A palad khik (ปลัดขิก) is a Thai charm carved in the shape of a male phallus, most often from wood. It is traditionally worn on a cord at the side of the waist, and larger pieces are kept in shops or given at shrines [1], [2], [3]. Scholars trace it to two roots: the Shiva lingam of Brahmanical Hinduism and older Tai spirit beliefs, in which the object was used to deceive or appease spirits [1], [2]. Most pieces are consecrated by a monk or lay ritual specialist, and many carry formulas in Khom script [1], [3], [7].
Key facts
| Fact | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Thai names | ปลัดขิก; also อ้ายขิก / ไอ้ขิก, ขุนเพ็ด; ดอกไม้เจ้า when given at shrines; ทองพระขุน in the royal register | [2], [3], [4] |
| Pronunciation | Royal Institute romanisation pa-lat-khik; Paiboon bpà-làt-kìk | [4] |
| Meaning of the name | palad "honoured deputy, substitute", or from Sanskrit pārśva, "side"; khik "phallus" | [1], [2], [5] |
| Origin theories | Shaiva lingam worship; Tai spirit belief | [1], [2] |
| Materials | Wood, stone, plaster, bone, ivory, horn, coral, bronze, brass, copper, silver | [1], [3], [7] |
| How it is carried | On a cord at one side of the waist, under clothing; never above the waist | [1], [2] |
| Best-known makers | Luang Pho Ee, Wat Sattahip (Chonburi); Luang Pho Lue, Wat Sao Chaongok (Chachoengsao) | [1], [2], [7] |
| Early scholarship | Bruno Friedman, "Thai Phallic Amulets", Journal of the Siam Society 65 (2), 1977 | [1] |
What does palad khik mean?
The name joins two words. In 1977 Bruno Friedman, writing in the Journal of the Siam Society, reported that a Thai scholar told him palad means "honoured deputy" or "honoured substitute" and khik means "penis" [1]. He also noted that the folklorist Phya Anuman Rajadhon considered the alternative prefix ai (อ้าย) a somewhat derogatory word for a male, and knew no definition for khik [1].
A 2022 article in the Journal of MCU Ubon Review, by Phanudet Jariyathitinant and Phongpitch Sawongram, sets out the competing etymologies [2]. Palad (ปลัด) is the ordinary Thai word for a deputy or subordinate position [2], [3]. One account holds that the first makers held the monastic rank Phra Khru Palad or Phra Palad [2]. Another, which the article attributes to the Office of the Royal Society and Sema Tha Phra, derives palad from Sanskrit pārśva (ปรัศวะ or ปรัศว์; written ปราศวะ in Thai Wikipedia), "side", because the charm hangs at the side of the waist [2], [3], [4]. The Sanskrit word means the region of the ribs, the side or the flank [5].
For khik, the same article gives three explanations [2]:
- an imitation of giggling (ขิกๆ), from people who laughed on seeing the charm tied to a child;
- an Isan (northeastern Thai) word for a small hollow wooden bell hung on a cow's neck, whose shape resembles the charm;
- an old word for the organ that fell out of polite use and was replaced by derivatives of Pali guyha (คุยฺห).
Other Thai names for the palad khik
The Royal Institute dictionary of 2011, as quoted in the 2022 article, defines ปลัดขิก as carved wood in the shape of a phallus, in various sizes, used as a votive offering at goddess shrines [2]. It lists the alternative names ขุนเพ็ด (khun phet), ทองระอา (thong ra-a) and ดอกไม้เจ้า (dok mai chao) [2]. A Royal Institute radio script broadcast on 2 July 2013 adds อ้ายขิก / ไอ้ขิก and the royal-register term ทองพระขุน (thong phra khun) [2]. Thai Wikipedia and Wiktionary record the same set of names [3], [4].
How to pronounce palad khik
The Royal Institute romanisation is pa-lat-khik, and the Paiboon system writes bpà-làt-kìk: three short syllables, each with a low tone [4]. The final consonant of ปลัด is an unreleased "t" sound, which is why English spellings vary between "palad khik" and "palat khik" [4], [1], [14].
Where did the palad khik come from?
No source gives a firm date for the start of the custom in Thailand [3]. Friedman spent some time on the question and reached "no definite answer" [1]. Two lines of explanation recur in the literature.
The Shiva lingam theory
A lingam (Sanskrit liṅga, "sign, symbol or mark") is the aniconic emblem of the Hindu god Shiva, usually a short cylindrical pillar set in a disc-shaped base called a yoni [6]. Lingams reached Southeast Asia with Shaiva cults; surviving examples include a mukhalinga of the 6th–7th century from Óc Eo in Vietnam and lingams of the Angkor period in Cambodia [6]. In Thailand, the 2022 article points to the Shaiva sanctuary of Phanom Rung in Buriram, where a large lingam served as the principal image [2].
Friedman judged that the custom "appears" to derive originally from Shiva worship [1]. He recorded a legend from a 1967 Thai amulet magazine: Brahmin priests shrank the lingam to a portable size, and in Thailand Buddhist spells later replaced Brahmanical ones [1]. The 2022 article argues along similar lines, that small lingams of stone or metal made for household and personal worship became the prototype of the modern charm [2].
