Ajarn Tuad Kwet, the Sorcerer Extraordinaire of Wat Khao Or Temple

It’s no exaggeration to refer to the esteemed Ajarn Tuad Kwet

as a Sorcerer Extraordinaire. The prolific master of Wicha, who hailed from Wat Khao Or during the turn of the 20^th century, was personally responsible for the creation and mastery of over 56 types of love potions. These were recorded in the secret scrolls of Wat Khao Or (Read our upcoming article on Namman Sorot by Ajarn Tuad Kwet to learn more about this potent concoction).

 

Ajarn Tuad Kwet Kongkaew

, was sometimes also known as Kwet Khon Pa (a forest recluse) or Kwet Khon Thong Daeng (the person with fine copper body hairs), owing to his peculiar hirsuteness; his body was covered in fine hairs of extraordinary length and colour. He often wore long pants and sleeved shirts to cover this fact up. Though introverted in demeanour, he was far from lonely, having enchanted and married a succession of 14 wives during his lifetime.

 

Originally from Hua Sai, Nakhon Si Thammarat

, Ajarn Tuad Kwet was the son of Mr. Kong (a Brahmin from the Rattana Brahm family) and Mrs. Kaew (Kaew Dara – a Muslim). He was born on a Saturday in 1881, on the 5th day of the waning moon of the 4th lunar month, the Year of the Dragon. He was the 4^th among 9 siblings.

 

Later in his life, his parents resettled in a house in Ban Lam, Phatthalung

Province, to be closer to their relatives. In present-day, this area is known as Ban Rom Mueang.

 

When Ajarn Tuad Kwet was 12, his father was advised by Phra Atikan Sang

of Wat Rom Muang to leave Tuad in the care of a relative instead, owing to the strong spiritual energy and turbulent fortunes present in his astrological charts. He surmised that opting to take care of him themselves would inexorably impact their fates. The young Tuad was brought to reside with his Uncle at Ban Don Sala, Phatthalung.

 

In the same year, his uncle, who was very close to the famed Phra Ajarn Thong Tao

, the abbot of Wat Khao Or at the time, took him to the temple to ordain as a novice and study the Dhamma. There he remained, pursuing the Dhamma as a novice until the age of 21, when he finally ordained as a full-fledged monk, with Phra Ajarn Thong Tao as his preceptor.

 

While at the temple, Ajarn Tuad Kwet was renowned for his exquisite penmanship and was always assigned to copy texts and important books for the temple. It was this seemingly menial task that exposed him to a plethora of spiritual knowledge, more so than the average monk. He also studied the dark arts, sorcery and traditional folk medicine at the temple. From age 12 to 30, Ajarn Tuad Kwet vociferously absorbed everything he could, accumulating a vast trove of esoteric knowledge. He also became a close friend of Phra Achan Eiad of Wat Don Sala

, who was only a year younger and had ordained the year before him.

 

After serving as a monk for 18 years and 9 Pansa, Ajarn Tuad Kwet decided to disrobe and leave the Sangha, as his father was getting old and required care. After his sister was robbed and assaulted, his decision was sealed. Before returning to Ban Rom Mueang however, he copied the contents of some textbooks for himself, determined to perfect his arcane knowledge.

Upon returning to the home, he set upon the task of identifying the robbers who had killed his sister and stolen the family’s prized buffalo herd. Unable to appease his anger, he tracked down the robber’s lair, and personally visited them to seek vengeance. Ajarn Tuad Kwet was set upon by 5 people and badly outnumbered, but it is said that he fought them off alone, stabbing the leader to death with nothing but a sharp stick, and severely injuring or incapacitating the accomplices.

Before long, the authorities in Phattalung

caught wind of his brawl. Accused of being a vigilante and taking the law into his own hands, Ajarn Tuad Kwet found himself fleeing to Trang Province to escape prosecution. It was during this period that his path took a strange detour, and he ended up becoming a bandit himself, albeit an honourable one. Among his followers, he enforced a strict code of conduct, only permitting them to strike at rich people who profited off the suffering of the poor, and taking extra pains to ensure that no one was hurt or killed in the process.

