Mekaphat (Thai: เมฆพัด; also romanised Mek Phat or Mekphat) is a metal used for Thai amulets. It is made by old Thai alchemical methods [1], and collectors call amulets cast from it phra nuea mekaphat, meaning "amulets of Mekaphat material" [3][5]. The best-known examples are the phra pidta (covered-face) figures of Luang Pu Nak of Wat Huai Chorakhe, Nakhon Pathom, who made Mekaphat pidta from at least BE 2432 (1889) until his death in 1910 [5][6].
Name and spelling
The first part of the name, mek (เมฆ), is the everyday Thai word for "cloud". It comes from Sanskrit and Pali megha [7]. Collectors often write the name in other ways, such as เมฆพัตร. A Thairath amulet column says the correct spelling is เมฆพัด, not เมฆพัตร or เมฆพรรดิ์ [3]. A 2019 Siamrath article also gives เมฆพัตร as an accepted writing [5].
Definition and composition
Komchadluek quotes the Royal Institute dictionary's definition. The dictionary calls Mekaphat a metal made by smelting ores together (hung) and then throwing sulphur into the melt (sat). The result is glossy black with an indigo (khram) sheen [1].
Thai press accounts list lead and copper as the base metals [2][5]. Other writers give a longer list. A Sanook explainer names iron, copper, tin, lead, silver and gold. It notes that the choice and amount of each metal depended on the maker, so there was no single fixed recipe [8]. Thairath describes lead, copper and tin melted with sulphur and mercury [3].
Several sources add mercury and herbal ingredients (wan ya) during smelting. The herbs named include phlai dam, hing hai, mai mok pha, khing dam, krachai dam, sabu daeng and sabu lueat [2][5]. Komchadluek adds that incantations were recited while the metal was made [1]. The sources describe these methods as traditional practice. They do not report any laboratory analysis of the alloy.
How it is said to be made
The press describes a long, ritual smelting process. Thairath says the metals were melted for seven days and nights while chanting went on [3]. Komchadluek explains sat this way: each material is melted into liquid, and then the liquids are thrown together so that they fuse into one mass [1]. Two Thai newspapers describe the finished metal as brittle [2][3]. Thairath adds that it is hard but cracks easily when it is dropped or knocked [3].
One origin story appears in Thairath. It says the metal probably began in Nakhon Pathom, where alchemists trying to make gold added a yellow lump, which was sulphur, and got a black metal instead [3]. Komchadluek reports a separate tradition that credits Luang Pu Nak of Wat Huai Chorakhe as the first to discover the material [1]. Both are popular accounts. Neither is a documented history.
Documented makers
Luang Pu Nak (Phra Khru Patchimthit Borihan, Nak Chotiko), Wat Huai Chorakhe, Nakhon Pathom. He is the master most closely tied to Mekaphat [6]. According to Siamrath, he was born in BE 2358 (1815), ordained at 21, and died in BE 2453 (1910) aged 95 [5]. Thai Wikipedia also gives BE 2453 as the year he died, while abbot of Wat Huai Chorakhe [6]. Siamrath dates his Mekaphat pidta maha ut to BE 2432 (1889), the same year he received an ecclesiastical title [5]. Komchadluek counts five moulds (phim) of his pidta. Three are the most collected: thong faep (flat belly), thong pong (round belly) and hu kratai (rabbit ears) [2]. Thai Wikipedia names the same three [6].
Phra Ajarn Thap, Wat Anongkaram. Thairath lists him as a maker of Mekaphat amulets [3]. A second Thairath column, on Luang Pu Thap of Wat Anong (apparently the same monk), calls Mekasit his signature material [4]. The column describes one of his pieces whose front shows the colour of Mekaphat while worn spots on the back show the gold tone of Mekasit [4].
