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Concept
Nang Kwak
Summary
Nang Kwak (นางกวัก) is a Bodhisattva or household deity of Thai folklore. She is deemed to bring good fortune, prosperity, attract customers to a business, and found among merchants. Although Nang Kwak is more a figure of popular folklore than a religious deity, there are Buddhist legends that seek to incorporate her into the Buddhist fold.
Commonly dressed in red Thai style clothing, Nang Kwak is an incarnation of Mae Po Sop, the Thai rice goddess. She is a version of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi.
Nang Kwak is represented as a beautiful woman wearing a red dress (not always, but more often than other colors) fashioned in the Thai style. She also wears a golden crown on her head and is in the sitting or kneeling position. Her right hand is raised in the Thai way of beckoning a customer, with the palm of the hand curved and pointing downwards. Her left hand is resting on her side or holds a bag full of gold near her lap.
The present iconographic figure of Nang Kwak is an incarnation of Mae Po Sop (แม่โพสพ), the Siamese rice goddess. However, unlike Mae Po Sop, Nang Kwak does not wear the harvested rice sheaf on her right shoulder. The iconography of Nang Kwak is based in the Hindu goddess Sri Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, fortune and prosperity.
The position of her hand in present-day iconography is similar to the Japanese Maneki Neko beckoning cat.
Nang Kwak is a benevolent spirit. She is deemed to bring luck, especially in the form of money, to the household. She is the patron deity of all merchants and salesmen. She can be seen in almost every business establishment in Thailand.
Thai people like to have a figurine or cloth poster (called a Pha Yant, or Yantra Cloth) of this goddess in their home or shop, where it is often placed by the shrine. Some people also wear amulets with her figure around the neck, which is a logical development, due to the fact that many people in Thailand must travel around to sell their wares, which makes a portable nang Kwak amulet the obvious choice for such a person.
Official source
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