FINAL GROUP INVESTIGATIVE ARTICLES

Date: 11 May 2019

Time: 18:38
 
Group 1
Khanathat Chowpradith 5907640188
 
Warisa Yuktanantana 5907641137
 
Watsakorn Kaewsaard 5907641145
 
Chayanit Pongsupradit 5907641228
 
Pimnipa Tresukosol 5907641061
 
Prakin Chatteeraphat 5907640592
 
Tanapa Pongpilasarn 5907640923
 
Siraprapa Pechmongkol 5907640824
 
 
Shaman: Verity or Fairy Tale
 
Shamanism and Thailand
 
In a small room with a dim of light shining from the candles on the floor, the aromatic smell from joss
sticks forming small clouds of smoke, and the sound of a shaman chanting words to enter the spiritual
world, a group of strangers was patiently waiting for their future to be predicted. Some were in search of
blessings for better lives, and some were wondering when their paths would cross with those of their
soulmates. All twelve pairs of eyes were focused on only one specific person in the room: the shaman.

Though they all had different backgrounds, different religions, and different ethnicities, all of them shared
a similar belief: the person sitting in the center of this very room would be able to provide them with a
life-changing solution to the worries or problems they have been facing. For some, although it was their
first time visiting a fortune-telling shaman, they all knew what they were doing and trusted the man with
pure faith.
 
According to the 2017​ ​ report​, ​Thailand’s International Religious Freedom​, up to 85 to 95 percent ​of the
Thai population adhere to the teachings of the Lord Buddha, and there are also various adherents of other
minority religions including Christianity and Islam. On the other hand,​ ​The Study of Shamanism
demonstrated that the rituals, practices, and myths in regard to Shamanism can actually be applied across
almost all religions.

The words “Shaman” and “Shamanism” have long been used in the history of many religions and
anthropologies even though none of them were able to come up with a clear definition of what it means to
be a Shaman. Shamanism dates back to prehistoric traditions, all the way back to hunter-gatherer times,
where a shaman’s role was to heal people’s soul and keep order between the living and the spiritual
worlds.
 
Nowadays, shamans mainly fulfill people’s wishes and come up with solutions to their problems by
looking into their future and preventing bad luck by informing the people of what they “see” in that
person’s life. It has become a common tradition that can be found in the diverse areas involved with
spiritual healing, fortune-telling, and physical protection.
 
“Shamanism in Thailand originally evolved from ancient culture with the initial idea of a person being a
‘medium’ to make contact with the people who have passed away in form of spirits coming into a
shaman’s body,” described Dr.Sinchai Chaojaroenrat, a religiology, theologian and philosopher, in his
interview​s with the Thai-language paper ​Post Today with the title: ​ ​“Shaman” the divinity who help
people release their stress or the maniac who cozened the money of others​ published on June 3, 2018.
 
The process of becoming Shaman
 
The head of Thai and Asean Studies at Prince Songkla University, Dr. Rataporn de Jong wrote an article
in​ ​journal​, “The Process of Becoming Shaman: The Case Study on Nakhon Pathom Province” published
on March 14, 2019, in which she categorized the three most common “sources of power” for a person to
become a medium.
 
The most common one is when a person becomes unreasonably sick with conditions such as chronic pain,
random headache, insomnia, or even seizures which in most cases, a scientific explanation or cure could
not be found for such conditions. That is why some of them turn to the Shaman. They go to these
so-called “institutes” with the hope of finding a cure, but a cure usually comes with a price that requires
them to allow a spirit to enter their bodies in order for the spirits to be able to work on their “missions”
on this realm of the living as if some humans were the chosen ones to pursue one of these missions with
the gods or the spirits beyond this world. In her article, she also mentioned that these missions from the
gods or the spirits are mainly about helping people and the living to protect them from bad luck, bad
future, and all kinds of troubles in one’s personal life.
 
Through a person’s dream, asking for permission to occasionally use his or her body is actually one of the
ways for a human being to make contact with these souls and the gods from a different realm. And in
some cases, these senses of being shamans run in the family. In those cases, several members of the
family, or even all of them, have the ability to become shamans.
 
Reasons why people still rely on Shamans
 
While some people go to these shaman institutes to find a cure for their sickness, there are some that
would go to the shaman to consult about their personal lives according to a​ survey that was conducted by
the third-year students from the Bachelor of Arts for Journalism and Mass Media study, Thammasat
University (2019). 156 people responded with the majority being university students and working men
and women in Thailand. The survey has shown that there are various reasons why people decide to visit a
shaman.
Those reasons include:
● Future Prediction
● Job Opportunities
● Lottery
● Relationship Advice
● Family Management

 
These reasons can show that Shamanism is not always about black magic and does enable the people to
open up to the shaman in order to make a better decision in their lives as suggested by the shaman. One of
the respondents from the survey claimed that it is the superstitious power of the shaman that drew them to
these institutes.
 
“In Thai society, the majority of the shamans tend to use their superstition in a positive way which is
described as ‘white magic.’ These shamans will help their followers by curing the health problems,
predicting the future, and sometimes giving hints to buy the lottery tickets,” ​Dr. Rataporn de Jong
carefully described the position of the shaman in Thai society.
 
