You might have noticed that a lot of people in Hua Hin are wearing what appear to be Olympic bronze medals suspended by a chain around their necks. There is nothing athletic about them. They are Buddhist amulets, called Jatukam, believed to have magical powers. The whole country has been swept up in Jatukam mania.

It all started in the southern city of Nakhon Si Thammarat, located at about the same latitude as the much more famous Phuket, although on the Gulf of Thailand side of the Malay Peninsula rather than the Andaman Sea. From there is spread throughout the country.

This historic city (it traces its origins to the 13^th Century and beyond) is still the epicenter of the phenomenon. Of the city’s 560 Buddhist temples more than 200 are producing the special amulets. Along the main street whole stores are given over to displays of the amulets in their plastic containers, selling for 2,000-5,000 baht.

Here in Hua Hin, a wall on the third floor of the Market Village is taken up with a long display case full of the charms. Although it goes mostly under the radar for most expatriates here, it is impossible to ignore the phenomenon if you know where to look. Returning from an overseas trip recently, I noticed that the highway back to Hua Hin is now lined with numerous billboards advertising the latest charms.

Jatukam fever is bringing in so much money (Nakhon Si Thammarat has earned 10 billion baht from charm sales and visitors) that the Department of Revenue is thinking of taxing them. “There’s a lot of money floating around in the amulet market,” said revenue department director Sanit Rangnoi.

Many theories have been advanced to try to explain the enormous popularity of the Jatukam charms. Many people swear that the amulets protected them from death or injury. A couple weeks ago the local Thai newspaper carried a photograph of a gruesome car accident. Three people survived mostly uninjured because, the story read, they were wearing Jatukam charms.

Some say it is a reflection of the “confused state of Thai Buddhism” to quote The Nation newspaper. Others say Thais are feeling insecure because of the political turmoil that has engulfed the country and the aging of their revered King. So they are seeking objects that they think will bring them good fortune, or at least protect them from bad.

And then there is the simple excitement and belief of one young woman in Nakhon Si Thammarat, who struggled to explain in her limited English to this unenlightened farang why she was overjoyed to be present at the consecration of a new Jaktukam amulet. “It gives you everything.”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 20th, 2007 at 10:08 am and is filed under Hua Hin. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.