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TRADITIONS & UTENSILS

 

 

 

  sai (symbolical use)

 

Thailand

A sai or fish trap is often used symbolically to catch good business and fortune, rather than fish. This practice presumably derives from the fact that in Chinese, fish are called yú (鱼), a word with the same sound as yú (逾) meaning ‘to exceed’ and yú (余), meaning ‘surplus’. Hence, fish traps are symbols for holders of good luck and used symbolically to catch a ‘surplus of money’ or ‘money in excess’. Here, this is indicated by the golden (thong) and silver (ngun) fish, which stand for gold (thong) and money (ngun), respectively.