Dr.Rataporn observed that throughout the centuries, shamans have made adaptations along with the trends
as nowadays there are many kinds of new shamans, the ones who claim that a cartoon character somehow
makes a contact with their physical bodies. For instance, a person who made a contact with Doraemon, a
character in legendary Japanese comics, Doraemon, is claimed to be the most loved character among Thai
fans by Mr. Thanawat Imraporn, the Executive Vice President of Animation International (Thailand)
which has copyright over this comic in Thailand. Therefore, the fans might interested in Doraemon
Shaman, who claimed that he can communicate with this popular comic character. Doraemon Shaman
could be viewed as an outstanding one because the fans have doted on the particular comic’s character.
For this reason, it sets a clear example that trendy shaman can attract the attention of particular groups of
people who are really into a specific trend.
 
“The most important reason why people believe in shaman is the basic need of humans to have someone
to rely on as a spiritual anchor. Nowadays, even if we have all kinds of technology to fulfill our needs;
however, technologies still can not replace people’s faith such as their beliefs in religion. Shamans come
and play an important role as one of the paths of mentor anchor since the human’s minds and hearts are so
delicate,” Dr. Rataporn added.
 
Furthermore, Dr.Sinchai Chaojaroenrat, President of Community Ministry Foundation and Religiology
Institute, explained that the older generations who lived without the advancement in technology and
approachable education adhered strongly to religious teachings. Moreover, these senior citizens tend to
believe that the spiritual world is real, and that is mainly because they did not get a proper education. As a
result, people from older generations choose to deal with their problems by relying on supernatural things
which led to the belief that is still visible in Thai society up until today.
 
 
Another underlying reason is money. When people decide to visit the shaman, they have to think about
the cost too, as some places are expensive with the starting cost between 5000-10,000 baht. Meanwhile,
some institutes do not seem to be interested in money at all, but they still accept the donations from
visitors.
 
According to the survey, most of the people are willing to donate any amount of money based on their
satisfaction rather than pay a specific amount of money that the shaman had already set. They said that if
that place required payment or they have the rate for their services, it makes it too business-like and
cannot be relied on. Moreover, they mentioned that if the Shaman does not ask for money, it means that
they are willing to help us with sincerity and he is not doing it for monetary gains. Lastly, they said that
the satisfaction of each person is not the same which means that if they might think they feel
uncomfortable with the answer or feel that the things that the shaman predicted are not true as they
believe, they can choose to donate the money depending on how satisfied they are.
 
 
Maintaining the “Shaman” status
 
People’s feedback is one of the most crucial factors a shaman can maintain his credibility. Monthakarn
Gingpaiboon, 23-year-old office worker, is one of those who has a lot of experiences visiting shamans,
and she agreed that word of mouth is very important when it comes to making a decision to go to a
sanctuary of a shaman.
 
“Most of the shamans I’ve visited are those that are recommended by my friends of families,” said
Monthakarn. “In my opinion, if there are no testimonials about a shaman, it means that he is not good
enough. At the same time, if I went to a shaman and felt satisfied, I would also recommend that shaman to
other people.”
 
Monthakarn added that, from her experience, most visitors start to fully believe a shaman when that
shaman says something very accurate about them. That moment, visitors are turned into believers, and
they will be willing to worship the shaman.
 
Psychologically, when a shaman has successfully completed his task by satisfying the client who came to
see him for a consultation, the shaman would feel great confidence in himself, boosting his feeling toward
the “spirit” in him, prioritizing his role as being a “shaman”.
 
Erving Goffman (1922–1982), a Canadian sociologist and 73rd president of the American Sociological
Association, applied a theatrical metaphor including stage, actors, and audience to observe a social
interactions, then developed the Dramaturgical Perspective Theory in 1959, which argue that life is a
play, people play different roles and engage in different performances. The goal is to present various
selves in ways that create and sustain particular impressions to different audiences. One crucial part of
playing a role is to control the impression that the audience has. Each person's act has a specific goal in
mind. In this case, every shaman shares the same goal: to make the audience believe him and what he has
to say.
 
From an exclusive interview with Dr. Rataporn de Jong, she stated that most shamans need three main
elements from the dramaturgical perspective theory to achieve their goal: Appearance, style, and location.
The appearance is a part of how they dress that sheds light on the characteristics or identity of the spirit.
 
“Shaman should show the character of the spirit that communicates with them. Show the personality,
capability, and strength of those spirits they have in themselves,” explained Dr. Rataporn de Jong during
the interview.
 
The second element is the style of each shaman, which includes postures and gestures, should be
consistent with the characteristics of the imposed spirit.
 
The last one is about the stage, the location where the show takes place. Setting and props are indeed
essential. Performers need to be able to control boundaries to manage who has access to the performance,
when and how. As for the shaman, the location of service should support the characteristics of the
shaman, for example the Sanctuary of The Great Hermit 108 that we went to observe uses many Thai
pantomimes or “Khon” as decoration around the ritual area, stimulating the sensation of visitors as they
would feel that the place is sacred.
 
Shamanism and the law
 
While it is still a questionable topic whether or not a shaman institute is using the power from the
gods or is just a fraudulent business, there is no significant way to prove it. However, different
institutes use different methods of “healing” and in some cases, causing serious injuries to the
people. As mentioned in an online article published by ​Manager Online​ (19 May 2007), “An old man
claimed to be a shaman sexually harassed more than ten children,” established that there are
people out there who used the position of being a shaman to take advantage of others. In this case,
Mr. Porn Phroamjidda, a 58-year-old (at the time) man who lives in Samut Prakan province in
Thailand claimed that he is a medium who can communicate with the spirit of a monk named,
“Chai Mongkul.” He would say that the children in his neighborhood of Soi Nat Suntorn 18 are
cursed with black magic and will face danger ahead. That is unless they attend his “workshop,” in
which the children ended up being raped. He would also tell those children not to tell anybody, even
their own parents, otherwise more danger would come.
 
