WHEN Ben Loke wanted to boost his financial prospects, he
approached neither his banker nor his broker. Instead, the
35-year-old company executive asked a professional tattooist to ink
on his back a 'sak yant' religious symbol which he hoped would
bring him wealth and happiness.
'I'm a Buddhist, and the scriptures that are being tattooed on
my back will give me some protection,' he said as he prepared to go
under a needle wielded by a visiting Thai expert.
The sak yant form of tattooing originated in Thailand and is
gaining popularity in Singapore, a predominantly ethnic Chinese
city-state with a strong Buddhist and Taoist tradition. Sak yant
tattoos, mainly inscriptions of religious texts and animals as well
as deity figures, are believed by Buddhists to bring good fortune,
courage and self-confidence.
It is Mr Loke's second sak yant tattoo and sits beneath a dragon
surrounded by lines of Buddhist text. Tattoos have come a long way
in Singapore. Once associated with gangsters, they are now widely
used as expressions of individuality, fashion statements or
invitations to divine assistance.
Willie Heng, sales executive of Fo Guang Hang, a company
specialising in sak yant tattooing, welcomed the growing acceptance
of the practice. 'Sak yant is now widely embraced by the general
population because of people's need for a form of spiritual
support, aided by the social acceptance of tattoos,' he told AFP at
a recent tattoo convention in Singapore.
More than 300 tattoo artists from around the world, including
Chris Garver of the hit television series Miami Ink, attended the
Singapore Tat2 Show 2010. But it was Fo Guang Hang's tattoo
specialist Ajahn Thong, 60, who drew one of the largest crowds.
Business was so good that Mr Thong, a Thai sak yant 'grandmaster'
who flew to Singapore for the show, had to extend his stay after
the event to attend to all his customers, Mr Heng said. -- AFP