The Journal of the Siam Society Vol. XLIV, Part 1-2, 1956 - Khamkoo

VOLUME XLIV Part 1 April 1956
THE
JOURNAL
OF THE
SIAM SOCIETY
( JS S)
,/
BANGKOK
2499

With the Compliments of
Jvf r. J.J. 13 oeles
1Jec 1996
--·---·--·----'
{
\
.-
,

~ABLE
OF CONTENTS
VOLUME: XLIV PART 1 APRIL 1856
Page
John Black,
1
CJ1euiews
33
G, Coerles, Inscl'i Jllion8 rht Ot~muodge, Volume VI (Erik Seidenfaden)
Lawrence Palmer H1•iggR, Thr• Ann'rmt Khme·r !Cm]Yire (.I .. T.
BrwlPS)
H. G. Qnaritch Wales, 'l'h!! J1onntain of C1od, a 8t2trly ·i11 Er~rly
Uez.igion and Kingsh?:Jl ( Ohrwlcs Nolson Spinks)
Prem Ohaya, The 8tm·y of !(hun Ohct·l) Khun Phan, Book 1 (D.)
Frrtnce-A.s·ie, numt~t·o
sp{·cial, nnv,-M,c., 19Gf> (D.)
Cf{eceT!li cSiamese C]Jublicatirms
177. 'Phe Memento iss1tad uy tho '1' hi1·d Admin?:st?·rttiue Section
17R. The lliemento issued by the F'm.wth Administ1·ative 8 ect£on
179. ;1 111 emento of the P1·om:nce of J;oey
180. A Summctry of the Activ·ities of the Ministry oj Agric2tltw;e
181. Phra Sri VisndclhivOI.)S, the Rev., Five Thousand Yea1· of the
Buddh1:st Em
182. Khamvilai, Ch., 'Jihe Centenary of 8undorn Bhu

INTRODUCTION
The sancLmtl'Y which formK tlte snhjecl of. Lltis :tl'Lic1e has,
after centuries of oblivion, commenced to attract world notice in the
last half cenLnry or so. ArchcolngislR certainly, an1l I?rench colonialists,
have known of it before others. Phra Vihar is !liKtingnished
for its majestic ensemble and situation, towering, as it does, over the
Cambodian plains from the highlanr1s of Siam. It is still difficult
of access from the Siamese side, and is still more so from the
Cambodian, where the steep promontory on whieh it is perched is
practically inaccessible except through Siamese territory.
The approach to the sul>ject by the author is that of the
explorer more than the archeologist. M1·. Black has of eonrse hail
wide travelling experience which entitle!l him to his Fe 1lowsbip of
the Royal Geographical Society of Gl'eat Britain. 'l'he attention he
pays to what seems to be extraneous i11formation in the form of
legend and tradition deserves commendation. Legend and tradition
have helped in the past to solve problems of s

"rHE: LOFTY :5ANCTUARY OF' KHAO PHRA VI HAR
by
John Blac/c
F';R.G.8;
lt is an honour and pl'ivilege for me to pt·esent to yon this
evening throttgh illustration; by word and finally colomed slides,
a pictl1re of t.he Lofty Sanctuary of Khau Phra Vihii,r and some of
the history associated with this, one of the most l'ewadmble temples
in the whole of the Indo-China peninsnla.
Before describing the journey and acquainting yott wUh the
position of Khao Phra Viha1· iu relation to other better lmowt 1
monuments in this and the neighbouring com1try of Cambodia,*
may I say, by way of introduction, that no matter what onr position
is in the structure of society here, we are all i.n some way or fmother
connected with the needs of Sot1th East Asia and I woulrl ''enture to
say thnt. a trne pict me of those needs cmmot he obtained unless
we possess an intimate knowledge of its past. The greates't
historian of the pt•esent generation, Al'nold .1. 'l'nynbee, in his
voluminous wm·k A study of History draws a comparison between
civilizations anrl goes on to shnw us the lesson we may learn from
such a study. We wonlcl do well to take time out from the n1sh
and tumble of every-day lHe and give some thought to hh; arguments.
I even dare to int.rodtHle this evening an element of the. romantic
into my subject. and what conld be further t•emoved ft·om this than
the ruins of an eal'ly Khmer tern p]e.
The Journey To Khao Phra Vibar
To orientate those of you who a1·e not familiar with the
position of the monument wl1ich, though still remote. is not so·
inaccessible these days, I propose to give a brief description of the
l'Dnte from the rail points of Dbol ancl Srisalres.
Dnring 1955 I was fortunate to make the journey on two
occasions, from Ubol i.n the late spring, just before the rains and,
then, in November, from Srisakes, which is tbe shorter and. better
route. Leaving the Ubol/Dejndhm highway at ldlomell·e 23, tbe
forest track to Kantal'alak is very rough and undefined. The
*The Historical Map used to illustrate this description at the lecture Is not re.
produced In the Journal.

delightfully va.gne answers about direction given by the peopie.
whose life and activities are confiner! to t.he immerliate neighbourhood,
only add to the difficulties of the trail and make the jonrney longer.
The forest track is cnt by C'art wheels and is a menace to the low
slung vehicle with tree stumps just sufficiently concealed by grass
to for the use of a vehicle with a four
wheel drivt,,
'l'he snr1·onndings are plensant and, when it is
necesssat•y to leave the road, nbont half way, the lJ'HDk takes ;yon
tht·ough pine woods.
Then, with l'emarlwblt• clefinit.ion, the way
leads into a country oJ' deep red ,;oil in a belt of over 6 kilometres,
In contrast. to the Ubol appro!trJh, the area given over to rieo
cultivation on this, the north side nf A.ml)hoe Kantnralak is
consideJ•able.
'l'he stretch between Kantarnlak and Khao Phra Vihfi.t' il:l iuiet'·
esting and the path, though difficult in stretches, provides a variation
for the traveller and thPre is seldom a clull moment.. IE the jout'IH'Y
is made following the rains when vegetation has cove~·ed the trail,
and trees, unable to stand the lashing of Lhe monsoon, have fallen,
obstructing the jungle path, then yonr equimnent. must. include an
axe and large knives.
'l'he easy slope on the not·th side of the Dangrek Chain
mal,es it possible for a vehicle to go through the foot hi lis and climb
to an elevation of 500 metres without too much difficnltv. From
Kantaralak it is about 47 kilomet l'E'S to W1't·]ll'll s' l·t·· r t} . t .
· · · · 1g 1 . o · . 1e moun am
sanctnary. Two tributaries of the S;> M- 1111 IJ't"e to l l tl
· . ' , 1e crosser , te

PITSANULtlla
KHONKAEN
LAOS
N"KOI

TH~ LtWTY SANCTUARY OF KHAO PHRA VIHAH
1J
Huay Kayung al 8 kilomet1·es and Huny 'l'a Ngerd at 12 kilometres.
After the rains bolh stt'eam::; were running high and the bridges were
shaky, but strong enough for a light vehicle.
Before reaching the
forest belt the path is narrow bnt is 0asy to negotiate, though there
are many flooded stretches.
'l'he people of the villages are all of Khmer stock anr1, apart
from their ability to cultivate, they a1·e hunte,·s of considerable
skill, this of necessity bc•causr of the neerl to protect crops and
add to income. In tho village of Pong Sorn, just before entering the
thick forest belt, abnnt 10 kilometres f1·om Khau Plu•a Vi11ar, the men
were out hunting.
In a number of houses the t1·ophies of the hunt
could be seen, deer ant.lers of almost majestic proportions and horns
of wil

John Black
4
On my last visit the plateau was reached jnst :~2
leaving Bangkok.
hours after
Bangkok-Ubol
Bangkok-Srisakes
Distance Table.
Sri sakes-Kantaralak
Kantar·alak-Khao Phra Villar
Kms.
575
515
G2.fl
47.5
Rail
Hail
Road
Road
'l'he passion for building sanctuaries ou isolated hills is
characteristic of the great religions of the east. Whether it be the
ancient and mystic Hinduism or the gentle and peaceable Bndrlhism,
one may see in many parts of the Asian mainland temples and
sanctuaries on hill and mountain top. I shon1cl like now t.o take
you, in imagination, using the illustration~ I have het·e, to the most
remarkable site for a temple in the whole of the lnllo-Chineso
peninsula on which stands the Lofty SancLnary of l'lna Villar.
A Description of The Monument*
Few have visited Khao Phra Vihftr and, a mneh smaller·
number still have recor·ded with any accuracy t.be many features
and architectural details of the mountain enserubh!, All, ltuwever,
agree with the words of Aymonier written over flO years ago in
his Le Oambodge, "Amongst all the temples of Kambuja the most
remarkable, without doubt, is that of Khao Phra Vihar". This
lofty temple crowns a sptn· of the Dangrek Range, some fiOO metres
above sea level and its position on the map is latibude u· -23'-20''
North and 1ongitnde 104"·-41' East. It is built lengthwise through a
------------------------
*I have adhered to the custom of numbering courts in the plan, starting at the
principal and wor~ing outward, i.e., in the case of Khao Phra Vihar from
south to north. The grand entrance, however, is from the north through two
entrance pavilions or gopuras, These are nurnbered from north to south.
The architectural plan shows a system of alphabetical lettering from south to
north, with a key, in the form of a table below the plan. These letters have
been used, within brackets, as an aid to interpret

.. !\
THE LOFTY SANCTUARY OF KHAO PI-IRA VIHAR
.'1
number of Courts and Gopnras, as was common in the early classic
style, in contradistinction to the at•t·tmgement of concentric enclosures
of the later Angkor Wat period.
The monnment is characterised
by the perfection. of its edifices which are carved in that reddish
brown sand-stone so dear lo the architects of the period.
The length of the ensemble is 850 metres and it is composed
of three courts with their entrance pavilions, and t.wo separate
gopnras.
imposing stairways.
All are on different levels and separated by avenues and
From the lowest point of entry at the north,
i.e., the fit·st step of tbe main st.nirwar, to the level of the principal
sanctuary in Court I there is a rise of 120.3 metres. 'l'he compass
shows the position of the monument as facing magnetic north and
not the geographic pole. In the impot·tant ceremony to determine
the posHion nf the sanctuary in relation to the cardimll points, it
would appear as if a compass had been ns(•d, altlmngh the deviation
from true now recorded. may he due to altered conditions in the
intervening period. It it~, of course, well known that the cornpa~:~s
was in common use in the Far EB:st by the end of the 3rd centnry
A.D., indeerl, Chine.se hisLorians ascribe its discovery to a period long
before thig time.
'l'he grandeur of the approaeh lies in the long steep stairway
with large stone blocks on either side in the J'orm of giant steps.
Before entering the causeway of Nagas, that mythical and semi-divine
but. graceful motive nsed with great effect hy the Kbmet·s, the
stairway narrows, but the total widt.h is maintained.
Some of the
stairs are cut from virgin rock while others are qnarried from nearby
rock sit.es. 'l'he blocks of the giant steps are recessed on their
fac:e.
This simple ornamentation softens the hard effect of the stontl
mass iu front of you although the staircase as a whole achieves
the grand effect of the "heavenly" approach.
The lion, never known lo inhabit the Indo-Chinese peninsula,
is used at Phra Vihar as a guardian of the entrance to the stair
and door ways of the two gopnras or pavilions, through which a11
must pass on thei1· way to the gallel'ies, cotll'ts and sanctuary tower
on the upper levels.
'fwo distinct designs were observed, one with
front legs in a st.anding position and rear legs half crouching, the
other, unusual in Khmer architecture, had a mane and was in full

6 John Black
standing position.
'l'his liou was found
immeclintely below the
gopura at the entl'ance to the third Colll·t. It was broken ft•om its
base, lmt the paws n.ucl legs on base, together with the borly section
close hy, indicated a standing position.
'l'he Naga balmtt•adc over 30 metres long is almost intact. 'l'he
unadorned pnlyeephalous Naga heafl denotes a period prior to Angkor
Wat.
There at·e 23 stone blocks in tbe body which is Cut'ved on
top and about 1 metre thick.
The whole gives a rampant or poised
effect, but unfortunately the curved tail of the east balustrade has
been displaced.
Many arc l!te displaeements attributed to elephants,
part.icnlarly among the mile-stone-like pillars which must have
given a majestic appea!'Hnce to tho avenue approuches betwet>n the
gopuras. In all. there are about lRO of thesl~ pillars; very few are
now standing. 'l'hey are used, with only slight variation according
to the pet'iod, in a number of Khmer temples for ornamental 'effect
along cansewnys. As far as is known, no interpretation exists of
the motive, though it is safe to say t.hey have some significance in
the Khmer scheme of design.
'
The• first gopnra ot· entrance tlavilion (S') hom the north is
largely in 1•uins.
The two sections of both east. and west wings
and the centre !Jays of the cruciform edifice wet'e open by design.
The significance of this building was pos:;illly uo mot·o than a
resting plact; on the way to the summit, bnt its decorative effect
was not neglected. 'l'he sculptor devoted as mnch attention to the
ornamentation of the tloonvays, a key point in the Khrner sanctu;U"y
design, as was done in the many other porche!l of the monument.
'£he lintels have as their priueipal element the Rahn head on which
Ill
is mounted a divinity. 'l'his gopura is beautifully get as if on a
stand in the forw of a huge tiered foundation, fully u metre above
gronncl level.
'l'his is characteristic of Khmer design and applies
to all t.he structures of Phra Vihflr; indeed, it is a feature which
reached its crowning glu1•y in the eentral monument of Angkor Wat
which t·ests on a steep massive tiet'.
'l'he weather or west side of this first entrance pavilion has
completely collapsed, unlike the second pavilion and the whole of
the third comt which are in a belter state of preservation because

