Aspects of Thai Buddhist Culture

Aspects of Siamese Buddhisticicic CultureCHAPTER Vsiamese connection CultureAt the issueset of this speculate I had think to grow 2 sections in the final chapter, unmatchable section detailing the Buddhist roots of both things siamese connection and the divers(prenominal) showing Hindoo / Indic influence. This idea has been aban throughd by the author callable to the limited entirely Buddhist influence. on that point argon legion(predicate) aspects of Siamese culture that befool combined elements of other countries such as China, Laos etceteratera besides I get to elect to limit the comparisons to Buddhist / Hindu wher eventider possible. The topic bequeath instead focus on detailing the aspects of influence and state whether they pass on a combined influence or whether they wee-wee been influenced by arouse sexly one of the subjects.The reader lead by at a time appreciate the large scope of Hinduism and as such it depart prove very tricky to f ind aspects of siamese connection Buddhist culture that do non have at least(prenominal) about basis in Hinduism. The common agate line of the Indian sub-continent and the antiquity of Hinduism stir such a subjective work challenging. For this reason I undertook a survey of m either Siamese people, including still non limited to, my fri final stages, my students, neighbours, monks, etc.I asked them to devote a constitute of 20 things that they considered to be Tai or that which they thought might be perceived by unknown visitors as representative of their country and culture. The answers were alteration (and, at multiplication amusing due to language) and from the answers they gave I have smooth a numerate of the results. (shown on next page). The list has been arranged rootage principleically and I have limited the list to the more or less common answers. The list may have been influenced by regional re first appearance as many another(prenominal) of the peopl e gave regional answers such as Isan, or the rocket festival. The answers were whimsical by the author and I feel that the list is accurate for the designing of this study.Almsround by the MonksArts and CraftsBoat Races / Royal Barge ProcessionBuddhismElephants BuffaloesIsan / IsarnMonumentsMai spell Rai Offerings / Merit MakingRain DanceRespect for Royalty come up fiestaRoyaltyTemples / Shrines Tai Smile / FriendlinessThe Wai ( Siamese greet )siamese connection BoxingThai Festivals CeremoniesThai Dance / Thai shaveThai Food / Fruit SculptureThai languageThai literatureThai Massage / Traditional Thai medicineThai music / musical instrumentsThai SilkTuk Tuk ( 3 wheel vehicle)Sanuk Sukhothai great powerdomThe subtle reader will note that Hinduism is absent from the list. This was a little affect to the author as I had distri plainlyed approx two hundred surveys and had some 60% returned completed and not a single reply had Hinduism or Brahmanism as an answer. Buddhism w as on every single list returned to me and that was not in the least surprising.I had not thought to manufacture my own list previous to asking the Thai people their opinion and I think this was a mistake or rather an oversight on my part. I am unable to remember exactly what I c onceived of as Thai-ness, but the Thai smile and the Wai greeting would in spades have been included in any list. Westerners who visit the Kingdom generally know in advance about the Kingdoms Buddhist synagogues and the friendliness of the people. The Thai language appears to be very difficult for the average foreigner / westerner to master and for that reason I have chosen to begin my analyses by looking at the Thai lecture / Thai Script.There was obviously a Thai language considerable before thither was a scripted Script. By far the intimately interesting thing about the Thai script is that it was invented by a Thai king Not many countries can make such a claim, but is there any basis to the claim which is astray accepted by the majority of the Thai people?The reference books I chit-chated all agreed that the Thai script has its roots in India. In point, many of the South East Asian scripts atomic number 18 very similar as they all have the same root, namely the Brahmi script of ancient India. At the time of the Sukhothai Kingdom the country of Siam was under the control of the Khmer Empire. It is very believably that the Khmer first principle had an influence on the Thai alphabet. A look at the low vagga/ varga of Khmer Thai con diffuses will show the striking similarities.Khmer Palm folio ScriptModern KhmerModern ThaiThe other Scripts which Thai has borrowed from atomic number 18 the Mon, Burmese, as well as the Khun, Tham or Lanna scripts which were beent prior to the first known Thai writing.Tham/LannaKhunBurmeseBurma Northern Thai Scripts Modern Thai ScriptThe Tai Tham script, as well known as the Lanna script is apply for common chord living languages No rthern Thai (that is, Kam Muang), Tai L and Khn. In attachment, the Lanna script is also used for Lao Tham (or old Lao) and other vocabulary variants in Buddhist palm leaves and notebooks. The script is also known as Tham or Yuan script.The oldest Thai inscription dates from 1283. The Thai script is a syllabic alphabet based on the Brahmi script which was adapted to bring out the Siamese / Thai language. Its invention is attributed to King Ramkhamhaeng, who reigned over Sukhothai from 1275 to 1317.The Ramkhamhaeng SteleThis quarry, now in the National Museum in Bangkok, was allegedly discovered in 1833 by King Mongkut, who was a monk at the time, in Wat Mahathat. It should be noteworthy that the au henceticity of the muffin or at least portions of it has been brought into question.1 Piriya Krairiksh, an academic at the Thai Khadi Research institute, notes that the steles treatment of vowels suggests that its creators had been influenced by European alphabet systems thus, he concludes that the stele was fabricated by someone during the reign of Rama IV or shortly before. The matter is very controversial, since if the stone is in fact a fabrication, the entire history of the period will have to be re-written.2Scholars are still divided over the issue about the steles au henceticity.3 It remains an anomaly amongst contemporary writings, and in fact no other source refers to King Ramkhamhaeng by name. Some authors claim the inscription was a complete 19th-century fabrication, others claim that the first 17 lines are genuine, that the inscription was fabricated by King Lithai (a later Sukhothai king), and some scholars still believe very some(prenominal) in the inscriptions au jibelyticity.4 The inscription and its image of a Sukhothai utopia remains central to Thai nationalism, and the suggestion that it may have been faked in the 1800s caused Michael Wright, a British scholar, to be threatened with deportation under Thailands strict lese majeste laws .5Phra Lewis, a western monk who has lived in Thailand for the past 8 stratums, went to great lengths to explain the construction of the Thai language and demonstrated that while the talkn language has evolved over time, ie the sound of the consonants changing, their position in the surd/sonant control football field has not altered accordingly. This was very helpful to my research work in this study as I had encountered some difficulty researching Thai interchanges due to the many different spellings I encountered. There is in fact a Royally approved system of translation, but it is not always followed and there are numerous in bringal systems in wide use.For example, the Sanskrit word Dharma is the Pali word Dhamma but the Thais call it Tam, another example is the Thai word Bangsakun which is truly Pamsakula in Pali. Written Thai is very structured and follows simple rules with no ambiguity as to the pronunciation like there is in English. The Thai language is tonal and th at is where most problems arise for the foreigner. The old style of pronunciation was no doubt altered when the peachy moved from Sukhothai in the north, to Ayuddhya in the central region. The letter ? (K) became G, the ? (C) became J and the ? (J) became CH, and so on.The vowels were also altered s shinely. Unless consonants are otherwise marked they carry an inbuilt vowel. In Indian languages this is usually an a but in Thai the rules are slightly different. The inherent vowel is an o but if the word has more than one syllable hence the first inherent vowel is an a and the second inherent vowel is an o. The example below shows the word for road ThanonBefore moving on to insure festivals and ceremonies I would like to look at a notable feature of the Thai language. For this in dression I am indebted to Phra Lewis who not only when pointed it out but explained it to me as follows -The above 44 consonants of the Thai alphabet have been shown with their modern phonetic sounds . Some garner change sound change depending on where they are in the syllable. They have been shown horizontally in vaggas dependant upon where the sound is make. The first vagga is guttural, made in the throat. The end line are not shown in their vaggas.The first vertical tug should show the surd, the second column the surd aspirate, the third column shows the sonant and the forth shows the sonant aspirated. Column five is the nasal sound made. In the first vagga of the diagram we can disclose that the G and K sounds of modern Thai have switched positions and if one looks at the next vagga ie the palatalized vagga, we can see the J has also moved. The monk has speculated that this happened when the Thais moved their capital to Ayuddhya.The letter M, L, H in the chart indicates the class of consonant ie oculus , low and high. This should not be confused with the tones of the language. Looking have the first column we see all the letters are middle class, the next column are all high class and the be letters in the 5 vaggas are low class consonants. The consonants in the last, longer, line can also be go intod in their vagga, ie Y would belong to the palatal vagga, H in the guttural etc. This class of consonant feature is unique to Thai but the grid is the format of the majority of Indian languages.The king did not invent the grid but he may well have been the instigator for the format of the letters, a man in his position could no doubt accuse the best minds in the Kingdom. Phra Lewis speculates that the need for a new script was prompted by the wish to write the Pali Canon. As the old Thai / Lao alphabet had only 18 consonants this would not be possible as Pali has 33 consonants. It was therefore necessary to add new letters for the sounds that did not exist is Thai. This is where the uniqueness of the script can show the root of the word for the Thai script was designed with this in mind.The king sucked with the basic grid and fill it with the le tters existent in Thai. There were some gaps in the grid where Pali had sounds that Thai had no letters for, the aspirated G or the pallatal NY for instance. The first look taken was to add letters to fill in the gaps. These letters were (English letters give OLD pronunciationThe ingenious part was the addition of letters where Thai already had a letter for the existing Pali sound. The Thais already had a letter for the aspirated K(KH), but they added an additional letter ? (KH) to be used in Pali / Sanskrit lyric. The practice has go on up until very modern propagation with foreign loanwords being spelt in Thai using the new letters. This allows a psyche reading Thaito secern if the word is of foreign origin. Most ingenious, some modern English wordsmay be able to trace their Greek or Latin roots from the spelling but this is not thenorm as it is with Thai. Those wish to delete ob touch onte letters from the Thaialphabet do not have a true understanding of its well thought o ut and practicaldesign. The additional letters means that Thai has 44 consonants whereas Pali onlyhas 33. The Thai letters used to write Pali in Thailand today should be pronounceddifferently from spoken Thai but most Thai monks do not do this. aft(prenominal) this had beenexplained I found it a simple matter of looking at a grid chart in roll to translateThai words into roman letter such that I could research the words online. All ofthis information was obtained from the monks ad hominem notes and, after checking, Ihave found it to be correct though I wish to point out I have no linguistic training.The controversy over the Ramkhamhaeng Stele remains unresolved but that is of no concern to the study. The one thing that can be verbalize for the inventor(s ?) of the Thai script is that he or they were very intelligent and organized in its design. I somebodyally favour a single individual as committees tend to mess things up and this system, in its original form, was perfect. ( a nd Indian influenced )Festivals and CeremoniesThe foreign visitors perception of Thailand and the Thais is not gained from the language but from the visual aspects of Thai culture such as festivals and ceremonies. There are some reality holiold age which have no Hindu or Buddhist roots such as days commemorating past kings or celebrating the founding of the constitution. The study has omitted these and others which may have there roots in other foreign countries ie Chinese pertly Year.To begin with I have chosen to look at three celebrated days which are definitely Buddhist in origin and are known as Puja days.Wisakha Puja dayWisakha Puja Day is a very important day in the Buddhist tradition, for it was on this day that Prince Siddhattha Gotama was born, 35 years later became the enlightened Buddha, and in another 45 years, passed away into total Nibbana (Parinibbana). In each case, these events took moorage on the sufficient- moon on day in the Wisakha month (usually in May).W isakha Puja Day is a great Buddhist holiday. It falls on the 15th day of the cover moon in the 6th lunar month, i.e. full moon day. In Thailand, Wisakha Puja is celebrated throughout the country. On Wisakha Puja Day people put up religious flags outside their houses. They take part in ceremonies at temples and they make merit. They bring flowers, candles, and incense to carry respect to the Triple Gem, i.e. Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha (the community of followers). In the even, people take part in candle-lit processions and walk dextrorotary somewhat the main chapel of the temple three times. In the procession, each person carries flowers, three incense sticks and a lighted candle. The concept of walking clockwise around shrines etc is a Hindu / Indic practice clockwise for rosy make and anti-clockwise for in gracious ones such as death.Magha Puja DayMagha Puja Day is one of the most important Buddhist celebrations in the Thai Calander. This day, which falls on the full moon day of the third lunar month (either the last hebdomad of February or early of March). marks the four great events that took place during nobleman Buddhas intenttime, namely1250 Buddhist monks from different places came to pay homage to manufacturing business Buddha at Valuwan Vihara in Rajgaha, the capital of Magaha State, each of his own initiative and without prior observation or appointment.all of them were the enlightened monks (Arahants)all of them had been ordained by the Buddha himself (Ehi Bhikkhu)They assemblight-emitting diode on the full moon day of the third lunar month.On the evening of that day, Lord Buddha gave the assembly a discourse Ovadha Patimokha put down the principles of His Teachings summarised into three acts, i.e. to do good, to abstain from bad action and to distil the mind.It was unclear as to when the Magha Puja rite took place. However, in a guide book of ceremonies for the twelve months written by King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), it is said tha t, In the past, the Magha Puja was never executeed, the honoring has well(p) been practised during the reign of King Mongkut (Rama IV)?Realizing the significance of this day, King Rama IV enjoin the royal Magha Puja ceremony to be performed in the Temple of the Emerald Buddha in 1851 and this has continued up to the present day. In later years the rite was wide accepted and performed throughout the Kingdom. The day has been declared as a humans holiday. Thai people go to the temple to make merit and perform religious activities in the morning and return to take part in the candlelit procession or Wien Tien in the evening. At this auspicious time, His Majesty the King will preside over the religious rites to mark the occasion at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and will later lead hundreds of people in a candlelit procession held within the temples compound.Asaha Puja DayAsaha Puja means the ceremony in the ordinal lunar month.On the full moon day of the eighth lunar month, the Lord Buddha gave his first sermon and one of his followers became the first Buddhist monk. The ordained followers of the Buddha are collectively called the Sangha, (Asaha Puja is sometimes referred to as Sangha Day.) During his first sermon, the Buddha talked about The Middle Way, to be successful in Spiritual life, we should rescind the two extremesTrying too problematic, such as not eating or not sleeping enough andNot trying hard enough, such as eating and sleeping too much.The Buddha also spoke about the Noble Eightfold Path. This path instructs the faithful toto live in a way that does not harm ourselves or others,to help ourselves and others andto purify the mind.He advised the people toDo goodAvoid despicablePurify the mind.He gave eight guidelines to help people to live in this way, and they are commonly spoken of as the Noble Eightfold Path. He advised people to speak, act and earn their living in righteous ways. He further advised them to practise meditation in or der to purify their minds and gain deep wisdom (Panya in Thai).These three days are very low key as far as celebrations are concerned and a foreign visitor may not even be aware of them unless they choose to visit a temple or Wat. The next Buddhist ceremony or festival to examine is the Robe Giving ceremony of Kathina.Kathin CeremonyAt the end of the three-month Rains remove (July to September / October), monks throughout the country are allowed to travel from place to place and are eligible to receive new robes in an annual presentation ceremony called Thot Kathin. Besides new robes, Buddhist literature, kitchen equipment, financial contributions and building materials e.g. nails, hand-saws and hammers etc. are also presented to monks on this occasion.In fact, the word Thot means qualification an offering to the monk and the word Kathin literary means the embroidery cat used in sewing the robes which, in those days, were collected from rags on exsanguinous bodies (pamsakula, ra g robes) or rags found in the forset since clothing were not visible(prenominal) in plenty as nowadays. Buddhist people regard the Thot Kathin ceremony as the most significant form of merit-making next to the ordination of their reason kin. To sponsor a Kathin ceremony involves a lot of time, manpower and expense. in a higher place all, an advance booking must be made with the Wat if a person wishes to be the sole sponsor of the Kathin ceremony but this may not be possible in all Wats, e extraly temples which are held in high esteem by many people. Nontheless, those who fail to be the sole sponsor of Kathin can also take part in the ceremony which, in this type, is known as Kathin Samakki or the United Kathin.Sometimes a Kathin group will travel for several hundred kilometers by bus, train, gravy boat or even by plane to present the Kathin robes and other necessities to monks in remote temples or in other countries where Buddhist temples are established. tribe thus hold this m erit-making festival not only for earning merit for themselves but also for enjoying a holiday free from the daily hectic life full of stress and strain in the city. During the Thot Kathin period, it is very common to see Kathin processions traveling to and fro throughout the country. In fact, anybody can take part in the event through the simple method of enclosing a miserable amount of money in the white envelope given by friends or relatives.Songkran FestivalSongkran is a Sanskrit word in Thai form which means the entry of the sun into any sign of the Zodiac. But the Songkran in this particular instance is when the sun enters the sign of Aries or the Ram. Its full name is Maha Songkran or Major Songkran to distinguish it from the othes, though most Thais are totally unaware of this fact. Songkran is in fact the celebration of the vernal equinoctial point similar to those of the Indian Holi Festival, the Chinese Ching Ming, and the Christian Festival of Easter. Due to the priori ty of the equinox the introduction of spring, ie when the sun crosses the equator, now occurs on or around the 21st of March.For the Thai people it is simply their traditional untested Year when they can enjoy their holidays to the full with no economic hindrance. Songkran begins on the 13th April and ends on the 15th April, (occasionally, in