Famous temples forbid abandoning 'Child Angels' at temple grounds



BANGKOK: -- Two temples earlier popular among people brining their "child angels" or "Luk Thep" for superstitious rites and blessing have now forbidden people to abandon their children at the temple ground.

The ban came as the “Luk Thep“ doll craze began to slowly abate with more and more people leaving these dolls within the grounds of a temple, Wat Sawang Arom, in Nakhon Pathom province.

As news was spread that many ‘Luk Thep’ dolls had been left at Wat Sawang Arom, many people have flocked here to view and take pictures of them.

Some have even bought red coloured drinks and sweets as offerings for the dolls.

Some even questioned officials here for permission to take some of the dolls home claiming they had sympathy on the abandoned dolls who might be lonely but were refused.

However some cheeky individuals have managed to sneak a few of them out right under their noses.

Only 20 dolls now remain in the temple forcing officials here to be more vigilant.

One woman visited the temple yesterday hoping to be granted permission to take one or more of the dolls home with her.

When questioned she stated that she was not following the fad as she has owned several ‘Luk Thep’ dolls for almost 2 years and believed that they bring her good fortune and improves her business. She came hoping to take some home as she took pity on them.

A temple official Mr Sawut Paisonrit said that officials here discovered several ‘Luk Thep’ dolls had been left all around temple ground.

Some have been left under on the antique dredgers or even in blind spots within the Chao Mae Kien Thong shrine.

He said altogether, around 23 of these dolls have been collected.

The abbot of the Wat Sawang Arom temple Phra Khru Yatidharma-Nuyut speculated that some of the dolls were probably left here over a number of days due to their owners being frustrated at not having their wishes fulfilled.

The abbot further thought that the remaining dolls was probably disposed here because their owners were overzealous with the dolls which may have resulted in differences with family members. Almost all of the dolls had had ‘Pluk Sek’ rituals performed on them as seen by the symbols that adorn their bodies.

“Many times it is just pure coincidence such as some people hitting the jackpot in the National Lottery after having purchased the dolls. But sometimes, when someone takes these dolls home, an argument breaks out with their spouses. So what do they do … they leave them in the temple,” the abbot recalled.

One family from Samut Sakorn province also came to the temple with the same intention hoping to take a few of the dolls home but was similarly refused.

“I saw on Facebook that many of the little dears have been left here and was disappointed. The poor little ones! We wanted to take a few home because they are just like little children”

Besides the number of ‘Luk Thep’ dolls that have been disposed here at the temple, officials have also discovered numerous ‘Kumarn’ or infant figurines that have been disposed here as well.

People own these figurines for the same reason as the ‘Luk Thep’ dolls and having their hopes unfulfilled have disposed of them in a similar fashion.

The figurines range from complete to damaged and disfigured ones, all of which have been collected and placed at the antique dredger pavilion next to the canal to restore temple grounds to a tidy and orderly state.

Meanwhile another temple popular with the ritual performance for child angel dolls Wat Buakwan in Nonthaburi also made clear it will not slow people to abandon their children at the temple.

The temple has halted the ritual performance of one of its monk when the doll fever spread.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/content/149284


-- Thai PBS 2016-02-03

Round them up and crush them under a steamroller. The end.

Round them up and crush them under a steamroller. The end.

Who the monks ?

Clean them up, give them to children in hospitals to help cheer them up.

Yeah, pick a few up and resell at 2-20k a pop. Recycling is all the rage.

"Some even questioned officials here for permission to take some of the dolls home claiming they had sympathy on the abandoned dolls who might be lonely..."

“I saw on Facebook that many of the little dears have been left here and was disappointed. The poor little ones! We wanted to take a few home because they are just like little children”

The more I read about Luk Thep the more I'm

Edited February 3, 201610 yr by nikmar

Round them up and crush them under a steamroller. The end.

I was gonna say toss them in a wood chipper, but your idea works too.

Use the rubber to make sidewalks, and say the sidewalks are haunted, so maybe the motorcycles and vendors will avoid them and people will be afraid to park on them?

Yeah, pick a few up and resell at 2-20k a pop. Recycling is all the rage.

I was thinking the same thing. These people who are supposed to be Buddhist get hold such a close and personal relationship and such a strong faith that their plastic doll which has no golden wrapped baby fetis inside carries a spirit of a child or, that these folks are selling for 2-20k baht and this is a quick way to make a lot of free money.

On a slighly sinister note, it does say something about a society when folk treat inanimate objects better than they treat animals.

When just about anything is censored

Web content writers have left with topics like '23 dolls were dumped at 'famous-yet unnamed' temple

We could turn this into a horror movie with some imagination .

We could turn this into a horror movie with some imagination .

Luk Thep zombie dolls, angry for being discarded take over the country?

Feel free to add to this.

Can't the people who acquire these things follow normal practice and dump them on grandma somewhere?

Clean them up, give them to children in hospitals to help cheer them up.

Might freak the living daylight out of most children...

I'm sure there are lots of poor children in the villages who would cherish having one of these dolls, the monks could hand them out instead of taking for a change

Round them up and crush them under a steamroller. The end.

Better give them to poor kids somewhere upcountry who don't have the 2-20k baht for a doll. Young girls will be very happy to get one i guess.

And that Original Gangsta' gold could be put to better use as well...

We could turn this into a horror movie with some imagination .

I'd be surprised if that isn't a major genre already.

We could turn this into a horror movie with some imagination .

Luk Thep zombie dolls, angry for being discarded take over the country?

Feel free to add to this.

If they could take over it would save on all the nonsense going on about elections.... Might be the way to go....

Im thinking they could be employed in just about most restaurants here as wait staff.

This was quite a telling statement seeing as a lot of Buddhist beliefs are around rituals,amulets etc.

“Many times it is just pure coincidence such as some people hitting the jackpot in the National Lottery after having purchased the dolls.

(which I assume people who do this believe are now lucky charms like amulets etc)

Dolls are OK it's the dumping of unwanted dogs and cats that needs forbidding, they way to do it is to curse anyone that does

Round them up and crush them under a steamroller. The end.

Except for the Farlang dolls that can be deported.

On a slighly sinister note, it does say something about a society when folk treat inanimate objects better than they treat animals.

Or, unfortunately, better than their fellow Thais, particularly out on the roads. But that is Thainess.

We could turn this into a horror movie with some imagination .

I'd be surprised if that isn't a major genre already.

There is Doll Island in Mexico that is said to be haunted. They could go there

Round them up and crush them under a steamroller. The end.

...and make sure they are accompanied by their "parents"!

The government just need to establish a Luuk Thep collection center and then incinerate these dolls from hell. They're scarier than freaking clowns.

I bet when they were dumped all the gold rings,necklaces and bracelets were taken off prior. Can see it now. Man to wife " go dump the kid but make sure you keep the gold".

Im thinking they could be employed in just about most restaurants here as wait staff.

I believe several hundred are already employed as shop assistants in Central Department stores - they stand around not answering questions asked by shoppers.