Penis amulets in Thailand

More than twenty years ago, friends in northern Thailand took me to relatives who really lived in the middle of the wilderness. They had a meager wooden house, a piece of land and an artificial pond. This contained fish for own consumption.

Catching that fish was done with gigantic square nets. They were thrown over the water and then someone dived into the water to catch any fish under that net. This was the work of the son of the house. He took off his shirt for this and then I was confronted for the first time with a phenomenon that I would see again and again later. Around his waist was a rope and from that rope hung all kinds of wooden penises. A kind of charm necklace, but bigger. Of course I wanted to know why he had these penises on the chain. These should bring him good luck and this good luck should manifest itself through the birth of a son. So a clear causal relationship.

I later found this idea in several penis temples, the most famous of which is probably the one in the garden of the Nai Lert Park Hotel (formerly Hilton) in Bangkok. Pattaya also has such a temple, on the Beach Road. A small shrine with a colorful collection of penises in all sizes. From a few centimeters long to one and a half meters. The hope of a son can sometimes be very great.

It got even crazier when I visited a small temple in a small village in Pajao with a Dutch couple who were friends. I often visited that village and always paid a visit to the chief monk. With the temple car we visited all kinds of particularities in the area, where the monk himself was the host. He also sometimes came to visit Pattaya and slept in my house. In short, we liked each other. That's why he wanted to look good when I came to visit with friends. He wanted to give us a present. And that gift was a small wooden penis for each of us. I had a lot to explain to my befriended couple, whose fertility date had passed for some time.

My interest was now piqued. I saw penises everywhere. Made of wood, metal, ivory or stone. Sometimes it was just a penis, sometimes it was an enlarged device of an animal. The penis is therefore larger than the animal to which it was attached.

Most of these amulets are machine-made in large numbers, but the Internet shows that there is a lively trade in more valuable specimens. When they are from a certain time, blessed by a certain monk or worn by important people, the value can run into many thousands of dollars. I have no expensive penises in my small collection, but I am a contented man, although my possessions have not led to a son of my own.

Some affordable (under 100 Baht or received) copies, the first two of wood, the others of metal. There are wonderful offers on the internet for many thousands of Baht.

The largest amulet and talisman market in Bangkok is located next to Wat Mahathat, between Maharat Road and the river. Here I bought many copies, which mostly served as gifts for visitors.