certain years, on the 6teenth April). The Songkran Festival is the most striking, for it is widely observed not only in this country but also in Burma, Cambodia and the Lao Republic.On the eve of Songkran Day, i.e. on the 12th April, people clean their house and burn all of the refuse in the belief that anything bad belonging to the old year will be unlucky if left and carried on to the coming New Year. Early on the first day of Songkran, the 13th April, the people both young and old in their new clothing go to their topical anaesthetic Wat or monastery to offer food to the monks. A long table is erected in the compound of the Wat where monk s alms bowls stand in a row on either side of the table. The people donate many types of food and dainties by placing these in the monks alms bowls. In the afternoon of the same day there is a cleanse ceremony of the Buddha images and in some wats this includes the abbot or statues of other famous monks of high regard. It is after this that the well-known water throwing begins. The batheing of images is done as ritualistic ceremony, which will be dealt with separately.Thai people will go on this day, and the succeeding days, to pay their respects and ask conjures from their elders and respected seniors. They will pour scented water into the palms of the old people and much present them with blue gifts. In previous times it was an actual bathing where the young people helped the old people to take a bath and to change their old clothing and put on the new clothes which the young people presented them as an act of respect to the aged on the occasion of the New Year.An important thing to be done during the Songkran Festival is a religious service called Bangsakun (Pamsakula in Pali) performed in sacred retentivity to the stone- fallen. When a person died and was cremated, the remains were often set in a chedi in the Wat. In later times a portion of the hit the books was sometimes kept in the house in a receptacle. On Songkran Day a religious service in memory to the dead may be officiated by monks at the place where the ashes and the bones have been deposited, or as in some topical anaestheticities the people bring their dead bones to a village wat in company with others where a sound out memorial service is performed. In some parts of the country the protector intentions of the village and town receive also their annual offerings on Songkran Days. Obviously there are reminiscences or traces of ancestor and animistic morality in by-gone days. The monks are presented with cloth, symbolizing the death shroud, which in olden times was cut up and used as rag cloth to make the robes of the monks.Loy KrathongThe most colourful festival during the year is Loy Krathong wich is held on the full moon of the 12th lunar month, usually in November. This is a festival to pay respects to the Mother of Water and to ask forgiveness for polluting the water in the past year. Loy means to float and a krathong is a kind of bowl. A typical krathong is made using banana leaves and the base is from the stem of a banana plant. Incense sticks, candles and flowers are placed inside the krathong along with small denomination coins. (perhaps this acts as an encouragement to the people who have to remove them from the klongs)On the afternoon of the festival a parade normally takes place through the city or town. Krathongs of all shapes and sizes are placed on floats and carried by locals and their children. During the evening, thousands of people go down to their local river or klong (canal) to float their krathongs. They light the candles and incense sti cks, say a prayer and then float it on the water. It is a wonderful sight with flickering lights bobbing up and down on the river, much more interesting to witness than to read about.There is a Loy Krathong song, (in Thai language) which is often played throughout the day. Below is a translation of this fashionable songNovember full moon shines,Loy Krathong, Loy Krathongand the waters high in the river and local klongLoy Krathong is here and everybodys full of cheerWere together at the klong,Each one with his krathongAs we push away we pray,We can see a discover dayThe Loy Krathong festival dates back to the period of the Sukhothai Kingdom, 700 years ago. It marked the end of the rainy time and the main rice harvest. It is based on a Hindu tradition of thanking the water god(s). The farmers of Sukhothai held a festival of floating candles. unmatchable year, a beautiful woman called Noppamas, who was the chief royal consort, made special lanterns for the festival. She made them fr om banana leaves and shaped them like lotus flowers. The king was appropriately impressed with what he saw, and announced that krathongs would be floated every year from then on. Today, in memory of her and her innovation, there is a beauty contest called The Noppamas tabby cat Contest.Laying the Foundation StoneThai people like to consult the astrology charts (and / or Buddhist monks though this is spoken of as a low art in the Brahmajala Sutta) in order to find an auspicious time to do something important. This can be anything from the day of a spousal relationship or when to make a business deal. The date and time for scratch to build a house is also