Mea Nang Kwak, patron saint of commerce and business in Thailand
Mea Nang Kwak
Mae Nang Kwak is the patron saint of commerce and business Thailand. This legendary woman has become the symbol of prosperity and happiness.
You often find an image or a sculpture of her in or near a spirit house of a shop or company. Itinerant sellers will often carry her in the form of an amulet.
Image
Mae Nang Kwak is represented as a beautiful woman, wearing a red dress (not always, but more often than others in a different color) in traditional Thai and sometimes Laotian style. In a sitting or kneeling position, she holds her right hand up in Thai fashion, with the palm of her hand down, as if beckoning a customer to approach. Her left hand rests on her side or holds a sack full of gold on her lap.
folklore
Mae Nang Kwak is not a deity, but rather an expression of Thai folklore. Nevertheless, the Thai like to see her as a legendary Buddhist person, who is believed to bring good luck, especially in making money in trade. However, the Buddhist legend about her does not take place in Thailand, but in India at the time when Buddhism arose.
(Pitchayaarch Photography / Shutterstock.com)
Legend
Nang Kwak (beckoning woman) was born as Supawadee, daughter of a merchant couple. The couple sold all sorts of small items at the local market and could barely make ends meet. When the daughter was born and more money was needed, a plan was devised to strive for an expansion of the trade. With the help of family, a cart was bought so that markets in nearby towns and cities could also be visited. Supawadee grew up and helped her parents with sales.
One day she came into contact with Phra Gumarn Gasaba Thaera, who was giving a Buddhist sermon in a distant city where they were standing in the market. Supawadee became completely captivated by that sermon and she decided to enter the temple. When Phra Gumarn Gasaba Thaera saw her faith and devotion to Buddhism, he gathered all his powers of thought and concentration and bestowed the blessings of happiness and success in sales to Nang Supawadee and her family. Trade then boomed and the family became very wealthy.
Sculpture
After Supawadee died, neighbors and other market vendors made sculptures of her image in hopes of taking over some of her good fortune and prosperity. Nowadays you see Mae Nang Kwak as a sculpture or depicted on a poster, the so-called Pha Yant or Yantra cloth in many shops and companies.
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