ATTRACTED BY A COLLECTION OF MESMERIZING ITEMS IN THAI TAXIS, DALE KONSTANZ DOCUMENTS THAI TAXI INTERIORS, RESEARCHES THE MYSTICAL OBJECTS HE CAME ACROSS, AND COMPILES THEM INTO THE BOOK WHICH MIRRORS THE QUINTESSENTIAL THAI CULTURE
TEXT: TUNYAPORN HONGTONG
PHOTO: KETSIREE WONGWAN
(For Thai, press here)
Dale Konstanz
River Books, 2012
9.26 x 0.47 x 10.03 inches
159 pages
Paperback
ISBN 978-6-167-33908-5
The arrival of ride-hailing services like Uber and Grab has not only negatively impacted local taxi companies, with some that have eventually gone out of business, but it has also rendered some of us passengers to be unable to give taxi drivers directions to where we want to go without the use of technology. This is due to how convenient Google Maps has made everything. Many of us have never given it any thought prior to reading this particular book, but there is another aspect that is disappearing as grab vehicles become the go-to choice for contemporary commuters.
The incident in question involved getting into a Thai taxi that was decorated with the quintessential Thai style of decoration, primarily with talismans and superstitious items.
There were days when Bangkok’s streets were filled with colorful yellow, blue, red, green, and pink taxis. In almost every taxi you hailed, you would notice at least one type of talisman inside the vehicle when you enter the back seat (if the driver didn’t decline your request for a ride, that is). It might be a white yantra drawing on the ceiling, a colorful garland hung around the rearview mirror, a tiny figurine of Nang Gwak, a female angel who is thought to aid in business prosperity, a neatly arranged collection of amulets, or all of the aforementioned. We Thai people, who are not exactly from the younger generation, were exposed and used to encounter this frequently when we were young. We didn’t get excited when we saw these exotic items in a cab and we typically took them for granted. The interior of Thai taxis, however, is like a wonderland that most foreigners have never known.
Dale Konstanz is one of those foreigners. He relied heavily on taxis when he first moved to Bangkok in 2003, at the time when the local taxi industry was booming. It didn’t take him long to begin noticing the interior decorations each driver had added to his or her vehicle. He gradually began to acquire more knowledge about the talismans. A few years later, he started the “Thai Taxi Talismans” book project by photographing the interiors of the taxis he used while he was living in Bangkok.
Dale researched the various talismans he saw adorning Thai taxi interiors while documenting them in the style of street photography. The objects he came across and got to know over time ranges from statues of Buddha, revered Thai monks, Katyayana, Ganesha, feng shui talismans, and statues or trinkets of Nang Kwak, the beckoning cat, or fortune banknotes. He looked further into their meanings and where to purchase them. Thanks to the thorough research the author did, “Thai Taxi Talismans” is a fantastic compilation of stories about the holy items revered by Thai taxi drivers and how these sacred, superstitious objects have long existed as an integral part of Thai culture and beliefs. Not only that, the book holds the value of an interesting documentation of contemporary Thai culture at a time when Grab cars are growing in popularity and the old-fashioned Thai taxis are dwindling in number.
But the portrayal of quintessential Thainess in this book doesn’t end there. The tales of mystical items and talismans told in “Thai Taxi Talismans” mirror several aspects of Thai culture. The most evident characteristic has to be how deeply rooted these superstitious beliefs are in Thai society, and how they are perfectly normalized by people from all economic backgrounds, not just taxi drivers. As seen by how one can worship Ganesh, Katyayana, Chinese banknotes, the Japanese beckoning cat, and the fortunate golden pig all at once, it’s apparent that Thai people have embraced all kinds of beliefs, from Buddhism, Hinduism, and Chinese to ghosts and spirits. Perhaps the “Thai-ness” and the many attempts to define the word, and the pride some people take in what the word stands for, aren’t entirely rooted in what we think or believe to be Thai. The majority of Thai people aren’t even interested in learning about the origins or significance of these talismans from all these different cultures. They just have faith that those who worship these artifacts will be blessed by them.
Many of us are aware that there are certain, if not many, things in Thai society that are highly paradoxical. While most Thais are Buddhists and a Buddha statue can be commonly found in a person’s home or car, not that many care to look into the very core of the Buddhist teachings and how they are based on the concept of “letting go.” On the contrary, Thai people place a high value on money over several other things, from those who work in low-paying jobs like taxi drivers, who use these talismans as a mental anchor while struggling to make ends meet, to those who are well off and still revere these holy objects in hopes of becoming even richer.
Perhaps these talismans, as opposed to items with a characteristically Thai appearance, better convey the essence of “Thai-ness.”
These sarcastic and somewhat humorous takes are perhaps what many pick up from browsing through “Thai Taxi Talismans,” just like the fun and humor-filled storytelling Dale manages to deliver. Some of the book’s best parts include when the author lightheartedly compares a revered Thai monk’s statue facing the windshield to a meditation session in the middle of Bangkok’s tumultuous traffic, or when he describes the interior decoration of Thai taxis as “More is More,” made up of a diverse array of objects from talismans to knitted fabrics used to cover the transmission stick and the driver’s seat’s headrest, or the circular pillow with beautifully creased and glittery covers placed on the rear deck of the car.