Friedman also noted a clear difference of form. A temple lingam is little more than a pole with a rounded end, while a palad khik is realistic [1]. He kept the name "Shiva lung", which some young men used, for the large wooden phalluses at spirit shrines, not for the small charm worn on the body [1].
The spirit-belief theory
The second root is Tai belief in spirits (phi) [2]. The 2022 article describes a custom of "deceiving spirits": a phallus carved with a retracted foreskin was tied at a small boy's waist so that spirits would take him for a grown man and leave him alone [2]. Friedman reported two protective ideas: keeping sharp objects from penetrating the body, and acting as a "surrogate" that drew a malevolent spirit away from the boy's own genitalia, which is why it hangs to one side [1].
Friedman linked this to a wider Thai belief that malevolent spirits are repelled by the sight of sexual objects [1]. As far as he could discover, the waist-worn phallic charm was unique in Asia, with the possible exception of Laos [1].
Palad khik at shrines and in village ritual
Large carved phalluses are also given as offerings. The 2022 article reports that at rural shrines believed to house female spirits, people whose petitions have been granted give carvings of various sizes as votive thanks (แก้บน) [2]. This is the sense of the dictionary name ดอกไม้เจ้า [2].
The Chao Mae Tuptim shrine in Bangkok
The best-known example in Bangkok is the Chao Mae Tuptim shrine beside Khlong Saen Saep, on the Nai Lert Park estate [11], [12]. English Wikipedia credits the businessman Nai Lert (1872–1945) with creating it in the first quarter of the 20th century and counts well over 100 carved phalluses there [11]. A plaque at the entrance states that the origin of the cult is unknown [12]. Le Petit Journal describes the offerings as mostly wood but also stone, cement and polystyrene, from a few dozen centimetres to more than 2.5 metres tall [12].
A royal ban and later clean-ups
Official disapproval is old. The 2022 article quotes a decree of King Rama I preserved in the Three Seals Law (new decree no. 35). The decree ordered phallic objects removed from spirit shrines, because royal scholars found no basis for them in the Tipitaka and foreign traders might look down on the capital [2]. According to the article, phallic shrines in Bangkok were cleared from the early Rattanakosin period onward and survive mainly in the countryside, for example at the Nang Kaeo shrine on Doi Nang Kaeo, between Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai [2].
The same tension appears in modern times. In October 2014, officials at a marine national park in Krabi cleared phallic offerings from a cave shrine to a local sea goddess, saying the growing clutter was harming its reputation [13].
The widow-ghost scare in Isan
Village use continues. In February 2018 Thai Post reported from Ban Na Chueak Yai and neighbouring villages in Pla Pak district, Nakhon Phanom. Villagers hung straw figures in red shirts, with large red-tipped palad khik and "no men here" signs, at their gates [10]. About five men aged 40–50 in the area had died in their sleep within roughly a month, and villagers blamed a "widow ghost" (ผีแม่ม่าย) seeking husbands [10]. The report gave no medical cause of death [10]. The 2022 article describes the same red-shirted figure and red-tipped phallus as a northeastern custom [2].
Palad khik materials and inscriptions
The basic form is simple: an erect phallus with a defined, uncovered tip, a slit or hole for the meatus, and no testicles [1], [3]. Friedman listed stone, wood, plaster, elephant bone, ivory and bronze, and saw small gold pieces strung on gold chains around a son's waist [1]. Thai Wikipedia adds sacred woods, brass, copper, coral, horn and animal tusks or fangs, sized to suit the wearer [3]. Thairath describes silver castings by the lay master Ajarn Heng Phraiwan of Wat Sakae, Ayutthaya [7].
Most pieces carry a formula (khatha) in Khom script, which Friedman called Old Cambodian [1]. He noted that an inscription was not essential, and that Khom was favoured partly because Pali has no script of its own [1]. Formulas were inscribed or inked by hand; the one exception he saw was three wooden pieces at Wat Sattahip ("Wat Luang Paw Ee"), about 8 cm long, made by a young attendant monk with the formula stamped in by a metal die [1].
Recurring syllables are the two-word "heart of the robber" (hua chai chon) formula—transliterated gunha and neha by Friedman—and the syllable u (อุ), with distinct maker layouts [1], [7]. According to Thairath, Luang Pho Lue's pieces spell it with no nu (กันหะเนนะ), add lines such as อุมะอุมิ or อิติกะริ อิติกะตา on the shaft, and place three to five อุ around the front tip (resembling the Thai numeral 3 when written quickly), whereas Luang Pho Ee's spell it with no nen (กัณหะ เนนะ), place a circular dot (phinthu, "Indra's eye") at the base of the neck, and write อุ and อิ on the tip [7]. Collectors use these features to tell makers apart [7].
Who actually carves them
Friedman observed that a senior monk usually did not carve the charms himself. Temple boys or a lay craftsman made them, and the monk added a Pali incantation and perhaps the inscription [1]. Thai Wikipedia notes that some devotees carve a piece themselves and then ask a monk they respect to consecrate (ปลุกเสก) it [3].