TI-ll;; LO~'TY SANCTUARY OF l(HAO PHRA VIHAR 7
nf their natural pt·otection from th•l S.W. monsoon,
If ever reslo.
ration work is undertaken, and there is every reason to do so, each building
or comtyard can lln tackled as an individual nnit .. Nature in the
form of afforestation will requit·e to he harnessed to provide natuntl
protection fnl' the restored work.
Proceeding clne east from the wing of the first gopnra, a
path is eneonnterrd.
At fil·st this is no more than a footpath, with
fragments of well-eut rock :1ppearing alJOve the vegetation on either
sifle.
'l'hen, there is clear evidence that. the path was once an
avenue six metres wide antl bordererl by hPavy s:nl

John Black
they were placed at three metre int.e1·vals ulong.t,he avenues.
At theh
base, a roughly cut proj~~ction of the pillar fits into a hole in the
virgin roe1c of the monnt.ain to keep thc~rn
erect and in position.
Before reaehing the second pavilion or gopnra a short
path W

Ti-h; LOF'TY SANCTUARY OF KHAO PHRA VIHAR 9
by the undulating body (Jf the Naga. Sometimes this effect is
arranged in t.wo tiers, there being two polycephalous heads, one
above the other on the pediment extremities. On many doorways the
central head of the Naga has au ornamental trunk whieh styles the
whole as late Kleang-early Baphonn period, nne of the most perfect
in Khmer art. Surmonnting the whole, as if to crown the artistry
of lintel and pediment, is a foliage of flame-shaped leaves. No
snrfnee over the entire fa

10 John Black
The nse of the lion-head to symbolise water in Khmer architectt1re
is unusual.
'l'he colll'ts are three in :til anrl they have been numbered,
as is customary, from the comtyat·c1 of the principal sanctuary.
\Ve are now ahont to enter tho lhit·d court.
Althm1gh the avenne
of approach from the secnw:l gtipn ra iK uow largely overgrown, it
·was wide enongh at one time to provide wing causeways on either
sicle o( lhe central nvenne which was lined with pillm·s.
'l'h0 grand
scale 'Of this court allows tlll'ee passages through its crnciformecl
gopnra (N). For this reason it is obvious that the width of the approach
was much greater than the central avenne snggest.s in the monument's
present state.
'l'he tiered mount setting is again a feature, covering
.as it does in this court a width far exceeding nny of the others.
At this stage on the way to the summit. sanctuary tower, the
ceremonies, rit.ual anrl nse oJ the bnildings, dictate the design and
setting.
In the symmetrical arl'angement of their editicl'•s, the
Khmet• architects achieved tlte well-nigh. perfect,
Lions, in pairs,
graced the large step~ flanking the shott steep stainvny l~atling to
the main entrance. Indeed, at all entrances tu this gopura, the lion
was used t.o give that impressive gnardian etl:ect..
The artistry ol' the decorative entrance follows tho same
pattern as in the second gopura.
differ, but the Rahu head is again prominent.
'fhe scenes from Hindu mythology
At the north entrance
the work of the craftsmen on the lintel and pediment is partly
obliterated due to weathering, antl identiiicat,ion is clifficnH.
the lintel there is a two-legged figure with a divinity above and on
the pediment what appears to he a male figure is warding off two
animals. ·Deer-like fignres are on the right and left of the pediment
scene and a tree shelters the entire setting. 'l'I·uncated polycHphalous
Nagas, as previously described, stand on the extremities.
On
On the
lintel of the inne1• doorway there is a H.ahn hearl \Vit.h two divinities
on either sidl'.
figure of Vishnu i::l depicted.
Above the head a Gnrucla carrying the fonr"n1•med
The decoration on the pediment of
the inner door facing south has as its principals, Siva nnd his wife
Uma sitting nu a bull, under the shade of a tree in full foliage.
'l'here at•e six human tignres also in the scene, three in front of the

THE LOWl'Y SANCTUARY OF KHAO PI-IHA VII-JAR 11
animal and three behind, tht> two nearesL on both sides are careying
chatra-like canopies on long poles. On the lintel the CE'ntral figure
is the Nara-Sinha, ot• man lion, the fnt·m assumed by Vishnu to
deliver the world from tyranny. Right nnd left uf the principal
are two similar interpretations of the Nara.Sinha,
On the lintel of the dnorway f[teing south, the fineness or
chiselling porteays a Hahn head with male and female figmes on
both sides, As if resting on the head, three birds-swu.ns or geesecarry
three figtll'eS of Brahma. A pal'ticnlal'ly well pt·eset·ved 1intel
and pediment face south on the Wl'SL wing of t.he gopura. The
Hahn head with god on top is Lhe motive, 'i'lll'onghout this court
the fine decorative effect of the octagonal colonnette enhances the
principal OL'narnental feature, tlw door". They are characte1•istic of
classic Khmet· art and in combination with the lintel and pediment
it can be said that the richness of decoration is a fantasy of inspiration
in detail.
Facing norLh rn~ the east ::;ide ~f ·aourt III, but i;:;olaled
from the rest. of' the structure, is a tower (l~) which was possibly 10
metr·es high. It is now in a state of ruin with ft tree growing out
of Hs centre. 'l'here seems nil doubt t.hat this tower was used as a
look-out anu at one tilne, with the mountain promontory largely
stripped of jungle, it must have provided a vantage J)oint overlooldng
the northern approaeh and the avenue east from the first gopurn.
l:larmentier attributes t!Hl building of the "palaces" (P & P') on the
I ,
north side of Oonrt III to Snryavarman I (1005/1007-1050).
These
structures nrc to the: east and west of the gopura. lmt separaLc from
it.
'I' he en tire wall facing nort.h is closed, bnt for one door in the
centre, and all the light comes from the inner COl1l't where halnstel'
windows face south. To form a 'U' shape, on both sic1es thei·e is
a shot·t 'arm' tl.t right angles, which is part of the ''palaces". On tlie
fourth side of the enclosures at ( 0 & 0') facing south is a strnctnre,
slightly telescopic in design, which is clivitlecl into four section's;
'I'he two palaces are symmetrical and although stone bnildingS
\vere not nsed
due to remoteness, that this part of the monastery sheltered
as resider!ces ·by the Khmer, it' is quite tdrefy,
honoured guests rmd even kings themselves.· Tho many inscriptions.
found in the "palaces'', dated 1026, in.d icate the constrl1C:tion period,

12 John Blac1,
The entil'e ensemble of Court III it> best preserved of all
and it is possible, with little llifficmlty, to construct in the mind's
eye something of its former state and thereby get closer to the glory
of the past. The roofs have collapsed almost entirely but there ,is
ample. evidence that the gopura itself was immense anu beautiful,
cmciform in design, and supported by sqtuit'e stone pillars. The
tiled roofs were mounted by a ridge crest of pike heads. 'rhere is
ample evidenee still of brickwork bnilt-up in the tiered corbel ~nch
design in the telescopic enclosure buildings facing south.
Along the much shorter avenue separating Courts II and III
the causeway of pillars has an outer frame of a Naga balustrade on
either side. Much of this man-made setting has .fallen out of place,
thm1gh by no means beyond restoeation. 'l'be forest has taken over
and there is almost an archway oJ' vegetation over the avenues
separating gopnm II from Court III and between the latter and
Court II.
The entrance pavilion or gopma (K) of Court II has partly
collapsed due to age and weatherinf.!, though there is still ample
evidence of stone artistry on colmmettes, lintels and pediments, as
described on our \vay throngh the lower parts of the monument.
The two long halls or galleries (M & l\1') constructed al right angles
to the gopnra practically enclose courtyard IT, within which is the
main hall . (I) and the east and west libraries (L & L').
'I' he long or main hall forms the antechamber to the principal
sanctuary. It consists of three naves, divided by two rows of heavy
square stone pillars. Its roof was in three parts in relation to the
naves and t.he central section was ridged with pike-heads and ended
in gables with pediments. The roof has entirely collapsed and the
eight massive pillars stand upright stark and mute, a reminder not
only of the rlwages of time, but of one of the weaknesses in Khmer
design, the corbelled roof. Khmer architects, not knowing the true
arch design, found themselves handicapped in spanning wide openings,
althongh it shoulcl always he rem em be red thaL the magnificent
edifices of the Khmer were for the few. 'l'hey were not designed
for the great gatherings or congregation oJ' people assooiatecl with
the cathedrals of the West.

'l'I-U: LOFTY SANCTUJ\l{Y OF KIIAO PHRI\ VIHAR 13
'l'he first mention of libraries and books goes back tu t.he
Funan period in the early ce11ttlries of the Christian era, but it was
not until the second quarter of the ninth century that the architectural
innovation of the library appeared in the Kami.Juja period.
In the transition stage when styles were ~~hanging and light brickwork
was giving way to the more heavy and lasting construction
in. sandstone, it is thought that the libraries were the first, in the
ensemble, to be recreated in stone. Certainly the two libraries at
Phra Vihar were not built to take care of' a collection of books.
The buildings here, as in other sanctuaries, are too small and not at all
suitable. In a recent conversation with H.H. Prince Dhani, A. Boisselier
of' l'Ecole fran

14 John Black
the worship oE the god-king is dedicated to Siva who was represented
in the temple under the form of a linga or phallic emblem. 'l'he
contention is that during his lifetime the king was exalted to the
rank of the go1l Siva, one of the great Hindu Triad.
The sanctuary tower was a red en ted square rp1•asat with doors,
preceded by porches on all sides. Its tower, erowned by a coronation
stone in lotus, was a terraced pyramid intended to symbolise Mount
Meru the abode of the gods and centre of the universe in Hindu
cosmology. It iH possible to calculate from the base, still remaining,
and the proportions of the coronation stone that the height must
have been abont 20 metres. This tower in its sett.ing almost on
the edge of a clifl' 600 metres above sea level must have presented
an imposing sight. Indeell, no better position could have been chosen
in the whole of the Indo-China peninsula as the Olympus of the
Khmer. The antechamber of the sanctnar·y is almost intact bnt the
massive sandstone blocks of the pmsnt lie strewn aronncl the
courtyard. What remains of the prasat about 3 metres above tho
esplanade is a revelation in quality and the amount of work that
must haYe been involved in its construction. 'l'he blocks of sandstone
appear to have been ground almost face to face, so dose and accurate
is the fit. gach block of stone on the section still standing weighs
no less than five tons and several were. dowelled in 24· pl[).ces, the
hole's being nsed for liWng ami to key or dowel in position, Nothing
short of a majoe natural d isaslcr conld possibly have led to the
collapse of this almost solid structnre. Snell is the reason given.for
the shattering of tl.te sanctuary towel', although it is difficult to
imagine how the antechamber which is structurally connected with
the tower, not to mention. tho snt•rounding buildings, remained
intact nuder such circumstances. It has boon said that the fall
of the Jll'asat has much to do with the ruined st(~te of the second
9onrt. Thet•e is no evidence to support this contention. Very
little of the ornamentation which graced the sanctuary tower can
now be seen, 'l'he. fall either destt·oyed the light decoration or
much, if uot all, is buried below the rnin. One displaced lintel
was among the many blocks thrown off, depicting Vishnu on the
Naga cou,ch, whose hooded head was the,p;od's canopy.

'i'i-iE Lot~·h SANCTUARY OF KHAo PHRA VII-IAR
is
The galleries, including t.!Jeir corbelled arch roof of sandstone,
are well preserved. Interior windows are the only source of light,
but doorways pierce the outer walls leatling to the annexes (F & G)
and the cliff. The brick roof of the blilHl gopnra has collapsed,
bnt the same type of roof on the telescopie ends of the gopura, whieh
joins the east and west galleries is in a better state of repair.
Parmentier has recor!lecl that the blind gopura was used as the rice
harn of the monument. While there appears no defiiJ.ite proof
of this, it may well have been the case due to the remoteness of the
sanctuary. 'l'he nnmber of people who were associated with it in
its heyday of fame Rnrely made it, necessary to store large
q nantities of grain.
It is a striking characteristic of' the ensemble, apart from its
orientation towards the north, that on t,he east-favoured by tradi tiou
-there are a number of features not common to the west. For
instance, on the annexel:l situated on either l:lide of Court I, the
architect has favoured the eastern building with a more elaborate
design. From the vantage point of the east annex the view is
second only to the wonderful panorama looldng south. Both these
buildings are now in a ruined state though possibly at one time
they were nsed for the performance of devotional rites by the king
and for ritual ablutions and dances.
About one kilorneter to the N.E., aligned north and south,
are two unusual chedi-like stmetnres built with some care using
ltll'ge blocks of rough yel1ow sandstone. Local legend has it that
they were used as treasure store-houses and associated with Khao
Phra Vihar. 'l'here are, however, no supporting facts to connect
these p·ra.srtts with the temple. 'l'he design is unknown elsewhere
and nothing exists that would indicate a construction date: · One
sandstone block has been removed showing the inside to be empty.
In appearance tlrey have a square base with a simple cup-shaped
design, above and below a square pedestal 2 metres high. As if to
crown· the 'monument tho masonry

Hi
john Black
considerable length, hoth by word and in plan, by that eminent
authot•ity H. Parmentier in his L'Art Klmuw Olassique (.Mon-uments
dtt Quadrant N ord-E8t). It will, however, be observed in comparison
with Parmentier's interpretation, that there are certain differences in
some basic dimensions on the plan herein presented. Although they
do not alter the design, as snel1, it is considered that they reflect
a more accurate interpretation of the mountain ensemble. Also, for
the first time, as far as is known, the elevation shows the levels of
the various temple structures !'elated to the lowest point of the
northern approach stairway, which is taken as zero.
Again, the
geographical posit,ion, in terms of calculated longitude and latitude,
is clearly set down on a separate map to a seale not hitherto
recorder!.
A Description of the Portico Facing South - Second Gopura.
'l'he doonvay measn res 1.15 rn~tres
in w icl th by 2JJ9 metros
high, and is ridged on all sides with four distinct frames.
'l'he colon.Jrlettes adjacent to the ridged framework of the
door are octagonal with deb pranom-like eli vin ities in diamoud-shaped
O!'namenktl frames at the foot of each column. 'l'he colonnettes
which support the lintel nre artistically scnlptured with floral
decoration between circumferential ridges.
'l'he lintel portrays a scene from Hindu mythology. '!'he
god Vishnu whilst asle(~p dtlt'ing the intervals of creation is using
the Naga as a couch and canopy. His wife Lakshmi, sometimes
known as the daughter of the sea of milk, sits at Vishnu's feet with
her· arms round his legs below the knee.
According to legend, she
sprang like Aphrodite from the froth of the ocean when it was
churned by the gods and the asw·ns. Vishnu is shown with a lotus
stem coming out of his navel, from the flower of ·which springs
the four-headed naray or the active creator Brahma.
He has four
hunds; one holds the conch-shell; another a chall:ra or discns; the
third a clnb and the fourth, a lotus. Close• to the Naga head are
four figures-one male, two females ancl. a monkey.
appear to have clnhs in their hands.
The humans
At the tail of the Naga,

