Thai Mysteries 4
More annotated Thai vocabulary for those interested in supernatural Buddhism, Vedic supernaturalism, the magical arts, and spirituality.
The following entries are classed in Thai alphabetical order. Let us then start without further ado, with the
Kumpantapret: A pret demon with huge testes.
Pret (from Sanskrit preta) are a kind of supernatural beings or demons living in a world of their own not much different from a hell pit (see Abaipum), although they can interfere with human lives in this world in certain circumstances. There exist several typologies of these demons, one of which features the here kumpantapret or ‘elephantiac preta,’ so to speak.
Kaotok-dokmai: A religious offering of popped rice and flowers.
Kiao-keo: ‘glass teeth’ 1/ the teeth of Lord Buddha are known as Pra-kiao-keo; 2/ the fangs in monkey god Hanuman’s mouth; 2/ the fangs of any venomous snake.
Kontan: the Gandharvas (Sanskrit), a class of inhabitants of the heavenly abodes, counted as minor gods. They form the retinue of Deva Tatarot, one of the four Tjatulokban or Kings of the first Heaven, and are skillful musicians and singers. The spouses of the gandharvas are the apsaras.
Trai-tjiwon: the garments that the Vinaya, i.e. that part of the Buddhist Pali Canon that deals with monkhood and its regulations, allows the monks to wear as a rule, namely the antarawasok, covering the lower parts of the body from the waist down (translated as sarong, a Malay word; in Thai: sabong), the utarasang, or the robe itself, and the sangkati, a shawl for the shoulders and chest.
Nang-mai: a female spirit that dwells in big trees, such as the thingan or iron wood tree. The nang-mai is a rukkatewada (see that word). The prai-tani (here) is a kind of nang-mai.
Beuk-mai: to perform a ceremony to forest spirits (pipa) or rukkatewada (see that word) before falling a big tree in the forest.
Baipattasima, Baisima or Baisema: a stela with a top in the shape of a lotus petal and that marks the limits of a Buddhist temple ground.
Prok: (from ‘to cover’) 1/ the name of the sitting, praying monks during a ceremony of consecrating Buddha images or sacred objects is kana-prok (‘the covering team’) (see Puttapisek); 2/ a small arch under which a monk remains confined when he is atoning for the sangkatiset violation of the Vinaya (see Pariwat).
For another use of the word prok, namely nak-prok, see Thai Mysteries 2 here.
Pra-tiat: a piece of cloth inscribed with yantras (mystic symbols and diagrams) believed to ward off danger and harm. It is fastened around the neck, the upper arm etc.
Pariwat: a penance for the monks guilty of the fault called sangkatiset (most heinous after parachik, which is sanctioned by excommunication) and consisting in confinement (see Prok).
The rules followed by Theravada Buddhist monks are laid down in the Vinaya, which is the second ‘basket’ or treatise of the Pali Canon, a.k.a. ‘The Three Baskets,’ Traipidok in Thai.
Prom-thai: ‘Thai Brahma’ 1/ a piece of land granted to brahmans by the king and exempted from taxation; 2/ a most precious gift; 3/ a parental gift.
Praputtasihing: the name of a Buddha image, which meaning is a Buddha image in the dignified style of a singha-lion (rachasi).
Prayatekrua: a man who is married with both mother and daughter or with two sisters.
Puttapisek: name of a ceremony during which incantations are chanted over a Buddha image or sacred object by a group of sitting monks, known in that circumstance as kanaprok, who pay homage and concentrate in order to bestow the virtues of the Triple Gem (Buddha-Dharma-Sangha) upon that image or object and endow it with magical properties.
Pakawam: a class of amulet with a frowning face and the nine openings of the body, namely the two eyes, the two ears, the two nostrils, the mouth, the anus, and the urethra, closed off. It is alleged to dispel any danger or harm completely.
Mekkapat: name of a black shiny metal alloy that emits green glittering reflections like the wings of a bupestris beetle (picture). It is made by cooking lead and copper together, and adding sulphur (this is the short recipe). Amulets made with this metal are known as pra-mekkapat.
Rukkatewada: a spirit that dwells in the trees.
These spirits are supposed to be gandharvas (see that word). The inhabitants of the first Heaven, the closest to our world, are able to travel to and fro between the two places.
Ruppaprom: (from Sanskrit rupa-Brahma) a subclass of Brahma gods (Brahmas –plural– are a class of gods) with apparent body and shape, who dwell in sixteen Heavens in the Brahmaloka (abode of the Brahma gods).
