VIDEO: Sex doll consecration ceremony infuriates Buddhism officials in Myanmar

Buddhism officials in Myanmar are filing a lawsuit against a group of people who conducted a religious ceremony for two sex dolls at Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, which is considered one of Myanmar’s most sacred sites, on Saturday.

A group of people arrived at the temple with two sex dolls dressed in traditional Burmese clothing and wearing tiaras. The group circumambulated the temple’s pagoda/stupa (chedi) with the sex dolls before taking them to the car park for a chanting ritual.

In the car park, the rubber dolls were placed on chairs under a marquee with their hands held up in a prayer position. The group chanted and presented grand offerings of flowers and fruit before the sex dolls.

The ceremony was a “consecration” (blook sek in Thai language) ceremony. A consecration ritual aims to imbue an object with sacred qualities so it can protect an area or a person from harm.

Usually, consecration ceremonies are undertaken on amulets, which are thought to embody the powers of the Buddha upon completion of the ceremony. New buildings are also often subject to consecration rituals in Southeast Asia.

Myanmar’s Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture said the ritual violates the country’s laws because it “defames Buddhism.” The ministry said the ritual’s organisers will be prosecuted.

Temple security stopped the ritual in its tracks before it was complete and removed the sex dolls from the sacred grounds.

The ceremony was widely condemned by Buddhists in Myanmar for being “extremely rude and inappropriate.”

In August, a “dead body” that washed up on Bang Saen beach in Chon Buri province, eastern Thailand, turned out to be a dumped sex doll.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktvQ4QCyZ00

 

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leah

Leah is a translator and news writer for the Thaiger. Leah studied East Asian Religions and Thai Studies at the University of Leeds and Chiang Mai University. Leah covers crime, politics, environment, human rights, entertainment, travel and culture in Thailand and southeast Asia.

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