You have the thing; you don't have its name. Answer the questions a sian would ask — in the sian's order — and meet the kinds it could be.
36 kinds · 7,379 listing-echoes in the living market · class and keeping read from the vault vocabulary · the ways in: by material · by need · the market
The sian's first question, because material gates age and workshop. Surfaces and what they can tell a patient reader have their own page: เนื้อ · by material.
The figure or form — tap the nearest. “Can't tell” keeps every door open.
No resident · nobody home — nothing owed, adopt freely · history is a price question, not a safety one ไม่มีผู้อยู่ · ไม่ต้องเลี้ยง
phra somdet · the classic pressed-powder Buddha tablet
A rectangular pressed tablet of sacred powder bearing a seated Buddha in an arch — the most copied, most collected amulet form there is. Power is the maker's barami and the consecration; nobody is home.
382 listings in the living market · ฿49–฿399 typical · median ฿137
2 manuscript titles · named on 122 treatise pages
in the corpus · the living market Tradition · vault vocabulary
phra kring · the rattling cast-metal Buddha
A small cast Buddha with a pellet sealed inside — shake it and it chimes. Cast in bronze or nawaloha in the Chinese-Tibetan medicine-Buddha line.
28 listings in the living market · ฿39–฿509 typical · median ฿94
in the corpus · the living market Tradition · vault vocabulary
phra pidta · the eyes-covered Buddha
A figure with hands over its eyes — the shut-away senses. Pressed powder or cast metal; worked for warding and for wealth that slips past notice.
157 listings in the living market · ฿59–฿558 typical · median ฿100
named on 27 treatise pages
in the corpus · the living market Tradition · vault vocabulary
rian phra kechi · a monk's portrait medallion
A struck coin-form medallion carrying a revered monk's portrait, name and temple, usually dated to the batch (รุ่น). The most datable of all forms — the coin itself says when.
146 listings in the living market · ฿49–฿259 typical · median ฿97
in the corpus · the living market Tradition · vault vocabulary
rup lo · a cast monk figure
A small cast statue of a monk seated in meditation — the medallion's three-dimensional cousin, from pendant size up to the altar.
82 listings in the living market · ฿42–฿541 typical · median ฿99
named on 4 treatise pages
in the corpus · the living market Inference · this page's curation
phra kru · a cache-find amulet
An amulet recovered from a sealed temple cache (กรุ) — fired earth or chin alloy more often than powder, with the crust and mineral bloom of centuries in the chamber. Age is the whole question; the surface is the testimony.
34 listings in the living market · ฿69–฿258 typical · median ฿134
named on 14 treatise pages
in the corpus · the living market Inference · this page's curation
khun phaen · the Khun Phaen tablet
A pressed tablet in the classic arch — named for the epic's charm-master, and the one amulet whose material story matters as much as its form. Some are pure powder; some are worked with necromantic material, and the difference does not show on the surface.
✳ The sharpest seam in the whole register, measured not decreed: Buddha-amulet FORM, but many makings carry prai-kuman MATERIAL. Its upkeep is an amulet's; its provenance question is a spirit-object's. Ask what went into the batch.
317 listings in the living market · ฿59–฿450 typical · median ฿169
named on 25 treatise pages
in the corpus · the living market Tradition · vault vocabulary
phra phong bai lan · burnt-manuscript-ash amulet
Pressed from the ash of burnt palm-leaf manuscripts — the same leaves this archive catalogues, at a later moment of their life. A treatise here gives the recipe outright: inscribe five leaves with katha, burn, mix with lacquer, roll.
20 listings in the living market · ฿61–฿599 typical · median ฿299
in the corpus · the living market Inference · this page's curation
phra siwali · the never-hungry monk
The arahant who never lacked — staff over shoulder, umbrella and kettle — carried for provision that arrives on time. Statue and pendant, venerated as an ordinary amulet.
36 listings in the living market · ฿11–฿474 typical · median ฿89
named on 8 treatise pages
in the corpus · the living market Inference · this page's curation
chan mak · the master's chewed betel
A quid of betel a revered monk himself chewed, dried and kept — a bodily relic in the most literal sense, priced accordingly in the living market. Power is the master's barami; keeping is plain respect.
kept in the tradition; not seen in this market crawl
named on 1 treatise page
in the corpus · the living market Inference · this page's curation
No resident · nobody home — nothing owed, adopt freely · history is a price question, not a safety one ไม่มีผู้อยู่ · ไม่ต้องเลี้ยง
locket · a photograph locket
A monk's photograph sealed under glass or resin, often with powder, hair, or robe-cloth packed behind the image — a portable reliquary in costume jewellery's clothes.
116 listings in the living market · ฿47–฿492 typical · median ฿149
in the corpus · the living market Tradition · vault vocabulary
takrut · an inscribed scroll-tube
A sheet of metal — or palm-leaf, or skin — inscribed with a yantra and rolled tight, worn on a cord at the waist or neck. Power lives in the inscription and the rite that closed it. The treatises this site keeps are full of what gets written inside.
700 listings in the living market · ฿59–฿450 typical · median ฿159
named on 199 treatise pages
in the corpus · the living market Tradition · vault vocabulary
pha yan · an inscribed yantra cloth
A cloth square or banner drawn with grids, figures and script — hung over a door, folded into a pocket, or worn. The drawn designs have their own index here: /yant.
382 listings in the living market · ฿19–฿235 typical · median ฿98
named on 11 treatise pages
in the corpus · the living market Tradition · vault vocabulary
bia kae · the warding cowrie
A cowrie shell loaded with sealed mercury and bound in cord or foil — the classic 'undoer' that turns aside harm and bad medicine. The formulary in this corpus carries a making ascribed to Luang Pu Bun of Wat Klang Bang Kaew.
274 listings in the living market · ฿39–฿494 typical · median ฿119
named on 3 treatise pages
in the corpus · the living market Inference · this page's curation
mit mo · the ritual knife
A knife forged and inscribed as an instrument of the doctor-of-spirits — for cutting what binds, not what bleeds. Manuscript 6983 in this corpus records a ten-iron forge recipe from Wat Pradu Song Tham.
167 listings in the living market · ฿76–฿1,150 typical · median ฿299
named on 5 treatise pages
in the corpus · the living market Inference · this page's curation
phaya tao ruean · the turtle of steady wealth
The house-turtle amulet in the line of Luang Pu Liu — slow money that stays, long life, a household that holds. Blessed object, no resident.
353 listings in the living market · ฿72–฿350 typical · median ฿135
named on 8 treatise pages
in the corpus · the living market Inference · this page's curation
salika · the golden-tongued myna
The paired myna birds of sweet speech — carried by sellers, suitors and anyone who must be believed. Usually a small couple of birds in metal or wood, or the yantra of them; the yant index here draws the design.
125 listings in the living market · ฿39–฿490 typical · median ฿190
named on 13 treatise pages
in the corpus · the living market Inference · this page's curation
No resident · nobody home — nothing owed, adopt freely · history is a price question, not a safety one ไม่มีผู้อยู่ · ไม่ต้องเลี้ยง
waan · the charged living tuber
A plant of power — a rhizome or tuber grown, dried, carved or potted, its virtue in the species and the keeping. The one kind on this page that can still be alive; some keepers water theirs.
330 listings in the living market · ฿59–฿400 typical · median ฿149
1 manuscript title · named on 219 treatise pages
in the corpus · the living market Inference · this page's curation
khiao suea · the tiger fang
A fang — tiger classically — carved or capped in metal, its power in the animal's own authority. Natural talisman: nothing conferred, nothing to feed. Modern pieces are mostly carved substitutes, which the honest seller says.
173 listings in the living market · ฿69–฿3,860 typical · median ฿300
named on 48 treatise pages
in the corpus · the living market Tradition · vault vocabulary
lek lai · the living metal
A dark lustrous metal the tradition holds to be alive — drawn from caves by rite, said to drink honey and turn aside blades. Power inherent in the thing itself; the category every faker loves, which is its own caution.
32 listings in the living market · ฿62–฿264 typical · median ฿94
named on 5 treatise pages
in the corpus · the living market Tradition · vault vocabulary
kala ta diao · the one-eyed coconut
A coconut shell with a single eye where every normal shell has three — a natural anomaly, not a crafted thing, carved (often into Rahu) or kept whole. The rarity IS the charm.
267 listings in the living market · ฿69–฿582 typical · median ฿199
in the corpus · the living market Tradition · vault vocabulary
khot kala · the coconut-shell concretion
A stone-hard concretion found grown inside a coconut — one of the คด family of impossible stones found in living things. Kept whole as found; power inherent, none to feed.
10 listings in the living market · ฿95–฿199 typical · median ฿169
in the corpus · the living market Tradition · vault vocabulary
A deva venerated through it · kept with respect: offerings and regard, not meals · worth asking who kept it ถวายความเคารพ
thao wetsuwan · the guardian-king
The northern guardian-king of the yaksha, club in hand — statue, pendant and gate-plaque. A deva venerated through the object: offerings and respect, not meals.
468 listings in the living market · ฿27–฿360 typical · median ฿89
named on 8 treatise pages
in the corpus · the living market Tradition · vault vocabulary
phaya khrut · the garuda
The king of birds, wings spread — authority, safe passage, and debt that dares not follow. Cast in metal from pendant to standard.
166 listings in the living market · ฿29–฿299 typical · median ฿100
named on 13 treatise pages
in the corpus · the living market Tradition · vault vocabulary
phra rahu · the eclipse-swallower
Rahu swallowing the moon, classically carved into a one-eyed coconut shell — the astrological remedy worn by those in a Rahu period. This site's almanac pages keep the sky half of the story.
347 listings in the living market · ฿49–฿450 typical · median ฿139
1 manuscript title · named on 20 treatise pages
in the corpus · the living market Tradition · vault vocabulary
nang kwak · the beckoning lady
The shop-keeper's lady, hand raised in the customer-calling gesture — shelf statue and pendant both. Venerated with respect and small offerings; every market in the country works under her hand.
420 listings in the living market · ฿73–฿1,444 typical · median ฿290
named on 16 treatise pages
in the corpus · the living market Tradition · vault vocabulary
An animation compelled to serve · kept with respect: offerings and regard, not meals · worth asking who kept it ถวายความเคารพ
hun phayon · the animated effigy
A figure of cloth, wax, wood or metal, animated by yantra and spell to serve and guard — a compelled animation rather than a named ghost. Manuscript 6983 gives two makings, and this site keeps a working companion at /hun.
345 listings in the living market · ฿89–฿669 typical · median ฿299
named on 9 treatise pages
in the corpus · the living market · forge one at /hun Tradition · vault vocabulary
A raised child-spirit lives in it · kept as family: fed, named, spoken to · ask its whole story before it comes home เลี้ยงดูอย่างคนในบ้าน
kuman thong · the raised child-spirit
A child figure that is not a depiction but a home: a bound child-spirit, raised as family — fed sweet red drink and rice, named, spoken to, asked for help. The corpus holds the historical making in full, framed as ethnography, at manuscript 6983.
429 listings in the living market · ฿59–฿490 typical · median ฿159
54 manuscript titles · named on 62 treatise pages
in the corpus · the living market Tradition · vault vocabulary
A ghost of untimely death, bound by rite · a knower's keeping: fed, and closed properly when set down · ask its whole story before it comes home เลี้ยง และปิดให้ถูกเมื่อวางมือ
luk krok · the preserved-foetus spirit
A small preserved or effigy foetus-form, kept in oil or cloth — kuman-adjacent in the raising, prai-adjacent in the origin. Of all the kinds on this page, the one whose history most deserves asking in full.
