muay thai rituals initiation ceremonies, old beliefs, magic spells, ancient superstitions, secret tricks…there is more than meets the eyes.
Initiation and acceptance as a trainee fighter muaythai rituals rituals
The ritual ceremony of Yok Kruu is the spiritual beginning of the young nak muay’s life. It consist in paying homage to the teacher (kruu) in order to be accepted as his pupil to be taught the secrets of muay thai. The beginning of the lifelong relation between teacher and pupil is much deeper and bonding than in the West: to become a nak muay, regardless if successful or not, is an important choice, a choice which will shape the applicant’s life. Therefore, its beginning is a very important moment and needs an appropriate ceremony. The pupils must bring incense sticks, candles, garlands of flowers (malai), and some coins. Such items are used throughout Thailand for all kinds of ceremonies: making merit at tempes, paying respect to monks and to places where spirits are believed to reside, and so on. Sometimes such ceremonies, including the yok kruu, are accompanied by copious amounts of expensive food and whisky offered to all well-wishers attending. The teacher is presented with the offerings, graciously displayed on banana leaves and accompanied by jasmine flowers. He will pick up the sacred, old boxing gloves (or the mongkol) and will raise them above his head. The pupils will touch these objects, believed to have magical properties, and bow in a classic “waii” (both hands pressed in front of the forehead) to the master. The master will then bless the pupils by pronouncing the following mantra (in Pali): “Buddhang prasit, thammang prasit, sangkab prasit, narayana chao prasit pawantoot”. Subsequently, the pupils will ceremoniously accept the gloves by raising them above their head and bowing three times, then bowing to the master another three times. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the master may start explaining the first rudiments of the “yang saam khum”.
The oath of a nak muay rituals
Such oath, very similar in principle to an knight’s oath, is given by the pupil to his master as a promise to never betray his art, his master and his teaching. The oath says: rituals
“I will take care of myself, so to be always clean, strong, and behave with integrity…I will not take advantage of those weaker than me…I will live and help my people whenever possible…I will make good deeds for my people and help the nation…I will avoid any trouble..” muaythai rituals
And they usually mean it. Nak muay don’t boast about their strength and boxing skills, don’t bully others and don’t end up in street fights. Instead, they appear to be very humble about the all muay thai thing. Contrary to the scenario in the West, where even amateur boxers are considered “cool” and/or “tough guys”, in Thailand people don’t idolize boxers. A Lumpini champion might be treated as a semi-god in Europe, but as an ordinary, uneducated person in Bangkok. However, if the boxer is internationally recognized, such as the Olympic Gold Medalist Somluck Kamsing, or the nak muay manages to raise so much money to become a successful entrepreneur, he’ll be greatly admired by his own people. Money, more than punches, talks in Thailand.
Nomme de guerre rituals
When a boxer is ready for his first appearance on the ring, he will “re-born”, changing his name in a private ceremony hosted by his kruu. The fighting nickname may be a work of pure fantasy, like Diesel Noi (little diesel), or a name followed by the camp’s name or its province. Often such name is sewed in fancy colors on the front of his shorts.
Approaching the ring
Some of the rituals that ancient warriors performed before battle to ask spirits for good luck and protection have been absorbed by muaythai fighters. And for good reasons: during the years of muay kad chuak (early 20th century) it was not uncommon to be killed in fights with no time limits. Nowadays such rituals are still performed, in a more private form. For example, a fighter may ask for permission to enter the ring to the (spirit) who may be guarding it as its own domain. Another ritual, still performed by some fighters, is to test the breathing, determining which nostril allows a better breathing. Then the nak muay will walk to the ring taking his first step on that side and avoiding the first step on the ladder.
