Getting a Sak Yant: What Happens, Step by Step
In short
Getting a sak yant at our ashram in Siem Reap takes five steps: you message us, choose the design and its place with the artist, make the offering, receive the tattoo by bamboo rod or by machine, followed by the full sak yant blessing ceremony, and then look after it while it heals.
A sak yant, សាក់យ័ន្ត (sak yant), is a Khmer sacred tattoo, given with a blessing. If you are new to the tradition, start with Khmer sak yant.
What happens at a sak yant session?
A session at our ashram has five steps, and the first one happens before you arrive:
Message us on WhatsApp or Instagram with the sak yant you have in mind and the dates you will be in Siem Reap.
Choose the design with the artist: bring your idea and the meaning you need, not a design from the internet. Some designs have their own place on the body.
Make the offering: seven kinds of fruit, ten lotus flowers, five candles, cigarettes and one pack of incense, one set per person.
The tattoo, then the blessing: your sak yant is tapped in by hand with a bamboo rod, or done by machine, and when it is finished the full sak yant blessing ceremony follows.
Aftercare until the skin has healed.
In Cambodia a sak yant has never been only a picture on the skin. When The Cambodia Daily interviewed men who had received Khmer protection tattoos, it described the process as "not so much an act as a ceremony" (The Cambodia Daily, July 2008). At our ashram it still is.
Message us, and the consultation
It starts with a message. Large pieces need a first consultation to talk through the details, while a small, hand-size design can be done in a single visit.
You do not need to arrive with a finished design. Come with an idea of what you want, what you like and the meaning you need, and we will talk it through together at the studio. Chantha would rather talk than message, because he needs to understand your feelings and your meaning.
Before anything is tattooed, you get clear and accurate information. Placement is part of that talk, because some designs belong in one place on the body and never in others: read where a sak yant can go.
Look through the Khmer designs we tattoo, photographed on real skin, before you message: it makes the consultation quicker.
The offering
Each sak yant comes with an offering, made before the tattoo: seven kinds of fruit, ten lotus flowers, five candles, cigarettes and one pack of incense, one set for each person.
The offering is not the same everywhere: it differs from one master to another, and the list above is ours.
The offering is an old part of the tradition. In 2001 a man who had studied under several Khmer tattoo teachers told The Cambodia Daily that students prepare everything for their teacher before a tattoo ceremony, and offer fruit, a large piece of cloth and incense (The Cambodia Daily, March 2001).
For what the sak yant itself costs, see how pricing works.
The tattoo, then the blessing
Your design is tattooed by Chantha or by one of the studio's artists, by hand with a bamboo rod or by machine: meet Chantha and the masters who taught him.
Hand-tapping has its own name in Khmer: Sak Bok Dai, which means poking a tattoo by hand. Sometimes two artists tap one client at once, a truly rare sight.
Our own short videos show hand-tapping:
- A traditional SakYant by hand poking
- Khmer traditional bamboo tattoo
- Two SakYant artists tattoo on one person!
- Khmer bamboo SakYant
At our ashram the blessing comes after the tattoo: the full sak yant blessing ceremony, in our traditional culture. The blessing sets the intent of the artwork and blesses you with protection, luck or power, depending on the sak yant design you chose. Read what a sak yant is believed to do.
The blessing is what separates a sak yant from a copy of one. A Phnom Penh tattooist put it plainly to the Phnom Penh Post in 2016: "I know how to make the magic tattoos as pictures, but not to bless them" (The Phnom Penh Post, January 2016). At our ashram every sak yant is blessed once it is finished.
How long does a sak yant take?
A small, hand-size sak yant can be done in a single visit; a large piece starts with a consultation. How long the tattoo takes depends on the design, its size and the method, and a machine is quicker than hand-tapping. Some examples from our own work:
- a Water Element yantra by bamboo: around 40 minutes to an hour (2025);
- an original Hanuman by bamboo: five hours (2023);
- one piece by bamboo: six and a half hours (2024);
- a full back in one session of 11 hours (2023);
- another whole back: almost 12 hours (2023).
