Traditional Thai tattoos

[coltlongbone]

I want to get some of the traditional thai style tattoos, I understand they are done at the temples with a long metal spike. Are the monks happy to tattoo a farang ? Is there anyone outside the wat could do the work ? Anyone had some done ? Where should I go ? Anyone know what I'm talking about ? I got 4 "sak yan" on Monday, traditional style, they look superb. Now I want to go all the way, get covered in squirls and intricate designs.

 

 

 

Any feedback gratefully appreciated.

 

 

 

C.L.

[khunsanuk]

Hi,

 

 

 

There is a rather large article on this in the payarea, describing the procedure as well as some of the beliefs / rituals involved.

 

 

 

Sanuk!

 

 

[Guest]

When I lived on Samui, I had an English guy working for me as a general dogsbody/minder. He was one of the hardest men I ever new, and had spent a few years in some of Britains worst prisons. To cut to the chase, he was a tattoo afficianado and liked the Thai traditional designs. We asked one of the Lao guys working for us where to get one and he took us to a run down villiage behind Lamai, just a few wooden houses in the jungle. I dropped my mate off in the ute at midday and was told by the village tattooist to return at 6 pm. I left him with various pills, booze and stuff to numb the pain and spent the arvo on Lamai beach. When I returned I found my mate in a foetal postion, balling like a baby. The villagers had done everything in their power to ease his pain, including a few pipes of opium, but the process of tattooing a dragon on his back by pricking him endlessly with a sharpened spike had reduced this hard man to a crying wreck. It certainly put me off any thought of doing the same. Anyhow, if you really want it, just be warned.

 

 

 

Cheers

 

 

 

Jaga

[Guest]

YIKES.

 

 

 

As a Tattoo'd person myself I can Understand the desire for traditional designs, just not the desire to use traditional methods. I they had modern Tattoo guns at their disposal when these traditional designs were developing I can assure you they would have used them.

[Guest]

hey david you big wimp,i can remember back in 86 when we first came to bkk,can you?we where both only 14.one saturday afternoon your mum let us go on a unacompanied walkabout (I think you know what i am going to say now)we headed straight for a beer bar to view the pussy.anyway all was well,the girls were very friendly and gave us a lot of attention.(that afternoon i learnt my first thai/laos word too"ham noy")well we were drinking beer and playing with the girls when you cut your hand on a glass,well when i say cut i think i mean grazed,ok so there was a tiny bit of blood to see but no a lot.I remember you crying and crying for half an hour.so i hope if you do decide to have a traditional thai tatoo done you dont ask me to go with you.haaa.regards somkit.

[Guest]

I beleive the tattoo's you are refering to are of a religious nature and are actually a prayer for protection. Thai's can be a bit touchy when it comes to religion so be cautious in your asking for one. A monk might do it if he thought you beleived in the Buddah, but like I said, be cautious if your just looking for some novel adornment, they might take it wrong.

 

 

 

I recall (in the old days) seeing a Thai soldier Tattooing another in the middle of his back with a pin dipped in ink, much like the homemade "prison" tat's you see.

 

 

 

"Prayer to Lord Buddah for protection" I was told and made to understand it was rather personal.

 

 

 

Dentface

[Guest]

I think you've got me confused with someone else, It sounds like a good time though.

[Guest]

i have a few of those tattoos.

 

the ones on the upper body are protective tattoos, the ones on the lower body are usually agressive tattoos. monks are normally only allowed to tattoo on the upper body. moo piis can do all.

 

the pain depends on the monk. some monks have a heavy hand, and that hurts like hell.

 

something you have to consider is hygiene. most of those places arenot using sterile equipment, in some places even one guy after the other is tattooed with the same needle, same ink.

 

one more thing. many times the effectiveness of those tattoos are tested. one time i had a monk swinging a huge sword against my back. it didn't break the skin even though it felt as if i was i was cut into pieces, i nearly had a heartattack. i have heard of people even being shot at unexpectetly as a test.

[Pom_Jao_Choo]

I think this could be a poll ?

[coltlongbone]

Thanks for the info. Flyonzewall, was it easy to find a monk willing to tattoo you ? I also wonder how much say you have in the design. Does the monk take a look at you and decide what tattoos he thinks you need ? I would imagine it could be seen as disrespectful to start demanding the style of tattoo you wanted, and I doubt there are the familiar books to leaf through. Does anyone know of a good tattoo artist in Bangkok with a large selection of Thai style "sak yan", the diagram style tattoos with squiggles of khmer script ? In the tattoo shop in Pattaya there were only 4 choices, but despite countless hours on the internet I have been unable to find any more designs, but I'm sure there must be hundreds of designs somewhere. I wonder if I am right in thinking any Thai tattoos with religious overtones would have to be above the waistline ?

 

On the subject of the monk type of tattoo, would there be any tattoo artist willing to do the traditional artwork by modern means, (ie in a studio) or would that also be dodgy ground because of the buddhist aspect ?

 

Also can anyone cast any light as to the origins of Robert De Niro's tattoos in "Cape Fear" ? The only thing I got from the net was they were "Dire Biblical Warnings". Sounds like some serious stuff.

 

 

 

Thanks for all the info so far.

 

 

 

Regards,

 

 

 

C.L.