What Mr. Porn did to those children is, without a doubt, illegal since those children were still 10 to
13 years old, and they knew very little about shamanism and the workshop that involved sexual
intercourse. In other words, he took ​advantage of the lack of experience of the deceived person who
is a child, or by taking advantage of the weakness of mind of the deceived person as described in
Chapter 3: “Offense of Cheating and Fraud” in the Thai Criminal Code.
 
The good and the bad
 
Nowadays, many of the disclosures on the “fake shamans” have been presented by the media such as the
show called,​Thairath Jor Pladen​ by Thairath TV which is owned by ​Thairath ​newspaper with the
objective of informing the public in an in-depth manner important matters. In one of the episodes
broadcast on May 30, 2018, this show exposed the wrongdoing of these “shaman 4.0” or “fake shaman,”
which led to many criticisms among the Thai people all over the country. As a result, people’s attention
shifted towards viewing the shamans in a funny way. Therefore, many may question whether or not these
shamans can be trusted. Nonetheless, there are still many shamans in Thailand who insist that their only
purpose of becoming shamans is to help those who are facing trouble.
 
Mr. ​Jomkit Aprachitpairin, 50-year-old shaman from Minburi District, explained that there are some
shamans who truly want to help other ​people without taking advantage of their visitors.
 
“Talking about income, I have never asked for money whenever there are visitors coming to ask for help.
I have never thought about it, ever,” he insisted.
 
Despite having to deal with a large number of people coming to him to discuss their unsolvable problems
in their lives, Mr. Jomkit is still willing to give advice and do his best to help them for free.
 
“Some shamans collect worship fees from customers because they want to increase their merit and the
chance to go to heaven by building a church, sanctuary, pagoda or ceremony, all of which are quite
expensive,” Mr. Jomkit explained the reasons that many of other shamans set expensive prices for the
followers.
 
Ms. Kanjana Thamawaro, a 21-year-old student from the Faculty of Social Administration, Thammasat
University is a daughter of Mrs. Saowalak Thamawaro, a 60-year-old shaman from Pattani. She claimed
that her mother is not that kind of shaman who solves problems by using black magic or working as a
fortune teller.
 
“[My mother] uses her body as a medium to communicate with accepted ancestors only,” said Ms.
Kanjana.
 
Ms. Kanjana also remarked that her family did not consider the ceremony as a business at all. They do not
set a price for this informal ceremony. Mrs. Saowalak is willing to help other people by using her gift
which has been passed down to her for generations.
 
Fortunately, it is possible to identify fake shamans by looking for those who often state that they descend
from kings or characters found in Thai literature or legendary stories as suggested by an online article,
“10 tips to identify fake shamans” by ​Thairath​ published on June 6, 2019. Another tell-tale sign is that
these shamans will request significant amounts of money for a cure or to conduct a “workshop.” The
article also mentioned that one should do some research before going to visit a shaman as the information
will help people to identify who is real and who is not.
 
Observations
 
The Sanctuary of The Great Hermit 108 Bangbon 3 Yak 5
 
If you ask the dwellers of Bangbon, Bangkok about the Sanctuary of The Great Hermit 108 (ตาํ หนักบารมีป่ ู
ฤษี 108 บางบอน 3 แยก 5), they would have a lot of stories to tell. Ajarn Wach, a 45-year-old shaman who
is mostly called as “Por Poo(พอ่ ปู่)” by his followers, is usually referred to as one of the greatest shamans
in Bangkok. Despite being one of the most famous, his sanctuary is nothing close to what could be called
luxurious. He performs rites in his simple house, where he lives with his family.
 
The sanctuary is located in a small alley of Bangbon 3. With a big green fence, the only sign to let the
visitors notice that they are coming to the right place is the big poster of the sanctuary which stated the
name of the place. During the daytime, the front part of this sanctuary will be filled with many of the
workers since both the steel factory and the sanctuary share the same fence. The sound of the steel milling
machine drowns out all of the sounds from the surrounding environment. However, by the time the sun
starts to set, the sound of the machine goes silent while the house starts to be replaced with all the visitors
to the sanctuary.
 
Visitors are allowed to get in line to meet Ajarn Wach at 5 p.m. after the steel factory is already closed.
We were there as the first group of visitors with the aim of seeing Ajarn Wach and asking him to read our
fortunes for us. While waiting to meet him, we engaged in small talk with his wife. She was a sweetheart
full of sacred tattoos on her body. The most distinctive one of them is the 5 Rows Yantra (Yan Ha Thaw)
in the middle of her back, which we assumed it was tattooed and blessed by her husband. Like other
normal housewives, she talked a lot about her sons and her new salon. It seems that the life of being a
wife of the shaman is much more ordinary than most of us would expect.
 
When the time had come, before entering the ceremony room, each of us had to pay homage to a statute
of the Lord Buddha, the Great Hermit’s statue, and the sacred boat of the family by lighting up five
incense sticks and gilding the statues. Then, we finally got to meet Ajarn Wach.
 
Upon entering the Rite room, we were amazed by the number of Khon masks which decorated the room.
In the middle of everything sat Ajarn Wach, on his low stage, in front of the statues of Buddha and Hindu
deities. “Come on in, what do you guys wish to ask?” he asked in a friendly manner which contrasts with
his tough look. He had a long beard, donned a white traditional Brahmin cloth, and wore a lot of sacred
accessories on his neck and wrists.
 
