Sak Yant

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Sak Yant, or Sak Yan is the Thai name for the Tattooing of Sacred geometrical designs on the skin.

Yant (or Yantra, as we call them in the west), are normally tattooed by Buddhist monks, or Brahmin Holy men. The Yant tattoos have developed over the centuries under the influence of several different things.

  1. The Yantra designs that already existed in Hindu India were adapted by the Thais as Buddhism arrived from neighbouring India.
  2. Different masters have added to these designs through visions received in their meditations.
  3. Some Yant have been adapted from pre-Buddhist Shamanism and Animalism that was to be found in the Southeast Asian sub-Continent and incorporated into the Thai Buddhist Theravada tradition.

The script used for these designs is ancient Khmer, known as Khom. The Ancient Khmer race spoke Pali Sanskrit, and is most probably the original source of where the Yant Tattooing tradition came from.

Yant are also applied to many other mediums, such as cloth or metal, and placed in one's house, place of worship, or vehicle as a means of protection from all kinds of dangers, or against illness, to increase wealth or attract lovers etc.

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