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| My encounter with the 'look thep'. |
On a recent trip to Bangkok, I saw a lady cradling a
baby-sized doll in her lap. I wondered what it could possibly be for. Then
while boarding the plane, the lady in front of me was carrying a doll, just as you
might carry a baby. I’d heard of dolls that are given to teenage girls in the
UK to mimic actual babies, intended to put them off unwanted pregnancy. But
these women seemed too old for that...
I asked the lady in front of me and she laughed nervously. “It’s
an angel doll”, she said, “it’s what we believe in”. Curious, I asked more questions. “If you look after it like your child, it helps your
business”, she said. I told my Thai Christian
friend who was flying with me and she was shocked and repulsed. “It’s an evil
spirit inside the doll!” she exclaimed. But she had never seen anything like it
before. “Satan never rests”, she said, “he is always thinking up new ways to
deceive people."
What are they?
The luk
thep, or angel child dolls are a new religious trend that is now all over the news and social media. They cost from 2,000 baht (£40) to 20,000
baht (£400), and were popularised by celebrities who claimed dressing up and
feeding the figurines had brought them success. Doll-mania has
since swept up the superstitious, with adults bringing the figures to Buddhist
ceremonies, restaurants and even on planes, where they are even issued seats
and served refreshments. Thai media published a leaked airline memo
that defined the "child angels" as "a doll that is alive".
What do Thais think and why?
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A doll painted with holy gold sheets in its eyes and
mouth. They were applied in rituals by Buddhist monks. |
While adherents believe the dolls hold children's
spirits which bring good luck, wealth, blessing and protection from harm, there
are many Thais who also ridicule the craze. A (Buddhist) girl I know started
talking about how crazy people are to “take the bad thing and the evil thing,
and call it a good thing”. She knows that while the angel doll trend only
started last year, the practice has roots in the ancient occult worship of
preserved stillborn/aborted foetuses thought to contain a child's spirit. While
the lady on the plane told me “this is what Thai Buddhists believe”, this other
girl was aghast at how fellow Buddhists could be so foolish.
What are they really?
A friend in Bangkok shared this story:
This incident occurred at a church member’s
restaurant. A customer had come into the restaurant for lunch, and
with them they brought their “look thep”. They ordered their
meal and also ordered a separate meal for their doll. After ordering, the
customer tells her “look thep” to go ahead and go run around the
restaurant while they waited for the food. Not long after, one of
the waitresses starts acting funny, like a child. She starts
running around the restaurant and then goes to ask another server for
some red Fanta. **(Spirits are known to like red Fanta as offerings.) The
fellow server gives the waitress water instead. At this point, the
waitress is not happy, and it becomes evident that something is wrong
with her. Another worker at the restaurant, who is a Christian,
recognizes that the waitress is being possessed by an evil spirit a.k.a.
the “look thep”. This Christian worker then prays and rebukes the
evil spirit and it leaves the waitress. After the spirit leaves the
waitress, she loses all strength and just folds to the floor, vomiting.
Soon after, other (Buddhist)
employees gather round the waitress and hang a necklace with an amulet
(Buddha) around her neck for “protection”. She should’ve been fine,
but to their shock the spirit re-entered the waitress a second time. Now,
the Christian owner of the restaurant steps in, prays to rebuke the
spirit not only out of the waitress but out of the restaurant completely.
These “look thep” dolls are actually a deceptively glorified version of an old Thai practice
— the worship of evil spirits made 'cuter'. Though many Buddhist monks have
participated in blessing or praying spirits into these dolls, one monk
interestingly said, “Don’t you think it funny that Thailand has come to
the point of bowing down to dolls and asking for their blessing?”
Why are they popular?
Although more than 90% of Thais identify as Buddhist, the country's Buddhism is known for its syncretism, comfortably blending many animist and Hindu traditions into daily worship. The ‘Angel Child’ doll is only one of a whole array of gods in their belief system, along with items on their ‘god shelf' at home, amulets, images and incantations around their neck, on their body and in their car. All are hoped to be a quick-fix to life's difficulties, especially in times of struggling economy and ongoing political instability. This desire also provides insatiable demand for fortune tellers,
astrologers, spiritists, etc. in Thai society. The 'look thep' is just a glimpse, a symptom of desperation.
How do we pray?
My friend and I spent the rest of the plane journey praying for Thailand. The spiritual battle
is strong, strong enough to blind and trap religious Thais into worshipping evil spirits by disguising it as an innocent doll. As unbelievable as this whole
trend may be, the Apostle Paul wrote, “But I am not surprised! Even Satan
can disguise himself as an angel of light. (2 Cor. 11:14)”
Thai people are
inherently spiritual and have a strong faith, but that faith is so
misplaced from Jesus, the true Light of life. Yes they are desperate, but not desperate enough! They want a god they can add to their shelf, who will play by their rules. The think the darkness is light.
"But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away." (2 Cor 3:14)
May the people who walk in the darkness see the great Light, may the veil be taken away.
May the power of the Holy Spirit demolish demonic strongholds.
May the Kingdom of Heaven break into the darkness and be established forever.
Sources:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/photo/photo/838584/child-angel-dolls-cute-or-scary-religious-or-ridiculous
http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/839964/looking-trendy-but-stupid
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/840180/angel-doll-vendors-busted-for-tax-evasion
http://us10.campaign-archive1.com/?u=9642cfdcf81881885e0bc891e&id=9d9ce0474c&e=aab159e999
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