Watsakorn Kaewsaard, a third-year student of Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication,
Thammasat University, was one of the visitors who went to see Ajarn Wach seeking advice about his life
decisions. The process of forecasting started with Watsakorn giving Ajarn Wach his birth date, name, and
zodiac sign, which are all necessary information for the prediction. Within less than a minute of closing
his eyes and counting his fingers, Ajarn Wach finished overseeing the occurrence and was ready to tell
Watsakorn everything he saw.
 
“First of all, you are a kind of person who has always been exploited by others, right? People usually
make friends with you aiming to take advantage of you,” said Ajarn Wach. “I warn you, be careful when
you fall in love with someone. Be prepared for heartbreaks, don’t expect much sincerity from your lover,”
he continued. Believe it or not, Watsakorn admitted that it is true. What Ajarn Wach said is exactly what
he experienced for years throughout his life.
 
Ajarn Wach did not hesitate to continue his prediction. He warned Watsakorn about his health that he has
to be careful about his abdomen. Amazingly, he was specific by saying that Watsakorn is definitely going
to have gallstones, and he was very confident about it as he said “I dare you to write that down. Come
back and read it again, and you will be amazed by how accurate it is. Otherwise, you can come back here
and kick me in the face.”

The fortune-telling started to get more and more thrilled, for Watsakorn found it extremely accurate when
Ajarn Wach asked if his mother is a civil servant. Furthermore, Ajarn Wach even knew that he usually
has conflicts with his mother over various issues. Despite the disagreements, Ajarn Wach insisted that
Watsakorn needs to rely on his mother to have a bright future in his career, for he is suitable for a civil
servant job like his mother.
 
Ajarn Wach also added that to bring out the best potential in himself, Watsakorn should study for a
master’s degree while working, and he will only see success in his working life. He will even be offered a
job in foreign countries and receive high earnings.

Important Quotes:
Ajarn Wach
“If I don’t actually have that supernatural power, I would not have been trusted by this significant number
of followers for over 11 years. I’ve got followers from every age and occupation. Even high-ranking
officers came to me for a blessing before they advance through their ranks.”
 
“When people come to me asking for help, I always say that the most important thing is that you have to
believe in yourself and focus on the present. You should always do your best at present, that is how you
get the best result for your life.”
“I’m happy to do fortune-telling for the visitors. However, when I tell them about their future, my purpose
was not to make them scared. I don’t want them to get too nervous and lose their will to do anything. I tell
them their future so that they will be cautious about every action in their lives.”
 
The Great Hermit 108 at Bangsue
 
Meanwhile, in the Great Hermit 108 at Bangsue, every visitor’s first impression is a warm welcome when
they see the reception lady. Once you set your feet there, you will be likely to be greeted by the friendly
middle-aged lady, who is also the wife of one of the shamans, with a big smile on her face.
 
“500 baht in the tray for the gods, and a hundred baht for the flower and candles,” was one of the first
things this lady said to the visitors.
 
There were two shamans who are siblings: the older brother and the younger brother. Those who live
nearby this area suggested that everybody should consult with the younger brother. One of the people who
lived nearby claimed that the younger brother has stronger power than the older one.

This shaman institute is located on the first floor of a townhouse in Techa Wanit Road, Bangkok with
huge statues of the Hindu gods out front. Inside the room, more than ten masks that represent ten different
gods, and each of them is being displayed on the shelf behind the shaman.
 
The visitors will need to write down their full names and specify the date and time of birth, then the
shaman would foretell the visitors’ future using an iPad. Our group visited them with a skeptical attitude.
We were motivated to ask the shaman about the military conscription of one of our members. As a result,
the shaman claimed that our one particular member “will” be absolutely conscripted and that he will have
to join the army. He explained that this member, Khanathat has a high possibility of becoming a soldier
due to the fact that on that day, Khanathat wore a dark green t-shirt which is the color for soldiers and the
army.
 
So with that being said, Khanathat will need to “fix his destiny” according to the shaman’s suggestions
even though he does not have to do that because his military conscription had already passed. Khanathat
actually picked a black card, which means he definitely doesn’t have to be a soldier. However, Khanathat
didn’t interrupt the shaman, so he continued his prediction and suggested that one of the ways to fix
Khanathat’s destiny includes his eating a lot of noodles instead of rice. Also, Khanathat had to travel to
certain shrines to worship Ganesha, one of the Hindu gods.
 
 
Scientific Explanation
 
Mr. Wuttipong Thayaping, an expert of psychology and the founder of the mental health institute,
“Wuttipong Academy,” believes that there are two types of people who consider themselves as shamans.
 
“I believe there are many actual shamans out there. Meanwhile, there are also many people who believe
they have supernatural power, but in fact, they are suffering from mental disorders,” said Mr. Wuttipong.
 
Ms. Nitchamon Eiumtrakul, a 27-year-old psychiatrist at the Department of Psychiatry, Chulalongkorn
Hospital, had a similar opinion as Mr. Wuttipong toward the shaman. She agreed that the scientific
explanations that are available at the time still cannot prove whether or not the claim about spiritual
communication in shamanism is true.
 
“Neurotic Disorder would be the scientific term to use when describing a shaman. When the process of
‘exorcism’ starts, the shaman becomes a completely different person with another personality, which is
cut off from the shaman’s original personality,” Ms. Nitchamon said while defining the character of the
shaman in a scientific way.
 
Up until now, neither scientific methods nor religiology is able to provide clear evidence to support or
refute shamanism. Nevertheless, one clear thing that can be proved is that people have to always tried
their hardest and are willing to try anything to make the best of themselves and their future, regardless of
whether they believe in shamanism or not.
 
