Nang Kwak and the figurines to attract Fortune

Thai shopkeepers like to use deities and figurines to attract fortune into their shops, here are the three main ones.

Nang Kwak or the attractive woman who attracts fortune

Nang Kwak , which translates to " attractive woman ," is the Thai goddess of wealth .

Its representation can be found in the form of a statuette or on a sacred fabric ( Yaan ) in most shops in Thailand.

Her right hand is raised to attract fortune , she encourages passers-by to buy.

Nang Kwak statuettes often bear magical inscriptions on their hands, breasts, foreheads and backs.

The iconography of this goddess is based on the Hindu goddess Lakshmi , but her true origin is believed to be local and older.

Lakshmi another goddess of Fortune

In Hinduism, Lakshmi (or Mahalakshmi ) is the goddess of Fortune and inherent wealth, or abundance.

She is also the Goddess of Beauty .

She is the daughter of sage Bhrigu and the faithful/loving/devotee wife of Vishnu .

Like the goddess Athena, her vehicle is the Owl.

She is a benefactor who helps develop inner wealth.

She incarnates on earth, following Vishnu in the guise of Sita in the Ramayana and Draupadi in the Mahâbhârata .

She is depicted with four hands denoting spiritual virtues. Coins flow from one of them as she blesses the faithful.

She is unarmed. Crowned, she wears a red sari and sits on a lotus.

She is surrounded by two white elephants, symbols of luck.

She herself is worshipped by many gods, including the elephant god Ganesh .

Maneki-neko, the cat that attracts fortune

Thai people also like to use maneki-neko , also called lucky cats.

The arm is in the same position as Nang Kwak , to attract money .

It is a traditional Japanese ceramic or porcelain statue, representing a cat sitting and raising its paw(s) to ear level, and which is frequently found on storefronts, near checkouts in shopping centers...

Maneki comes from the verb maneku which in Japanese means to invite (in the sense of bringing) or to greet, and neko means cat.

So it is literally the “ cat who invites ”.

Tradition has it that one of these cats is placed in shops with its paw raised to attract (pecuniary) fortune.

The raised paw varies depending on whether the cat is supposed to attract the customer or make them spend more money in the store:

The left paw is supposed to attract customers , the right paw money .

There are cats that raise both paws and, more rarely, all four paws.

You will find many versions of Maneki Neko on this Amazon link .

See also:
Deities and Symbols in Thai Culture