Wat Bang Phra
A riverside Thai temple known for its yearly gathering of people with Sak Yant tattoos, who enter trance before the teacher's image.
Practised and told of here
Best time: The Wai Khru festival in March; other days are quiet.
Wat Bang Phra, west of Bangkok, is one of the best known temples for Sak Yant, the sacred tattoos made with a long needle and ink. Each March a large festival draws thousands who have been tattooed there.
Sak Yant
The designs are lines of Pali and Khmer script and drawn figures, such as tigers, said to protect the wearer or give strength. Monks and lay masters apply them, and the wearer takes vows, such as not to lie or harm. The tattoo's power is said to need keeping up through behaviour.
The Wai Khru festival
On the festival day, some tattooed people are taken by spirits. They run, roar like tigers and charge toward the shrine. Participants say the teacher's spirit or the animal in their design has taken hold. Ritual workers and police stand ready to steady them. The state tourist board advertises the festival, which draws some tension between devotion and show.
Visiting
Women are generally not allowed to be tattooed by monks, and some rules apply to what visitors may wear and touch. If getting a tattoo, go through the temple's arrangements, ask about the vows, and do not treat the design as a fashion piece.
A respectful visit to Wat Bang Phra
Living communities are not a show. Ask before photographing a person or a ceremony, and follow local rules.
- The Luang Pho Pern shrine Bow at the image of the monk whose line of teaching the temple follows.
- The tattoo hall Watch the tattoo process from a distance and ask before taking photographs.
- The river bank See the old trading boats and the market.
Written by the EveryJaadu desk with AI assistance. Background: "Wat Bang Phra" on Wikipedia. Opening hours, markets and ceremonies change; check locally before travelling. If something is wrong, tell us.
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