Conference hydra::dejavu

1678.0. "Politics & Magic -- strange bedfellows." by CADSYS::COOPER (Topher Cooper) Wed Jun 10 1992 21:33

Subject: Thai slum dwellers resort to black magic to fight military
Date: Tue, 9 Jun 92 8:46:25 PDT

	BANGKOK, Thailand (UPI) -- Slum dwellers, frustrated that those
responsible for the deaths of pro-democracy protesters have gone
unpunished, Tuesday used an ancient black magic rite to curse the 
``tyrants and devils'' behind the military's violent crackdown.
	More than 300 members of the Slum People for Democracy organization
attended the ceremony in the old section of Bangkok where security
forces last month opened fire on thousands of opposition demonstrators.
	``Black magic rite to conquer tyrants and fight devils,'' said a
banner over a wooden coffin where the ceremony was performed.
	A widow and widower, surrounded by a white thread to keep out devils,
mixed red chillies and salt in a pestle with a piece of paper listing
the names of former Prime Minister Gen. Suchinda Kraprayoon and senior
military and government officials.
	The three ingredients were then heated as part of the rite, meant to
bring eternal bad luck to those cursed and their close relatives.
	``The devils came to take over the country treacherously, killing
people..,'' said a speaker at the ceremony. ``Let them face disaster,
haunted by their own lies. Wherever they go, torment will follow them
and their wives and ancestors.''
	He then called on the spirits of those killed in the protests to 
``come together and condemn these people.''
	Residents of Lana, a remote region of northern Thailand, have
performed the ceremony for centuries in response to adversity.
	In a separate ceremony, a Buddhist monk in saffron robes released
into heaven the spirits of those killed.
	Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets May 17- 20 to
demand Suchinda, an unelected former supreme commander, step down in
favor of an elected representative. Hundreds, or possibly thousands,
were killed, many shot mercilessly by security forces.
	Suchinda resigned May 24 after pushing through an amnesty that
protects him and his top generals from prosecution for any role they
played in the shootings.
	``We have tried many times to fight them legally,'' said Pojana
Suansri, a social worker at a slum development center. ``We tried to
give our opinion but they ignored us. So we chose this way,'' she said
referring to the black magic ceremony.

Re .0 (Topher):

>	``Black magic rite to conquer tyrants and fight devils,'' said a
>banner over a wooden coffin where the ceremony was performed.

It pays to advertise ...  :-)

>	A widow and widower, surrounded by a white thread to keep out devils,
>mixed red chillies and salt in a pestle with a piece of paper listing
>the names of former Prime Minister Gen. Suchinda Kraprayoon and senior
>military and government officials.
>	The three ingredients were then heated as part of the rite, meant to
>bring eternal bad luck to those cursed and their close relatives.

I doubt it'll have much effectiveness.  The Black Coffin Nail rite would
probably be much more effective, if they have to resort to black magic.

>	``The devils came to take over the country treacherously, killing
>people..,'' said a speaker at the ceremony. ``Let them face disaster,
>haunted by their own lies. Wherever they go, torment will follow them
>and their wives and ancestors.''

"Ancestors"?

>	Residents of Lana, a remote region of northern Thailand, have
>performed the ceremony for centuries in response to adversity.

I wonder what its edfficacy rate has proven to be.

Steve Kallis, Jr.

RE: .2

>   2] buddhists don't believe in heaven.

    There are thousands of Buddhist sects.  About all that they share is a
    belief that their beliefs are what the Buddha was trying to teach.  It
    is very, very difficult to say anything with assurance about the
    beliefs of all Buddhists.  I don't question though that this is a very
    rough way of translating whatever the reporters were told was going on.

					    Topher

    
    I'm usually read-only here but I had to comment on this.
    
>>	``The devils came to take over the country treacherously, killing
>>people..,'' said a speaker at the ceremony. ``Let them face disaster,
>>haunted by their own lies. Wherever they go, torment will follow them
>>and their wives and ancestors.''

>"Ancestors"?
    
    It was plain to me that the person being quoted in the article was not
    a native English speaker.  I assumed that "ancestors" was a mistake and
    the word he was searching for was "decendents" or "children".  It is an 
    easy mistake to make using an unfamiliar language.
    
    LaDonna