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Cambodia's soldiers use tattoos against bullets

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keeping_it_riel
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Cambodia's soldiers use tattoos against bullets

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Post by keeping_it_riel » Fri Sep 04, 2009 6:47 am

John Maloy I GlobalPost

Cambodian soldiers believe certain tattoos can protect them from bullets and landmines, and even make them invisible.

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- Magic tattoos begin with a magic man. Typically a Buddhist monk or adjar (essentially a deacon) and known for great piety, this Khmer magic man can draw scripts and images into another's skin, granting with the person supernatural armor against all kinds of harm. Understandably, such body art became popular with soldiers.

Reut Hath is one such magic man. He first learned the art of inking magic from his father, a farmer and martial arts trainer in northwestern Cambodia who was himself a "powerful magic man," according to the 52-year-old former soldier.

"Many people came to [my father], so he gave some of the work to me," Reut Hath said. "So, I had to learn magic."

Wherever Cambodian soldiers cluster, charms and amulets abound, from cloths scrawled with protection spells to bags of Buddha figurines to boar tusks -- anything to gain a magically endowed edge over the enemy. And there is perhaps no more explicit display of belief in mystical powers than magic tattoos, geometric patterns of written spells and images that crisscross the bodies of many older soldiers.

The list of powers that supposedly come with the tattoos is long and includes: imperviousness to bullets, anti-landmine protection, invisibility, an amplified voice to address troops and "great gravity" magic to make one's fists into heavier, deadlier weapons.

The intricate arrangements of some tattoos and the folk-like quality of others are often beautiful artworks in their own right. However, it's also a fading art, a system of belief that is disappearing from a military looking to recruit younger soldiers in place of aging veterans of the country's recent decades of civil war.

Reut Hath started tattooing soldiers in 1977 after himself fleeing executioners from the murderous Khmer Rouge to join the resistance against the Pol Pot regime. (In its effort to create a Maoist agrarian utopia, that regime was ultimately responsible for the deaths of more than 1.7 million people. In early 1979, the Vietnamese military toppled the Khmer Rouge government, sparking a 20-year civil war in Cambodia.)

Reut Hath joined the Khmer People's National Liberation Front (KPNLF), one of the main resistance groups that battled it out with the Vietnamese-backed Phnom Penh government throughout the 1980s. It is mostly former fighters from resistance groups like the KPNLF that have the magic tattoos.

The method

Magic men punch tattoos into the skin by hand, using a thin handle about 30 centimeters long with two syringe needles at one end. According to Reut Hath, any old ink will suffice, but during the civil war, when ink was often in short supply, he would create his own by mixing the material inside alkaline batteries with rice wine.

It only takes a few seconds to punch a single letter into the skin, though some soldiers have veritable essays written on their bodies, which require days of painful prodding.

Casting the spell

The spells are written in two ancient Indian languages -- Sanskrit or, more commonly, Pali, which is the liturgical language of Cambodia's dominant religion, Theravada Buddhism. Reut Hath admits he can't actually understand any of the spells because they aren't written in his native tongue of Khmer.

"I cannot read the Pali, but I know what letter is what letter, so I know what to write according to the formula," he said. "I learned it, but even I don't understand why the magic is so powerful."

The soldiers' stories

Sgt. Maj. Boung Thoeun is covered from head to toe in protective tattoos, his arms almost black from the dense web of Pali spells running up and down them.

The 50-year-old soldier, a former KPNLF captain, said that his tattoos twice saved him from landmines, which merely fizzled when he stepped on them. He also recalled getting caught in a nighttime ambush that should have meant certain death, but he came away unscathed.

"The enemy sprayed a lot of bullets at us," he said. "It was a dark place but there were so many [tracer bullets] flying about that it looked like the daytime."

Cambodian army Maj. Gen. Lay Virak, formerly a KPNLF senior commander, said he knows of magic that prevents a person from getting lost in the forest. He also met a monk who knew magic that allowed one to walk through fire.

"During the war, we believed in the magic. We knew a lot, including magic that prevents you from being tied up or hurt by torture," Lay Virak added.

With so much power supposedly at their fingertips, it would seem like a half-dozen tattooed soldiers could take on an army. But when it comes to magical tattoos there's still a catch -- several, actually.