This sits uneasily with canonical Theravada teaching. The Samaññaphala Sutta (Dīgha Nikāya 2) lists "giving protective charms" among the "animal" arts from which a monk abstains [16]. The 2022 article discusses this tension directly, and argues that the charm survived because Thai Buddhism absorbed older spirit and Brahmanical practice [2].
Palad khik forms, including the monkey rider
Friedman grouped the charms into four main types [1]:
- the plain basic form;
- the same form with legs added, usually two hind legs and sometimes four;
- a spread-eagled female figure lying on her back atop the shaft;
- the monkey rider, in which a monkey either lies along the shaft and clasps it, or sits upright on it like a jockey.
He also recorded pieces with several heads, including one about 20 cm long with 13 heads, and black-coral pieces whose shapes followed the natural form of the material [1]. Thai Wikipedia says the monkey is taken to suggest agility and the female figure charm (เสน่ห์), and that some modern pieces are made as collectibles for foreign buyers [3].
Separate monkey charms (ลิง), such as those Thairath attributes to Luang Pho Ding of Wat Bang Wua, Chachoengsao, are a different type of object [7].
How is a palad khik worn or carried?
Traditionally it hangs on a cord at the waist, under clothing and to one side [1], [3]. Friedman stressed that it was never worn above the waist: being sexual, it was considered somewhat base, and the neck was reserved for revered Buddhist amulets [1]. The 2022 article, following a classification by the writer Sema Tha Phra, places the palad khik among "low-grade" charms (เครื่องรางชั้นต่ำ). These differ from "high-grade" Buddhist amulets worn between the head and the waist [2].
In principle a boy took the charm off at puberty, but Friedman found that many men kept wearing it. He disputed the view, common among educated urban Thais in the 1970s, that the custom was dying out [1]. He also saw owners carrying small pieces on key chains or in a pocket [1]. Thai Wikipedia records that boys sometimes wore it at the neck [3].
Larger pieces stand in shops, often at the front or by the cash drawer [2], [12]. In Thai popular belief the charm is associated with trade and with metta maha niyom, goodwill and popularity [2], [7], [8]. These associations are reported here as belief, not as fact.
Famous palad khik makers
The 2022 article names two monks as the founders of the Thai palad khik tradition [2].
Luang Pho Ee, Wat Sattahip
Phra Khru Worawet Muni (Ee Phutthasaro), known as Luang Pho Ee (หลวงพ่ออี๋), was the first abbot of Wat Sattahip in Chonburi [2], [8]. Naewna dates the temple to 1899 (BE 2442) and notes that locals call it Wat Luang Pho Ee [8]. In 1977 Friedman described him as renowned throughout the country, some years dead, and the standard against which other amulet-blessing monks were measured [1]. Naewna reported in July 2025 that traders still seek out the palad khik he consecrated [8].
Luang Pho Lue, Wat Sao Chaongok
Phra Khru Nanthathirachan (Lue Nanthasaro), known as Luang Pho Lue (หลวงพ่อเหลือ), was based at Wat Sao Chaongok in Bang Khla district, Chachoengsao [2], [7]. Friedman gives his birth year as BE 2406 (1863) [1]. Thairath ranks his palad khik first among the type, with Luang Pho Ee's as the alternative [7]. A 2024 Daily News amulet column dated one of his designs, the phim phet phaya thon (พิมพ์เพชรพญาธร), to about BE 2460–2480 (1917–1937) [9]. A 1967 amulet magazine quoted by Friedman judged Lue's pieces finer, with a graceful bend, and Ee's cruder and straighter [1].
Later monks and lay makers
The 2022 article names later monastic makers in the same line [2]:
- Phra Mongkhon Sutthikhun (Fu Atiphatto), Wat Bang Samak, Chachoengsao;
- Phra Phawana Wisutthisophon (Surasak Atisakkho), Wat Pradu, Samut Songkhram;
- Phra Khru Adun Wiriyakit (Luang Pho Euan Attamano), Wat Wang Daeng Tai, Ayutthaya.
It also names the lay makers Ajarn Heng Phraiwan and Ajarn Manat Siwaphiromrat, and notes that lay makers generally learned the craft from monks [2]. Thairath adds Luang Pho Si of Wat Pak Khlong Bang Khrok and Luang Pho But of Wat Phrom Wihan, both in Phetchaburi [7].
Palad khik in museums and collections
Friedman's 1977 note drew on his own collecting in Thailand. It illustrated pieces of wood, horn, lead and coral [1]. He met a collector in Samut Sakhon who had gathered "60 or 70" palad khik over 30 years, and found them on sale from amulet vendors across Bangkok [1].
The UBC Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver catalogues a Northern Thai amulet, item 3559/37, under the name "palad khik" [15]. In Bangkok, Time Out described the private Kamavijitra museum of erotic art in 2019 as holding a large selection of palat khik in various sizes, with visits by appointment only [14].