Wat Suthat (built 1782 onwards)     other sites in Bangkok

Bangkok, Thailand

                                                                                                                                                                        
Click on an image to enlarge

Wat Suthat is one of the oldest temples in Bangkok, established in the early years of the Chakri dynasty under King Rama I, but not completed till the rule of Rama III.  The doors are said to have been carved by the king himself.  The 'bot' and 'viharn' are among the tallest in the country.  In the courtyard surrounding the viharn are many Chinese stone statues that originally came to Thailand as ballast on Chinese trading ships.  When the merchants began to run out of space, they donated many of these statues to temples around Bangkok.  Wat Suthat has an exceptional collection of them.

In front of the temple is Sao Ching Chaa, a giant swing formerly used in a festival honoring the Indian god Phra Isuan.  The ceremony was presided over by Brahmin priests and part of the festival included teams of men swinging in an attempt to grab a bag of gold suspended from a long pole.  The ceremony was suspended in the 1940’s in response to the deaths and injuries common at the festival.

Bibliography

All images copyright 2001 by the following individuals:

• professor Kerk L. Phillips of Brigham Young University, Utah.  Visit his webpage at www.pomosa.com
• professor Robert D. Fiala of Concordia University, Seward, Nebraska

    Cummings, Joe.  Thailand
    Lonely Planet Publications.  Singapore. 1990

    Suksri, Naengnoi.  Palaces of Bangkok: Royal Residences of the Chakri Dynasty
    Thames and Hudson Ltd.  London. 1996.

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