"It is a question of your belief, your nationalism and your devotion to the rules," said Reut Hath of how one keeps their magic potent.

The basis of belief

These rules are typically based on morality and religiosity: Do not murder, do not steal, do not commit adultery, regularly burn incense and pray, recite magical mantras, etc. The rules establish a Buddhist grounding for the magic, taking what could be thought of as a selfish act to empower oneself and changing it into a promotion of moral behavior and faith. Of course, to the more cynical-minded, the rules also provide reasons why a man covered in protection spells might be killed on the battlefield: "If only he hadn't been so forward with his neighbor's wife," for example.

However, some of the rules might appear more arbitrary. Reut Hath forbids the men he tattooed from eating dog meat. In addition to dog, Lay Virak must also shun snake, turtle and pork, and in perhaps the most unusual limitation, he will sacrifice his protection if he urinates and defecates at the same time.

In addition, former resistance fighters say, the end of warfare in Cambodia has done much to reduce both the strict morality and magical potency associated with the tattoos -- with easy living comes temptation.

"During the fighting, most of the fighters were powerful -- the magic worked," Reut Hath said. "But with peace, many came to the cities and starting drinking, sleeping with girls and the magic has faded away."

This perceived decline in morality has driven Reut Hath to vow to never tattoo anyone ever again. "I decided to stop giving the tattoos because I cannot trust the young people these days. If they had tattoos they'd probably fight. Before, we thought about the liberation of our country. We had a good spirit."

He said he does know of some magic men who continue to tattoo people, but their numbers are dwindling. "Many soldiers have [tattoos] but they don't know how to pass them on," he added.

Though not in any way prohibited, tattoos are now an increasingly rare sight in the Cambodian military. Even among those who fought in the 1970s and '80s, it was only in the resistance groups based along the Thai border that it remained a prominent tradition. Resistance fighters who joined the military after the war have also typically found themselves relegated to positions with little authority or influence.

"Usually it's the fighters from the border that have tattoos," said Maj. Gen. Chap Pheakdei, commander of Brigade 911, the army's elite paratrooper unit, adding that few of his soldiers have sought the protection of magical body art.

"On the Phnom Penh side during the [civil] war maybe two out of 100 would have [tattoos]," said one Brigade 911 officer who declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the press. "Some guys go out with tattoos all over them and get killed, and a guy with nothing comes back fine -- I believe in luck, not magic."

"But maybe," he added, "that's because our side has tanks."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/0 ... 76475.html
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Post by hanky » Fri Sep 04, 2009 1:25 pm

Interesting article.
he will sacrifice his protection if he urinates and defecates at the same time.
Thats one hell of a stipulation. :D
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Post by ghostee » Sat Sep 12, 2009 9:17 am

I have heard a few stories recently about the powers of Khmer magic.

While in Thailand I was warned about ever coming here because of the power of the 'Majik'. The Thais I know seem to be genuinely scared shitless of it?

My 'favourites' so far are:

1. The powerful [Khmers] 'take' the unborn foetus from a pregnant woman and roast it on a bbq until charred. It is then kept as a amulet to protect against metal entering the body (bullets, knifes etc)

2. [Khmers] put a medicine into your food and the next time you eat a particular foodstuff, i.e. eggs, cheese, fried ants, kfc etc, you will die and your body will wither to a bright green 1000 year old corpse within a few hours

3. There is a temple in Phnom Phen where beggars eat the meat of cremated people, this allows their luck and material wealth to pass to them in this life
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Post by gavinmac » Sat Sep 12, 2009 9:30 am

Since Ghostee is new and interested in stories of Khmer weirdness and black magic, I should re-post this collection of links to classic stories:


"Newlywed Cambodian husband divorces wife for a dog"

"Elderly Cambodian man kicked to death attempting to have sex with cow"

"Cambodian couple bites off daughter's thumbnails and sucks her blood"

"Cambodian man dies after attempting to enlarge penis by injecting it with hair growth tonic"

"Cambodian man cuts off penis to feed hungry spirits"

"Cambodian man injects love interest with his own blood"

"Cambodian mother grounds partying daughter by nailing her foot to the floor"



Yes, Ghostee, it is true that some Khmers believe that unborn fetuses have magic powers. There are numerous stories about Cambodians keeping mummified fetuses around the house for good luck, or sometimes even cutting open a pregnant girlfriend's stomach to remove a lucky fetus before it is born. Apparently, a mummified fetus is absolutely the luckiest thing a Cambodian can have, trumping even healing cows and pythons that are the reincarnation of your dead grandmother and magic watches that protect you from traffic and miracle-performing turtles.

