12/30/2007

Thai Politics and the stars

Monday, December 31, 2007

Posted by Siam at 12:00 AM


---------------------------------


Chang Noi’s article in The Nation on Tuesday,December 11, 2007

Political fortunes divined by the stars

At a shrine in Chiang Mai in the middle of last month, two generals from the junta and the wife of a third sat under a three-legged arch decorated with banana plants, sugarcane, coconut fronds, bunches of bananas, gourds, candles, incense sticks, and offerings of food. A sacred thread was strung from the peak of the arch around the heads of the three participants who sat with clasped hands while learned monks from sixteen wat in the city chanted for two hours.
According to reports of this secret ceremony, the participants were Air Chief Marshal Chalit Phukphasuk, Admiral Sathiraphan Keyanon, and Sasini, wife of General Winai Phattiyakul. The army chief, General Anupong Paochinda, was reluctant to attend in person but sent the deputy chief of the First Army as his representative. The group flew to Chiang Mai in a special plane. The junta members, including General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, had made a group visit to the same shrine in April. Sonthi did not attend this time because it was already too late to improve his fortune.
The rite was reportedly staged because the planetary disposition of the junta has entered a difficult phase, resulting in the decline of the junta’s political fortunes which is readily apparent to everyone. General Sonthi’s personal horoscope is especially vexed, and on top he has come under attack using the dark arts. An image of the general has been made according to a magical formula, and then subjected to maltreatment in order to cause harm. Sonthi’s decision to withdraw himself from the upcoming election, after earlier showing his clear intention of running, is reportedly linked with these events.
The rite was arranged by Varin Buaviratlert who has become Thailand’s most famous astrologer. In fact his services range much wider than prediction based on the movement of heavenly bodies and other signals. He is a spirit medium who channels the spirit of a powerful ascetic named Kewalan who resides in the Himalaya mountains. The site of last month’s rite is named the Hall of the Reverend Rishi Kewalan. The generals’ secret ceremony was held in the VIP room on the edges of an annual event organized for people who wish to improve their fortune.
Varin rose to national fame by predicting the 16 September 2006 coup. But he has long had a reputation for his powers, especially among the men in green. General Sonthi had earlier consulted him over his career prospects. Varin discovered that Sonthi had been a general of King Taksin in a past life and was destined to save the country. He predicted Sonthi’s somewhat unexpected rise to become army commander, and helped him with rituals to clinch the prediction. Now Varin is so famous and important that he is guarded by Special Forces troops, his visitors are subject to inspection, and his movements are kept secret.
Varin advises his clients on methods to “correct karma” or “sustain fortune.” Mostly this requires the client to visit many Buddhist wat, listen to chanting, and make donations of money, robes, and other articles. Countering the attack on Sonthi through maltreatment of a magical image might have required something more serious. Usually it is necessary to find and destroy the image, or participate in some rather exacting ceremonial.
At his recent sessions, Varin apparently reported Kewalan’s predictions on the near future. For the generals who feel beset by misfortune, these predictions were comforting. Another coup may be in the offing. There is a possibility of a national government. Although the details and timing are far from clear, the political future seems smothered in green. The medium tried to concentrate on Abhisit but the image would not stabilize, and in a flash was overlaid by men in uniform.
Thai politics have long been at the mercy of spirits, stars, and dark forces. As Chavalit Yongchaiyudh’s political fortunes collapsed in the 1997 crisis, an adept advised his wife never to go anywhere without a toy elephant. Could it have been coincidence that the fortunes of the Democrat Party dived in 2000-1 after disaster befell the party’s trademark statue of the earth goddess, Mae Thorani? The 2006 coup occurred shortly after the Brahma image at the Erawan junction had been destroyed. For many years no politician could hope for success in the northeast until he had been bashed on the head with a roll of paper by the country’s most famous “magic monk,” Luang Por Koon. The King Prajadhipok Institute, established to upgrade the quality of Thai politics, hosted a seminar for political astrologers earlier this year.
Although presenting himself as a politician for the new age of modernity, Thaksin took trouble to get the spirits and stars on his side. He patronized a northeastern monk who specialized in predicting election results until the monk’s life was complicated by a criminal charge. In advance of the crucial court verdict on his asset-concealment case, Thaksin sponsored prayer chanting in several wat. When opposition against him swelled in 2004, he made several visits to a famous seer named ET in Rangoon. In the endgame prior to the coup, Newin Chidchob arranged for Thaksin to benefit from Khmer rites and practices in southern Isan, including walking under an elephant. Although Varin is now closely associated with the junta, Thaksin and Pojaman also count among his fans. Reportedly last month Pojaman paid him a visit for advice on how to “correct her karma” and improve her husband’s chances of returning home. Varin prescribed some wat visits and donations.
Whether politicians are hi-tech businessmen with billions at their fingertips, or generals with battlefield experience and command over thousands of men, they are reluctant to feel that their political careers depend on the will of the people. They prefer to put their faith in planetary movements, spirits, dark forces, chanting, offerings, Burmese seers, Khmer magic, and dead Himalayan ascetics.

COMMENT : Oh ! how can I say ? It’s amazing Thailand.


No comments: