Giant gargoyle-like statue stirs controversy in Bangkok: is it lucky or sacrilegious?
- The 5-metre-tall Kru Kai Kaew statue – a bald, winged man with fangs and talons – was installed outside the four-star Bazaar Hotel earlier this month
- He is regarded by some as a ‘god of wealth’ but by others as ‘something random’ and even alien to Buddhism and sacrilegious
A huge black statue of an emaciated, winged figure with golden fangs and scarlet talons glares down on a busy Bangkok street, its sudden appearance triggering alarm and calls for its removal.
Bangkok authorities have ordered an investigation after the five-metre-tall Kru Kai Kaew statue – a bald, gargoyle-like man sitting cross-legged – was installed earlier this month outside the four-star Bazaar Hotel.
The capital of Buddhist Thailand has countless shrines to spirits and deities, big and small, and many pray and leave offerings in the belief that they will intervene and bring good fortune.
But the new figure, regarded by some as a “god of wealth” but by others as alien to Buddhism and even sacrilegious, is causing controversy.
There are calls for the statue, installed on August 9 and then formally inaugurated with a prayer ceremony on Sunday, to be moved or disposed of.
“When you worship something, it has to come with Buddhist belief,” said the Artists’ Council for the promotion of Buddhism of Thailand, which has asked the hotel to remove the statue.