“When people come to me asking for help, I always tell them that the most important thing is that they
have to believe in themselves and focus on the present first,” said Ajarn Wach. “You should always do
your best at the present, that is how you get the best result for your life.”
 
Here is the link to our blog:
https://thebballlovers.wordpress.com/2019/05/11/shamanism-verity-or-fairy-tale/ 
 
Here is the link to our proof and evidence:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Fg2sPdTd2p2FNUlCb46JyVNYQNV6FzIVkm5PeZ03tWM/e
dit?usp=sharing 
 Shaman Final Feature Article

Shamanism and Thailand

In a small room with a dim of light shining from the candles on the floor, aromatic smell from
joss sticks forming small clouds of smoke, and the sound of a shaman chanting words to enter the
spiritual world, a group of strangers was patiently waiting for their future to be predicted. Some were in
search of blessings for better lives, and some were wondering when their paths would cross with those of
their soulmates. All twelve pairs of eyes were focused on only one specific person in the room: the
shaman.

Though they all had different backgrounds, different religions, and different ethnicities, all of
them shared a similar belief: the person sitting in the center of this very room would be able to provide
them with a life-changing solution to the worries or problems they have been facing. For some, although
it was their first time visiting a fortune-telling shaman, they all knew what they were doing and trusted the
man with pure faith.

According to the 2017 ​ report​, ​Thailand’s International Religious Freedom​, up to 85 to 95

percent ​of the Thai population adhere to the teachings of the Lord Buddha, and there are also various
adherents of other minority religions including Christianity and Islam. On the other hand,​ ​The Study of
Shamanism​ ​demonstrated that the rituals, practices, and myths in regard to Shamanism can actually be
applied across almost all religions.

The word “Shaman” and “Shamanism” have long been used in the history of many religions and
anthropologies even though none of them were able to come up with a clear definition of what it means to
be a Shaman. Shamanism dates back to prehistoric traditions, all the way back to hunter-gatherer times,
where a shaman’s role was to heal people’s soul and keep order between the living and the spiritual
worlds.

Nowadays, shamans mainly fulfill people’s wishes and come up with solutions to their problems
by looking into their future and preventing bad luck by informing the people of what they “see” in that
person’s life. It has become a common tradition that can be found in the diverse areas involved with
spiritual healing, fortune-telling, and physical protection.

“Shamanism in Thailand originally evolved from ancient culture with the initial idea of a person
being a ‘medium’ to make contact with the people who have passed away in form of spirits coming into a
shaman’s body,” described Dr.Sinchai Chaojaroenrat, a religiology, theologian and philosopher, in his
interview​s with the Thai-language paper ​Post Today with the title: ​ ​“Shaman” the divinity who help
people release their stress or the maniac who cozened the money of others​ published on June 3, 2018.
The process of becoming Shaman

The head of Thai and Asean Studies at Prince Songkla University, ​Dr. Rataporn de Jong wrote an
article in ​journal​, “The Process of Becoming Shaman: The Case Study on Nakhon Pathom Province”
published on March 14, 2019, in which she categorized the three most common “sources of power” for a
person to become a medium.

The most common one is when a person becomes

unreasonably sick with conditions such as chronic
pain, random headache, insomnia, or even seizures
which in most cases, a scientific explanation or cure
could not be found for such conditions. That is why
some of them turn to the Shaman. They go to these so
called “institutes” with the hope of finding a cure, but
a cure usually comes with a price that requires them
to allow a spirit to enter their bodies in order for the
spirits to be able to work on their “missions” on this
realm of the living as if some humans were the
chosen ones to pursue one of these missions with the
gods or the spirits beyond this world. In her article,
she also mentioned that these missions from the gods
or the spirits are mainly about helping people and the
living to protect them from bad luck, bad future, and
all kinds of troubles in one’s personal life.

Through a person’s dream, asking for

permission to occasionally use his or her body is
actually one of the ways for a human being to make
contact with these souls and the gods from a different
realm. And in some cases, these senses of being
shamans run in the family. In those cases, several
members of the family, or even all of them, have the
ability to become shamans.
Reasons why people still rely on Shamans

While some people go to these shaman institutes

to find a cure for their sickness, there are some that
would go to the shaman to consult about their
personal lives according to a​ survey that was
conducted by the third-year students from the
Bachelor of Arts for Journalism and Mass Media
study, Thammasat University (2019). 156 people
responded with the majority being university
students and working men and women in Thailand.
The survey has shown that there are various reasons
why people decide to visit a shaman.

Those reasons include:

● Future Prediction
● Job Opportunities
● Lottery
● Relationship Advice
● Family Management

These reasons can show that Shamanism is not

always about black magic and does enable the
people to open up to the shaman in order to make a
better decision in their lives as suggested by the
shaman. One of the respondents from the survey
claimed that it is the superstitious power of the
shaman that drew them to these institutes.

“In Thai society, the majority of the shamans tend

to use their superstition in a positive way which is
described as ‘white magic.’ These shamans will help their followers by curing the health problems,
predicting the future, and sometimes giving hints to buy the lottery tickets,” ​Dr. Rataporn de Jong
carefully described the position of the shaman in Thai society.

