What is the signifigance of the muay thai headband worn by fighters before the match starts?
Thailand is a land steeped in spiritual tradition, mysticism and many superstitions.
The combat art of muay thai also like many other Thai arts such as music, dance and massage, deeply connected with Thailand’s spiritual belief.
The mystic and magical beliefs of Thailand are not separate from muay thai and the magical headband or mongkol is one aspect of muay thai that displays this belief very strongly.
The mongkol is a unique aspect of muay thai which makes it distinct from other combat sports and martial arts.
The mongkol is part of the ceremonial preparations that a Thai boxer or nak muay must go through. This includes the Wai Khru or pre-fight ceremonial dance and also the Sak Yant or magical tattoos that many nak muay have on their bodies.
What is the Mongkol Made From?
The mongkol is the headband worn by muay thai fighters before a fight. The head band itself is made by weaving together treasured material such as the traditional Thai birth cloth, silk and even hair from a loved one.
Traditionally the Thai or Siam warriors of old would tie treasured cloth around their heads and arms and chant Buddhist incantations and prayers before battle believing it would bring them luck and good fortune in their combat.
In the time of the Siam Kingdom or old Thailand, warriors would also use scrolls of Buddhist prayers that were rolled up in cloth and worn around the head.
Some Muslim fighters (particularly in the south of Thailand) place scrolls of Quranic verses inside the mongkol.
Each mongkol also has a sacred amulet in its configuration in addition to the religious scrolls placed at the tail of the mongkol.
Who Wears the Mongkol?
Wearing of the mongkol is not restricted to only ethnic Thai boxers. Westerners in observing muay thai traditions also wear the mongkol when fighting under muay thai rules.
Traditionally the muay thai gym keeps one mongkol that is worn by all fighters in the camp. It can be very old and passed down from generations.
For the fighter the gyms community mongkol represents the hard work and respect for the gym and all the fighters past and present who are part of the camp.
The mongkol is a Thai tradition and related combat arts such as Lethwei from Myanmar and Khun Khmer from Cambodia do not include the wearing of the mongkol.
This makes it uniquely Thai in tradition and practice.
As the mongkol is related to Buddhist and other Thai religious and spiritual beliefs it is always worn by Muslim fighters. They instead wear the traditional keffiyehs or may place the mongkol on top of the keffiyeh.
Below you can see one of the greatest muay thai fighters of all time, Namsaknoi, who is also Muslim, wearing the keffiyeh while performing the Wai Kru.
What is the Significance of Mongkol in Muay Thai?
The mongkol will only be worn by fighters after their trainer and camp accept that the student has earned the right to represent their gym or camp.
The trainer must fully recognize that the fighter has trained hard and is a dedicated student and will represent the gym through wearing the mongkol with honor and respect.
A gyms mongkol can be passed down across generations and worn by many fighters out of the particular gym or camp. Each camp has their own unique mongkol that holds good fortune and positive spiritual energy of the camp and its fighters.
For the wearer of the mongkol, the headband represents their gratitude to the teacher and the gym for helping the fighter along their path to becoming a true nak muay.
The path to become a thai fighter is very arduous and difficult and the culmination of this is being recognized by the gym and trainer as being worthy to wear the mongkol.
Blessing of the Mongkol
As a sacred object, the mongkol must be blessed by a Buddhist monk prior to fights. They are blessed on a fairly regular basis at temples.
For Muslim fighters, the mongkol can be blessed by a Immam.
The ceremonial blessing involves chanting of Buddhist incantations and prayers and even the placement of a Buddhist prayer scroll in the tail of the head band. Often these scrolls are linked with Sak Yant that the nak muay has on their body.
The blessing ceremony takes place with the monk holding the mongkol on the fighters head and chanting and then blowing on the mongkol.
Placement of the Mongkol and Thai Beliefs
In Thai tradition and belief the feet is the lowest and most unclean part of the body, both physically and spiritually.
The head is the most sacred and held in highest respect.
Traditional Sak Yant of tattoos worn by Thai boxers usually have the most powerful tattoos closer to the head or higher up on the body to ‘control’ and influence the tattoos lower down on the body.
Therefore the sacred muay thai headband is very highly regarded as it is worn on the head.
The mongkol itself must never ever touch the ground and it is usually hung up in a high place in the gym of the muay thai fighter.
This is so nothing can ‘pass over’ the top of the mongkol which keeps its spiritual and magical powers at their height and wards off bad luck. It is also a sign of great respect and reverence for the sacred headband.
Mongkol Tradition Before the Fight
As the sacred muay thai headband must always be kept in a high place, when it is placed on the fighters head it must never pass under the ropes or even between the ropes before entering the ring.
Therefore all male thai fighters will step over the ropes before entering the ring with the mongkol on his head. The mongkol is placed on the male fighter head by the trainer before he enters the ring over the top ropes.
Female fighters traditionally are seen as bringing bad luck to the blessed ring due to the fact that they menstruate and so must pass under the ropes when they enter the ring for muay thai fights.
However, the mongkol must never be passed under the ropes so close to the ground so female fighters will have the mongkol placed on their heads after they enter the ring.
The mongkol is worn during the pre-fight dance or Wai Khru Ram Muay and is remains on the head when the fighters meet at the center of the ring with the ref and shake hands or touch gloves.
The mongkol is again further prayed over by the trainer just prior to the commencement of the fight and then removed by the trainer.
