Vedic Brahmins of Thailand

[Guest guest]

The elite of the elite

 

By Nattha Keenapan 28 December 2005 17:12

 

 

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A Brahmin priest honors a god. There are nine such priests in

Bangkok.

 

 

Born into the highest caste, Brahmins in everyday society bring gods

closer to the common people

 

On a cool morning a few minutes before seven, Brahmin Kachron

Nakavethin and his team arrive at a small construction site on

Ratchada Soi 32 off Ratchadaphisek Road. They are carrying trays of

various sizes that hold a cooked pig's head, fruit, flowers, joss

sticks, wooden sticks, gold, silver and copper alloy bricks and a few

Thai musical instruments.

 

Brahmin Kachron, 51, whose long hair is neatly pinned up, is dressed

head-to-toe in white. He is wearing the official traditional long-

sleeved shirt, loincloth, sash and socks pulled nearly to his knees.

Shiny white leather shoes finish off a blinding outfit.

 

The owner of the construction site, Surachai Jongjaruwong, has been

eagerly awaiting the team. He has asked Brahmin Kachron to conduct a

stone-laying ceremony to bless the building of his new house.

 

The ritual starts sharply at 7am, the auspicious time calculated by

the Brahmin according to Surachai's horoscope. All the trays,

carefully arranged, are placed on a white cloth-covered table.

Candles and joss sticks are lit, releasing an aromatic aroma

throughout the site. Brahmin Kachron and his son – who hopes to be

ordained – begin to pray in both the Sanskrit and Thai languages.

 

"We are inviting all gods and divinities in the universe to take

these offerings. The ceremony is to give the host [surachai]

prosperity with blessings from the all divinities," says Brahmin

Kachron.

 

Brahmin Kachorn is not a stranger to the public. People often see

Brahmins performing sophisticated holy rituals, spanning royal

ceremonies such as coronations and the recent celebration of the baby

Prince's one-month anniversary and induction to the cradle, to

Monday's stone-laying ceremony of the tsunami memorial in Khao Lak,

which Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra chaired. Most people would

call the facilitators – rightly – "the Brahmin," but many do not know

exactly who a Brahmin is, where he is from, what he does and why.

 

Brahmin Kachron is a a member of the highest Hindu caste and

considered a descendant of Brahma, the creator of the universe in the

Hindu religion. It is believed that the Brahmin is the only caste

that has a direct connection, an open landline if you will, with all

the gods in the universe. The morning ritual is an example of what

Brahmin Kachron has to do because of who he is. The point of these

ceremonies is to invite gods and divinities in the universe to come,

to accept offerings and to bless the hosts of the rituals. Only men

can be a Brahmin.

 

"It is believed that we are a part of the Brahma. We can conduct

rituals that are different from rituals conducted simply by ordinary

people, because ordinary people cannot connect with or invite gods or

divinities. It is like you cannot invite the King directly; you need

his courtiers to do it for you," says Brahmin Kachron, whose great-

grandfather migrated from southern India about a hundred years ago.

 

Almost all Thai traditions and ceremonies that mark life's

milestones, from cutting a newborn's hair, blessing ceremonies,

weddings and funerals, stem from the practice of Brahminism, a

complex religion that emerged in post-Vedic India circa 900 BC.

Monks' practices of the unrolling of the sacred thread and

distributing holy water are also the product of Brahminism.

 

The only way to become a Brahmin is by blood. It's already considered

special status to be born into a Brahmin family, whether or not he

takes the next step to become ordained as a priest. Brahmin Kachron

was ordained at the age of 20; he believes the priesthood makes his

rituals holier than others.

 

"Any Brahmin can conduct rituals, but it is better if the person is a

Brahmin priest," says Brahmin Kachron, who has conducted 200 to 300

ceremonies such as stone-laying, the erecting of small spirit houses

and an annual ceremony where the public worships the gods.

 

 

 

 

 

Towards the end of the stone-laying ceremony, Brahmin Kachron pours

holy water into a hole in the ground where the main pillar of the

house will be erected. He then invites Surachai to place nine sticks

made from different types of wood into the hole. At that point, the

Brahmin's crew begins to play music. Surachai is instructed to place

nine bricks into the hole; the Brahmin overlays wet concrete on top

of the bricks. The ceremony ends as the Brahmin pours precious stones

on the top of the concrete and sprinkles the whole site with flowers

and coins.

 

The ceremony takes about 30 minutes. Surachai pays the Brahmin

Kachron about 30,000 baht, a charge that covers everything the

Brahmin brought for the ceremony as well as the crew's labor fee.

Surachai voluntarily gave Brahmin Kachron another 10,000 baht for his

service.

 

"People these days may not believe in such rituals. But I'm willing

to do it. At the very least, it gives me relief and rids me of

worry," Surachai says.

