Wat Mahabut (Mae Nak Phra Khanong)

HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT

The temple was established in 1762-1763 before Pagan intervention. The original name called “Wat Sambut” named by three brothers but it was abandoned later In early Rattanakosin period local people intended to rejuvenate the prosperity of the temple by inviting Phra Mahabut fifth Parien ( Pali scholar level 5 ) by Wat Liap institute. After the rejuvenation the temple promoted to be the center of the Sangha institute until 1923 during the reign of king Monhkut Rama VI under the king under royal patronage. It was maintained by providing two ” WisungKham Sima ” means monastic boundaries each 14 meters. The project of temple maintenance was emerged again in 18 April 1916 when the old abbey was rebuilt by modern materials and invited Phibun Songkharm as a presiding of the ceremony in 2004.

The main Buddha image called Luang Pho Yim in The Buddha in Maravijava posture.The information of the Buddha image is not has a certain information. We collected the information through interviewed the vice abbot of the temple Phra Kru Wisit Kitcha Rak noted Luang Pho Yim is not the president Buddha but this Buddha image located alongside with Phra Khanong community respect by asking to solve weather problem and offer with Chula kite. Phra Kru suggested Chula kites offering is the identity of Luang Pho Yim to represent identity. Inside Luang Pho Yim temple demonstrates abundant baby bone .

The Mea Nak shrine was established by Ajarn Phun Chang chareng. He was the grandson of Lung Pho Phra Kru Phithak Thawonkhun who was the abbot at Wat Mahabut. Ajarn Phun possessed magical power and preferred to meditate for along times. He used to cooperate with Lung Pho Toh and received admiration from him. He made Mae Nak statue intentionally following to the suggestion of the abbot of Lung Pho To, Wat Yang suggestion and placed into the graveyard and the current Mae Nak shrine is rebuilt in the old graveyard. Ajarn Phun was died in 2016 peacefully. The Mae Nak shire is developed through time period sending faithfulness across many generation. The Mae Nak shire has been renovated, the well-known make up artist Nong Chat by decorating Mae Nak face.

MAE NAK THE LOVELORN GHOST

Alongside the Phra Khanong canal horror Thai folklore emerged during the reign of king Rama IV – V. Nak, the loyalty woman who has been waiting her husband to return from warfare and died during pregnancy. According to Thai local belief the unnatural death led to the powerful ghost with cruelty Nak body was buried in a pair of Takian trees( ironwood tree ) after the death Nak still appeared in human profile waited her husband. Mak as the husband of Nak returned from war with unperceived. He received many caution from his neighbors about the death of Nak but abandoned until he encountered by himself by seeing Nak stretching her long arms to grab limes from house from the top of the house down to underneath. After this situation Mak realized his wife was not longer human he went to temple for help but it failed. Someday Somdet To had visited Phra Khanong district and obtained entreaty from local people. Somdet To succeed to conquer Nak and brought frontal bone to be an amulet called Pan Neng. The amulet inherited from powerful monk known as Luang Pho Pring lastly dominated by Krom Luang Chumphon Khet Udomsak after that it is disappeared . However, this is a popular version of Mae Nak legend well-known in Thai society through media.

“In 1999, Nonzee Nimbutr’s version of Mae Nak , name “Nang Nak” was the first version that humanized Mae Nak and depicted her tragic aspect as a mournful young lady who devoted her life to her husband , a strong stereotype of how Thai girl ( in the past ) should conduct.” ( Arunwadi Leewananthawet : 2016 )

At Wat Mahabut ( Mahabut temple ) the Mae Nak recognition is opposed to media represent. The Mae Nak shrine was built owing to the faithful and respectful by local people. We observe that the Mae Nak status is upper than general superstition in that area as venerating Mae Nak gain more respectful from than deities in the same area. But, the popularity of the Mae Nak is the indirect action to provide beneficial consequences owing to Mae Nak is regarded as the distinctive deity.

THE VENERATING OF MAE NAK AND THE PROSPERITY

During the uncertainty society worships to obtain certainty status consider as the hope rather than classical achievement in Buddhism teaching or Nirvana.

“Since the 1980s, new supernatural movement have become highly visible additions to Thailand’ spiritual landscapes and religious marketplaces. Focused on supernatural intervention to bring success, wealth and prosperity in Thailand’s expanding economy , these movements are often only tangentially related to orthodox Theravada Buddhist teaching and practice. These highly commodified wealth oriented movement emerged in the context of Thailand’s economic boom in the 1980s and 1990s , and have continued to grown in popularity and developed further through the 1997 Asian econiomic crisis and the political conflict that have destabilized Thai society over the past decade.” ( Peter A. Jackson : 2016 ,p.826 )

According to Jackson noted the cult of wealth seems give the prioritized center attention of the religion popularity. In case of venerating Mae Nak the expectation of the offering can be categorized into fours common problems 1. wealth 2. occupation and financial success 3. love and 4. military selection. The general offering sets comprise of two incenses , one candle , one bouquet of flowers and gold plate. Moreover, the specific offering involve specific sets and preying but the chanting will be initialed with respecting Buddha chanting.

