Sak yant
A sacred tattoo of Thailand and Cambodia, drawn with a long needle by a monk or ajarn, said to protect its wearer.
Also: yant tattoo, magic tattoo, yantra tattoo
Sak means to tattoo and yant is from yantra, the sacred diagram. A sak yant combines Khmer or Pali script, animals such as tigers and sacred figures, and is tattooed by a monk or a lay teacher called an ajarn, sometimes with a hand-held metal rod. The wearer receives the design, a blessing, and a list of rules, called khong, for example about conduct and food. Wearers, who range from soldiers to taxi drivers, hold that the tattoo gives protection or charm, and that breaking the rules weakens it. The annual festival at Wat Bang Phra in Nakhon Pathom draws thousands. Some visitors request designs without learning what they mean, and monks have asked them to respect the rules.