Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Politics, Black Magic & Spelling

I was reading an article in today's Bangkok Post about a book that talked about the role of "black magic" in Thai politics.  Apparently, both pro-Thaksin and anti-Thaksin forces have employed black magic and fortune tellers in their attempt to gain powers. 

I've known that Thai people are pretty superstitious for quite a while.  Tim's talked before about family members going to fortune tellers.  There are certain colors deemed "lucky" for particular days of the week, and fortune tellers are consulted when selecting dates for important events like weddings. 

What I did not realize is the extent to which superstition influences Thailand's politics.  Try to follow along.  In 2006, then Thai Prime Minister Thaksin's fortune teller revealed that he was the reincarnation of the eighteenth century Thai King Taksin.  Thai history chronicles that King Taksin was killed by his own generals.  Thaksin believed the revelation, and it became publically known.

Interestingly, PM Thaksin's name is pronounced like "Toxin", while King Taksin's name is pronounced like "Thaksin".  You have to love the person who translated Thai sounds into English letters.  The letter "t" makes a "th" sound and the "th" makes the "t" sound.  Of coures, the names Thaksin and Taksin are not spelled similarly in Thai. 

Thaksin's fortune teller was not alone in revealing a previous life to Thailand's powerful men.  General Sonthi, who would later lead the 2006 coup to depose Thaksin, was informed by his fortune teller that he (General Sonthi) was the reincarnation of one of King Taksin's body guards.  This fortune teller also claimed that King Taksin had not been killed by his generals, but had been whisked away by ten guards, and lived out his life as  monk.  Apparently this caused the good general some consternation.  How could he lead a coup against Thaksin if he was his loyal guard in a previous life. 

General Sonthi's fortune teller allayed his fears by revealing that PM Thaksin was not the reincarnation of King Thaksin, but instead of a King from Burma.  For those of you not aware, Thailand and Burma are ancient rivals.  In any case, the fortune teller assured General Sonthi that he needed to overthrow the reincarnated Burmese King, as Thaksin would only cause misery and pain for Thailand. 

It amazes me that Thailand's politics is so influenced by these fortune tellers.  Political luminaries flock to famous fortune tellers to hear their predictions and receive their blessings.  Of course, each "side" seems to have its own set of fortune tellers. 

It is my nature to be very skeptical of the prognosticating profession.  I believe that they tend to tell people what they want to hear or speak in generalities.  The fact that powerful people here rely on their advice for important decisions gives me pause.  It makes me much less confident about their ability to lead this country out of the third world.

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