THl can lHJ sc•un, also a monkey, the fol'mer
and lattrr eal'l'y el nbs.
The pillars snpporting tht• phlillll'lit are identically seulpturcd
~hroughont. with heart·Shed objects.
'l'nming to t.he art: of the sculptor on the pediment, tho
tortoise supports an earthen :iar nncl on each side of tllC' jar sit two
small figures.
'l'he ehnrning sti(:k, within the jar, has tl1e body of
a t.ht•ee- hearlecl Nnga twisted IU'onncl it.
'1\l make the churning
motion tlHee gods on tho ldt a1·e pulling the snake's body at the
tai.l end and three demons at the head or right side fauing the
doorway, pnll in opposition.
The chnrning of Uw ilcean produces
the amrUa ancl othe1• precious things which had been lost and caused
the gocls to appeal to the might.y Vishnu.
'l'ho !{Ods al the tail are
kept cool by the clonds, alw~•ys in this vicinity, while the hot breath
issuing from the N aga's month makes it a very uncomftwt able exercise
for the demons.
Further np the churning stick is the climbing
figure of VisiH1n wilh an animal perched on top.
On the left, as
if snppol'ling the gods, is a Ganula with a human nose-pl'e-Angkor
Wat period-and a male figure with headgear. 'l'o the right, as if
on the side of the clemons,. is an elephant with two hnmans on ita
liaok. An·1al'I'ay
of goll-like creatures supports the scene, sik' on· tlie
t•ight Side of 'the churr1ing stick and two on the left. 'I' he whole is
snrmounted by t,he llomhed undnlatiug bodies nf Lhe Naga witli.flameshal)ed
foliage., riding o.;,·er the nnd nlat.io1is, O!'t eithet• side the

18
cornice has two Naga heads cal'ved to blend in wilh the mount, in
characteristic Klnner style.
A displaced lintel found in the west side of the second court
is worthy of comment for the excellency of its work and artistry.
'rhe lower part of the sandstone block is a mass of carving with
the Rahu head as ~he central tignre, The hands of the god pull his
lower jaw down at tbe corners of the mouth, allowing as if to eseape
from the cave1·n thus created two serpent-like creatures.
At tbe
right and left of this scene are two Apsara.s or heavenly nymphs in
different poses and on the extremities of the

1'1-tE LOFTY SANCTUARY OF KHAO Pl-lRA Vll-IAR 19
called to his wife for a ku ife hn t hy this time the affect ions of the
lady had been transferred to the bandit chief and the
knife
was placed between the two men with the handle towards the
latter, who seized it and killed the Prince. 'rhe lady of the jar
then became the wife of the bandit, bnt the gods, who were displeased
with such behaviour, turned her into a gibbon who cries continually
on the mountain side to this clay for her fit'St husband.'''
There is ttn nld nmu of the mountain, Kbun Sri Kukhan
Ketr, who lives in a vil1age near Khao Phra Vih~r
and spends
much of his time in a eave less than a kilcnnl'tre from the stair·way
ascent to the monastery. He is a fnnd of lore and has an interpretation
of his own for almost evet·y linte·l sCf.•ne. ThosP who go to
Phra Vihii.r ~honlrl
not fail to seek him out. and if time permits take
the opportunity of 1ecording ~ome of his own and the pt·esent. day
local interpret at jqns of the mountain sanct.uary.
Symbolism of the Architecture.
Professor Cnedes s:d

20
to l'ecoi·d the intricacies of tht! god-king wor~hlp, ev

'hiE LOI~TY SANCTUARY OF KHAO PI-IRA VII-iAR 21
It was flhortly aftet' the appearance of Yasovarman I abuut
890 that we first hear of the mountain sanctuary of Phra Vihi.i.t',
'l'his out.st.antling rnler had a passion for huilrling shl'iues on hills and
mountain top. rl'hough most of his mnnlliJH~nts were dedieated t.o
Siva, as is the cal:lc with Phra Viliii.r, monasteries were alsu established
dnring his reign to r](eyotees of Brahrnn, Buddha nnd also Vishnu.
He had that characteristic of tolerance which was not uncommon in
othet• rnlet·s of this rt-warl

22 john Black
judgment and religions tolerancP. He conquered Lonvo and it \\'US
held for two centuries, until its conquest by the Thai.
He began
tho KhmL"t'isalinn of the Ohaophya, Meklong and Se Mun Ya!Jeys.
Above all, his work endured.
This ruler made the greatest. contri.
bution to our mountain ensemble. He bnilt the "palaces'' at the north
end of Onurt III, where many inscriptions were .l'onnfl, and constrneted
the l'Hmpant Naga bitlustracle of the Northern approach.
Then followed a transitory period when i:leveral kings Hilted
acros:> the stage of Khmer history, contributing little to our snb.iect,
the 12tlt centurj 7
It was Suryavarman II who reigned during the first hal.l' of
and particularly this king's great {/'lt?'tt and minister,
Divalmrapandita, who put the final tonches on the monastery
after which it seCJms to have been abandoned and neglected.
'l'his
1·oign saw tho Style of Angkor Wat emerge. Silryavarrnnn Il was a
great builder as well as a war1•ior an!l religious reformor.
It was
em·ly in his t'eign that the greatest and best preserved monument
of Khmer history, Angkor Wat, was started.
It is to an inscription
found at Phrn Vihar that we are alJle to trace somethiug of th'e
echoes of the construction of the crowniug glory of Khmer architecture
after five hmH.It•ed years of steady and continuous development.
It may be asked how such information is available to ns-the
answer is simple! lt was the custom to recor'l by inscription l'eigns
and feats of t.he Kings of Kambuja, as well as the building of
temples and gifts offererl to gods.
men deeply versed in the sacred books of India.
'l'hey were composc•cl by learned
It was not; so
simple, however, to translate their Sanscrit and Khmer texts; for
this, a great debt is due to Professor Ooerles, a past president of
this Society anrl an outstanding savant of Indo. Chines'" history,
fn·chae-ology, philology and literat.ure.
The Outlook From The Cliff Edge
At Khao Phra Vihar, 600 Metres Above Sea Level
. Looking eastward from this summit of vtmlage, the observer
is impressed first. by the forest covered ridges of: the Daugrek Chain
anu then l.Jy the incised valleys which •sepamte these spms AS far

THE LOFTY SANCTUARY OF KHAO PHRA VIHAR 23
as the eye can .see, a series of ridges clam in ate the seenE:1 to the
finger or pap promontory, the well-known topographic feature of the
Dangrek, which projects beyond all others into the Cambodian Lowlands.
The ridges or promontories reach their highest point,
withont exception, at the southem extremity or' mountain wall' in
Khmer terminology. Some are lower than the cliff edge at Khao
Pllt'a Vihar, while others are undoubtedly higher. 'l'he striking
thing, however, is that these promontories are the cnlminalion of a
gentle slope from the Se Mun Valley in the north, rising to thd1·
maximum at the southern tip of the projection. The terrain bas
the appearance of a giflnt saw with uneven teeth. In some places
the space between the teeth takes the form of a valley, higher than
the plain, but through which tracks have been marle to provide for
the coming and going of people and their animals in this marginal
area. A number of promontories facing south are outstanding
because of the precipitous nature of the cliff-face on which bare rock
outcrops are unable io support. vegetation. This view outstrips in
grandeur all others from the lofty :-mmmit of Kbao Phra Vihar.
Again, fl'om the same vantage point looking i:louth ovl'J' the
great plain of Cambodia, there is a 500 metre drop here which i,;
almost breath-laking. 'l'he day was beautifully clear and the visual
distance was fully 100 kilometres. Such days without ha;:e are rare
but just. at tho 0nd of the rainy season is the time of the year to
visit the mountain sanctuary. 'l'he carpet of forest green spread
over the slightly undulating plain represents a vast area of vegetation
at its best after the monsoon drenching. In t.be near distance
villages may be seen in the middle OI' sheltering at the edge of
vivid green rice patches. It is a view possibly nmivalled in its
scope for sheer uuobslrncted vision. Hoads nnd rivers cannot be
seen bnt away on the sonthern boriwn Phnom Kulen is quite clear
aud again to the south-west is a more broken range beyond which
is Angkor and the Tonie Sap.
Looking west, the topographical pattern is similar to the
east, but the view is obstructed by a high promontot·y close to Khan
Phra Vihar summit. 'l'he featUl'es are a series of promontories stret-

] region, the middle Mekong, and this may
have been .a powerful influence on Yitsovarman l in laying the
foundation of this Sivaite temple on snch a rare site. Nev'ertheless,·

THE LOFTY SANCTUARY OF KHAO PI-IRA VIl-lAR
2tJ
there seemH no doubt from its setting, the direction in which it
is orientated, and its remoteness from what must have been the
struggling and toiling life on the plain, that Phra Vihar was a
mountain retreat, a sanctuary for meditation where quietness pre"
vailed. Herein lies the romantic in onr temple at the summit.
For two hundred and fifty years the kings and priestly
hierarchy of this Indo-Khmer civilization, one of the greatest empires
that Asia has ever known, found it necessary from time to time to
retreat to the quietnes!:l of Khao Phra Vihar. Above all, it was for
this reason that such a remarkable site was chosen.
Much ha

THE LEGEND OF KHAO PHRA VIHAR
A Siameso tnmsla.tion from RajctJlhongsavculcir Kt·ung Kctmbufa,
"The Royal H1'stury of Cambodia," writ len ·in 1877 and transl,zted
into Siamese 1:n 1917,
A princess of the Royal Honse and grand-daughter of the
King tl.ed with het· husband into the forest, feal'ing the vengeance
of a usurpet· who seized the throne. 'I' he couple lived in the forest for
many years, but when the princess was about to giYe birth they sought
refuge in near-by villages. The vigilance of the tyrant, however, had
not relaxed and they were finally tracked down, although the husband
escaped. 0t'ders for her death, using the cruel methods of the time,
were given by the Usmper King PlHomkel, but the child within
the womb escaped by a miracle. It is said, in fact., that the royal infant
was hidden by the birds of the ait· who sprearl their wings over him to
pl'Ovide shade from the noon. day sun. Hence the name by which he is
known to po~terity as Phrahad Baksey Ohttmkrcmg, i.e., His
Majes~y whom the birds (Baksey) gave cover (Krt'ing) o£ protection
(Cham).
A passing herdsman, known as Old Man Kuhe, recognising
the child to be of royal blood, took the infant and brought him up
as his own. He was ma

'ri-iE LOF'l'Y SANCTUARY CW KHAO PI-IRA VIH.i\i-~ ~7
soothsayers to ronnel- np all the boys in the ueighbou rhood in order
to obtain au imprint in powder from their hands and feet. The
boy prince was escorted by his guardian who, on seeing the ruse,
quickly made off with the boy while thn advisers were examining
the prints on powder. 'l'his caused constemation and an army
was sent ont to apjwehcntl the fugitives. So hot wns the pursnit
that Knhe and· the vl'ince were forced to flee in the tlirection o:f
Battambong and the fol'est-. This place of: refnge becarne known
as Old Man Knhe's village.
It was during this time that the guardian taught the boy
how to pray so that no danger would befall them. 'l'hey wer

28 john Black
The wanderings in hiding by the herdsman and prince
pursued by soldiery of a usnrper king were many and tortuous.
At oue point the army used elephants to trample down all the trees
in the vicinity hoping to force the fugitives out of hiding. 'l'his
place was named Kok Yiebyam, i.e., tho mount where tb e trampling
took place. Again at Ch

'l'HE LOFTY SANCTUARY OF KHAO PHRA VIHAR 29
There is a character in the Sanscl'it Rami'i,yana of Valmiki,
by name Guha who is described as a forester living in the wilderness
and who gave help to Rama in his exile.
A similar character appears in the Siamese Ramakien, named
Kukhan the J!'orester who lived "at Buril•am which was surrounded
by a range of hills". Those who know Buriram, will recall that a
physical feature of the neighbourhood is a semi.circular range which
almost encompasses the town.
'l'he link between Khao Phra Vihar and the Forester Kukhan
who lived at Buriram would appear to have a stronger relationship
when it is recalled that our sanctuary is within the amphoeship of
Kukhan in the province of Srirakes, indeed the whole province
was at one time known as Kukhan. This connection, together with
the name of Old Man Kuhe, suggests that something more than the
mere coincidence of namBS unites the monntain templo with the
epic and legend.
I am indebted for this reference to H .. H. Prince Dhani who
drew my at,tention in the first instance tu the le-gend of Khao Phra
Vihar in "'l'he Royal History ef Oaru bodia".
• ·~
I

Jayavarman II
Parame8vara
GENEALOGY OF KHMER KINGS ASSOCIATED
WITH KHAO PHRA Vl HAR
'l'he beginning of tho ANGKOR
period. Mncle KAMBUJADEQA in-
("Supreme Lord", i.e., Siva) dependent of JAVA. No association
802 -845 with PHRA VIHA.R, but period is
ontstanding in KHMER history.
Yasovarman
Parama~ivaloka
889- 900/91 0?
Rajend ravarman II
Sivaloka
944- 96B
Constrnetef Conrt III. Stairs and avenues

