Sacred Tattoos: Construction of Identity

Abstract

This case study examines the roles of sacred tattoos in the construction of identity among Thais in the contemporary Thai context. Multiple voices of sacred tattoo wearers were juxtaposed and valued equally to represent the unheard voices of sacred tattoo wearers in the present day. As a qualitative study, in-depth interviews were conducted with nine Thai sacred tattoo wearers at a sacred tattoo parlor in Bangkok from May to December 2019. The participants’ narratives were then analyzed based on the frameworks of the seven dimensions of religion, globalization, intertextuality, and identity construction to determine the roles of sacred tattoos in the construction of identity among Thais in the contemporary context. The main findings reveal that sacred tattoos have shifted from being in the magical discourse to the fashion discourse due to the advent of globalization in the modern era. Cultural hybridization promotes the intertextuality to semiotically shift the perceptions towards sacred tattoos from being magical or peculiar to fashionable and trendy. Nonetheless, the traditional sense of sacred tattoos still exists in a sophisticated way created by the new generation of Thais influenced by globalized cultural flow. This leads to a new construction of individual and social identities among Thais as being free spirits rather than believers in magic.