Bangkok's khmer sorcerer

Bangkok’s

KHMER

SORCERER Ajarn Deang, Appentice of Luang Puu Wear Guy of Khmer Ampeal Temple

Content and Photograph Edited by Torfon and Sarin

Bangkok’s

KHMER

SORCERER Ajarn Deang, Appentice of Luang Puu Wear Guy of Khmer Ampeal Temple

by Torfon and Sarin

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idden away from the city’s busy life, there is a Khmer Sorcerer lives in a shophouse, not very far away from Charoen Krung road.

He is Ajarn Deang, the one and only Thai sorceror who performs traditional Khmer tattoo rituals as a career. In the working hours, he is the owner of a jewelry shop in Bangkok, being a sorcerer is his side job. He is chosen by his socerous teacher to be the next sorceror.

Though he is reluctant to give any details about his daily life a jewelry shopmaster nor is he willing to discuss about his past before he becomes a sorcerer, he kindly allows us to view the documents which, he claims, are very rare translated documents derived from Angkor Wat, Cambodia.

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ccording to the interview, Ajarn Deang’s Khmer magic has its origin dated back from before the existance of Buddhism, when people worshipped natural holy spirits and Hindu Gods which are Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. Though Hinduism is believed to be originated from the Indus Valley (modern-day Pakistan), it has also spreaded to South East Asia. The spreading of this religion did not only bring its culture and beliefs to the world, but the alphabet system too was spreaded.

The scripture used in the tattoo ritual is the original version of Khmer alphabet, whose child systems are also Thai and Lao alphabets. He has many books containing many versions of the scriptures, derived from Khmer scriptures in Angkor Wat translated into Thai by Thai government’s Fine Arts Department.

Ajarn Deang said because the Thai version has been simplified, the Thai tattoo ritual is not as effective as his.

Left: Ajarn Deang sitting on his bench surrounded by books of Khmer scriptures and Tattoo Pattern.

Right: One of his students volunteered to demostrate how the ritual is usually done

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jarn Deang began to explain about the tattoo ritual, with two of his students volunteering to demostratate the scene.

Normally, the ritual begins with the client or student making a worship to the sorceror, the gods, the buddha, and the spirits. Then the sorcerer performs the tattoo ritual by tattooing while chanting his magic spells.

The tattoo is done in a traditional hand poked style using a giant metal needle with normal tattoo ink as used in a contemporary tattoo. Although in this demonstration Ajarn Deang was not actually putting any real ink into his student’s skin, he used real needle. On of the students’ face there were signs of discomfort and pain.

Top: The representative of one of the spirits that everyone has to worship before any ritual can begin Bottom: Ajarn Deang writes the word mother, which appears in the many tattoo patterns, in traditional Khmer alphabet

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ue to personal reasons, another student didn’t want his face to be photographed. During the demonstration with this student, he had a goosebump, in which he explained that this was the sign of the teacher’s spirit that was ‘coming down’ to him. He described that his body felt hot, and we must pay tributes to the teacher to continue the documentation. We were asked to put 519 baht per each person into a silver bowl located at the altar.

Then the sorceror continued to explain that every line in the tattoo has a specific meaning. Everything is written in a traditional writing system of Khmer. He also revealed that he was chosen by his socerous teacher, Luang Puu Wear Gur of Khmer Ampeal Wat, to be the next sorceror.

The sorceror often performs the ritual as to protect his clients and students, he can also use the ritual to cure and reverse any black magic done to them.

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he sorceror added that a person’s birth time and day can determine the fate of the person’s life as well as that of the people around the person. However, this is curable by performing a tattoo ritual specifically to the type of bad luck that person possesses, along with doing good merits.

Mei discovered that her birth time is very bad, even deadly to her boyfriend. The sorceror advised that she get a tattoo ritual of two two-tail geckos at her upper leg.

The soceror calculating Mei’s Birthday

As said before that the soceror was reluctant to share his personal life, but it is known by a closer examine at the shop’s wall that a part of him is an ordinary person like everyone else.

We thank Ajarn Deang, Appentice of Luang Puu Wear Guy of Khmer Ampeal Temple for all of the information and photos.

Ajarn Deang, Appentice of Luang Puu Wear Guy of Khmer Ampeal Temple

Bang Kho Laem, Bangkok Thailand 10120

Torfon Adisakdecha

Sarin Termteerakij

Photography and Content

Photography and Content

Digital Communication Design Student

Digital Communication Design Student

Silpakorn University International College

Silpakorn University International College

torfontf@gmail.com

2728mary@gmail.com

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