TH!!; I.OFTY SANCTUAl{Y OF KHAO PHI-~A VlHAR 31
lined with naga balu::;trades and
"milestone" posts nre almost entirely
the wot·k of this reign. Many inscriptions
were found in the "palaces''
dated 1026.
Udayadityavarman II .
f Posthumous name, not
I come to light
i ~arshavaraman III
1 Sadasivapada
LJOSO- 1080
Suryavarman II
Paramavishnuloka
1113-1150
Posthumous' name of King
is shown immediately
below reigning title
Pt·incipal sanctuary rebuilt in sandstone
in Baphuon style. 'l'he sanctuary
in tho form of a redented square
prasat, staged pyramid - wise, and
crowned by a coronation stone in
lotus form.
Pn t the final touches on a1l stair and
causeways. Made some modification
to the long hall and gopura of Court
II. This king's geat guru and minister,
DIVAKARAPANDI'l'A,
paid some
attention tot he monument. After this
it seems to have been bancloned a
and neglected.
Style:
Transition: Middle of XIth
Century
Baphuon : Second half Xlth
Century
Authority: Gilberte de Coral
Remus11t, L'ART
KHMEJR

Cr~lnd Slairw:ty of NodiH·rn !\ppr

Ceneral View of H.uin;; of ·Firs!. Gopura with nne o'f
~!i!est"ns Pillarc; on l

Lintel and Pudimc;n! un Second

Lintel and Pediment of Third Courl
Linl.c:l uf Thircl Court Depictirq"; Siva ami Utr~C;

J,>int~J
with c'bra Sinha and l'editnent DepicUnf; Siva and llfllil l{itling
''" the Hull NZ~nc!l, Tl1ird Court

0iorlhwest Corwer of J!ir::;l Court Showin!~ l'tof of
Library i.n Second Cuurl
Two llnusual Chedl-like Structure·:·, Buill of L:tq~" !\locks r•f
S;mcL;tont; t\hout ()1\(' KiintiH.~tn: !'-·1odht~a:;t of the Tettlple

Snullt \Vlnr; o! Crucifonn Copur;t of Third C

Lintel ort CEast \Nin,c~ of St~C\ItHJ t~opura Sho\.vinr~ a IHvlnHy
:"~€'att?.d on ill Ntq~~a. with lTno~ uld Florid ( ~niJ.tnt~'ntation

ll;,luster \Vindow in CruciftH tn
(;opura of Thhd C

[\rLhn;• lluldirq~ up Mmmt;\ln to l'rot.:ct the ,\nitll:llc; lh,ioiCied
un a P~!cUmcnt of the Second Gopur~
J)J,;placed Lintd In Second Court Dec;cribcd on
18~1D

KHAo-PH 14 VIHAR
lti1W!: 1~11

L~1W
~
:: M1
hao i'hra rlihar
A CCR"'!:I ~ THf EUT "PJ\.'~~· WlQ M COUI!i T!l~~e • IU
..,E c~o(GRcu~~o ntt .illTISfn; P¥OIM(HT'$ oF T~r. 4oNIU,
,
....,~·-''
...........
,
'.,
'
.. ~··
Til! 1.1~,51'1!. PI~~~IIJ Cf TH~ CtHTPll. I

tnao ~nra DIIlilr
I
I
--;- Jt.!f .. ,.. -
....... !'n ... "', ....... ,.. ..... "
Hd
·-· --. --· i
I
I .
I I
.1.
':
.-'
'!
.~~~- -=-=c~=-:::=::=:=::=3
I 1
I I
II
0
I I ~.~ ....... -
\ ,, /'·-·-
.L~- ...
d
1

:..,_
REVIEWS
'l'hi~ it< ! h1• ;-;i'\l}i and litud vnlurm~ of the inscriptions of
;>w:iditPd awl t t•analalod from the Sanskrit ahd
Khuwr lavi

REVIEWS
precious metals.
We shall in the following, afl usual, only mention
those inscriptions which present a special interest to the readers of
the J OW'1utl
The oldes 1".
of the inscriptions goes hack to tbc) reign of
King Isannvarman I (beginning of the VIIth century A.D.), while
an inscription at. Vat. Prei Wnl J'rom the reign of Jayavarman I
(second half of the VIIth c~~nt.ury ), whL·h has now dissappeared,
mentions Lwo Jllwrt,
phi/;:,w, and is thns one o.f: the oldest witnesses
to the pre-Augkor existence of Bnddhism in Cambodia. It is
interesting t.o find in this iuscript.ion thn name of the town of
Naravaranagr.ra, in Chinese Na-fn-na, 'vhere the last. of t.he great;
kings of Fn-nun songht refuge after the conquest of their kingdom
by their former norther•n vassals, the Khmer.
The Buddhism of
VIIth century Cambodia seems lo have beon of t.lte 'fheravndin sect
which later gave way to the Mahayana.
Most of the inscriptions arc dedicated tn the l'erloutable god
Siva, or his phallic symbol, the linga, ·which is still the objeet of
worship by barren women in Cambodia and Siam. Most of tlw
Khmer kings were worshippers of Siva, and only a fc\Y were
devoted to Vishnn or the Bnddha.
'l'he great mass of t.he common
people seems, as opined by His late Hoyal Higness Prince Dnmrong,
to have been BnddhistH and/m· animists. Caves we1·e also nsed in
ancient Cambodia, and also to the north of the forbidding harriet·
of the Dangrek hills in Siamese territory, as places of worship of
the Brahmanic gods. While most of the Brahmanic images installed
in the various sanclual'ies have 1lisappeared, probably destroyed by
treasure hunters or fanatical Bnddhists, some ancient imr

in ·pre-Angkorian times, that is, prior to 900. A.D.
35
On auother,
believed to have been made at the same time, the reigns of Yasovarman,
Harsavarman 1 and Jayavn1·man IV are mentioned. It was
during the reign of these kings that Buddhism was snhstitnted for
the Brahmanic cnlt. 'l'lw inscl'iption on the door pillar in the
northern tower of An.lpil HolOID is interesting a8 it mentions the
names of three kings: Devaditya, Tnd1•adityn and Dharmarlitya, the
last of whom is connected with the town of Bhavapnra. 'rhe location
of King Bhavavrl!'lnan's (ca . .'\:10 A.D.) capital has hitherto baffled
all research. Profersor Coedes therefm·c asks: Was Bhavapura
situated near to the temple of Ampil Roliim? We have been unable
to find Prasat. Ampil RoHim on Major Lunet de Lajonquiere's
archaeological map in his great work 111onumeni du Ownbodoe, I.
On page 358 under No. ~GS there id a description of a Prasat Roloro
which lies on the roarl connecting ~:Hweral
Ker group.
sanct.naries of the Koh
Lajonquiui·e's rlesel'iption of this sanctuary dons not,
however, tally with that of Professor Ooedes.
'l'here seems to have
existed n certain amount of anta.gonisrn between the two Cambodias,
lying noJ•t.h and south oJ' tho Daugrek range, which lead twice to
the

36 RE:VJEWS
always to be Mahayanistic. 'l'lms in P.rasat Chikt•eng an inscription
tells about gifts offered to the 'rriad of Ekaclasamnkha, Lolresvara
and Bhagavati. King Jayavarman VII was a Buddhist. In au inscription
from the province o.r Sisophon the Buddha, Trailokanath
and Vajrapani al'e invoked, and a fourth personnage whose name
has disappeared. 'l'hc majestic and eery temple of Phra Vihar or
Sikaresvara, crowning a spur of the Dangrek range like an eagle's
nest, has given us a wealth of inscriptions. The oldest, in Khmer,
is from 624, A. D., and states that the temple was dedicaterl to Siva.
An inscription in Sanskrit from this great temple was transported
to the town of Sisaket but has since disappeared. The inscriptions
of Sikaresvara belong to several periods, both of Brahmanic and
Buddhist kings. 'l'he Sivaitic cuH was, however, the predominating
one. The latest inscription goes back to the reign of Jay av arman II
( 1112-1152 A.D.), the founder of Angkor Wat. The bulk of this
wonderful temple with its monumental staircases, naga terrace,
long chaussees lined with pillars, rock cnt basins and its main
temple wit.h its galleries and pyramidic tower was no doubt constructed
principally during the reign of Snryavarman I, a Bnfldhir;t
from Tambralinga ( Nakhon Sritammarat ), who reigned from 1002
to 1049 A.D. In an inscription from A.D. 1037 is mentioned the god
Vrddhesvm·a to whom there was a temple in the fortified village
of the present Ban Sr;l Kampbeng Yai, lying to the northwest of
Phra Vihar in the Changvat of Srisaket. In an inscription found at
Lovek is mentioned a Kamrateng J agat Vnam Rung, the old name of
the temple crowning t.he basaltic outcrop of Phnom Rung ( Amphi!
Nangrong, Ohangvat Buriram).
'l'he oldest inscription in Thai Lerritory is engraved on a
stone pillar. H1;n KhOn, standing near the road leading from Arnpho
Pakthungchai to the snb·ampho of Salrerat. This pillar (now
disappeared) mmked the site of one m· several Buddhist monasteries.
'.l'he inscription is old, perhaps from before 700 .A.D. Its letters
resemble those in the inscriptions of B6 Ika.
The names of Indravarman
ancl Suryavarman cannot therefore be the later Cambodia
kings bearing these names.
It is also inte.resting to note a certain
M6n influenc,e in this inscription both as regards the fornl of the

letter~:~ aH well as certain worrls in the text. The intluence in north.
eastern Siam of tho M6n Kingdom of Dvaravati in. thf1 Me:uam
valley is, of course, well known. 'l'he inscription is in Sauskrit
and Khmer, and the siLo of the former Buddhist sanctuaries was
called Srau Bra or Sro Vrrwll. On one side of the pillar is mentioned
a certain Haja phiksn, Nrpendratbipativarman, who was a prince or
king, son of another pe1·son with about the same nam.e, and both
belonging to a local dynasty. It is interesting to note tbat, about
700 A.D. thel'e was a Khmer population in Southwestern Kol'at. :Oitl
it originally como from west or east? I?urthennore, in view of the
late Major William Hunt's epoch-making aerial photographs of a
large number of ancient J'ol'tified and desertell town sites lying in
the great foret:~t Kok Luang in Korat province, a thorough e:xploration
of all these ancient places would be most desirable. Such investigation
might reveal important phases of the history of this ptwt of
the Kingdom of Thailand. B6 11m is the llame of au ancient stone
tol'l·ace lying inHide the enceinte of the now deserted Miiang Nakhon
Hajaaima Kao (situated no1th and slightly west, of Sung Non).
On t,his terrace is seen a stela of red sandstone with an imlcl·iption
in [n·e-Auglwr lcl,ter!l. 'l'lw inscription on one side is Buddhistic
insvired, and mnn tiona gifts of cattle and slaves of both sexes to the
Sangkha ot· Buddhist community of monks.
37
'l'be donor is a King
Sri Obanaca. Profet:~sor Ooec1es believes that this king is no donbt
tho Harne as the King Ohnnaca of Oha11aeapura mentioned in the
inscriptiDn in Sanskrit and Khmet· of 937 A.D. fonnd in Aynthia,
and which gives a list of kings who are not kings of CaJnbodia.
'!'his stela was brought to Ayuthia from u place outside the Menam
plain, probably the Kot·at. plateau. We think tbat to this dynasty
belonged ped1aps tbe King Sri .Jayasirnhavarrnaraja whose name
appeal'S on the inscribed pillar from MUang Phu Kbio Kao. On the
other face of the stela is invoked Siva and the inscription says that
a certain Angsadeva was the recipient of a piece of l~nd situated
''outside Kambuclesa" which was unoccupied, perhaps originally
donated by a king of Chanasa, as stated on the front side of thLa
stela. On this piece of land Ang~adeva erected a golden linga in
the. year o6S A.. D.. Professor Ooedes thinks that in the Vllth
ceutu l'Y A. D. the Kot·at l'egion was uot yet a part, o£ Cambodia.

