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Blood rites spark off holy row
Ritual splashings lead royal Brahmin to take aim at the red shirts' priest
- Published: 18/03/2010 at 12:00 AM
- Newspaper section: News
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<!-- end heading-panel --> The blood splashing ceremonies conducted by the red shirts are already proving inauspicious after two Brahmin priests exchanged criticisms.
We don’t use blood in our Brahmin rites - PHRA RATCHAKRUWAMADHEPMUNI
Rites conducted during the red shirts' blood pourings were not carried out according to correct Brahmin teachings and principles, the head of Thailand's royal Brahmin priests claimed yesterday.
Phra Ratchakru Wamadhepmuni said the rites normally performed by Brahmin priests would help to promote the happiness of people at various stages of their lives.
Priests were invited to perform rites when people wanted their blessing on auspicious occasions such as weddings, merit-making for a new house, when there is a newborn or they are building a spirit house. That was not what the red shirts' priest did.
"We don't use blood in our Brahmin rites," Phra Ratchakru Wamadhepmuni said.
The leader of the country's royal Brahmin priests asked the red shirts not to again donate their blood for such political activities. If they want to donate blood, it should be given to help those who actually need it, he said.
Phra Ratchakru Wamadhepmuni said he was worried about the effect of the bloodletting on children as he feared those watching the rites on television would misunderstand the real principles and teachings of Brahminism. Their parents were duty-bound to explain these ideas to them properly.
The red shirts yesterday followed up their blood splashing at Government House and the Democrat Party's headquarters on Tuesday by throwing blood at the Bangkok home of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.
During the events at Government House and the Democrat headquarters, the red shirts used a Brahmin priest to perform what he described as rites to curse the government and the prime minister.
The priest, identified as Sakrapee Promchart, said he was the son of a former royal Brahmin priest who conducted prayers and prepared ceremonies and offerings for the royal family for decades.
But Phra Ratchakru Wamadhepmuni said Mr Sakrapee's father was dismissed 20 years ago from royal service because he did not behave properly as a royal Brahmin priest at the Dhevasathan Brahmin Shrine near the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration offices.
The shrine, the headquarters of a group of 15 royal Brahmin priests, was built during the reign of King Rama I for holding Brahmin rituals and ceremonies.
Phra Ratchakru Wamadhepmuni said Mr Sakrapee could not be considered a proper Brahmin priest because his actions during the blood splashing were inappropriate.
The priest put his blood-stained feet up against the entrances of Government House and the Democrat Party headquarters and he used only one incense stick during his prayers, which signifies paying respect to the dead.
Mr Sakrapee brushed off Phra Ratchakru Wamadhepmuni's comments, insisting he was a real Brahmin by descent.
He said Phra Ratchakru Wamadhepmuni did not know the exact details of his father because when his father served as a royal Brahmin priest, Phra Ratchakru Wamadhepmuni was a young student.
He said his father was a friend of Phra Ratchakru Wamadhepmuni's father when they served together as Brahmin priests 20 years ago.
"Being a Brahmin requires ancestry, so I'm definitely a Brahmin," Mr Sakrapee said.
"My father, now 100 years old, resigned as a Brahmin priest in the royal service, but he is still a Brahmin, and so am I. I'm not a royal Brahmin, but I'm a real Brahmin priest."
He agreed the blood rites performed on Tuesday were part of an inauspicious ceremony which would adversely affect not only the people targeted but also himself.
"It's right that such an inauspicious rite could not be performed by royal Brahmins, but I'm not a royal Brahmin priest," he said.
He said he agreed to bear any ill effects from the ceremony because it was done in the country's interest.
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