Por Sala Tan

Somdej Kai – Wat Rakang
Made by Phra Arjan Dou, Luksit of Por Sala Tan

This Somdej piece carries a unique story. It was created at Wat Rakang, not by the senior masters of the temple, but through an unusual circumstance. Phra Arjan Dou, a northern forest monk and direct disciple of Por Sala Tan, happened to arrive at Wat Rakang while seeking temporary shelter. At that time, he had no awareness of the historical weight of Wat Rakang and simply entered to request lodging.

During the week of his stay, the monks at the temple were pressing a small batch of Somdej. A junior monk, experimenting in his free time, had carved a wooden mold (pim) and used it to press amulets from phutthakun powder of Wat Rakang. Though the mold itself was never formally adopted, it gave rise to a small handful of pieces unlike the standard temple-issue.

Having never encountered a Somdej amulet before, Arjan Dou was fascinated. He requested a few pieces from this experiment and carried them with him as he returned north. Along his long journey back, he stopped at various temples where he had them blessed again and again, layering the sanctity of multiple sites and ceremonies upon the original Wat Rakang foundation.

One of these pieces was left at Por Sala Tan’s house, where it remained in his collection. Ac Lek, his son and student, kept this particular piece, appreciating its small size of roughly 2 cm—easy to keep and carry. He had intended to wrap it and pass it on to one of his children but never completed the task.

The piece eventually came into my possession. I took it to Bangkok and had it properly framed in a silver casing, giving it both protection and dignity. This is the only piece available, a Somdej with a truly personal lineage: pressed at Wat Rakang, carried and blessed across Thailand by a forest monk disciple of Por Sala Tan, and kept in the family line until now.