.'l8
· At Ban Phutsa, ten ldlometres nol·th.of Km;at town, are the
ritins of three sm:tll Khmer sanctuaries.
On a stela in Wat Tawan
'fok one reads the name of Rudraloka which was the posthumous
liaine of Harsn:varman ( 912-922 ).
The town of Snrin has, besides
the inscription of Ivlahendt•avarman (circa GOO A.D.), also delivered
ns fragments of one ot· two other inscriptions where the name of
King Rajakuln Mabamontri shows that the inscription comes from
the time of King .1ayavarman V ( 968-1001 ). In the rnined sanctuary,
lying on the top of a small hill, Piwm Krebas, some thirty ldlometres
north-west of Plna Vihi1r, is seen a ruined inscription in
Sanskrit whose letters seE\m tci be those used in the Xlth or XIIth
centnry A. D.
In the tower of Pnorn Sankhe Kong, standing on a hillodr
near the' village of Sholl: Ampil, west of the gigantic temple of
Bantai Chhmar,

REVIEWS 39
sanctuary n[ Sikarcsvara ( Phra Vihar).
About lOkilometres north
east of Am phi) 8nvauuaphum ( Ghangvat Roi Et) is seen an old
red sandstone stela with an almost illegible inscription in Khmer
from tlw XHh century A.D.
Its contents concern a dispute over
some pieees of laml with a list of dignitaries cited as witnesses.
'l'he present Wat 'l'hat in Sakon Nakhon iS really a Khme 1 •
tower whieh the Thni Yt• or Phu Thai settlers some 125 years ago
eonvert,e(l into a Lao thht. An imwription in Khmer mentions the
division of ~~En·taill pieces of laml in tho distric:t of ,Jraleng between
the anthot'K of the inHt:l'iption and lwn local chiefs of the people of
.Traleng awl Vnut• Vinau. '1~hc language seems to be a dialect of
Khm,•t·. This inl'lut•iption may go back to the year 1000 A.D.
In thr~ gi'oat awl impot·tant temple of Nom Van (about 10
kilometres nm·t.lwast of the town of Korat) are four groups of
inscriptions. The first dates back to tho reign of King UdayadityavarnHlll
ll of Oamhodin, and is in Sanskrit and Khmer lmt the
estam page iH almoHt illegible. Professor Ooedes has, therefore,
deferred a translation nntil a better illlpression can be obtained.
'l'he sommcl, of .U lineK in Khmct· and dated 1084 A.D., mentions
King ,Jayaval'!nan VI giving nrtlers to a gronp of dignitaries concet·ning
the upkoup o1' a nevaHt'ama. 'l'he names of these dignitaries
aru known from othot· iusr~riptionH of his reign. The third inscription
payA ltnnwgn to the goc1 Siva, an

REVIEWS 41
Lawrence Palmer Briggs, The Ancient Khmm· Empi·i'e. Transactions
of the American Philosophical Society, Vol. 41, Part 1, Philadelphia,
1951. pp. 295, 58 ill., 22 plans, 17 maps.
The approach to the study of the ancient Khmer Empire in
Cambodia, Champa and 'l'hailand, one of the most brilliant and
colonrful civilisations in Asia, has always been difficnlt on account of
the historic sources. By the publication of t.his standard work in
English the author-to quote Professor Ooedes-has made a date in
the history of South-East Asia, because here, for the first time, the
enormous and widely scattered materials have been absorbed,
impat•tially interpre(;ed, co-ordinated and made available to students
and scholars. 'l'he volume is dedicated "to that wonderful group of
.French savants, particularly those of the Ecole Fran~aise d'Extreme
Orient, whose scholarship and faithful labors have brought to light
ancl preserved the wonders and the story of the ancient Khmer
"Empire ancl have t.hus made them known to the world."
'l'he author has been United States consul in Inclo-Ohina and
has visited tho historic sites about which he writes, as is mentioned
iu the foreword by Hobm·t Hcine-Geldern.
Brigg's hook gives a
complete history of the Khmer Empire from the l!,nnan period to
lhe abandonment of Angkor after the the sack of Angkor 'l'hom by
the 'l'hai in 1

42 REVIEWS
Briggs has divided his work into three periods:
1. Fnnan ptwiocl (First cent. A.D. to ca f)50)
2. 'rhe Ohenla period (Oa 550-802 A.D.)
3. 'rhe Kambuju, or Anglwr Period (802-1432 A.D.)
It is not known what the people of the earliest kingdom of the
Mekong delta nalled themselves, but in the Cllinese Annals this
country is called 1!\man. A vassal ldngdom of Funan, just above
it on the Mekong, was called Chen1a by the Chinese. Ohenla
seems to have been the Chinese equivalent of Kambuja or
Kambujudesa. After the fouuding of the Khmer kingdom by
Jayavannan II on Monnt Mahendra in 802, the inscriptions
use Lhe terms Knmbuju and Kambujadesa; hence, the Kambuja,
or Angkor period. 'l'his classical Khmer period comes to an
end by the definite removal of the capital to the southeastern
part of
the ldngdom in 1·132 after the captnre of Angkor by
the 'l'hai in 1431. 'rhe author is aware that the above division
of the subject is open to criticism, bnt he believes the objections are
outweighed by the advantages. Coedes in his review would have
mnch prefel'l'ed that the author had followed the usual division,
pre-Angkor period and Angkor peeiocl (80~2-1432 A.D.). rrhe reason
for this preference is that very little is known of Fnnan
whilst the name Ohenla is still not explained and is cedainly not
a Chinese tmnscription of the word Kamhuja as the author supposes.
The name Tchen-la was used by the Chinese to designate Cambodia,
until quite recently. In the inscriptions, the inhabitants o£
Cambodia are called Kambn;ja, •;descendants of Kamhu", th~
legendary fonnder of the race. 'I'he tet•m Khmer, practically
synonymous with Kambuja, is the adjective generally used with
gmpire, and this history aims to cover more than Kambnjuclesa
(de sa= land, country).
'l'he origin of the Khmer people is unkno\Vn. 'l'he author
f:luggests that iE they were not natives of 'this region the E:bmer
origii1a1ly must have come down the Mun valley or through what
is now Siamese Laos.
In Thailand the expression Siamese Laos,
however, is not used and we understand that Mr. Briggs means the

R:E:VIEWS 43
North-East Region (Paldsana) on the Korat plateau. This theory
may be true but there is as yet no evidence in support of it. The
author suggests furthermore that i£ the Khmer ever had common
ancestry with the Mon, as their joint name M6n- Khmer
seems to imply, their contact appears to have been via the valley
of the Mun. Ooedes points out that the name M on-Khmer is
the expression of a recent linguistic theory only; therefore, an
assumption of common ancestry does not seems permissible. Ooedes is
of opinion that this section on the founding of Ohenla (Kamujadesa)
shonld be l'ewritten in a second edition. Nevertheless, Briggs'
treatment. of the early history of South-East Asia, the kingdoms of
Fnnan, Dva1•avati, Ohonla, Kambujadesa, is indispensable for t;he
student of the history of Thailand. l\iuch of the earlier material is
derived from Chinese somces. It also relates the early influence of
the Pallava culture from South-East India, bringing the beautiful
Pallava script chAracters. In the early stone sculpture of the Hindu
Gous, Vi~r_lll and Harihara (combination of Vi~~u and Siva) to be
seen in tho stone gallery in llw National Museum iu Bangkok, the
Pallava prototypes as Pal'ly a:; the l-iLh century A.D. are clearly
present. This stylP of sculptnre is usually classified as belonging
to the Funan and Ohenla pel'iollS, but nne would be quite safe in
stating that this scnlptnre is prP-Angkor"tan.
'J'ho U1ird. parl of !.he hook deals wilh tho Kamlmja, or Angkor
period (802-U32), which oc:cnpies two thirds of the volume. 'l'l1e
available material is almndaut and the author has been able to give a
complete and excellent pictme of this "classical'' period of the Khmer
civilization. 'l'he Khmer inscriptions and the great nnmber of
monuments, o.f: which Angkor Wat and the Bayon of' Angkor rl'hom
are the most impressive, form the basis of this history. These
temples, replica of the nnirerse, are today the highlights in the
increasingly popnlar weekend tourists flights from Bangkok to Angkor
(Siemreap). Even the most blase trav-eller is deeply impressed by the
dimensions and the atmosphere nf those hnge deserted temples, which,
in their perfect setting in the jungle, are to he seen at their best at
the end oJ' the rainy season in NovGmber. 'rhese monuments were
all bnilt with the object of creating a maximum effect.

44 REVIEWS
'l'he most important· elate in Khrriel' history is the year 802
A.D. From later inscriptions it is known that in this year King
Jnyavarman II established his capital on Mount Mahendm pal·vat,a
sitnated on Phnom Kulen and declared his independence of Java. In
accordance with Hindu ritual a brahman anointed .layavarman II as a
universal monarch or cakravartin and, at the same time, this brahmaH
prepared the ritual fot• the royal lil:1ga, symbolising t.he caluavartin
power. 'l'his ceremony took place in 802. 'l'he author calls it, the
Kinner Declaration of Indepenclenee. By this censecrntion of the
sacred li1iga (symbol of 8iva) .Jay[mmnan at the same time establishec1
the cult of the devaraja (god-king), as tho official religion of the
kingdom for many centuries to come. The communication l>etween
the king and the god by the intermediary of a priest is made on
top of a holy mountain in a temple which is a symbol of the Meru,
the Olympus of the gods, and which at the same time is a repliea
of the universe. 'l'hus is Angkor Vat \Vith its five towers to be
interpreted as a microcosm which is at the same time a funerary
temple or mausoleum. 'l'he Mern is the central tower and the four
lower towers, erected at the fonr cardinal point.s of the universe,
aceording to ancient Hind n mythology, symbolise the four continents.
In the same way, for example, the Wat Arun in Dhonburi is also
a replica of the nniverse. In Bangkok the ''Pramane" ground
(pra11 Morn) is the place where traditionally the King of 'rhailaud
is cremated on a Meru, the centre of the universe. 'rhese are some
o:l' the basic ideas required for the understanding of Khme\.· religion
and architecture. The cult of the devariija resulted in megalomania
in their kings and ultimately brought about their downfall and the
abandonment of the astounding number and size of their monuments
dedicated to their personal glory. This story is superbly told in
Briggs' book in convenient pargaraphs. It shonld be understood,
however, that this work is not easy reading; but, it gives all the
facts and existing theories in a way which is in accordance with
the highest scientific standards.
At the end of the book we find a list, four pages long, of
Khmer monuments and their relevant inscriptions which facilitates
research considerably. Apart from the exh aust.ive bibliography

'''!:\
REVIEWS 4/5
(750 re'ferences), the book ends \vith a detailed index of 17 pages each
containing 3 columns of references to pages inside the book. There
are quite a number of small typographical errors in Sanskrit words
(diacritical marks missing or placed incorrectly) and in names of
Dntch works cited; these shonlcl br col'l'eeted in the next edition.
Of special intereflt arc the references made to the history of
'l'hailand anrl the descriptions of real Khmer monuments now in
this country. We mention here the most important. ones: Pimai, Nom
Van (Panom Van, N.E. of Pimai) and Panom Rnng, probably all built
during the reign of King Snryavarman I. In the references we
miss Seidenfaclen' s descriptions of Pimai and Pan om Hung. (.J.S. S.
Vol. XVII pt. I and Vol. XXV, pt. 1) We mnst object to the
identification of Pimai with Bhimapnra; the correct identification
is Vimayapura and is mentioned as snch in t.he inscription of
1082 A.D. (p. 178). But these al'e only vel'y minm· criticisms and
should not distract at.t.ention from the fact that we have before us
a magnificent, scienlilie

REVIEWS
H.G. Qnaritch Wales, 'l'he lv.fou,ntt~in
Beligion and Kingship. 174 pages, illustrated.
Ltd., London, 1953.
of God, a 8tHdy in Ra1·ly
Bernard Quaritcb,
This challenging book most be read as a sequel to the
author's earlier 'Phe lvlalcing of Greater India, a Stwly in Sm,~,tlt­
East Asia.n Culture Change (Loudon, 1951 ). In this pt•evious work
the author set out to demonstrate and interpret the importance of
pre-Indian influences in the culture of Southeast Asia, pl'incipally
the Younger and Older Megalithic, the Dongsonian and the Han,
These pre-historic factors established what Dr. Wales calls the local
genius which modified the subsequent Indian influences in historical
times and eventually produced the unique cultural patterns which
characterized the ancient states of Southeast Asia. Dr. Wales believes
that in each case it was a resnrgenee of the local genius which gave
to the Southeast Asian enltnres their distinctive features. In developing
this thesis the author lwr:; made fullest use of the wealth of
archaeological and anthropologieal materials which have become
available clnring the past two or llll'ee decades, and leans heavily
upon the works of Ooedes, Krom, Stutterheim, Heine-Geldern and
other specialists in these fields. This ambitions attempt to reinterpret
and re-evaluate the eultura1 foundations of Southeast Asia
has natmally been viewed with r:;l,epticism by some scholars, but
the book nevertheless remains a real eontribntion if only by virtue
of the stimulating challenges it poses.
7'he JJI[ou,nta'in of God seeks to explore this intriguing
subject in more detail, especially with respect to the possibility of
Mesopotamian and early Chinese influences in the Southeast Asian
local genius. The book has an advantage over its predecessor
because of the author's utilization of a number of newly-available
and highly-significant materials upon which he has been able not
only to corJ•ect or modify some of his earliet· views but also to pl'esent
his interpretation of the local genius in an even more convincing
manner.
In brief, Dr. Wales offers the hypothesis that some of the
more important aspects of Megalithic cnltnre which later had a

48 REVIEWS
bearing on the development of religion and kingship in Southeast
Asia can be traced back to Mesopotamian somces. The essent.ial
element was apparently the clear assooiation of the deity with the
chthonic forces of: the Earth as distinct from the mot·e rudimental
animistic concept of spirits oJ' earth, sky, trees, water, etc. The
mountain, . therefore, came to be regarded as the place where the
mysterious force of: the garth with its life-giving fertility was
concentra~ed. Hence, this force, or the deity, became clearly asso.
ciatecl with the mountain, that is, the Mountain of God. In aneient
Sumer the ziggurat was built in the Mesopotamian lowlands to represent.
the Mountain of God. Latm· it developed a mol'e cosmological
aspect as a model of the universe, and in time came to represent
the bond between Heaven and Earth, a concept. which was
further elabot•ated wit·h the development of the Babylonian planetary
cosmology, 'l'he essential point which Dr. Wales stresses, however,
is the underlying principle that the mountain, or its model, the
ziggurat, represented the concentration of chthonic forces upon
which was determined t.he welfare of the world aud man.
Dr. Wales t.hen endeavors to trace the movement to Southeast
Asia of this originally revolutionary concept of telnric forces concentrated
in the mountain. The eonl'Se was likely lly way of t.he
steppe route f:l'om Mesopotamia to China, where the very early
change from a simple animism to a cnlt of Earth (and later of
Heaven) suggests Sumerian influence;; as fully as does the early
introduction into China of the art of bronze making from the West
in the Shang period. Consequently, Dr. Wales does not believe we
should be surprised to find in ancient China the god of the soil
associated with a mound or pillar, and such kindred associations
throughout Southeast Asia underlying 'the use of snch devices as the
lcitht.tohie pyramids of the Angami Nagas of Assam, the menhirs·
among the Konyak Nagas, the Megalithic mountain sanctuary on the
Yang plateau and the pyramids of Sukuh and Lebak Sibedug in
Java, the· Megalithic structures ut Quang-tri in Vietnam, the kut
steles bf the Chams, the mountian temple at Si 'l"ep (Sri Deva) in
Siam, and perhaps the most significant; of all, the great Khmer
monnt.ain sanctuary at Wat Phn in southern Laos. 'l'hese various
uses of o:i.onnd, pillar, menhir, pyramid and mountain temple. an

REVIEWS 49
unmistakable chthonic natnre of the cults associated wHh them when
set against the wealth of anthropological evidence now at hand,
leave no doubt in Dr. Wales' mind that these o1cler Meg!tlHhic
features of Southeast Asian culture can be traced in part at least to
ancient Sumer where the a rtifical monntrlin, the ;.~iggu rat, reprcsen tecl
the concentration of all the vital forces of the Ea.rt.h and serve-d as
the place where the king, as the deleg:tte of the gnd, had tlw flnty
of maintaining harmony between man and lltlity.
Through subsequent; Indian influences in Sonthenst. Asia the
Mountain of God lost much of: its tdnric significance ft)](l came to be
treated in terms of: the Hincln Men1. Likewise, under Indian
SivaHic influence the menhir was eon vortetl into the lingrt. 'l'hus,
as Dr. Wales concludes, when the Khmers established the diJl!ct'ra ja
cult with its stepped pyramid and its Unga, "they were merely
calling back into service a meaningful st1•uctnre wit l1 which t.lu;y
had been familiar for millennia."
It. is difficnH in a brief rf·viP.\V to evaluate properly this
challenging and stimnln.ting book. Dr. Wales has pushed tleeply into
t•~rritory which has as yet bc)Ctl inadequately explored, and it. is
significant that most of his views are based upon the rf'sn1ts 0f very
recent research in this new field.
Some of the opinions he has
advanced will undonbt.edly require modification in the same way
that Dr. Wales has so frankly modit1ed some or his earlier views.
Many of the points treated in this lJoo1< are certain, too, to be the
subject of consi fullest. mw of ttll
available research in the fiel

!)() rmvmws
Prem Ohaya: The Story of Kh·un C'lw·!J Khu.n Phan, Book I, 97
pages \Vith illnstrations by Hem Vejakorn, Chatra P1·ess, Bangkok
1955.
'I' he original story of K lmnrhi't.

REVIEWS 51
to maintain the balance of his struggle for P'im's favour against his
dashing but insconstant, aurl povc~rt.y-stricken
had been confiscated since childhood.
The "retelling" does not cover the whole sto1·y.
rival whose heirloom
A review
has to be critical and safe, for the following few points the book
may be pronounced excellent and should prove to be another Lamb\~
'Pale. Note 7 says that Phra Bisnukarrua was the Siamese name
for Vishnu when it shonlrl have said that the name 'vas a confusion
of Vishnu with another Hindn god named Visvalmrma, the celestial
artificer, brought in to imply his fasbiouing of the beautiful fol'm
of out· heroine at tho thne of her birt.h.
Note 24 seE•nu:l ln imply
that prostration as a form of salutation was givL'll to thu UJOllareh
beouuse be was looked upon as a god. BnL it is sUll practiced
loward::; monks and elders even today. It is in fad jusL an inLlication
of the higbul:lt respect with no sense of sycophancy ot· abjoet \Yorship.
King Chnlalonglwl'n decreed its cessation as fur as he was eoneunted
for tho sakt' of uniformity in pul>lic.
to inlet·[ere with the vnwtice i11
of Lh•ittght and action ·were perruiLtod.
He was liberal enough never
incliviuual howes whE·l'e freedom
Note '17, the Mahajltti is
not tho stot•y of Buddha's lifo but that of what was helieved to be
hit~
last preceding life.
D.
Fmnce-AB'ic, numero Special, 114-5, nov.-dec., 1955.
This volume of some 243 pages has been dedicated to Cambodia
and is consequently prefaced l1y photogeaphs of His Majesty
King Suramal'it and his son Sihanonk who is now llis l'l'ltne Minister.
It contains numet•ous articles of interest for readers in a conntry
like onrs, possessing as it docs so many features in commun ·with
Cam hod in.
'l'he eoneise sketelt u11 II istoJ'lJ by l 1 iHI'u Uriso11 ( Pll· 32G-
338) is readable; ekts is dealt with by no less an authority thau
Henri Marchal, who writes on 1' he S umbolism of Elind1t and KhnW7'

Re:vmws
'Tom plcs ( pp. 33(). :344 ) ancl on Rejle.r:ions on ·nwrlmT! Gnmbucz.ian
Art ( i34:).:·l~O ); a!'t is also represented by two other no lesB inter·c•tH
iug articles, I IIW(Jf'l'ie popnltLi'l'l! ( 351-354) by Mllc Bemartl
'l'hictTY and A·II(JhOJ', on t'Uniuerli man-ijeste ( il55-3G2), tho latter
11eiug eharaclc ril:llically French in itl:l olrHJUCnce; several articles arc
ol' ethuographic:al iutere::;L amoug whicll are Mme Poree-Mal:lpero's
Tnt.vnU.!' ll'l!Jlhnuont:Jlhi (tU Garnbodue ( 363-3G7) and l

RECENT SIAMESE PUBLICATIONS
176-182 Mcmeutns of the Royal rrour or the North East. The rrunr
was the occasion for the publication of a number of handbooks and
local guides, among which are the following:
17G. The memonto issuerl by the .end Jl'l•my Oor·ps, Publishing
d rJ Ql 9 ~
Service Co, Nakon Hii.jasTma, l\l55. B1HT1!ll!ff~'ilflli'll>l~"J\J'Cltltl!1HN!11h!B
~ ..j
'lltl~iltl~'VIW'VI hn
The memento consists of a melrieal cle

54 Rl!Cent Siamese Publicalionr;
'fhe most valuable parts arc the description of individual pro.vinces,
giving its geographical situatic,n, the composition of its administration,
notes on the people's livelihood, local objects of interest, its
history and itl:l economic activities.
Then comes a description on a
similar scheme of each of its districts ( amphoeship ), illustrated now
and then.
memout.ol:l.
'l'he publication is une of the best of this collection of
178. 7' he menwnlu issued by the Ir'ow·th Admint'strctt?:ue 1'-,' cction,
" .\ ·~ y a ~peeial
'l'he
eurumittee of t.hree
civil clervants and two teachers of the ,local government t=~chool,
headed by B. Ointanii, the District Officer of OllielJhtLn on the

Recent Siamese Publications 55
MaekhulJ. It is, of course, pt·efuced h~' the usual address and a
metrical greeting.
It then goes on to give a historical account of
the province which dates back to 15GO of the Christian Era and has
been an outpost of the Kingdom of Siam in that dit•ection. At Dansai
. the1·e still exists a monn ment which is rnnch venerated, tho 'I' hat
Srisol,)l'ak, deriving its name from the incident taking place there in
that year of the confirmation of an act of alliance between the t.hen
harassed Siamese state under King Ohalu·apat and the powerful King
Jayajettha of J...anchfi.lJ who undertook to come to his ally's rescue
in the fight against Burma,
(The Lii,ncbi'i.lJ army, however, was
unsuccessful later and Blll'ma actually subjugated our country and
held it for a little over a decade till Siam was liberated by its hero
Naresvara ).
Local customs aucl ceremonies are given in some detail
which makes good reading anct supplies plentiful material to the
ethnologist. 'rhe famous rt}sort of Phu KadilJ comes in for its share
of interesting folklore concerning its mysteries and ghosts as bE.'lieved
tn by the peasants of the neighbourhood and the myths are delightfully
told ..
180. A Sumrnaru of the Activities of the 1lfinistry of Agricttltw·e
1955. 49 pages. n\l'ill'im:;'Vl"J1~!1ll:l~1'i'l'Wm!'lW~:::'J"1-Iv'1l'fl!~tl~!11~'fll~tm"mn.J
This memento bas been issued for the Royal Tour by the
Ministry of Agriculture.
It does not purpol't to be anything more
than a set of statistics and yet it is an interesting collection of tlwm,
classified by provinces.
For each provi11ce are given the latest
figures of population, of farmers, of land, fHrthor snbrlividecl into
forests, protected forests, marshes and arable land.
'rhe products
of agriculture are given for the year 1954; aml, of conrse, rice comes
ilrst with coconuts [1.8 the next in point of importance.
also available for domestic animals.
Figm·es al'e
For the North East matters
pertaining to irrigation should occupy the travellers' interst.
They
are clnly given under eacl1 province. Other statistics concern fishery,
forestry, industry, and a great deal of nttelllion is given to experimental
stations,

.56 Recent Siamese Publications
181. Phra Sri VisuddhivolJi:l, t.be Rev. : Five Thousand Years of
the Buddhist Era. King Mo:o1wt Pali Academy Press, 1955, 26
'V
pages. 'W~~~l'l1ifl'1'frll1111WU1J
tV b.l
As the 2500th anniversary of the Buddha's death draws near,
interest is being centred in the computation and the limit of the
duration of the Master's teaehings. The learned author of thiS
little pamphlet points ont that an examination of the Canon of the
'l'ipitaka with its commentaries has yielded the follo\ving result:
1. The V-inaya, the flrst anll supposedly nearest of all the
texts of the Canon to the Master's words, quotes the latter as having
said that the admission of women into t.he Holy Order '\Vonld have
the rer:mlt of reducing the duration of the pure Norm from 1000 to
500 years (Cull a vagga, vol. 7, p. 320 );
2. The Suttantrt, the next ::mthoritntive section of the Oanon,
corroborates the statement, quoting the identical incident which
gave rise to the ]\faster's ca1cnlation ( A\wnt.tara, 8th section, ·vol.
23, p. 281 );
3. The S amantap1J.sadilca, Buddhaghofla's Commentary on
the Vinaya, extends the above maximum limit of 1000 to 5000 ye!l.l'S,
which could be realisecl through the erudition of venerable monks
who may be cal'rying on the precepts of the Master (third part, p,
449);
4. 'l'he JJ![ arl01'atha JJitt'Ctni, Bud dhagl1ostt' s Commentary on
the Anguttara section of the Suttanta, maintains the statement of
no 3 (part 3, p, 300 );
5. The Milindapanha. has the statement that although the
Master bad predicted only 500 years as the minimum limit of the
dm•ation of his teaching, the monk Nfi.gasenu, whose sayings form
the subject of this work, wonlcl, by his erudition, prolong that limit
to 1'>000 years.
It is thus obvious, onr q.nthor points out, that the maximumlimit
of 5000 years was never set by the Buddha. 'rhe idea came
into being through the agency of the Commentaries of Bnudhaghosa
some centuries after tho death of the BnflcllHl and thus spread from

Hecent Siame~e Publications 57
Ceylon to countries which, like our own, took their inspiration from
Si~) hulese Bnddhism.
182. Khamvilai, Oh.: 1'!Le Centenary oj Sund0?'1l Bhit, RniJrihUJdharm
Press Bangkok, 1955. pp. 1·603 1-69 moo ti'11'1l~tlU'VI'ifl 1
' .
It is a matter of credit not only to the author of this hook
but also to the nation that the initiative of celebrating the centena1·y
of Sunclorn Bhu has taken the concrete form of tt book such as the
one nnd er re'View.
The author says in his preface that his original intention was
merely to write a ni1·as-a farewe11 poem-based on one of tbe
episodes of Bhii's P hra Abhaimani. 'I' he poem is actually to he
found at the enc1 ( pp. 1-69 e:xtrtt) of the book. From writing this
the idea occurred t.o him to write a hiograplJy of the great poet.
This has been worked out primnrlly from his writings which is
then followed lly a separate biography which does not quote his
poetry.
The sketch-the one based primarily on his writings-traces
Bhii's parentage to the dnys of Ayudhyii, going on to those of the
poet's birth, boyhood and arlolescence. At this junclure Bhn came
into contact with royalty, having lived with his motlJer who was
wet nurse to some of the royal children of the Prince of the Palace
to the Rear, that is to say, the family of one nf the sisters of King
Rama I. The author now makes a Lliversion to clesct'ibe the grounds
and extents of the various palaces of Bangkok at a time which was
contem poraneons with the poet's life. The diversion goes on to
enumerate the successive occupants of those royal residences with
short accounts of them. All this involves a considerable amount of
research into old-time topography and genealogies. 'l'he sketch of
the poet's life is then resumed through all its vicissitudes, his
creation as n lchun with the title of Snndow Vohar ancl the office of a
royal scribe, his increasing eloquence as manifested in the "Royal
Writings'' of King Rarna II who was then hi~ patron, the quarrel
wjt,h his wife resulting in his imprisonment, the release and restora·
tion of his o:fl1cial status which was howevet· short-lived, his degradation
and eventual taking of monastic vows, his wanderings in the

58 Recent Siamese Publications
country evidencel1 by his various nira.~ poems, his renunciation
of the monastery followed by another assumption of the monl{hooc1
and his eventual renunciation, the patronage of His Majesty Phra
Pinklao of the Palace to the Front and his installation as that
monarch's Chief Scribe with the rank of l'hra and title of Sundorn
Vohar, and his death in 1855.
Pages 520-543 sum up the works of Sundorn Bhii nnc1€lr the
following headings. Of the niras type of poems there were 8,
ranging in date from 1807 to 1842; there were 5 romances in lclon
bet. ween 1806 ani1 the end of the third reign ( 1851 ), tho last being
his famous Plwa Abha,imani which was commenced in 1820; 3
sttbha8Y:t in lclon ( moralist poetry) bet,veen 1803 and 1805; 2 sebhii,
one forming part of the romance of Khun Cfha'l) l{httn Phaen
written between 1821 ancl 1824, and the other ahout the History of
Ayudhyfi, written between 1851 and 1855; one dramatic romance
under the name of Abhainuraj more or less written for the lliversion
of the infantile daughtee of his patron Phra Pinklao before his
elevation to the Palace to the :Front some time between 184,2 and
1850; 4 undated lullabies anc1 miscellaneous passages from undefined
sources.
Besides the biography based primarily upon his writings
there is also a separate biography which does not make quotations
from his works. It seems to he an abbreviated biography. 'fhe
poet was born on Monday the first of the waxing moon o:C the eighth
month in the Year of the Horse, 1148 of tho Minor Era, which is
worked out to correspond with the 26th of June 2329 of the Buddhist
Era ( 1786 of the Christian Era). His father left his mother
either before or just after Bhn's birth, the mother taking service in
the household of the Prince of the Bear, All the above-mentioned
incidents of his life ar-e now reiterated ending up with his death
in 1855 in the fourth reign.
According to the anthor Bhu's poetical merit was very high
and has not been given its share of public appreciation ( pp. 539-541 ).
The consensus of opinion however is that Bhu owed his fame to his
depiction of plebeian life and the rhythmic sonauce of 4is verses.

Recent Siamese Publications 59
It seems that the poet was 1vell aware of his ability and never
minced his words to that effect to si1ch an extent that he made his
first patron King Rama II set about writing his 8a'J)kht'vv to prove
that he too could write plebeian stories with a plebeian atmosphere.
The author seems interested in astr•ology since he gives
prognostications by astrologers of the poet's fate from the birth chat•t
made from the recorded day of the poet's birth.
The book ends with the author's 'own niriis based on the
PM'a A.bhaimani. It is dedicated to the occasion of the centenary.
It commences with Phra Abhaimani's sojonrn in the cave of the
ogtess, his regret of the unnatural situation of being husband of
an ogress, his escape by way of the oceans and the pursuit. and death
of the ogress. The ni1·as is followed by a metrical appreciation of
the poet based on the successive events of his long and varied life.
From reading the book one gets the feeling of Bhii's
inegnlar life, somewhat of the type of an Omat· Khayyam, which
was tempered by his wealth of feeling and sympathy. This is
frankly the work of a poet who thinks nothing of repeating facts
and data. It is, however. balanced by the author's obvious
enthusiasm and admiration for the great poet whose centenary he
celebrates.

VOLUME XLIV Part 2 August 1956
THE
JOURNAL
OF THE
SIAM SOCIETY
(J s s)
BANGKOK
2 49 9

TABLE OF CONTENTS
VOLUME XLIV PART 2 AUGUST 1!356
Page
Charles Nelson Spinks, S·inm and the Pottery 'Prade of Asia til
H.G. Quaritch Wales, The 01·igin,; of Sukhodaya Art
UB
Padmeswar Gogoi, The Political &JJprwsion of the Mao Shans 125
Kachorn Sukhabanij, Was Nnm Thum the First
King of 8 ukhodaya?
li~9
CJ1eviews 145
.John K de Young, Village L?fe ·in ~Modern 1' hailanrl
(Charles Nelson Spinks)
Miguel Covarrnbias, 'l'he Eagle, the .Jagua.r·, cmd the Serpent ( C.N.S.)
Brian Harrison, South- East Asia, a 8 hart H isto1·y ( C.N.S.)
E.H.G. Dobby, ,)'outhenst Asia ( C.N.S.)
Virginia 'fhompsou and Richard Adloff, Minority .P·roblems in
Southeast A.sia. ( C.N.S.)
H. Otley Beyer, The Relntion of T elctile8 to Ar·chaeology ( C.N .S.)
Maurice Collis, Oorte.9 and MontezL~ma.
D.G.E. Hall, A Hi.~toi'!J
( C.N.S.)
of 8onth-East ilsi1t (Frank G. Williston)
q>ublications of Interest in

SIAM AND THE POTTERY TRADE OF ASIA
By
Oharles Nel.~on 8pink8
Introduction
My first introduction to Sawankalok ware, a ,type of pottery
made in Siam from the middle of the 14th to perhaps the middle
of the 15t.h eentnry, was both a('.cident.al and inauspicious. Shortly
after the war we had the occasion to visit the nnbornbed Tokyo
home of Mr. !ida Shi'iichi, President of the Keihin Electric: Railway
Company, who had a large collection of old potte1•y and porcelain.
After showing us some fine specimens of Snng and Ming wares and
several exquisite pieces of o1c1 Kntani and Orihe, the proud collector
asked if I were interested in Sonlw?·oht-ya1ci ( 5}-:. i!JHHk ). I hnd
to confess I had never heard of this wat•e before. It looked like
celaclon, but the glaze had more of a greyish tone than tb e typical
olive green, and it lacked that smooth almost pliable feel of the
Chinese pottery.
Several pieces also loolted as if they had been
damaged while being fired in the kiln. Nevertheless, this Sonkoroku
had a quiet, simple, beauty, although many of the bowls and vessels
were of unusual shapes, unlike the work of any Japanese or Chinese ·
potter. The decorated pieces had rather conventional floral patterns
or occasionally a stylized fish, either incised under the grey-gt•een
glaze or painted in brown or black against a soft yellowislJ-grey
ground. One little vessel looked exact.ly like a clzoshi ( ~~ -T ), the
Japanese bottle fOl' serving rice wine. On a russet base a rich, dark
brown glaze had been allowed to flow la;dly down the sides f01·ming
an irregular coating. All the Son korolm in the collection had that
quality of studied restraint com bin eel wH.h subdued elegance which
appeals so profoundly to the aesthetic instincts of the Jap:mese who
describe this characteristic with the single word sl!ib'lf,i (yd~ ), having
something of the meaning of our word "tasteful''. To my surprise,
the owner told me that. this Sonlcoroktt-yalci was made in Siam many
centuries ago.

o2
Charles Nelson Spinks
After this casual introduction I never had further occasion
to come across this unusual pottery during olll' years in Japan and
before long I had forgotten about it. My second introduction came
some years later dnring my first week in Bangkok While walking
up New Road to get my first feel of this appalling thoroughfare, I
happened to enter the shop of an art dealer, where I noticed on
diapluy somet·hing that suddenly recalled to my PJind this same
rE~ther crncle-looldng celadon. The dealer said it was Sawankalok
w::~,re, and when I related how I had seen some pottery like this in
Japan which was called Sonlroroku, I was dumbfounded that he
readily lmew this name. It later developed that he was partly
Japanese. He then told me that the term Sonlwroku was merely
a Japanese corruption of the Siamese word Sawankalok, the place
whel'e this pottery was made. I was soon attracted to a little vase­
~H~e vessel which looli;ed exact.ly like the sake ( jiMj) bottle I bad once
!'Hhnh·ed ip Mr. !ida's collection, The simple hut SllP6l'Dal little
piece h11.d apparently laid for years in some stream bed exposed to
the fl.brasive action of water and sand,, for the dark brown glazfil had
beeq worn awa~ in places revealing the russet base beneath .. lt bad
thus ~Cqllired the t~·ne patiuation of age, and I c.oulcl not resist the
temptation to purchase it.
In this casual but curious way I had been led by a rathet·
rouncl-abont Qotuse to this lovely wa~·e of old Siam, ar~d in my two
unrelated Japanese introductions to Sawanl~alok pott.ery I h~d i:rt
effect been unconsciously retracing one important route of its clH'fnsion
over wjdeJy Bj:paratecl parts of Asia. Accordingly, I shall endeavor
to unrave1 some(hing further of the obscure history of this ware and
try to discover something of the place it and Siam once occupied in
the great pottery trade of the East.
Origin of Siamese Pottery
As pottet's the Thai were oorrJIJaratively late comers and
their ultimate qisplay of techlJical skill ancl 11rtistic genius ill tl1is
particular field was cornpa1·atively short lived. At the most, the
Thai probably mauufacttll'ed fine pottery for only a little wore th\IU

Examples of Khmer Pottery
A.
B. c.
A. Water jar ana bottle on both of which much of the dark brown glaze has flaked off.
(From the collection of Phya Medha Dhibodl)
B. Typical Khmer jar. (From the collection of Mr. Lek Viriyaphand)
C. Typical Khmer jar with glaze in excellent state of preservation.
(From the collection of Mr. Lek Viriyaphand)
.·'1

Siam and the Pottery 'l'rade of Asia 63
a conLury and oniy iu two swall lvcaliLieti ~truund :::lulrhothai and
Sawankalok on the l.Janks of the Yom River in north-central Siam.
Before the 14th centnry their efforts had been limH('d to p1·odncing
crude earthenwares and some stonewares for everyday household
use, and after their one compar~tively brief foray into the finer
ceramic field they again confined themselves nntil modern times to
making these same simple but practical utensils. Such wares have
played and continue to play an important pat't in the life of the
Thai, for in the ordinary Siamese hottsehold until the advent of
cheap, foreign-made alninintim and enamel pots and l)a11s, eart.hert
and stoneware vessels have occupied a more conspicuous place than
metal utensils. This is not necessarily a reflection on the metallurgical
skill of t.he 'l'hai, for over much of the same pel'iocl of their
history they have displayed a remarkable genius in the casting of
bronze Buddha images and cannon, and in the making of steel
weapons and other metal articles. We can only conclude, therefore,
that, aside from ti1e element o£ cobt, the Thai have l1ad Some sort of
aesthetic predilection for earthen and stoneware l1tensils for their
homes.
Yet H is strange that the Thai peoples apparently did not
bring with them any advanced ceramic techniques from China when
they left their ancestral kingdom of Nan Chao in Honthern Yunnan
Province. During the period of the Nan Chao Kingdom the Thai:
undoubtedly achieved a fairly advanced stage of civilization, and
they must have been in some contact with t.he exciling ceramic
developments which took place in China during the T'ang and Sung
periods. Yet all this seems to have been left behind when the 'l'hai
began their large-scale migrations southward f!'Om Nan Ohao toward
the end of the Sung dynasty. Their next probable contact with
inore advanced ceramic methods carne as a resnlt of their relationship
with the Khmer in the Menam v'alley of Siam• Some samples
of very early Thai pottery bear marked similarities to the. work of
the Khn1er, not only in form but also with respect to their rather
b'ritt1e type of glaze. 'l'he Khmer !.lllparently did not employ a true
vitreotrs glaze·, but ttsed what appears to have been some Iacquer-fike
substance of organic character. Japa:neS'e c·eramic S1)ecia1ists catl

fi4
Charles Nebon Spinl's
tbit:l type of glaze hcds'u-yu (1~;fdi ), a t.erm which, however, tells ua
nothing about the glaze itself beyond the obvious fact that it is often
of a dark lJrown ( lw tstt) color. It is possible that this type of glaze
was similar to the bcquer-lilre material the Khmer apparently used
instend of lime mortar to bind together the bricks of their temples
and other strnctnres. I have also been impressed by the similarity
between these early Khmer and 'l'hai glazes and the lacquer coatings
both peoples applied to their stone Butldha images prior to covering
them with go1

Examples of Siamese Ware with Dark Brown ( Katsu) Glaze
A.
13. c.
A. Two small containers with "ears" for holding liquids and a vase-like bottle,
( F.tom the collection of Phya Meda Dhibodl)
B. A vessel with "ears" typical of a type often made with a celadon-like glaze.
(From the collection of Mr. Lek Viriyaphand)
C, Wide-mouth jar with design incised through dark brown glaze.
(From the collection of Mr. Lek Viriyaphand)

Siam and the Pottery Trade of Asia 6.5
Ono of the significant events of King Riima KhamhOng's
reign was his establishment of poliLical relations of a sort with the
Yi.ian or Mongol dynast.y of China. It is possible that the initiative
for this step may have come from the Mongol Co11l't itself, for in
1282 a Chiness emissary is said to have appeat·ed at Snkhothai for
the ostensible purpose of concluding a treaty of amity with the new
Thai kingdom which would, of course, have been the Mongol's
euphemistic way of inviting King Rama Khamheng to become the
vassal of Kublai Khan. The Great Khan was now in his declining
years. With his predecessor, Chinghis Khan, he had carved out a
vast empire by military conquest, but now sought to consolidt\te
his far . flnng terrilories hy re- estahlishing the traditional Chinese
system of vassal states. In this way it wonlcl have been unnecessary
for Kublai Khan in his old age to have embarked upon new
military campaigns to subdue the kingdoms of Southeast Asia
which he had not heretofore found time to conquer. 'l.'he Mongol
Court's emissary who arrived at Snkhothai in 1282 may have heen
making a circuit of some of the

66 Charles Nelson Spinks
again headed, acconl ing to 'l'hai tradition, by the king. This second
mission was probably for the purpose of paying homage to Kublai
!{han's successor who took the Chinese dynastic style of Ch'eng
'1 1 snng ( JN. ';f.). Snbseq nent 'l'hai rulers occasionally sent tribute
miss1ons t,u Uhina. For example, on the overthrow of the Mongol
llynasty in 1368, the Thai state of Ayuthia despatched a mission to
the Ming capital at Nanking in 1371. Another Thai embal:lsy in
1373 was reportedly headed by a Siarrwse princess. Throughout the
15th century tllere we1•e several such Thai missions, and down to
modern t.imes China has always looked upon Siam as one of her
vassal states while tb.e Siamese kings to varying degrees appeaL' to
have vagn('ly recognized theiJ· tributary status.
Chinese Ceramic Influence at Sukhothai
The significant point of all this for our· story, however, lies
in the fact that from the close of the 13th cent.tuy some form of
contact was establishNl betwtJen the 'l'hai kingdoms and China,
which in turn provided the opportunity for commercial relatione.
The official exchanges and missions connected wit.h the tribntal'Y
status of kingdoms lying along the periphery of the Chinese Empil•e
were often thin]JT disguised cmmnet·cial enterprises, the tributat·y
goods and 1•eturn presents merely affording a pretext for profitable
trade.
Trade as wel'l as politics. therefore, may hav-e accounted in
part for King Rama Khamheng's supposed visits to China in 1294
and 1300. During, his first visit. he and his suite were undoubtedly
overawed by the material sp.lendor of China, and what must have
impressed them as much as anything was the great abundance of
fine pottery. 'l'haj tradition holds,. thet•efore, that 011 his second
visit Ra,ma: Kha.mheng brought back with him to Sukhothai a
company of Oh1nese pottel's·.
Some writers, notably the late Phraya Nakorn Pbrah Ram,
have tried to upset this tradition. Until recently it had restecl
]argely on references in the enrly rrhai chronicle, more recently
known as the PongsawLtdan Y onak, a:uc1 tb:e· modern researches

