Though arcane, the practice persists. “In junior high school half a dozen girls in my class would wrap nang kwak leaves in a handkerchief to place in their top pocket to find a boyfriend,” recalls Chatchai Ngoenprakairat, 24. A few men likewise pocket a waan sao long (‘infatuated girl’ herb) leaf or wash in Waan Sao Long brand herbal soap to attract women.
Coloured red or green with a white centre, nang kwak leaves curl down – an auspicious trait seen as beckoning. Leaves have a limited life, so their power was extended by carving a beckoning figure from the herb’s tuber root. It must be found in the wild and dug up only after offering liquor, betel and other goodies to the spirits.
Over time, the sculptures were enlarged and executed in ivory, bronze, clay or a particular wood (notably the fig tree). Most elegant in gold leafed black lacquer, they’re often now plaster or plastic, moulded and painted with the same imprecision as spirit house attendant figures, among whom nang kwak sometimes sits.
Though arcane, the practice persists. “In junior high school half a dozen girls in my class would wrap nang kwak leaves in a handkerchief to place in their top pocket to find a boyfriend,” recalls Chatchai Ngoenprakairat, 24. A few men likewise pocket a waan sao long (‘infatuated girl’ herb) leaf or wash in Waan Sao Long brand herbal soap to attract women. Coloured red or green with a white centre, nang kwak leaves curl down – an auspicious trait seen as beckoning. Leaves have a limited life, so their power was extended by carving a beckoning figure from the herb’s tuber root. It must be found in the wild and dug up only after offering liquor, betel and other goodies to the spirits. Over time, the sculptures were enlarged and executed in ivory, bronze, clay or a particular wood (notably the fig tree). Most elegant in gold leafed black lacquer, they’re often now plaster or plastic, moulded and painted with the same imprecision as spirit house attendant figures, among whom nang kwak sometimes sits.
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