphenalia. Will it make a difference? Will all the cosmic forces coalesce around this mysticism and solve the country's problems? Nope.

Now they are killing each other over these amulets. Link