Sacred Skin by Tom Vater
Sacred tattoos, called 'sak yant' in Thailand, have been around Southeast Asia for centuries and afford protection from accident, misfortune, and crime. Young women get tattooed with love charms in order to attract partners, while adolescent men use the protective power of their yants in fights with rival youth gangs. For most though, the tattoos serve as reminders to follow a moral code that endorses positive behavior. During the application of a sak yant, the tattoo master establishes a series of life 'rules' that need to be closely adhered to, starting with Buddhism's first five precepts. Failure to observe the master's instructions will cause the sak yant to lose their power. Beautifully photographed these are tattoos that are the essence and 'key' to individual identity, a philosophy for living, the translation of soul to skin, as complex as the leaves of an autobiography, the story of a life.
Tom Vater is a writer working in southern and Southeast Asia. He writes both in English and German. His articles have appeared in a wide variety of publications including the Asia Wall Street Journal, the South China Morning Post, Marie Claire, Penthouse, and many others. His books on South Asian themes include a novel, several nonfiction titles, travel guides, and photo books. His travels have led him (on foot) across the Himalayas, and given him the opportunity to dive with hundreds of sharks in the Philippines. On his journeys, he has joined sea gypsies and nomads, pilgrims and soldiers, secret agents, pirates, hippies, policemen, and prophets. Aroon Thaewchatturat has been shooting assignment and stock photography since 2004. Her features have appeared in magazines such as GEO and The Far Eastern Economic Review, while her stock imagery has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Time magazine, The Financial Times, Lonely Planet, MERIAN, Spiegel-Online and many other publications.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9789628563791 |
| ISBN 10 | 9628563793 |
| Title | Sacred Skin |
| Author | Tom Vater |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Visionary World Ltd |
| Year published | 2020-07-01 |
| Number of pages | 200 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |