Sao Ching Cha

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The big swing in front of Wat Suthat, on the right in the background is the Devasathan

Sao Ching Cha ( Thai : เสา ชิงช้า - Big Swing ) is a landmark of Bangkok , the capital of Thailand .

location

Sao Ching Cha, the "Big Swing", is located in the heart of the old town of Bangkok on Bamrung Mueang Street in the Phra Nakhon district . Just south of it is one of the largest temples in Bangkok, Wat Suthat , to the north is the city council of Bangkok. To the northwest, somewhat hidden behind trees, lies the Brahmin shrine Devasathan .

Since the swing ceremony is traditionally viewed as a sun ceremony, the swing is also aligned so that it can be swung "along the course of the sun", i.e. from east to west.

Another swing is said to have been in Nakhon Si Thammarat in the 1930s .

history

Sao Ching Cha was built in 1784 by King Phra Phutthayotfa Chulalok (Rama I) in front of the Brahma Shrine Devasathan, which was built at the same time. The king got the recommendation to build this swing from a brahmin from Sukhothai province, who assured him that such a ceremony would strengthen his new capital. During the reign of King Phra Phutthaloetla Naphalai (Rama II) , the annual swing ceremony was discontinued because the beams were badly damaged by a lightning strike.

In 1920 the swing was renovated and rebuilt in its current position. According to the Bangkok Times "the large swing posts across from Wat Suthat are to be relocated to the middle of the road, which will be expanded and equipped with two lanes". The space freed up became the city's largest fresh vegetable market, Talad Sao Ching Cha. The renovation at that time was funded by the Louis T. Leonowens Company in honor of its founder , the son of Anna Leonowens .

The swing ceremony continued until 1935, but was finally abandoned due to some serious accidents.

In 1959 another renovation took place. But after defying wind and weather for a total of 224 years, the beams showed serious damage. A general overhaul of the structure began in April 2005. A total of six teak logs were used, the trees over 100 years old were found in the province of Phrae . The two main support beams have a circumference of 3.50 meters and are over 30 meters high. The four other beams are used to reinforce the main beams, they are each 20 m high and have a circumference of 2.30 m. The swing was completely dismantled in October 2006. Parts of it should initially be exhibited in the Devasathan, but due to lack of space they are now in the National Museum Bangkok .

In September 2007 the new swing was inaugurated in a solemn ceremony chaired by King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) .

Swing ceremony

The swing ceremony (Thai: พิธี ตรียัมปวาย - Phithi Triyampawai , popular name โล้ ชิงช้า , Lo Ching Cha - "moving the swing back and forth") was already one of the twelve court ceremonies that take place in certain months of the Thai lunar calendar in Kingdom of Sukhothai were carried out. It was originally held on the first lunar month, but during the early Rattanakosin era, in the early 19th century, it was postponed to the second lunar month. It is the traditional celebration of the Brahmin New Year and lasted ten days.

According to an old Hindu epic , after Brahma had created the world, Shiva sent Shiva to earth to see what was right. When Shiva descended to earth, large nagas wrapped themselves around two mountains to stabilize the earth. When Shiva found the earth firmly anchored, the Nagas celebrated in the sea. The swing ceremony is intended to recreate this story. The mountains are symbolized by the two long main bars, while the circular base of the swing stands for the earth and the sea.

Eyewitness report

The orientalist Dr. Horace Geoffrey Quaritch Wales witnessed the swing ceremony in 1930. In his book Siamese State Ceremonies , he describes the course of the celebrations in great detail:

According to Siamese belief, Shiva should visit the earth for 10 days once a year. Traditionally, it is said to arrive on the seventh day of the waxing moon in the first lunar month, and remain until the first day of the waning moon. Before that, however, the Brahmins have to "open the gate of Kailash" in a special ceremony in the Devasathan . Since Shiva is a cheerful god, he loves to be entertained. In addition to the actual swing ceremony, a large procession with acrobatic interludes was brought into being. On certain evenings during his visit, a shadow play (nang) is performed in honor of Shiva in front of the Brahmin temple .

A nobleman is chosen by the Thai king to portray the god, during the Ayutthaya period it was the Chao Phraya Ponlathep ( เจ้าพระยา พลเทพ - Minister of Agriculture), and later a different minister who was crowned a temporary king . This contributes as a sign of his dignity a pointed hat and a panung brocade, over a long white robe. He is accompanied by musicians, drummers (see: Klong Tueng Nong , also Klong Chum ) and shell horn blowers, the sun and moon, the earth and the Ganges . Bearers with royal umbrellas protect him from the sun. Low gods are represented symbolically on large panels.

On the morning of the seventh day of the waxing moon, the procession begins at Wat Ratcha Burana, which is located at the southern end of the Rattanakosin Island. To the din of drummers and conch-horn wind players, Shiva is carried in a sedan chair with a large entourage to the fairground north of Wat Suthat . As soon as the god has taken his place on the throne in a specially erected pavilion, with his left foot over his right knee, the rocking begins.

There are three groups of Schauklern (Narivan) , each consisting of four men. They wear a strange headdress that identifies them as Nagas . For each group of swings, a money bag is attached to a long bamboo pole that is set up some distance west of the swing. The first group gets twelve, the second ten and the third eight baht.

After paying homage to Shiva, the four men first sit one after the other in the elongated swing. A man pulls a rope attached to the swing to give it the first swing (hence the popular name of the ceremony Lo Ching Cha ). Then the first man who is closest to the purse gets up, while the man behind tries to move the swing closer to the bag. The person in front must now try to get hold of the bag with his teeth. Since the wallet is hung very high, the swing has to be almost vertical in order to reach the money. Unsuccessful attempts are acknowledged with hoots from the audience, the success is recognized with loud applause. Accidents were not uncommon in the past and were viewed as a very bad omen for the following year.

When all three groups have completed their task, they say goodbye to Shiva with a wai , who mounts his litter again and is led by the procession from the fairground. This ends the ceremony of the first day.

On the second day, only certain rites are performed in the Shiva shrine of the Brahmin temple Devasathan. On the third day there is another swing ceremony with additional attractions in the evening. As before, the procession starts at Wat Ratcha Burana, winds its way through the alleys of the old town to the fairground, where three groups of spectators try to grab the coins from the bamboo pole. Then the Nagas bring a large bronze water container (Khan Sagara) , which they set up in front of Shiva. A dance (senan) around the water is then performed in three circles , with each naga swinging a buffalo horn to the beat of the drums and conch horns. Towards the end of the dance, the dancers run to the water tank, fill their horns with water, which they then spray each other with. Shiva then rises and goes to another pavilion on the festival site, the Nagas follow him with the water container. Again the dance is performed here in front of the god and one is splashed wet. This process is repeated a third time before Shiva is led by the procession back to Wat Ratcha Burana.

During the remaining days, numerous "services" are celebrated in the Shiva and Ganesha shrines. On the last day, in the evening, the Brahmins form a “Procession of Naresuan” when Shiva leaves the world again. This procession goes from the Devasathan, which is again accompanied by numerous drummers and conch horn blowers, to the king's temple , where the king hands the participants three small statues depicting Shiva , Uma and Ganesha . Fireworks, which are supposed to symbolize the Parichat tree in Indra's paradise, are burned down on the palace walls. Then the king follows the procession back to Devasathan, where he takes part in another ceremony in the shrines of the three deities.

literature

  • HG Quaritch Wales: Siamese State Ceremonies . London 1931, Reprint by Curzon Press, Richmond 1992, ISBN 0-7007-0269-5
  • Steve Van Beek: Bangkok then and now . AB Publications, Bangkok 2001, ISBN 974-87616-2-2 (English version: ISBN 974-870639-7 )
  • เดิน ถนน ชม ย่าน เก่า , from the series: " คู่มือ walking tour เมือง บางกอก " (for example: manual for walking through old Bangkok ). Sarakadee Press, Bangkok 2546, ISBN 974-484-050-1

Individual evidence

  1. ^ HG Quaritch Wales: Siamese State Ceremonies , p. 244
  2. ↑ Report on the inauguration celebrations of September 10, 2007 in The Nation ( Memento of the original of December 2, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (in English) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.nationmultimedia.com
  3. ↑ Van Beek: Bangkok then and now , p. 40
  4. ↑ Report in The Nation about the start of the restoration work from October 7, 2006 ( Memento of the original from October 18, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (in English) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.nationmultimedia.com
  5. ↑ http://www.manager.co.th/Daily/ViewNews.aspx?NewsID=9490000067781

Web links

Coordinates: 13 ° 45 ′ 6.6 ″  N , 100 ° 30 ′ 4.6 ″  E