 

When the situation in his home province finally cooled down, Ajarn Tuad Kwet returned to Phatthalung Province, but this time he had to go out of his way to maintain a low profile owing to his notoriety. This proved to be easy though, as the villagers were more than willing to shelter the benevolent criminal.

Sometime after this, he embarked on the first of a long procession of marriages. Throughout his life, he married as many as 14 wives. For 4 of his wives, he built a series of adjacent houses at Ban Rom Muang. These women were Mrs. Net Khotchasen

the grandchild of the governor of Phatthalung at that time, Mrs. Noom Noonsuk, Mrs. Klao, and Mrs. Ket. His other wives resided in various villages or provinces throughout the country, but he never faltered in caring for them all.

 

It was around this time that he received legal assistance from Sir Than Chao Khun Phat

and Lord Khun Luang Mueang Maikit, a relative of Net Khotchase, one of his principal wives, and his outlaw status was dropped. He was appointed as the headman of Ban Rom Muang, because he had the most land, and enough men in his charge to deter any bandits from the surrounding areas intent on pilfering from the village. It is worthwhile to remember that in the context of the day, formalized law enforcement was laughable at best.

 

Aside from being the village headman, he also functioned as the village shaman, specializing in Saneh

(love spells) and traditional healing using herbs, a skill he picked up from his tomes upon tomes of knowledge copied from the texts of Wat Khao Or, as well as from his colourful experiences as a spiritual journeyman, bandit, and student.

 

Ajarn Tuad Kwet was reputed to be able to cure any ailment, even those brought upon by powerful hexes. He did so without accepting any fees. Because of this, his fame and renown spread far and wide, and he even served as a doctor for the Royal Family for a short period of time.

Having been a lifelong practitioner of the mystical arts, old habits were woe to fade. Ajarn Tuad Kwet occupied his time creating over 56 types of Saneh potions, spread over 4 broad categories; Deities, Teachers, Humans and Lower Line. We will explore each at length in a later article.

Perhaps the most esoteric of these, were his famed Spirit potions, which were fashioned from actual spirits, and buried underground for storage, in the grand tradition of the ancient lineages of knowledge involved in their creation. It was believed that these spirits would be protected by Mother Earth herself, and anthills and termite mounds were often selected as storage areas, owing to their low human traffic, for obvious reasons. Many examples of these potions survive to this day, passed down through the myriad lineages birthed from his virtuosic knowledge.

Ajarn Tuad Kwet himself was purported to have mystical powers. Some accounts state that he never lost or was injured in a fight, he could never be captured and never lost while gambling.

Here is a non-exhaustive list of teachers he is purported to have studied under:

• Phra Ajarn Thong Tao of Wat Khao Or
• Phra Ajarn Kliang
  (unknown temple)
• Phra Kru Inthamoli of Wat Prang Mu Nok
• Phra Atikan Sang of Wat Rom Mueang
• Phra Ajarn Nu of Wat Khan
• Phra Ajarn Dam of Wat Tha Kae
• Brahm (Brahmin) Kong (his father)
• Brahm (Brahmin) Bua Thong (his grandfather)
• Mor (Witchdoctor) Phuang at Ban Lam
• Samrut Khiew
• Mor (Witchdoctor) Rung
• Toh Mut of Ban Charat
• Toh Yisen of Ban Khu
• Tuad Khon Than
  , who according to hearsay, was one of the Gandharva. When Tuad Kwet was a fugitive and fled to Khao Chet Yod
  mountain, he received tutelage from him.

Owing to the furtive nature of long stretches of his life, as well as the ravages of time and poor, inconsistent records, the names of many of his teachers have been lost to time. The most referenced, however, was Phra Ajarn Thong Tao of Wat Khao Or.