Other temples. Siamrath's amulet column describes a five-piece "benchaphakhi" set of Mekaphat pidta. The set groups Luang Pu Nak with pieces from Luang Pu Chan of Wat Ban Yang and Luang Pho Plong of Wat Lum Din, both in Ratchaburi. It also includes Luang Pu Thim of Wat Bang Pla and Luang Pho Tha of Wat Phaniang Taek, both in Nakhon Pathom [5]. Mekaphat was not used only for pidta. Thairath reports Mekaphat examples of the BE 2505 (1962) Luang Pho Thuad "tao rit" (flat-iron) amulet. It says these were family amulets made by Prince Chalermphol (องค์ชายกลาง) in gold, Mekaphat, nawaloha and ore metal, about a month before the Wat Chang Hai alloy issue in Pattani, and that the two are often wrongly treated as one batch [3].
Mekaphat and Mekasit
The two names often appear together. Sanook calls Mekasit a near-twin of Mekaphat, made by a similar process [8]. Komchadluek groups both under the old term len rae plaen that ("playing with ores, transforming elements"), the Thai name for this kind of alchemy [1]. Thairath separates them mainly by colour. Mekaphat comes out bluish-white after smelting. Mekasit has a gold-tinged green like a jewel beetle's wing, and a reddish tone is the second most popular [4]. The same column notes that old collectors soaked slow-to-colour Mekasit pieces in rainwater [4]. Sources give Mekasit's metals differently. Sanook lists silver, zinc, copper and mercury [8]; Thairath gives only copper melted with sulphur, with mercury added by some masters [4].
Identification
Authentication is mostly about the mould, the surface and how the metal looks. None of the cited sources gives a laboratory standard.
- Colour and lustre. Most descriptions agree on a black, glossy surface [1][2]. The sheen is described as indigo [1], bluish [8], or a greenish-black like a beetle's wing [5].
- Mould first. For Wat Huai Chorakhe pidta, Komchadluek treats the mould as the first test [2]. Thai Wikipedia notes their large heads and hands, and a back that is joined at the bottom but not pierced through [6].
- Inscription. Genuine Huai Chorakhe pieces should carry hand-cut inscriptions (lek jan). Luang Pu Nak's personal "Na Khongkha" yantra appears on some pieces but not all, and because it was cut by hand it varies [2]. Thai Wikipedia notes his inscriptions are often found on the pieces [6].
- Colour in the metal, not on it. For the BE 2505 Mekaphat Luang Pho Thuad pieces, Thairath says genuine examples show blue flecks inside the metal itself. Fakes often have ballpoint-ink dabs and a dull, drab surface [3].
- Imitations. Komchadluek reports many fakes on the market, with wrong moulds and materials that do not match the recorded originals [1].
Market reference points
These are past press figures, not current valuations. In 2012, Komchadluek put genuine Luang Pu Nak pidta of any mould in the mid hundreds of thousands of baht. Fine examples matching the reference pieces reached a million baht or more [2]. In 2023, Thairath put Mekaphat examples of the BE 2505 Luang Pho Thuad issue at roughly 100,000 to 200,000 baht [3].
Care and terminology
Thairath says Mekaphat cracks and breaks easily when dropped or knocked [3]. Useful terms:
- nuea means material.
- hung means to smelt ores together.
- sat means to throw sulphur or another ingredient into the melt.
- jan is a hand-cut inscription.
- pidta is the covered-face figure. Thai Wikipedia describes it as a small Buddha image with its hands raised over its face [9].
Thai Wikipedia says the metal is believed to be a that kaya-sit, an element with power of its own [6]. That is a description of belief, not a property of the material.
Key facts
| Fact | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Thai name | เมฆพัด (variant spelling เมฆพัตร) | [3][5] |
| Dictionary definition | Ores smelted together, sulphur thrown in; glossy black with indigo sheen | [1] |
| Base metals | Lead and copper; other metals varied by maker | [2][8] |
| Physical character | Hard but brittle; cracks easily if dropped or knocked | [3] |
| Best-known maker | Luang Pu Nak, Wat Huai Chorakhe, Nakhon Pathom (d. BE 2453 / 1910) | [5][6] |
| Collected moulds (Luang Pu Nak) | Thong faep, thong pong, hu kratai | [2][6] |
Where to see pieces like this — Our sister shop, Shogun X Amulets, has published an article on Mekaphat: https://shogunxamulets.com/mekaphat-alloy-the-rare-thai-alchemical-metal-used-in-sacred-amulets/. Disclosure: Shogun X Amulets and ThaiAmuletExchange.com are run by the same group.