Wimon Leangaroon and her family have been kneeler-makers for as long as she can remember. But today — even during the Vegetarian Festival that boosts business — she does not make prayer cushions for money alone.
Jindarat Ukarakul, 81, and her 80-year-old sister Nipa Putthungkul, are the second generation of the century-old prayer cushion business.
"These days we make prayer cushions to preserve the art. Speaking from a business perspective, we do not earn much profit selling them," said Wimon, owner of the two-storey Heng Seng shop located in the century-old Talad Noi on Charoen Krung Road.
The third generation who runs the family business of making Chinese prayer cushions, Wimon actually graduated with a bachelor of business administration from Ramkhamhaeng University, but decided to join the family business instead of walking her own path. According to the 52-year-old, her family first started making kneelers more than 100 years ago after her grandparents relocated from mainland China.
Back then, the family also made hand-sewn mattresses and mosquito nets. But after their popularity declined, they decided to sell Chinese prayer cushions alone.
Wimon's grandparents passed away before she was born, so the business was passed onto Wimon's mother and now to herself. Today at Heng Seng, only three people are responsible for making the cushions — Wimon's 81-year-old mother Jindarat Ukarakul, her 80-year-old sister Nipa Putthungkul and Wimon herself. Wimon's four siblings are office workers.
"I don't think modern people would want to make prayer cushions because it's an exhausting job which brings in very little money," said Jindarat, as she was putting the finishing touches to a cushion she had been making all morning.
All the prayer cushions sold at Heng Seng are handmade. According to Wimon, each takes hours to finish — starting from stuffing kapok and dry coconut coir into a cushion cover made from unbleached muslin. The final touch for each cushion does not take much time. Wimon, her mother and her aunt can make a maximum of five cushions per day.
"We sell most of our prayer cushions to retail shops in Chinatown and nearby areas such as those on Charoen Krung Road," she explained. "Chinese temples in Bangkok and other provinces then come and buy the cushions from the shops. When we visited Chinese temples, especially those in the capital, and saw their kneelers, we knew right away they all were made from our shop. So I think we are one of the last kneeler-makers in town."
Heng Seng shop is quiet most of the time basically because people do not buy prayer cushions often. And if they were to buy one, they prefer going to larger shops like those in Chinatown. But during the Vegetarian Festival, Wimon has been quite busy as it is a time of the year when Chinese temples and shrines around the country change their whole set of kneelers to mark the special occasion.
According to Wimon, prayer cushions used in most Chinese temples or shrines are available in four different colours: red, blue, white and yellow. Based on Chinese beliefs, red (or sometimes pink) ones are usually used for general wai jao (to offer a sacrifice to Chinese gods or ancestors), while blue ones are only reserved for funerals. The white cushions are used in events associated with Guanyin, the Chinese goddess of mercy, and the yellow ones are seen only during the Vegetarian Festival.
"The Vegetarian Festival is now on and consequently we are quite busy because demand is high, given that a number of Chinese temples and shrines want to new kneelers for the occasion," noted Wimon. "The rest of the year, the business is in 'low season'."
Despite the business' small profits, Wimon said she has never thought of doing anything else. As long as there are Chinese people in Thailand and as long as they still visit Chinese temples for wai jao, Wimon believes the business of making kneelers will not disappear.
"Many things of course change over time," commented Wimon. "But despite that, I still see a lot of the younger generation visiting Chinese temples and shrines to pay respect to Chinese gods. And because of this, I do not think I will stop making kneelers because what I do not only preserves the knowledge and art of prayer cushion-making, but also benefits people in general. For the business to survive, the shop might opt for selling additional stuff such as home decorative items, but Chinese prayer cushions will always be part of our equation."
Wimon Leangaroon puts the cover on a prayer cushion.
Jindarat Ukarakul puts the finishing touches on a cushion.