important. A special ceremony is arranged for erecting the first pillar or foundation stone. previously I had the privilege to attend the ceremony for the laying of the foundation stone for the Paknam Tower. This is going to be a 139 meter high tower with frightful views over Bangkok and the Gulf of Thailand.Thai people are pri marily Buddhists, but ceremonies like this one are conducted by Brahmin priests dressed(p) in white. During the ceremony a priest asks forgiveness from the guardian spirit of the land. He also asks the spirits permission to build on the land. This was followed by offerings for the guardian spirits. Although this ceremony is mainly Brahmin, nine monks were also invited to do some chanting. Local dignitaries offered food to the monks in order to make merit during this event. I was reminded of the fact that many Thais see no conflict of interest by partaking in both Brahmin and Buddhist ceremonies, even simultaneously. The Thais themselves would rather make auspicious offerings twice than not make them at all.According to Thai astrology, there are three days of the week when you should never start construction of a building. These are Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday. For the consecration ceremony of the Paknam Tower the date chosen was Friday 18th May 2007. The time for the actual laying of the foundation stone was set for exactly 219 p.m. The number nine is considered auspicious by Thai people. Everything is done in multiples of threes or nines wherever possible. There were nine monks and nine different kinds of food offerings for them.As well as the stain foundation stone, nine symbolic bricks were used during the ceremony. Three made of atomic number 79, three made of silver and three made of an alloy. There were also nine symbolic pegs made of nine different types of wood. In addition to these items, there were jasmine garlands, flowers with popped rice and one baht coins which were all utilized during the ceremony.After the conch shell had been blown and the small drums sounded, it was time for the foundation stone laying ceremony to begin. Khun Anuwat Methiwibunwut, the Governor of Samut Prakan Province hammered one of the pegs into the sand. Each of the dignitaries then took turns hammering the remaining pegs into place, followed by pouring of the cement.T he nine bricks had been laid in a star pattern where the pegs had been driven into the sand. Additional cement was then poured on top. At this point all of the senior dignitaries jointly placed the marble foundation stone onto the bricks. Following this, they then took turns to sprinkle flowers and coins onto the marble slab. Once the main ceremony was over, the local people, who had been patiently waiting and reflection everything, were allowed to come forward to do the same with their own flowers and coins.There were two identical copies of this foundation stone. I presume that one will be covered in cement while the second one will be placed in a prominent place once the building has been completed. The photo below shows the dignitaries placing the marble foundation stone onto the bricks locomote CeremonyThe go Ceremony, which is observed every year, is an age old tradition, and according to the Thais it dates back to the Sukhothai Period. It was observed in the Ayuttaya Period and passed on to the Rattanakosin Period. The Ploughing Ceremony is held at Sanam Luang in Bangkok during May and it signals the start of the planting season in this country where the majority of the population are farmers. The ceremony is aimed at making predictions about the years crops.In the reign of King Rama IV, the Ploughing Ceremony was held in the ancient capital of Ayuttaya as well as in Phetchaburi. Later, it was held on a field, called Som Poy, in the outskirts of Bangkok, it was at this time Buddhist elements were added to the previously Brahmin-dominated proceedings, these took place at the temple of the Emerald Buddha on the eve of the ceremony. This Buddhist part of the ceremony involved the processing of Khantarat Buddha images of the past reigns, along with citations blessing such grains as rice, glutinous rice and sorghum, sesame seeds, taro, potato, gourd seeds, melons and angelical basil.A ceremonial pavilion was built at Sanam Luang for the occasion, which wa s participated by the Lord of the Ploughing Ceremony (Phra Raek Na) assisted by four Celestial Maidens (Thepi) carrying gold and silver baskets full of grains. Before the start of the ceremony, the Lord of the Ploughing Ceremony and the four maidens were anointed on the foreheads and in the palms, and given a conch and bel leaves. Selected from among high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, the Phya Raek Na wore a ceremonial ring with nine different gemstones which the King had given him.The ceremony in the reign of King Rama IV was performed in grand style, with a processing of 500 people led by the Lord of the Ploughing Ceremony in resplendent overdress and carrying his ceremonial sword.Before the start of the ceremony, the Lord of Ploughing Ceremony was offered three pieces of loincloth from which he chose one. The cloths were of different lengths four, five and six kheub (one kheub is about six inches) and the length of the