Sak Yant Tattoo Tradition

Sak yant are tattoos of geometric yantra designs and Khmer-script prayers, applied traditionally by a monk or a lay master with a long steel rod tapped by hand rather than a machine, and their purpose is protective - specific designs are held to confer particular things, and the tattoo is understood to work in combination with observing precepts the master sets. Wat Bang Phra in Nakhon Pathom is the best-known temple for them, and its Wai Khru festival each March draws thousands of wearers who come to have the tattoos re-blessed; during the ceremony a number enter trance states, taking on the character of the animal in their yant and having to be restrained by volunteers, which is the scene the festival is known for. Two things are worth stating plainly. Hygiene at unlicensed practitioners is a real infection risk, and applying Buddhist sacred imagery to skin - particularly below the waist - causes offence and has led to visitors being refused entry to temples.

What you actually see

• The rod technique - tattoos tapped in by hand rather than machine.
• The Wai Khru festival - March at Wat Bang Phra, with trance states in the crowd.
• The yant designs - geometric forms with Khmer-script prayers.
• The precepts - the conditions a master attaches to the tattoo.

When to go

The Wai Khru festival at Wat Bang Phra is in March and is the one day of the year to see the full ceremony. Tattooing happens year-round at temples and with lay masters.

Honest expectations

Hygiene varies and infection risk from unlicensed practitioners is real - sterile equipment is not universal. Sacred imagery placed below the waist offends and can bar entry to temples. The trance scenes at the festival are intense and the crowd surges; it is not a spectator arrangement.

Nearby

Nakhon Pathom and its great chedi are west; Bangkok is east.