Tiger Sak Yant: The Khmer Tiger Tattoo
In short
A tiger sak yant is a Khmer sacred tattoo of a tiger, ខ្លា (khla), framed by Khmer script; our studio calls it Yant Kla, the Tiger Yant. It is worn for protection and prevention, for agility and hunting, and for power and good luck. We tattoo it on the arm, the shoulder, the back, the chest and the ribs.
The tiger is one of the oldest animals in Khmer tattooing. Tattooing in Cambodia goes back to 2500 BC, long before script was added to it. Those first tattoos were only symbols, standing for what people believed in: a circle for the sun or the moon, a lotus flower for love or peace, figures such as the cow, the house and the tiger.
For the naga, the elephant and the other animals, see sak yant animals.
What is a tiger sak yant?
A tiger sak yant is a yant built around a single tiger. In our work the tiger is drawn in black line with striped fur, its mouth open on its fangs and its claws out, while lines of Khmer script run around it and along its body. A small yant and a spiral sit beside it.
The Khmer word for tiger is ខ្លា (khla), and our studio calls the design Yant Kla, the Tiger Yant. The writing in it is Khmer script, as in every Khmer sak yant, and the tiger is given with a blessing. What the script in a yant is, and why it is there, is explained in Khmer script tattoos.
Some of our tigers follow designs older than the studio. The tiger filled with Khmer letters on the upper arm is an old, original traditional tiger design, kept whole with no modifications or alterations. Another, along the forearm, is the real ancient tiger sak yant.
What does a tiger sak yant mean?
A tiger sak yant is worn for the tiger's strength. The Tiger Yantra is for protection and prevention, for agility and hunting, and for power and good luck.
The historian Michel Tranet explained the whole Khmer tattoo tradition that way to The Cambodia Daily in 2008: "People observe nature and see its powers and seek to appropriate that power through the tattoos. When you want it and you think it is powerful, you add it to your body" (The Cambodia Daily, 2008).
Three things Cambodian sources say about the tiger in particular:
- It is a fighter's design. "Cambodian fighters are often adorned with intimidating images of a dragon, tiger or the monkey king Hanuman," the Phnom Penh Post reported in 2009. The tattooist it interviewed said his Cambodian customers were mostly "police, soldiers, and fighters like boxers and martial artists" (Phnom Penh Post, 2009).
- It is the strongest of animals. In the Khmer folktale The Origin of the Tiger, a king and his court learn magic and turn themselves into one tiger: the four ministers become its legs, the queen its body, the king its head. That, the tale says, is why tigers are stronger than any other animal (Cambodian folktales, retold by Toni Shapiro-Phim, SEAsite, Northern Illinois University).
- Some artists keep rules for it. In 2016 a Phnom Penh tattooist told the Phnom Penh Post that he would not tattoo a tiger on anyone who was not born in the appropriate year (Phnom Penh Post, 2016). That is one artist's rule: ask Chantha whether any rule comes with your tiger.
Where does a tiger sak yant go on the body?
On the forearm or upper arm, the shoulder, the upper back, the chest, the ribs and the hip, or as part of a full back. The legs are mostly kept for animals, though not every animal may go there.
Tiger sak yant on the back
On the back, the tiger lies across the spine just below the nape, crouched and turning its head, with a small yant and a spiral above it and two lines of script beneath.
A tiger can also lead a full back of sak yant. One client's full back, with a leaping tiger, was done with bamboo mixed with machine.
Women wear tiger yant as well as men: read sak yant for women. More back pieces are on our work page.
Tiger sak yant on the shoulder and arm
On the shoulder, the tiger comes down the outside of the arm head first, so its body follows the curve of the shoulder and its front claws reach towards the upper arm. On the upper arm, it walks along the arm with lines of Khmer script around it.
Tiger sak yant on the chest and ribs
On the chest, two tigers can face each other across the breastbone, or one tiger can climb the chest alone. On the side of the body the tiger runs down from the ribs towards the hip; one client's was tapped with bamboo.
Can a tiger sak yant go on the leg?
Animals are the designs most often allowed on the legs, but not every animal may go there. We have tattooed a tiger on the calf, and the ReachSey Yantra, the lion king, sits on the calf too. Ask Chantha before you plan a tiger below the hip.
How do I ask for a tiger sak yant?
Send us a message on WhatsApp with where you would like the tiger and roughly how large. Large pieces need a first consultation to talk through the details, while small designs, about the size of a hand, can be done in a single visit. The tiger is hand-tapped with a rod or done by machine, with a blessing.
How we price a sak yant, and how to find us, is on our visit page, and what happens at a session is set out step by step.
