Mummified Corpses, Penises and Other Foreign Objects of Worship in Thailand

Mummified corpses of children, erotic and phallic sculptures and dolls are some of the idols of worship revered by superstitious people in Thailand to enhance their good fortune.

Earlier this month, a man was fishing on the rocks when he hooked a silicon figurine in Nakhon Si Thammarat province in the south.

The object was in the shape of a woman and had detailed feminine features.

He thought of returning it to the sea, but when he fell asleep he had a dream in which the object implored him: "Do not leave me on the rock. Please take me with you. I have good intentions to bring luck to those who suffer during the economic crisis", according to local newspaper Daily News.

Somchok Kulpakdi, a friend of the fisherman, took the amulet to a temple, which attracted many residents who venerated it until the monks asked him to take it away because they did not consider it appropriate for a religious place.

However, another temple cleric named Thao Tho decided to take the figurine, which is about 30 centimeters high, to another temple. There, he built a small pavilion and a glass case for the object so that worshippers could visit the temple and pray to the figurine for good luck.

It is not the first, nor the last bizarre religious curiosity in Thailand.

At eastern Bangkok's Wat Mahabut temple, a mummified infant in a glass case is displayed and devotees pray to the mummy for good health, love or money, the three pillars of universal fortune.

With its boyish and golden brown face, the idol is half buried in green, 20-baht notes and flanked by several offerings such as stuffed animals, miniature cars and toy houses.

"Sometimes I dream of the child. It has long been believed that if you do good deeds in relation to children, the dead or spirits, you can get lucky," said Wan, 31, a Thai woman who prayed and left a little donation beside the urn.

"Sometimes my boyfriend has good luck and has come across money. I've also won the lottery, and so has my sister," says the devout woman, who attributes the good fortune to the powers of the mummified child.

A monk at the temple, who declined to give his name, said the mummified corpse was the son of a policeman who died after several years, but did not decompose.

"The truth is that it was brought here after the child died for his funeral, but as time went on his body didn't decompose, so people came and asked the temple to cherish and take care of it," the cleric told Efe.

Since then the mummified relic has become one of the most revered idols in the temple, as in other places in Thailand where fetuses or children's bodies are worshiped for their supposed magical properties.

More than 90 percent of Thais practice Buddhism, which in many cases is mixed with animist, Hindu or Chinese folklore beliefs.

In Thai temples it is customary to display figures of Buddha, along with figures of Hindu deities such as Ganesha or Brahma, and Chinese-origin Guanyin altars.

More romantic-minded people are drawn to an area behind the Swissôtel Nai Lert Park in Bangkok for the "penis shrine", where couples come to pray and make offerings in hopes of having a child.

Flanked by penises and phallic sculptures of all sizes, the altar is in a quiet corner sheltered by leafy trees and along a canal in the center of the Thai capital.

According to tradition, couples who deposit offerings in the shape of male genitalia and floral wreaths at Mae Tuptim ("Spirit of the Pomegranate") will be granted a child.

Every day, hotel employees clean the altar, on which are displayed more than twenty penis shapes in various sizes from a few centimeters to over a meter long.

As with all other believers, employees do not forget bow with hands clasped before leaving.

Latin American Herald Tribune - Mummified Corpses, Penises and Other Foreign Objects of Worship in Thailand