Many other renowned pupils also studied under this master, including:

• Mor Hoi of Ban Klang
• Mor Luean of Mab Yang
• Mor Chan of Ban Na Phu
• Mor Kling of Ban Na Tom
• Mor Jang of Tha Kae
• Mor Heet
  (Mr. Jaeng Rattana Brahm
  , who is his nephew)
• Mor Mueang of Tha Miram
• Nang Rung Fah (Nang Nuam)
• Mor Thong of Mueang Thang
• Mor Klong

Ajarn Tuad Kwet was perhaps most famous for his love charms and amulets imbued with spirits. Philanderers and Casanovas of the day lined up seeking amulets from him. He even had a special house constructed for use in the associated ceremonies, where the amulets created by him and his disciples were kept, accessible only to trusted devotees and friends.

By the time he was old, the surviving examples of his life’s work were primarily housed in 4 areas:

1. A house belonging to Mor Heet (Jaeng Rattana Brahm), his nephew. The artefacts here consist mostly of potions, and various charms and amulets. Some of Ajarn Tuad Kwet’s most important textbooks are stored here.
2. Mor Hoi’s
   house. The surviving texts concerning herbal and powdered medicines are preserved here. Mor Hoi was himself famous for treating people with herbalism.
3. Mor Luean’s
   house. The textbooks concerning rituals involving geomancy are stored here.
4. Lab’s House. Lab
   is Ajarn Tuad Kwet’s son. His most coveted, valuable scrolls, manuals and amulets are stored here, though mostly in memoriam, as his son has scarce knowledge about the field, and little interest in pursuing it.

Ajarn Tuad Kwet passed on at the age of 84 years, but not before having a structure purpose-built on the grounds of his home to store his ashes. Upon his passing, his family attempted to defy his wishes by relocating his remains to the temple instead.

Astoundingly, they realized that no amount of effort would allow them to move his remains. After trying and failing with the combined strength of over 10 people, they relented and agreed to inter his remains on the grounds of his house as he had wished. Miraculously, the funeral carried on without a hitch after.

At present, his ashes are located in the home of Ajarn Sitthichai Honbandit

, his great-grandson, who learned from Mr. Lap and Mor Heet. He became the sole heir to the family’s spiritual lineage, as none of his other descendants was interested in taking up the mantle.

 

Further interesting accounts exist of Ajarn Tuad Kwet.

• His hair growth was much more advanced than the average person, and he had long copper-tinted hair all over his body. Because of this, he was often known by the nickname Kwet Khon Thong Daeng, or Kwet
  with copper hair.
• At the time of his cremation, his hair, teeth, fingernails, and toenails were not burned. They appeared impervious to fire. These artefacts were retained by his family for worship.
• Throughout his life, he was purported to have never been harmed by a single weapon.
• Though he had many wives, he often slept in solitude and barred anyone from disturbing him at night.
• Each day after sunset, he was functionally uncontactable by the outside world. Any pressing affairs would have to wait for sunrise unless he had prior arrangements with whom he promised.
• He is exceedingly secretive about his diet, and oddly enough, also refuses to eat at funerals (eating meals at funerals is a common Thai practice). Only his wives were vaguely aware of his dietary preferences.
• He was fond of sleeping in the forest for nights on end, earning him the nickname Kwet Khon Pa
  , meaning person of the forest.
• He was a teetotaler, and generally silent in disposition, unusual for Thai men of the day.
• He aided the famed Ajarn Khun Phan
  with apprehending robbers at Khao Khram, Phatthalung
  . Khun Phan respected him as a senior, and he often joined him on missions.
• He served as a doctor to many wealthy elites.
• He knew exactly when he would die, and hired craftsmen to build the mausoleum for him well in advance.

Many more colourful tales of Ajarn Tuad Kwet’s amulets are scattered throughout our articles, many of which are as astounding as the man himself. For more information, browse our website.