The special offering also play the crucial role of the Mae Nak identity. The indirect propuse of the offering to emphasize identity of the Mae Nak such as cosmetics , jewelry , Thai dress ,Thai food and traditional Thai dancing by apply these objects to emphasize national symbols through “Khwampen Thai or Thainess”. and “feminism” as Pattana Kitirasa called ” civil religion practices” ( 2005. p. 426 ). The reputation od Mae Nak is famous to attract Chinese people to visit especially for financial purposes. The increasing of the Mae Nak popularity make the temple adjusts to new targets group to serve convenience to subsidize modernity for example making merit online , amulets delivery and looking Thai dancers in advanced for redeeming a vow. The advertising posture is written in Thai and Chinese. As Pattana said the transformation of Thai Buddhist temple in modern era.

In case of Wat Mahabut the magical objects also implement to commodify involve the temple icon is Mae Nak and bring a part of Mae Nak status and Ajarn Phun Chang Chareng into components . The targets of the temple not only deliver to Thai customers but include Chinese customers.

MAE NAK IN LOCAL COMMUNITY

To consider the relationship between Mae Nak and the others. We observed the intimacy between Mae Nak and believers by apply kinship term as Mea ( mother ) or Ya ( grandmother) to call Mae Nak or Ya Nak to dignify and count her as a member of the family. By Marshall Shills suggest kinship is a mutuality of being led to fundamental link by manifestation without biological profile.

“Kinship is the mutuality of being: people who are kin to each other are those who participate intrinsically in each other’s existence; they are members of one another, intrinsic to one another’s being.” ( Marshall Sahlins : 2013 )

Some of caretakers or intimate people at Mae Nak shire define themselves as children of Mae Nak. The relationship of the caretakers and Mae Nak are intense rather than believers and deity but the relationship is participated in daily life by doing job devote to Mae Nak. However,The faithfulness can be localize through the loyalty of believers and the conversation with sellers by refer to inspiration from Mae Nak. In this case the inspiration can be consider as mutual benefits from the connectivity of faithfulness into local economic. However, the observation by applying human sensory ( eyes and sound ) consider as the necessary features to construct the connectivity through environment such as the status of Mae Nak , the chanting , the sets of offering , the crowd or location consider as co-present. However, from these condition the co-present can be emphasize the intimacy and loyalty between believers and Mae Nak obviously through the consultation with Mae Nak request for suggestion via fortune stick drawing or Kau Cim. Moreover, the intimacy can be deliver through the successful blessing and word of mouth. To consider this practice it does not ment unconsciouses practices but it consider as alternative method to deal with problems as Malinowski and Timbiah suggest.

LOCATION

Wat Mahabut is located at 747 Sukhumvit 77 Road (On Nut), Suan Luang District, Bangkok 10250 , Thailand

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to vice abbot Phra Kru Wisit Kitcha Rak for providing necessary and informative knowledge through interviewing. He also extended and addressed on distinctive knowledge.

We are also extremely thankful to stuffs and entrepreneurs at Wat Mahabut for providing another sides of the temple information and assisted from conversation in personally.

REFERENCES

Articles

Jackson, P. A. (2016). The supernaturalization of Thai political culture: Thailand’s magical stamps of approval at the nexus of media, market and state. Sojourn: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia, 31(3), 826–879

Kitiarsa, P. (2005). Beyond Syncretism: Hybridization of Popular Religion in Contemporary Thailand. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 36(3), 461–479.

Malinowski, B. (1948). Magic, Science and Religion and Other Essays. Glencoe, IL: Free Press.

Stanley J. Tambiah, Magic, Science and Religion and the Scope of Rationality (1990).

Sahlins, M. (2013). What kinship is—and is not . University of Chicago Press.

จิรบวรวิสุทธิ์ ส. (2019). The Dynamics and Preservation of the Legend of Mae NakPhrakhanong in Current Entertainment Media. Siam Communication Review, 18(2), 69–96.

Movies

MCOT. (n.d.). Mae Nak Phra Khanong [TV series]. Channel 9.

Nonzee, N. (Director). (1999). Nang Nak [Film]. BEC-Tero Entertainment.

Pisanthanakun, Banjong, dir. Pee Mak. Bangkok: GTH, 2013. Film.

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