Fortune telling has been a part of Thai culture for millennia, and it seems that the increasing sophistication of the world and society at large is doing nothing to reduce demand for the services of fortune tellers, or mor doo.
Indeed, with the arrival of mass media, the mor doo is no longer the local village soothsayer. These days there are celebrity mor doo with their own TV spots; and it would be a rash politician, business person or showbiz star who made a major decision without first consulting his or her favourite soothsayer.
The stress induced by the increasing complexity of society, too, seems to creating more demand for mor doo, not less, as people try to find what lies in the future, or reasons for their current bad luck, fears, sadness or misery.
Jae-nu Reehun, a tourist from Malaysia, is a believer in the skills of Thailand’s mor doo, one of whom gave her a warning that she believes saved her life.
“My friend took me to see a mor doo in Thailand, and the mor doo warned me to beware of water – rivers, lakes or the sea. A week later, I went with many friends to Krabi for a holiday. Some of them invited me to go kayaking with them but I declined.
“One of the kayaks overturned and my friend almost drowned, even though she can swim.
“It may sound incredible but I believe that if I had gone kayaking as my friend asked, I would have drowned for sure. The mor doo’s prediction warned me,” Ms Reehun said.
THE MANY FACES OF MOR DOO
There are many kinds of mor doo. Some claim to be able to see into a client’s past lives, and to divine from this the reasons for their current suffering. The Buddhist concept of karma, they believe, is very real. The bad things one does in a past life will rebound on one in current or future lives.
Some channel powerful spirits or minor gods to help in understanding and fixing a person’s karma.
Others use astrology, numerology, or the reading of palms or cards to divine a person’s current state or their future.
Tanakorn Sinkasem, president of the Astrological Association of Thailand (AAT) is a professional mor doo using a variety of techniques including astrology and numerology.
He explains, “I’ve been interested in astrology since I was young but I became serious about after I was ordained a monk in 1977.
“I bought a book on astrology and spent all my free time reading it. When I understood the concepts I cast my own horoscope, using my day, date, month and year of birth according to the seven-digit system and astrological orbits.
“I could see that my horoscope predicted I would be a monk when I was 26 years old.
And here I was, 26 years old, and a monk. The book was very clear and I came to believe in astrology very deeply.
“I then began learning seriously about astrology at the AAT. After graduating from there, I studied with several other astrology professors and began doing predictions for my friends. From there things spread so that other people come to me for predictions.
“At first I did not have many customers but there were amateur mor doo who asked me to teach them, so I decided to quit my job in a bank and become a mor doo,” he says.
People’s fate is like a map of life, he explains. “Fate will determine their destiny. If they do good, their life will be good as well. People want to know the future so they can protect themselves from bad things in their life.”
He says the three main things people want to know about are finances, career and love.
“I do not ask my customers for money but I do suggest they make merit or make a donation. Mor doo should be moral. What we do is a way to help people – not to add to their troubles [by demanding money].” he says.
PREDICTING THE FUTURE
Jakthip Suksantikamol is a landlord, making his money from rent. His free time is spent as a mor doo. “A mor doo is like a psychiatrist,” he says, “someone who treats people’s mental problems in a variety of ways that remove bad luck, such as releasing birds or fish, making a donation to a charity or going to the wat for a blessing with holy water.”
Jakthip is a hora – he uses astrology.
He says astrologers can predict how the stars affect people in various periods of their lives, and to alert them to auspicious days and bad days. Some hora, he says, also use knowledge of the Chinese feng shui system of geomancy.
“A mor doo can also predict the fate, misfortunes and luck of people who are suffering.”
He has studied astrology for 33 years because he believes prediction can help people to live with greater awareness and care.
“A prediction is like a warning flag in your life. A long time ago, there was a Chinese mor doo who told my mother – I was not home that day – that my life would improve in the future. He predicted many things that would change in my life, both good and bad.
“I did not believe all the things he predicted, but I did live my life with more care to try to avoid some of the bad things he predicted.”
He stresses, “A mor doo cannot solve problems but can make suggestions about things people should or should not do.
“For example, a friend came to ask my advice on plans he had for building a petrol station. I warned him that he should avoid water, oil or any liquid, because these could cause him to lose a lot of money. So he decided not to build the petrol station.
“Later on, however, he opened a hotel in Khao Lak next to the beach. When the tsunami hit his hotel it was badly damaged.
“I do not ask people to pay me a lot of money. If they want to donate, it is only B12. Sometimes, when I make a prediction for someone who has really bad luck, I will give them some money.”
CHANGING YOUR FATE
Jularat Khotchahung works as a concierge at Villa Layan. But in her free time she, too, is a mor doo. She uses tarot cards to look into people’s futures.
“I used to do predictions for friends only, but this has led to friends of friends coming to see me. Because I work in a respectable job, some of the people who come to see me are business people who do not trust other mor doo or are afraid that other people will come to know that they have been consulting a mor doo.
“Most of my guests are close to me, so I can make detailed, clear predictions of good and bad in their lives. I do not make a distinction between the good and the bad; what I tell them is their fate.
“After a session, I urge my guest to donate money to a temple, foundation or hospital. That’s my fee,” she says happily.
She explains that the Tarot pack consists of 78 cards. She asks her guest to shuffle the pack and then pick 10 of these.
“They have to choose the cards themselves because all the cards they select will represent their fate. I am just the interpreter of the cards. I don’t choose them.”
Jularat does not believe that fate is set in stone. “I believe one’s fate can be changed when one’s attitude is changed. If you always think about bad things, all the cards you choose will tend to be negative. But if you are optimistic the cards will give a positive reading. If anyone receives a bad prediction, I take them to donate money or make merit [at a temple].
“Moreover, I believe that the cards can warn us to be more careful. I read the cards for myself two days before the tsunami hit Phuket in 2004. I picked the Death card, which predicts really bad things.
“So I made merit and donated a lot of money in the hope that it would make me feel better. But I still felt bad so I decided to stay at home instead of going to my job in Patong.”
That was the day the tsunami hit. “It certainly reinforced my faith in Tarot card prediction.”
FACT OR FICTION?
Not all Thais, by any means, believe mor doo have the power to predict the future.
Phuketian Rachane Nittee, for example, says, “Before we married my girlfriend took me several times to see mor doo.
“One mor doo said that we would be separated in six months. But now we had been married for two years and our family life is very good.
“I think if you believe mor doo predictions you can just give yourself misery,” Rachane says.
Jularat is unfazed by such reactions. “I don’t really care whether people believe my predictions or not. I tell them the truth about their fate. They are the ones who select the cards.”
–Sukunya Phoonpong