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| Lak Mueang Shrine |
Here
is the story of city pillars. This type of construction has intrigued me for a while ever
since I saw the new Vientiane City Pillar Shrine. At the time, I
tried to figure out what it was all about. Then recently, I decided
to go and see the Bangkok City Pillar Shrine in Rattanakosin
(the Old City). So I did some research. Somehow, this type of monument holds a religious recognition since a shrine is often built
above the existing pillar. How can this be associated to Buddhism?
As
a matter of fact, this appears to be an old Siamese tradition that goes back to
animism and Brahmanism. It makes sense since this belongs to the
roots of the kingdom before the arrival of Buddhism. According to
an old traditional belief, it was essential to erect a pillar before the
foundation of a new city in order to symbolize power and stability. But also it is usually housed in a shrine because people believe it retains the
city spirit deity. Thai people strongly believe in the existence of spirits. Several recent Thai movie productions exploit this side of popular
belief!
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| The 2 City Pillars |
When
King Rama I moved his capital from Thonburi
- across
the
Chao Phraya River -
to his new capital, he had to erect a city pillar to officially found
Bangkok. This was done in the early morning of 21 April 1782. The
Grand Palace and other monuments were constructed after.
San
Lak Mueang
stands at the southern end of Sanam
Luang (the
Royal Field), across from the Grand
Palace
and next to the
Ministry of Defense.
A white shrine in the shape of a cross is actually housing the City
Pillar. And this is another symbol pointing to the cardinal points.
When a city pillar was founded, to call the spirits, the ritual proclaimed the words
'In–Chan–Mun–Kong' :
- In, from the north,
- Chan, from the south,
- Mun, from the east,
- and Kong, from the west
The
Shrine as such is an exquisite monument. Inside, there are in fact two
pillars made of wood covered with gold leaves. The taller one is the
original erected by Rama I. The shorter one is an addition made by
King Mongkut (Rama IV).
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| Shrine of deities |
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| Phallic cult |
In
the back of this white shrine, there is another smaller shrine, which
has an altar with tiny figures, most probably for the spirits of the
city deity.
Then, on
the side, there are also two more smaller golden pillars full of ribbons. These are apparently highly revered by women. The phallic cult is
quite common in Thailand and goes back to time immemorial.
Let's hope this will bring a new light on the cult of city
pillars as the tradition has spread to other cities and provinces in Thailand. Nevertheless, the Bangkok City Pillar remains the most revered in
Thailand. More practically, it is also the starting point of all
streets in Bangkok and of all roads in the country.
Christian
Sorand,
Bangkok,
August 2014
Links:
- Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lak_Mueang
- Tourist Authority of Thailand: http://www.tourismthailand.org/See-and-Do/Sights-and-Attractions-Detail/The-City-Pillar-Shrine--55
- Bangkok Post + map: http://www.bangkokpost.com/travel/20626_info_the-city-pillar-shrine.html
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