I don't know that they barbecue the fetus on a grill, but they do sometimes hang them up over or around fires, making "smoke children."

Oh, and don't let a Cambodian woman cook for you, because if she likes you, she may mix her menstrual blood into your food to guarantee that she wins your heart.
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Post by ghostee » Sat Sep 12, 2009 10:09 am

['mixing her menstrual blood into your food'] goddamit, I knew she was up to somthing? but I thought she was just pissing in the rice pot.

Thanks GM, I love these stories
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Post by gavinmac » Sat Sep 12, 2009 10:21 am

You're welcome. Glad you enjoyed them.
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Post by hanky » Sat Sep 12, 2009 12:31 pm

The Chams here are apparently all sorcerors, they can put the poison tree bark in your stomach and make you sick for ever or something. Be careful. :D
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Post by uglyfemnist » Wed Oct 28, 2009 10:02 am

Ghostee:

" 3. There is a temple in Phnom Phen where beggars eat the meat of cremated people, this allows their luck and material wealth to pass to them in this life'

I thought that was a well-known 'chicken' outlet ?
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Post by hanky » Wed Oct 28, 2009 11:53 am

Apparently you will get very sick and probably die if you have a cold and drink anything with ice in it. Do that in the rain and you'll be dead within seconds.
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Post by Doctor Seuss » Thu Oct 29, 2009 7:59 am

hanky wrote:Apparently you will get very sick and probably die if you have a cold and drink anything with ice in it. Do that in the rain and you'll be dead within seconds.
Although the death would be quite easily and quickly remedied by applying some tiger balm (preng golah)
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Post by Chuangt2u » Thu Oct 29, 2009 1:29 pm

That stuff works wonders for everything.

Got gas? Prengola
Mozzie bites? Prengola
Backache/headache? Prengola
Late for work? Prengola
Soup's not too good today? Prengola
Need to pass an exam? Prengola


The original recipe was the secret behind the building of AW, but it's been lost in the mists of time. Nowadays the chemists are guessing, but its reputation is still strong....
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Post by stains » Thu Oct 29, 2009 6:13 pm

little bit :off: but the thais have their superstitions too.....

Headless baby draws crowds

NAKHON SRI THAMMARAT: A family in Ron Phibun District have set up a shrine to house the body of a stillborn headless baby.

The baby was the second of a pair of twin girls born to 30-year-old Saijai Sriraksa on October 14.

After the first healthy twin was born, doctors noticed Mrs Saijai still had a lump in her abdomen. Doctors asked her to push again, and a stillborn baby was born.

The baby, which weighs 1.2kg, has no arms and no head. On each foot it has three toes.

Relatives took the body of the baby home and set it up in an old fishtank converted into a display case. They placed the baby in a sitting position and put a baby’s bottle and a nappy in the fishtank. They also lit incense and set up a donation box for visitors.

As the news spread, many villagers from Ron Phibun District came to worship the headless infant, asking it for good fortune.

The baby’s great aunt, Panya Sangsiri, 47, said Mrs Saijai had regular check ups throughout her pregnancy.

She had been scanned with ultrasound five times but the presence of the twin had never been detected, Mrs Panya said.

If the body of the baby did not go rotten, they would keep it in the fishtank permanently for people to come and worship, she said.
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Post by hanky » Thu Oct 29, 2009 8:27 pm

Freaky stuff. I remember getting a "heads up", about a hospital in North London that had been empty awhile and had been used for parties. Down in one of the basement cellars they had all these deformed fetuses and pickled punks in jars. They leaked out the most disgusting, carcinogenic slime when you picked them up. A few friends had taken their own souvenirs home, but I felt a bit ill and left empty-handed.

Image
Pickled Punk "Kenny."

Image
So, back to the original point, here's an old soldier from an exhibition in Tuol Sleng Museum.
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