Dr.Rataporn observed that throughout the centuries, shamans have made adaptations along with
the trends as nowadays there are many kinds of new shamans, the ones who claim that a cartoon character
somehow makes a contact with their physical bodies. For instance, a person who made a contact with
Doraemon, a character in legendary Japanese comics, Doraemon, is claimed to be the most loved
character among Thai fans by Mr. Thanawat Imraporn, the ​Executive Vice President of Animation
International (Thailand) which has copyright over this comic in Thailand. Therefore, ​the fans might
interested in Doraemon Shaman, who claimed that he can communicate with this popular comic
character. Doraemon Shaman could be viewed as an outstanding one because the fans have doted on the
particular comic’s character. For this reason, it sets a clear example that the trendy shaman can attract the
attention of particular groups of people who are really into a specific trend.

“The most important reason why people believe in shaman is the basic need of humans to have
someone to rely on as a spiritual anchor. Nowadays, even if we have all kinds of technology to fulfill our
needs; however, technologies still can not replace people’s faith such as their beliefs in religion. Shamans
come and play an important role as one of the paths of mentor anchor since the human’s minds and hearts
are so delicate,” Dr. Rataporn added.

Furthermore, Dr.Sinchai Chaojaroenrat, ​President of Community Ministry Foundation and

Religiology Institute​, explained that the older generations who lived without the advancement in
technology and approachable education, adhered strongly to religious teachings. Moreover, these senior
citizen tend to believe that the spiritual world is real, and that is mainly because they did not get a proper
education. As a result, people from older generations choose to deal with their problems by relying on
supernatural things which led to the belief that is still visible in Thai society up until today.

Another underlying reason is money. When people decide to visit the shaman, they have to think
about the cost too, as some places are expensive with the starting cost between 5000-10,000 baht.
Meanwhile, some institutes do not seem to be interested in money at all, but they still accept the donations
from visitors.
 According to the survey, most of the people are willing to donate any amount of money based on
their satisfaction rather than pay a specific amount of money that the shaman had already set. They said
that if that place required payment or they have the rate for their services, it makes it too business-like and
cannot be relied on. Moreover, they mentioned that if the Shaman does not ask for money, it means that
they are willing to help us with sincerity and he is not doing it for monetary gains. Lastly, they said that
the satisfaction of each person is not the same which means that if they might think they feel
uncomfortable with the answer or feel that the things that the shaman predicted is not true as they believe,
they can choose to donate the money depending on how satisfied they are.

Maintaining the “Shaman” status

People’s feedback is one of the most crucial factors a shaman can maintain his credibility.
Monthakarn Gingpaiboon, 23-year-old office worker, is one of those who have a lot of experiences
visiting shamans, and she agreed that word of mouth is very important when it comes to making a
decision to go to a sanctuary of a shaman.

“Most of the shamans I’ve visited are those that are recommended by my friends of families,”
said Monthakarn. “In my opinion, if there are no testimonials about a shaman, it means that he is not good
enough. At the same time, if I went to a shaman and felt satisfied, I would also recommend that shaman to
other people.”

Monthakarn added that, from her experience, most visitors start to fully believe a shaman when
that shaman says something very accurate about them. That moment, visitors are turned into believers,
and they will be willing to worship the shaman.

Psychologically, when a shaman has successfully completed his task by satisfying the client who
came to see him for a consultation, the shaman would feel great confidence in himself, boosting his
feeling toward the “spirit” in him, prioritizing his role as being a “shaman”.

Erving Goffman (1922–1982), a Canadian sociologist and 73rd president of the American
Sociological Association, applied a theatrical metaphor including stage, actors, and audience to observe a
social interactions, then developed the Dramaturgical Perspective Theory in 1959, which argue that life is
a play, people play different roles and engage in different performances. The goal is to present various
selves in ways that create and sustain particular impressions to different audiences. One crucial part of
playing a role is to control the impression that the audience has. Each person's act has a specific goal in
mind. In this case, every shaman shares the same goal: to make the audience believe him and what he has
to say.

From an exclusive interview with Dr. Rataporn de Jong, she stated that most shamans need three
main elements from the dramaturgical perspective theory to achieve their goal: Appearance, style, and
location. The appearance is a part of how they dress that sheds light on the characteristics or identity of
the spirit.

“Shaman should show the character of the spirit that communicates with them. Show the
personality, capability, and strength of those spirits they have in themselves,” explained Dr. Rataporn de
Jong during the interview.

The second element is the style of each shaman, which includes postures and gestures, should be
consistent with the characteristics of the imposed spirit.

The last one is about the stage, the location where the show takes place. Setting and props are
indeed essential. Performers need to be able to control boundaries to manage who has access to the
performance, when and how. As for the shaman, the location of service should support the characteristics
of the shaman, for example the Sanctuary of The Great Hermit 108 that we went to observe uses many
Thai pantomime or “Khon” as decoration around the ritual area, stimulating the sensation of visitors as
they would feel that the place is sacred.

Shamanism and the law

While it is still a questionable topic whether or not a shaman institute is using the power from the
gods or is just a fraudulent business, there is no significant way to prove it. However, different institutes
use different methods of “healing” and in some cases, causing serious injuries to the people. As
mentioned in an online article published by ​Manager Online​ (19 May, 2007), “An old man claimed to be
a shaman sexually harassed more than ten children,” established that there are people out there who used
the position of being a shaman to take advantage of others. In this case, Mr. Porn Phroamjidda, a
58-year-old (at the time) man who lives in Samut Prakan province in Thailand claimed that he is a
medium who can communicate with the spirit of a monk named, “Chai Mongkul.” He would say that the
children in his neighborhood of Soi Nat Suntorn 18 are cursed with black magic and will face danger
ahead. That is unless they attend his “workshop,” in which the children ended up being raped. He would
also tell those children not to tell anybody, even their own parents, otherwise more danger would come.

