Thais hang Magic Amulets around necks*

Ian MacKinnon in Bangkok
Friday June 29, 2007
The Guardian

They owe more to bling than Buddhism. Thailand's devout - and less than
devout - cannot get enough of the magic amulets believed to have magical
powers to ward off bad fortune and bring riches.

Yet, where once the Buddhist talisman was small and worn concealed from
view, the object of the latest craze sweeping the country is seen by
many as vulgar jewellery more akin to a rapper's medallion than a
discreet nod to religion.

Soaring demand has driven prices through the roof and spawned a
speculative bubble so big that some share traders have turned their
attentions to the market. So desperate were some to get their hands on a
fresh issue of the Jatukarm Ramathep lucky charm - named after a Brahmin
deity, a warrior prince of an ancient southern Thai kingdom - that when
a new edition went on sale, a woman was trampled to death in the stampede.

Senior Thai monks are dismayed by the phenomenon that shamelessly blends
Buddhist teachings with the country's historical animist beliefs. But
abbots in temples in the southern city of Nakhon Si Thammarat - where
the Jatukarm amulet was first minted 20 years ago - continue to bless
each new money-spinning design in a market worth £300m.

The amulet's creator, a police chief, Maj Gen Khunphantarak Rajadej, was
believed to have knowledge of the occult and used supernatural powers to
catch criminals. But only in the past two years have the charms, the
size of a biscuit and made in a variety of colours, become popular. When
the policeman died aged 104 in February, 200,000 people attended his
funeral.

The charms run to 600 models, each produced in batches of up to 200,000.
Freshly minted designs sell for as little as £3, but demand is so high
that sought-after models fetch 10 or 20 times that. Older limited
editions go for up to £15,000.

Even a new series can command keen prices if marketed well. Jatukarm
versions that are up-front about the charms' key attraction, bearing
names such as "Arch-Millionaire" and "Money Pouring In", are highly
prized. "The Jatukarm Ramathep has very narrow objectives: if you own
one of these amulets, you get rich," said Srisak Vallibhodom, an
archaeologist. "Its other properties, like protection from danger, come
a distant second."

Magazine stalls are filled with brochures identifying hundreds of
designs and their value, while amulets are being sold on every corner.
One abbot has had enough. To get Thais to wake up to the absurdity of
the craze, Phra Payom Kalayano has produced Jatukarm amulet cookies
called Four Bites and You'll be Super-rich.