 

Brahminism is one of the world's oldest religions that worships gods,

millions of them. It is commonly known for its magical and

ritualistic practices performed by elite priests or Brahmin. Some

documents say that Brahminism is an early stage in the development of

Hinduism. Several sources suggest that the religion emerged long

before the establishment of the monarchies and because of that, in

ancient times, the status of a king was considered beneath the gods

of Brahminism. Later, the concept of the monarchy developed to be

closer to Brahminism, as as kings were treated by their subjects as

semi-divine – a living god – who has Brahmins as consultants.

 

Brahminism pre-dated Buddhism and some books claim that the Brahmins

settled in Thailand even before Thai people came to Suvarnabhumi.

Brahminism thrived during the Sukhothai period and saw its golden age

during the Ayutthaya period, when royal vocabulary and ceremonies,

including the royal coronation, were established under the influence.

 

Nearly a hundred Brahmin families are estimated to live in Thailand;

some are ordained. The difference between Brahmin priests in Thailand

and in India is that Brahmin priests in Thailand practice Buddhism

along with their original religion. Many grand ceremonies in Thailand

are normally conducted by both Buddhist monks and Brahmin priests.

 

"Buddhism and Brahminism are hardly separated from each other in

terms of rituals and ceremonies. They go together. Buddhism is about

Buddha's teaching – the principles and practice minus rituals. But

the religious ceremonies and rituals that people practice are

actually derived from Brahminism," Brahmin Kachron says.

 

Today, Brahmin priests still work for the monarchy and are

responsible for royal rituals. There are at least nine Brahmin

priests in Thailand, including Brahmin Kachron, who are officials of

the Royal Ceremonial Affairs Division of the Bureau of the Royal

Household.

 

There is only one Brahmin temple at the moment, the Deva Sthan, near

Bangkok's Giant Swing. The temple was built in 1784 and the

ordination of Brahmin priests is held there. The ordination process

takes 15 days, during which the Brahmin remains faithful to precepts

and prays daily. Brahmin priests are similar to Protestant preachers,

in that they can live normal lives and marry, but only if they are

well-versed in the Veda and all the rituals. A rule: after

ordination, Brahmins can cut neither their hair nor their holy sash.

One's priest status ends if the Brahmin cuts them. Also, if the

Brahmin commits a crime, he will be forced to leave the priesthood,

similar to the rules that apply to Buddhist monks.

 

Phra Rajaduruvamadevamuni, the chief of the nine Brahmins at the

Bureau of the Royal Household, can explain why Brahmins maintain such

an elevated status in society. He says that the notion that a Brahmin

can directly call upon gods leads to the belief that a Brahmin is a

more knowledgeable person who understands the religion well. Because

of that, the Brahmin is the one who is to deliver religious teachings.

 

In actuality, anyone – non-Brahmins – can conduct rituals or

ceremonies like Surachai's stone-laying ceremony if the person is

familiar with the details of the procedures, the way people in the

past did it themselves when no Brahmin was available. The main

principles of rituals are written in the Veda, but details of

procedures and techniques can be adapted depending on the

facilitator. But these minute details of tradition have been

developed and inherited from ancestors.

 

"I remembered all these procedures from my grandfather, father and

teacher. I am familiar with them, and sometimes I modify the

procedure myself," says Brahmin Kachron.

 

Nowadays, people tend to use the service of Brahmins because they

lack the intimate knowledge of ceremonial procedures that are not

well handed down to new generations.

 

"Ritual is not the heart of Brahmin. The point is the worship of

gods, the moral practice and the Veda. Conducting rituals is treated

as helping people," Phra Rajaduruvamadevamuni says.

 

"All the ceremonies are hidden with reasonable objectives. For

example, setting up a Brahma spirit house in your home doesn't mean

that the Brahma will make you prosper. But it is meant to remind

people to live in the house of the Brahma, further reminding them to

practice Brahma's four teachings: kindness, compassion, altruistic

joy and neutrality," he explains.

 

Today, eight Brahmin priests actively go out and conduct ceremonies

for laypeople, as Brahmin Kachron does. The small number of priests

continues to decline as new generations of Brahmin do not want to

ordain, says Phra Rajaduruvamadevamuni.

 

"It is the current social and economic situation, together with

modern culture, that changes the thinking of Brahmin descendants. To

be a Brahmin priest, one needs to have faith. Many of the new

generation do not fully understand the religion, so they shift their

faith to other areas and study law, economics or accounting,

something in which they can make a safe living," he says.

 

But that doesn't worry Phra Rajaduruvamadevamuni, who says the

situation doesn't needed to be fixed and that he doesn't think the

Brahmin will become extinct in Thai society.

 

"I believe in equilibrium. If people are interested in Brahminism,

there will be more Brahmin and vice versa. I'm not worried about

extinction, because nature and the system will come to an

equilibrium."

 

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