What Mr. Porn did to those children is, without a doubt, illegal since those children were still 10
to 13 years old, and they knew very little about shamanism and the workshop that involved sexual
intercourse. In other words, he took ​advantage of the lack of experience of the deceived person who is a
child, or by taking advantage of the weakness of mind of the deceived person as described in Chapter 3:
“Offense of Cheating and Fraud” in the Thai Criminal Code.
The good and the bad

Nowadays, many of the disclosures on the “fake shamans” have been presented by the media such
as the show called,​Thairath Jor Pladen​ by Thairath TV which is owned by ​Thairath n​ ewspaper with the
objective of informing the public in an in-depth manner important matters. In one of the episodes
broadcast on May 30, 2018, this show exposed the wrongdoing of these “shaman 4.0” or “fake shaman,”
which led to many criticisms among the Thai people all over the country. As a result, people’s attention
shifted towards viewing the shamans in a funny way. Therefore, many may question whether or not these
shamans can be trusted. Nonetheless, there are still many shamans in Thailand who insist that their only
purpose of becoming shamans is to help those who are facing trouble.

Mr. ​Jomkit Aprachitpairin, 50-year-old shaman from Minburi District, explained that there are
some​ shamans who truly want to help other ​people without taking advantage of their visitors.

“Talking about income, I have never asked for money whenever there are visitors coming to ask
for help. I have never thought about it, ever,” he insisted.

Despite having to deal with a large number of people coming to him to discuss their unsolvable
problems in their lives, Mr. Jomkit is still willing to give advice and do his best to help them for free.

“Some shamans collect worship fees from customers because they want to increase their merit
and the chance to go to heaven by building a church, sanctuary, pagoda or ceremony, all of which are
quite expensive,” Mr. Jomkit explained the reasons that many of other shamans set expensive prices for
the followers.

Ms. Kanjana Thamawaro, a 21-year-old student from the Faculty of Social Administration,
Thammasat University is a daughter of Mrs. Saowalak Thamawaro, a 60-year-old shaman from Pattani.
She claimed that her mother is not that kind of shaman who solves problems by using black magic or
working as a fortune teller.

“[My mother] uses her body as a medium to communicate with accepted ancestors only,” said
Ms. Kanjana.

Ms. Kanjana also remarked that her family did not consider the ceremony as a business at all.
They do not set a price for this informal ceremony. Mrs. Saowalak is willing to help other people by using
her gift which has been passed down to her for generations.
 Fortunately, it is possible to identify fake shamans by looking for those who often state that they
descend from kings or characters found in Thai literature or legendary stories as suggested by an online
article, “10 tips to identify fake shamans” by ​Thairath​ published on June 6, 2019. Another tell-tale sign is
that these shamans will request significant amounts of money for a cure or to conduct a “workshop.” The
article also mentioned that one should be do some research before going to visit a shaman as the
information will help people to identify who is real and who is not.

Observations

The Sanctuary of The Great Hermit 108 Bangbon 3 Yak 5

If you ask the dwellers of Bangbon, Bangkok about the ​Sanctuary of The Great Hermit 108 (
ตาํ หนักบารมีป่ ูฤษี 108 บางบอน 3 แยก 5), they would have a lot of stories to tell. Ajarn Wach, a 45-year-old
shaman who is mostly called as “Por Poo(พอ่ ปู่)” by his followers, is usually referred to as one of the
greatest shamans in Bangkok. Despite being one of the most famous, his sanctuary is nothing close to
what could be called luxurious. He performs rites in his simple house, where he lives with his family.

The sanctuary is located in a small alley of Bangbon 3. With a big green fence, the only sign to
let the visitors notice that they are coming to the right place is the big poster of the sanctuary which stated
the name of the place. During the daytime, the front part of this sanctuary will be filled with many of the
workers since both the steel factory and the sanctuary share the same fence. The sound of the steel milling
machine drowns out all of the sounds from the surrounding environment. However, by the time the sun
starts to set, the sound of the machine goes silent while the house starts to be replaced with all the visitors
to the sanctuary.

Visitors are allowed to get in line to meet Ajarn Wach at 5 p.m. after the steel factory is already
closed. We were there as the first group of visitors with the aim of seeing Ajarn Wach and asking him to
read our fortunes for us. While waiting to meet him, we engaged in small talk with his wife. She was a
sweetheart full of sacred tattoos on her body. The most distinctive one of them is the 5 Rows Yantra (Yan
Ha Thaw) in the middle of her back, which we assumed it was tattooed and blessed by her husband. Like
other normal housewives, she talked a lot about her sons and her new salon. It seems that the life of being
a wife of the shaman is much more ordinary than most of us would expect.

When the time had come, before entering the ceremony room, each of us had to pay homage to a
statute of the Lord Buddha, the Great Hermit’s statue, and the sacred boat of the family by lighting up five
incense sticks and gilding the statues. Then, we finally got to meet Ajarn Wach.

Upon entering the Rite room, we were amazed by the number of Khon masks which decorated the
room. In the middle of everything sat Ajarn Wach, on his low stage, in front of the statues of Buddha and
Hindu deities. “Come on in, what do you guys wish to ask?” he asked in a friendly manner which
contrasts with his tough look. He had a long beard, donned a white traditional Brahmin cloth, and wore a
lot of sacred accessories on his neck and wrists.