Luknimit: stone balls approximately the size of alms-bowls embedded in the ground to mark the limits of a Buddhist sanctuary.
Lek-yan: (from Sanskrit lekka-yantra) a figure that appears on a yantra (magic diagram).
Okkaidao: ‘fried-eggs breast,’ a woman’s breast that is flat. (Pfff…)
Akanit: the highest of the ruppaprom gods (see that word) that dwell in sixteen Heavens in the Brahmaloka.
Anakami: ‘one who does not attend the worlds of sensuality anymore,’ the third stage among the four ‘Arya stages’ (see Ariya) or stages of enlightenment, that is 1/sodaban ‘the first to attain the Dharma Flow or Nirvana’ 2/sakatakami ‘one who attends one world of sensuality’ (these places or worlds of sensuality (kampop) are a religious term that designates a/the abaipum (see that word), b/the human world, but also c/the six heavens that I have enumerated here – which, by the way, does not mean that places of sensuality in the non-religious sense, across the street, are attended by the sakatakami) 3/anakami, and 4/arahant.
Anusai: the seven defects ingrained in human nature, namely 1/gammaraka (lust for sex) 2/patika (the state of irritability, moodiness) 3/titti (false views) 4/witjigicha (hesitation, doubt) 5/mana (arrogance) 6/pawaraka (lust for the world and worldy pursuits) 7/awicha (imperfect knowledge or ignorance).
Abaipum: the derelict worlds, that is, the eight hell pits, the world of pret, the world of asuras, and the world of beasts.
Ariya: (Sanskrit: Aryan) in Buddhism, those who achieve the glorious Dharma –enlightenment, merit, cessation of suffering, etc.
Aruppaprom: (Sanskrit arupa-Brahma) a class of gods in the Brahmaloka according to the Buddhist doctrine. They have no body or appearance. There exist four subclasses of them.
Unlike the rupaprom (see this word), the arupaprom are a distinct Buddhist feature. They are former ascetics with certain meditative powers (see the two following entries: Arupapop, Arupapatjon).
Arupapop or Arupapum: the world of those who have got the four arupa-jhanas (or arupa-dhyanas) or formless states of no-mind.
Arupapatjon: a formless Brahma god who ‘encloses’ the four formless jhanas or states of no-mind.
Awetji: the deepest of the eight hell pits, where the greatest sinners receive their punishment.
Attaban: ‘the eight juices,’ a fruit juice that a monk is allowed to drink in the afternoon (as an exception to the ban on intussusception in the afternoon for monks), namely mango juice, rose apple or java plum (jambolan) juice, the juice of bananas with seeds, the juice of bananas without seeds, madhuca (Madhuca pierrei) juice, the juice of the fruit of Aglaia silvestris or grape juice, the juice of lotus rhizomes, Marian plum (Bouea burmanica) or litschi juice.
The eight juices are taken from the Vinaya and their names are therefore known in Pali. In the process of translation, some uncertainties have arisen, it seems, as a few of the eight juices can be the juice of either this or that fruit (for instance, Marian plum or litschi, which to my knowledge are not the same). Some people lay down the principle that all fruit juices are allowed in the afternoon, a view that the very word attaban, however, contradicts.
Atsatamongkon: ‘the auspicious eight’, namely the krop-na (a forehead’s ornament in the shape of kratiang, a Thai design used in carving, consisting of leaves outstretching in two arms), the scepter, the conch shell, the chakra disk or wheel, the three-edged flag tongsamchai, the mahoot’s hook, the albino cow (from Shiva’s cow Nandi), and the cauldron.
Atsadayut or Atsadawut: ‘the eight weapons,’ namely the diamond spear, the elephant sword (a large sword used to strike from an elephant’s back), the trident, the chakra (a serrated throwing disk), the sword and shield, the bow, the war scythe, and a match-lock gun of old times. They are respectfully presented to the new king during the ceremony of his coronation.
Itti-patihan: superpowers beyond the limits of common human nature, such as the power to disappear and be invisible, the power to fly, etc. They are one of the three patihan or miracles, together with atetsana-patihan, wich is to be able to read people’s minds, and anusatsana-patihan, the doctrine (that can persuade people to trust and admire).
Unalom: 1/ hair between the eyebrows; 2/ an auspicious symbol that looks like number 9 in Thai and is written on yantras (magic diagrams) to ward off danger or anointed on the forehead of novices in the tam-kwan-nak ceremony (during which the novices are reminded to be thankful to their parents).
Previous issues of the series are to be found here: Thai Mysteries 1 & 2.
April 2017