Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Superstition in Thailand - Dolls that bring luck—and drugs- A craze for haunted dolls starts a moral panic


Superstition in Thailand - Dolls that bring luck—and drugs- A craze for haunted dolls starts a moral panic


Payau’s doll is not a toy but a luk thep, or “child angel” —a factory-moulded moppet which some believe can be imbued, through a blessing, with the spirit of a child.

DOWN a buzzing lane in Bangkok’s Chinatown, a child is being born. Payau, a middle-aged lady perched on a stool, has just finished assembling a plastic doll which she has dressed in silk and adorned with pink lipstick. She will take 4,000 baht ($110) for it, she says, while brushing tangles from its hair.

Payau’s doll is not a toy but a luk thep, or “child angel” —a factory-moulded moppet which some believe can be imbued, through a blessing, with the spirit of a child.

Luk thep are increasingly being seen out and about in Bangkok, the capital, with their grown-up owners, who feed, water and dress them in the hope of receiving good fortune in return. The fad has not amused Prayuth Chan-ocha, the former general who leads Thailand’s nannying government, which came to power in a coup in May 2014. He implied on January 25th that adults ought not to waste money on plastic kids.

No comments:

Post a Comment