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สาขาวรรณกรรมพื้
นบ้
าน
มรดกภู
มิ
ปั
ญญาทางวั
ฒนธรรม
82
The text on Lek Yan
- Tamra Lek Yan - is a legacy
of the belief in the ancient cosmological chart or
design, which includes the constellations and the
signs of the zodiac, the four elements - earth, water,
ai r , and fire, combined wi th the medi tat ion
practice or Kasinayadana. Kasinayadana is the
part of the Buddhist’s yogic exercises called the
40 Kammatth
ā
na, which leads to the practice of
Kasin-sanggraha-dhatu or Kan Hung That - the creation
of magical talismans, charms and weapons.
Lek Yan means the magical geometrical motifs
that include alphabets, numbers, icons, ideograms
or symbolic images that may be surrounded or
framed by the geometrical motifs or may lie outside
them, depending on the designer’s belief or the specified
formulaic model to be followed.
The knowledge of Lek Yan has been transmitted
in the oral tradition and only important passages are
written down - the motifs and the mantras, which are
left to us today. The texts on Lek Yan found in the
central region are: Khamphi Patthamang, Khamphi
Itthache, Khamphi Tri-ni-sing-he, Khamphi Maharat,
and Khamphi Phuttha-khun. The Lek Yan motifs
from these five texts serve as the prototypes
for all the Lek Yan texts found in the central and southern
regions of Thailand.
The magical motifs from the five texts on Lek
Yan are applied to the creation of talismans, amulets
and charms such as Prachiad (Yan cloth), Sue Yan
(Yan jacket) , Takrut (amulet), Phirot, Prakham (magical
rosary), Mit Mo (magical knife of the shaman), Thian
(magical candle), Phra Kring (the Buddha’s amulet that is
Text on Lek Yan
hollow and contains a small metal ball inside), Phra Mai
Pho Ham Samut, metal coin, and Phra Phong Somdet
(a highly sought-after series of the Buddha’s amulets
made of consecrated materials). It is believed that
these charms have the magical power according to
the kind of Yan that is used with it. The motifs from
the five texts are also used in the art of war - to bless
the weapons and vehicles as well as to design battle
formations and army marches.
In the northern and northeastern regions of Thailand
in the past, young men were keen on having animal
motifs or Yan motifs tattooed on their body with the
belief that this would protect them from dangers. The
tattoo practice also serves as a test of their bravery and
endurance. People in the central and southern regions
are not keen to have their body tattooed.
Today, the “tattoo culture” is on the rise again
and people bring to the tattoo artists/shamans the
magical motifs - such as Yan Kro Phet and Yan Kao Yot,
which are found in various books and they ask the Yan
artists to tattoo them on their body in oil or in ink. They
believe that these magical motifs would protect them
from dangers or magically earn them special favor and
kindness from people or make them sexually irresistible
to the opposite sex.