✳ Raised like a kuman, made from untimely death like a prai — the vocabulary places it with prai as the more careful reading, and marks the line splittable by a knower.
8 listings in the living market · ฿47–฿269 typical · median ฿163
named on 4 treatise pages
in the corpus · the living market Tradition · vault vocabulary
nam man phrai · prai oil
An oil rendered by rite from a ghost of violent or untimely death, sold in vials and worked mostly for compulsion in love and trade. The tier the tradition itself cautions hardest about: fed, and closed properly when set down.
43 listings in the living market · ฿138–฿1,073 typical · median ฿249
named on 3 treatise pages
in the corpus · the living market Tradition · vault vocabulary
nang phrai · the lady-ghost vessel
A female ghost of untimely death housed in a figure or locket — the classic แม่นางพราย of the caution-tales. Keeping is a knower's work in the vocabulary's plain words: feeding, and correct closing.
5 listings in the living market · ฿129–฿4,100 typical · median ฿200
named on 1 treatise page
in the corpus · the living market Tradition · vault vocabulary
Real ambiguities, recorded rather than resolved: each of these kinds is genuinely filed two ways by the tradition itself. The uncertainty is the accurate answer.
palat khik · the phallic charm
A carved or cast phallic rod, pocket-carried for luck, trade and protection — one of the oldest charm forms in the region, and one the tradition itself files two different ways.
✳ The vault vocabulary deliberately does not assign this a class: an impersonal luck-and-commerce charm to some keepers, a guardian-spirit vessel to others. It needs a knower, and the page says so rather than deciding.
267 listings in the living market · ฿59–฿300 typical · median ฿99
named on 5 treatise pages
in the corpus · the living market Tradition · vault vocabulary
si phueng · charm wax
A wax or balm in a small tin, touched to lips or brow before speaking, selling, courting. The corpus's formulary holds attraction-wax recipes; what a given pot is depends on whose hands made it.
✳ Class depends entirely on the making — some waxes are herbal and impersonal, some are prai-worked. The pot does not say; the maker's lineage does.
236 listings in the living market · ฿25–฿399 typical · median ฿149
named on 38 treatise pages
in the corpus · the living market Inference · this page's curation
rup phra ruesi · the hermit-teacher figure
The tiger-skinned hermit sage — the tradition's own teacher-figure, honoured at every wai khru. A treatise in this corpus gives a moulding recipe: termite-mound earth and seven named leaves, shaped into the Great Lersi.
✳ The class vocabulary does not yet carry the lersi as a member term; most keepers treat the figure as a teacher venerated on wai-khru days rather than a resident to feed. Carried here ahead of its vocabulary entry.
99 listings in the living market · ฿69–฿890 typical · median ฿129
3 manuscript titles · named on 163 treatise pages
in the corpus · the living market Inference · this page's curation
ai khai · the temple boy of Wat Chedi
The boy-spirit of Wat Chedi in Sichon, the biggest devotional wave since Jatukham — asked for lottery luck and repaid in firecrackers and toy soldiers. The amulet carries the devotion; the vow-keeping is the keeping.
✳ The largest new devotion of the era and not yet in the class vocabulary. Kept mostly as a votive relationship — ask, promise, and deliver what you promised — rather than as a fed dependent; a knower may file it more precisely.
407 listings in the living market · ฿29–฿259 typical · median ฿78
in the corpus · the living market Inference · this page's curation
chuchok · the beggar who never left empty-handed
The jataka's tireless beggar, carried by sellers and askers on the logic that no one ever refused him. A statue-and-pendant devotion of the marketplace.
✳ Not in the class vocabulary; kept by traders as an asking-figure — venerated, not fed — and filed here ahead of a knower's ruling.
8 listings in the living market · ฿44–฿5,995 typical · median ฿104
56 manuscript titles
in the corpus · the living market Inference · this page's curation