Women and muay thai
Female muay thai fighers are a consequence of Thai boxing enormous popularity in the West, but again in Thailand things are very, very diffferent. Due to a strange episode happened in the past, when all fighters got bad cuts and bled profusely after a woman walked around them in the ring, women are barred from entering the ring. Actually, you’ll hardly see any Thai woman near the fighters and their corner-men. Also, the all nak muay’s circuit is pretty much “men only”, where women don’t belong. Indeed, the all boxing environment is patronized by “macho” types, such as gamblers, soldiers, policemen, bodyguards, gangsters and ex-fighters/trainers. Walk outside Lumpini Stadium at 6 pm, when people start too arrive, and you’ll see what I mean.
Dust on the head rituals
A small superstition that is fading away is the nak muay act to put dust on his head. You may notice the fighter, while on his way to the ring, picking some dust from the ground and touch his hair with it. This may be from the times of muay boran, when boxers fought open air, on the ground, and needed to know the ground’s composition (sandy or solid).
Tattoos rituals
The protecting power of sacred tattoos has been with Siamese warriors for centuries and it’s still very much sought-after nowadays. It is very common to see Thai men covered with such tattoos, called Yant, which of course are not decorative but protective. While not common anymore among muay thai fighters, the practice is still valid for whoever is involved with dangerous activities, like soldiers, policemen, mafia-types, bodyguards, etc. Even Angelina Jolie got two! In a temple near Bangkok, on an auspicious date, every year hundreds of people are tattooed en masse by the monks, who use a sharpened bamboo stick for everybody. Apparently, nobody is afraid of HIV infections as the ink is blessed, too.
Mongkol rituals
The power of magic arts is symbolized by the mongkol (pronounced mong-kon, meaning crown), worn by every nak muay during the wai kruu pre-fight dance. It is given, and removed, by the kruu only. It consisted of a narrow strip of cloth, with magic spells and Sanscrit symbols, rolled to form a string and tied up at one end with the sacred “sai sin”. This was then inserted in a blessed cloth, to form a cord and to be put around the fighter’s head like a bandana. It was worn by soldiers when on the battlefield. The two kinds of monkol available now don’t have anything inside but still look good.
Prajiat
The prajiat is a protective charm worn around one or both biceps. It is made of a thin string of cloth called paa salu. In ancient times, the prachat was worn by warriors around head and arms. It contained magic spells written in Sanscrit or Pali and was blessed by monks or witch doctors. Nowadays prajiat consist of a plated string of polyester nicely treaded and sold in pairs in any combination of colors. Many protective charms, together with the magic (or religious) rituals that made them powerful and thus effective in protecting the warrior’s life, have long disappeared. Armbands of all kinds here.
Wai Kruu or Ram Muay
The famous wai kruu, literally “pay respect to the teacher”, reflects the feeling of gratitude for the master, who is often a fatherly figure for the young nak muay. The wai kruu, also known as ram muay (literally the boxer’s dance) is also a way to warm up and loosen up the muscles before the fight. In older times, each school had its own variations of wai kruu, so from the sequence of movements one could guess where the boxer was from. This is no longer true nowadays, but there are still a few styles of wai kruu, which usually last 3 minutes and ends with the practicing of saam yaam khum steps. Each wai kruu gesture has its own history and ritualized meaning. See some beautiful wai kruu below.
Muay Thai music
Since the old times, each muay thai fight had to be accompanied by a peculiar, high-pitched music which seemed to be inseparable from the fighting. The rhythm and the speed of such strange music follows the action in the ring and contributes to the excitement of the rowdy crowds. It is played by a small group of 4 musicians. The classic instruments used are called pi java (javanese clarinet); klong kek (2 drums), shing (cymbals) and kong (bongo). During the wai kruu the “Sarama” tune is played, to help fighters concentrate on their prayers and in the grace of wai kruu. It is a hypnotizing, relaxing music which manages to mesmerize for a moment even the noisiest of the audiences. During the most exciting moments of the fight the music will frantically incite the fighters to give their best, raising in a crescendo for the last moments of the fight. The match between music and fighting is is unique of muay thai and the two arts should always be enjoyed together.