Size matters most. A Khmer master showed The Cambodia Daily in 2008 that he could tap out one Khmer letter on paper in under 15 seconds, while people with whole texts on their bodies sat through days of work (The Cambodia Daily, July 2008). Tell us the design and the size when you message, and we will tell you whether it fits in one visit.
Bamboo or machine: how is a sak yant tattooed?
At our ashram you can have your sak yant hand-tapped with a long bamboo rod or done by machine, always followed by the blessing. Hand-tapping is the Khmer traditional bamboo tattoo: the artist holds a long rod with the needle at its tip and taps the ink into the skin by hand. A machine is quicker. Some pieces use both: in 2022 one full back was done with traditional bamboo mixed with machine.
Khmer masters have always worked by hand. In 2008 one described his tool to The Cambodia Daily: a thin handle about 30 cm long with needles at one end, bound with string so that only the points show, which stops them going too deep (The Cambodia Daily, July 2008).
Does a sak yant hurt?
Yes. A sak yant is tattooed with needles, so it hurts, by rod or by machine. How much depends on where on the body it goes and how long the session lasts.
As for bamboo: no pain, no gain, but in truth it does not hurt that much.
Cambodians have always said so. In 2001 a Phnom Penh tattooist told The Cambodia Daily that some of his Khmer customers who wanted a religious design asked for a needle and tattoo machine instead, because they thought hand-tapping would be too painful (The Cambodia Daily, March 2001). A former soldier told the same paper in 2008 that he gave up a large protection design across his chest before it was finished because of the pain (The Cambodia Daily, July 2008).
If pain worries you, say so when you message. You can choose the machine, and a small, hand-size design is done in a single visit.
Is it hygienic?
Our artists wear gloves while they tattoo. Reviews of the studio on Google mention how clean it is and how carefully each needle is prepared. The studio is rated 4.9 from 135 reviews on Google, October 2026 · Read the reviews on Google.
Wherever you get tattooed, watch how the needle is prepared before the work starts, and ask if you are not sure.
Aftercare: how do I look after a new sak yant?
Keep a new sak yant clean and out of direct sunlight, and stay out of the water, including swimming pools and the sea, until it has completely healed.
How long does a sak yant take to heal?
It varies with your skin, the size of the tattoo and your aftercare; ask us at your session how long yours should take. Large pieces can stay sore for a few days: a heavily tattooed former soldier told The Cambodia Daily in 2008 that his skin was so swollen and painful afterwards that he could not bathe for days (The Cambodia Daily, July 2008).
If the skin around the tattoo becomes hot, red and swollen, weeps, or you develop a fever, see a doctor.
Are sak yant tattoos permanent?
Yes. A sak yant is a real tattoo and stays for life: the Cambodian veterans The Cambodia Daily met in 2008 still wore protection tattoos they had received decades before (The Cambodia Daily, July 2008). The one thing we ask is the same as for healing: keep a new sak yant out of direct sun.
Who can receive a sak yant?
Anyone who comes to it seriously. Men and women both receive sak yant at our ashram: a sak yant does not discriminate between men and women. Read what women should know before choosing one.
Foreigners are welcome too, and you do not need to be Buddhist: read whether sak yant is only for Buddhists. Kong Kea, a monk at Wat Neakovan, told the Phnom Penh Post in 2016, "I welcome all people who want to have magic tattoos", and said he took no issue with sak yant being popular among non-Buddhists (The Phnom Penh Post, January 2016). In the same article the French researcher Olivier de Bernon, who documented Cambodia's tattooing masters in his 1998 book Yantra et Mantra, objected to foreigners getting Cambodian tattoos "for fun, just because they think it is nice". Choose your design for what it means, and ask us about it first.
Are there rules after a sak yant?
In the Khmer tradition, yes. The Cambodia Daily reported in 2008 that after the tattoo the recipient is taught mantras and a set of rules that keep its power (The Cambodia Daily, July 2008), and de Bernon described a code of conduct whose neglect costs the tattoo its power (The Phnom Penh Post, January 2016). Ask Chantha whether any rules come with your design.
When you are ready, see how pricing works and how to book.