Watsakorn Kaewsaard, a third-year student of Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication,

Thammasat University, was one of the visitors who went to see Ajarn Wach seeking for advice about his
life decisions. The process of forecasting started with Watsakorn giving Ajarn Wach his birth date, name,
and zodiac sign, which are all necessary information for the prediction. Within less than a minute of
closing his eyes and counting his fingers, Ajarn Wach finished overseeing the occurrence and was ready
to tell Watsakorn everything he saw.

“First of all, you are a kind of person who has always been exploited by others, right? People
usually make friends with you aiming to take advantage of you,” said Ajarn Wach. “I warn you, be
careful when you fall in love with someone. Be prepared for heartbreaks, don’t expect much sincerity
from your lover,” he continued. Believe it or not, Watsakorn admitted that it is true. What Ajarn Wach
said is exactly what he experienced for years throughout his life.

Ajarn Wach did not hesitate to continue his prediction. He warned Watsakorn about his health
that he has to be careful about his abdomen. Amazingly, he was specific by saying that Watsakorn is
definitely going to have gallstones, and he was very confident about it as he said “I dare you to write that
down. Come back and read it again, and you will be amazed by how accurate it is. Otherwise, you can
come back here and kick me in the face.”

The fortune-telling started to get more and more thrilled, for Watsakorn found it extremely
accurate when Ajarn Wach asked if his mother is a civil servant. Furthermore, Ajarn Wach even knew
that he usually has conflicts with his mother over various issues. Despite the disagreements, Ajarn Wach
insisted that Watsakorn needs to rely on his mother to have a bright future in his career, for he is suitable
for a civil servant job like his mother.

Ajarn Wach also added that to bring out the best potential in himself, Watsakorn should study for
a master’s degree while working, and he will only see success in his working life. He will even be offered
a job in foreign countries and receive high earnings.

Important quotes:
Ajarn Wach
“If I don’t actually have that supernatural power, I would not have been trusted by this significant
number of followers for over 11 years. I’ve got followers from every age and occupation. Even
high-ranking officers came to me for a blessing before they advance through their ranks.”

“When people come to me asking for help, I always say that the most important thing is that you have to
believe in yourself and focus on the present. You should always do your best at the present, that is how
you get the best result for your life.”
“I’m happy to do fortune-telling for the visitors. However, when I tell them about their future, my purpose
was not to make them scared. I don’t want them to get too nervous and lose their will to do anything. I tell
them their future so that they will be cautious about every action in their lives.”

The Great Hermit 108 at Bangsue

Meanwhile in the Great Hermit 108 at Bangsue, every visitor’s first impression is a warm
welcome when they see the reception lady. Once you set your feet there, you will be likely to be greeted
by the friendly middle-aged lady, who is also the wife of one of the shamans, with a big smile on her face.

“500 baht in the tray for the gods, and a hundred baht for the flower and candles,” was one of the
first things this lady said to the visitors.

There were two shamans who are siblings: the older brother and the younger brother. Those who
live nearby this area suggested that everybody should consult with the younger brother. One of the people
who lived nearby claimed that the younger brother has stronger power than the older one.

This shaman institute is located on the first floor of a townhouse in Techa Wanit Road, Bangkok
with huge statues of the Hindu gods out front. Inside the room, more than ten masks that represent ten
different gods, and each of them is being displayed on the shelf behind the shaman.

The visitors will need to write down their full names and specify the date and time of birth, then
the shaman would foretell the visitors’ future using an iPad. Our group visited them with a skeptical
attitude. We were motivated to ask the shaman about the military conscription of one of our members. As
a result, the shaman claimed that our one particular member “will” be absolutely conscripted and that he
will have to join the army. He explained that this member, Khanathat has a high possibility of becoming
soldier due to the fact that on that day, Khanathat wore a dark green t-shirt which is the color for soldiers
and the army.

So with that being said, Khanathat will need to “fix his destiny” according to the shaman’s
suggestions even though he does not have to do that because his military conscription had already passed.
Khanathat actually picked a black card, which means he definitely doesn’t have to be a soldier. However,
Khanathat didn’t interrupt the shaman, so he continued his prediction and suggested that one of the ways
to fix Khanathat’s destiny includes his eating a lot of noodles instead of rice. Also, Khanathat had to
travel to certain shrines to worship Ganesha, one of the Hindu gods.

Scientific Explanation

Mr. Wuttipong Thayaping, an expert of psychology and the founder of the mental health institute,
“Wuttipong Academy,” believes that there are two types of people who consider themselves as shamans.
 “I believe there are many actual shamans out there. Meanwhile, there are also many people who
believe they have supernatural power, but in fact, they are suffering from mental disorders,” said Mr.
Wuttipong.

Ms. Nitchamon Eiumtrakul, 27-year-old psychiatrist at Department of Psychiatry, Chulalongkorn

Hospital, had a similar opinion as Mr. Wuttipong toward the shaman. She agreed that the scientific
explanations that are available at the time still cannot prove whether or not the claim about spiritual
communication in shamanism is true.

“Neurotic Disorder would be the scientific term to use when describing a shaman. When the
process of ‘exorcism’ starts, the shaman becomes a completely different person with another personality,
which is cut off from the shaman’s original personality,” Ms. Nitchamon said while defining the character
of the shaman in a scientific way.

Up until now, neither scientific methods nor religiology are able to provide clear evidence to
support or refute shamanism. Nevertheless, one clear thing that can be proved is that people have to
always tried their hardest and are willing to try anything to make the best of themselves and their future,
regardless of whether they believe in shamanism or not.

“When people come to me asking for help, I always tell them that the most important thing is that
they have to believe in themselves and focus on the present first,” said Ajarn Wach. “You should always
do your best at the present, that is how you get the best result for your life.”