A.
B.
A. An unusual example of Sukhothai Ware
( From the collection of the Mr. Lelt Vlrayaphand)
B. Examples of Sukhothai glazed building ornaments and an elephant. figurine.
( Photograph by the author from the collection In Wat Yai, Pltsnulok )

Siam

68 Charles Nelson Splnks
on a tribute-bearing mission, and when the outer barbarians paid
homage in this manner the Mongol rulers bad adopted the timehonored
Chinese custom of bestowing upon such vassals some of the
blessings of Chinese civilization. It is quite conceivable, therefore,
that the Mongols in aclmowledging King Rama Khambilng's tributary
status were only too pleased to permit their vassal to share in some
of the more advanced Chinese ceramic techniques and to allow him
to take some skilled potters back to Siam.
'l'bere also may have been another more snhtle reason why
Rama Khamheng was permitted to take Chinese potters to Snkhothai.
Having few cultural attainments of their own, the Mongols had
readily adopted many of the customs and practices of China which
were useful in giving their het.erogeneous empire a greater degree of
cultural unity as well as conferritlg upon themselves a more urbane,
sophistioated character which was laoking in their nomadic heritage.
The Mongols thereby became a kind of channel by which Chinese
cultural influences were diSSE'minatecl over large parts of Asia and
even to Europe. We can find, therefore, an interesting as well as a
striking parallel between the introduction of Chinese ceramic techniques
into Siam and the introduction of Chinese pottery-making
methods into Persia.
The Persian Parallel
Between 1256 and 1265 Hulagu, a brother of Kublai Khan,
consolidated Mongol power in Iraq and Persia where he established
a kind of Mongol sub-kingdom with its capital at Tabriz. H\Jlagn
was, of course, politically oriented to the Yi1an Court at Peking,
which at once made him to some dt>gree culturally oriented to the
civilization of China. Thus we find Hulagn and his snccessot•s using
Chinese-style seals in their official correspondence, impressions of
which are still preserved in letters sent from the Tabriz Court to
Philip the Fair of France. We also find that Hulagn imported
Chinese potters, papermakers and other skilled artisans to his capital,
as a result of which Persian pottery, textiles ancl painting soon
reflected a strong Chinese influence. The dragon, phoenix and other

Siam and the Pottery Trade of Asia 59
·Ohinese emblems were incorporated into Persian. ceramics, :just as
at the 'beginning of the 14th centtny, only a few years later, Chin·ese
designs ann techniques were being employed by Chi:nese poltei's at
S1:1khothai.
Sukhothai and Sawankalok Wares
In attempting to r·eprodnce the wares of T'zn Chot1 the
potters at Snkhothai tnl'ller1 out a hard, thick stoneware having a
white slip decoratec1 with simple designs in black and hl'o\vn nnder
a rat.her thin, yellowish-grey glnze. It. appeat·s that Snkhot.bai wat•e
was pt•odnced for only a brief time, possibly for only fifteen OI'
twenty y-€ars, although the kilns in Lhis area probably continued t:o
make elaborate roof tiles and architectural ornaments for a much
longer perior1. Tradition holcls, however, that. the Chinese potters
soon be·came clissatisfled with the quality of the clay at Snkhothai,
and with royal appt·oval moved theit· kilns to a more favorable site
near Sawankalok, some fift.y miles nort.h. Accordingly, there
began to be produced at Sawanknlok a new t.ypP of hard, thick
stoneware of almost porccllaneous quality with incised and painted
designs, along with great quantities of undecorated monochromes
with glazes running from a hlnish-grey to the typical celaclon greens.
Thns from around the middle of the 14th century the kilns
at Sawankalok began to make a type of wa1·e totally different from
whll.t ha

70 Charles Nelson Spinks
another tribute mission similar to that undertaken by King Rii.ma
Khamheng. Some of the wares produced at Sawankalok may not
suggest too abrupt a break with the 'l"zn Chou tradition as practiced
at Sukhothai, but the great production of celadon-like monochromes
at Sawankaloll: is a dif:l'erent matte1·, and there is nothing in the 'l"zu
Chou tra

Sawankalok Vessels with Celadon.like Glaze and
Incised Underglaze Decoration
A, R.
c. D.
E.
A., B., C., D. From the collection of Mr. Lel\ Viriyaphand.
E. From the author's cnllection.

Decorated Sawankalok
A.
B.
A. Covered vessel with yellowish-grey glaze decorated
with darker grey and oil ve green designs.
( From the author's collection)
B. Pot with greyish-green glaze and darlt grey decoration.
(From the collection of Mr. Lek Viriyaphand )

Siam and the Pottery Trade of Asia
7l
presumably brought the first group from T'zu Ohoit, and that. it may
very likely have been reasons of trade which led to this development.
Very little Snkhothai ware was apparently exported, whereas Sawankalok
pottery was sent to widely scattered parts of Asia. The reason
for this is obvious: it. could be solcl as celadon- albeit an inferior
grade-and celadon was the ware in greatest demand. What pro!Jahly
happened was something like this:
There was no real demand or
market outside of the locality for the Snkhothai. wares made in the
T'zu Ohoi''t tradition.
A new group of Chinese potters was brought
to Siam, possibly from Lnng-ch'iian, familiar with the manufacture
of celadous, and were settled in Sawankalok where materials were
available for making the celadon-like glazes.
Meanwhile, the
Sukhothai potters continued theii' work. but instead of attempting t.o
produce glazed pottery utensils for which there was appat•ently no
great market or demand, devoted their energies to making those
fanciful end tiles and other glazed and decorated temple ornaments
which came into vogue among the Siamese dnl'ing the Snkhothai
period.
'l'he amount of this gl azerl temple coust rue! ion material
produced at Snkbothai was prodigious, !Jut none of it. W!IS exported.
On the othet· hand, great quantities of Sawaukalok pottery wei'O
produced and t.here is abundant evidence that llltlCh if not most of
iL went into the Asiatic pottery trade.
'l'he products of the SnkhoLhni kilns were principally water
jars, bowls and dishes, along with great quantities of the decorated
temple materials mentioned above.
smaller and more delicate.
Most Sawankalok ware was
Large water jars, bowls and plates are
common, but more characteristic are small containel'S of various
shapes many of which are in pl~tin monochrome. One typo of
container which has always struck my fancy is in the shape of a
persimmon, the little handle of the lid representing the stem of the
fruit.,
Significantly enongh, the persimmon does not grow in Siam.
and this shape was undoubtedly of Chinese origin.
Ja1mnese connoisseurs
of Sawankalok classify this peculiar form as lcaki-no-le
( {;j;.:f- ), the persimmon tYPI?· •. ·•

72
Othet• clunacteristic Sawankalol;: vessels are small water
bottks, pitchet·s, ewers, cnps, vases, and a great variety of small
coverecl vessels presumably for bo]xport trade. In thil:l connec.tion, it. is significant
that a large amounL of tlle pottery unearlhed· at the kiln sites is
known in the trade as wasters~damagecl or imperfectly fired pieces
which were not snitable for the market. There is also evidence uhat

Types of Sawankalok Pottery made Principally for Domestic Use
A. B. c. D.
F. G. H.
I. J. K. L.
M. N. 0.
A., B., c., D., E., F., G., H., I. Various types of Covered Vessels.
J, Stand, IC., L. Bowls or Spittoons. M., N., 0. Vase& with "ears".

Siam an

74 Charles Nelson Spinl\s
In this connection, an American pottery expert, Harding
Black, made an interesting experiment with two pieces of Sawankalok
and in June 1953 publishRd his findings in 'l'he Ji'ar Eastern
Oermm:c BulleUn. He 1·e-fhed two bowls from the collection of
Ed win L. Neville, former U nil eel States Minister to Siam. As
a result, theit• pale greenish-grey glaze changed to a typical
colaclon green. But something even more remarkable occurred which
gives this unusual exporimrnt a touch of historical elrama. As if by
magic, there appeat•ed on ewe uf the bowls as a result of the second
fidng an incised underglazc lotus decoration whieh had remained
invisible over the centuries.
'!'here has been consit1emble disagreement as to just how
long Sawanka1ok potLery was produce, and it has generally been held
that production continued until well into the 16th century if not
later. Roth Reginald le lVIay and Otley Beyer are of t.he opinion
that production ceased during the 16th century, bnt as le 1\!Iay has
cautiously noted, ''we shall probably nev('l' know defillit.ely." I am
inclined to lJelieve, l1owever, that production came to an end, at least
at the Sawank\lok sites, in the 15th century. Dt:11·ing most of this
period Sa\vankalok ocrmpied a precarious position in the series nf wars
waged by the Siamese of Ayuthia with t.he kingdoms of Chiengmai
and Luang Prabang. Sawunkalok was under attack a number of
times and a great part of the town was destroyed in 1460 and again
in 1464. Some years earlier a turn-coat governor deserted to
Chiengmai and reportedly took most of the population with him.
It waH probably because of circumstances like these that abandoned
kilns have been founcl at Sawankalok filled with unfinished pottery;
the potters either fled because of invasion or \Vere forcibly evacuated.
Accordingly, I believe Giga 'l'etsuji ( fl~J~Jnt.:::.. ), one of the foremost
Jap;mese authorities on Sawahkalok ware, may be correct in concluding
that production ceased because the pot.tel'S became so dispersed
that it was impossible to hold the inilustry together. Many of them
probably went to Chiengmai where they endeavored to carry on their
craft. For example, Giga found one lJOtter in Chiengmai who was still
making a ware with a greyish-green glaze which so closely resembled
Sawanka.lok that it was often sold in Bangkok's famous N akoru

SAWAN KALOK~
Kiln Sites
SAWAN KALOK
\Old Cityl
SAWAN KAL.OK
• (Present City)
SUKHO THAI
Kill1 Sites
""" •
SUKHO THAI
(Old City)
SUKHO THAI
(Present City)
.. To MARTABAN
• ME SOT
Sketch Map of Sukhotbai-Sawankalok Area

EVOLUTION OF THAI POTTERY
Early Period
CrLtde U nglazell
Earthenware
li3th-14th
Centuries
Early 14th
Century
:\Hddle 14th
to 11i

Siam and the Pottery Trade of Asia 75
Kasem district as the genuine article by unwitting or unscrupulous
dealers. Moreover, Gig a found that this Chiengmai potter employed
the same type of kiln nsecl by the potters at Sukhothai and
Sawankalok; he also made animal figurines simihwto the Sawankalok
pieces, and his spatula work har1 the si1me characteristics. It was
at his kiln that there h8d been produced some generations before
the famous pottel'Y columns with their celarlon-like glaze which
until recently adorned the ent1·ance to Wat Phra Dhatu, the mountain
temple on Doi Suthep. Giga was accordingly inclined to believe
that this Ohiengmai potter was a descendent of some ceramic
artisan of Sawankalok.
In addition to the disruption of t.he pottery industry at
Sawanlralok as the result of wars and other disasters, there was
also a great expansion of the Ohinese pottery trade during the 15th
century against which it would probably ba,•e been difficult for the
small-scale operators of Siam to have competed. Moreover, we
must take into account technical and a1•t.istic developements in
the Ohinese ceramic field which undoubtedly brought about the
remarkable change of taste among consumers of pottery throughout
Asia. By the 15th century the Chinese had perfected the technique
of nnderglaze blue wa1·e to the point where it was assuming a major
position in their export trade. Faced by these various difficulties
-the disruption of their industry at home and increased Ohinese
production of new ceramic lines enjoying great popnladty-it is only
too obvious that the Thai would have been unable to compete with
the Ohinese in the Asiatic pottery mat·ket.
There is fnrther evidence that Sawankalok ware was no
longer being produced in the 16th cenlUl'y or was even represented
in the pottery trade from the fact that there are no references to
it in contemporary historical recowls. Before the close of the 16th
century Japanese tr~'tders and advent nrers bad begun to settle in
that unique international community which had grown up outside
the walls of Aynthia. Yet in all the Japanese records of the late
16th and 17th cen~nries no mention is made whatever of Siamese
pottery or any trade therein.

'lf:i
Charles Nelson Spinks
By the beginning of the 17th century .Japanese trade with
Siam had grown to substantial proportions and was largely in the
hands of merchants who r.eceived special licenses from the Shogunate,
the famous Red Seal Documents, or 8htf.injo ( ;ju~p~ ).
:From the
early part of the Keichi:, ( J!-k.) era (1596-1614) until the Japanese
were prohibited from going nbroacl by the decrees of 1638, the socalled
Shttinsen ( ;J;..~f.ftjj ), or Red Seal Ships, made some 182
voyages for which records exist. Of this total, 37 licenses were
issued to ships making trading expeditions to Siarn, 13 to Annam,
26 .to Champa, 11 to Tongking, 23 to Cambodia ann 5 to Pattani. In
his Shuinsen Boeki Shi ( ;J

'
.... -- --- .. .
'•
~-
,'
~u.i
\1
Ch£rzu.
.Ku.JTm./11,j
,' ~- ....,
..-, .....".... "'
I '
.~...
--.
-, '
'· l \-1:,
''-~~~-~.,_,"' .__
e
' ' ' ' '..,
\\ .,.;:
', 'i>.
~.'?
'- (
J
l*i.it.l«mbii".Jf ~ ·CJ
.Yu.n""'"
South China Sea
Philippine l.si

Siam and the Pottery Trade of Asia 77
century Siam, this latter work also had reconrse to a great wealth
of .Japanese and Chinese mnterinls some of which only exist in
manuscript form.
Had Sawanlmlok poltel'y heen prodn~ecl
at this time or har1
it been available in the Siamese market, the .Japanese traders at
Aynthia would certainly have recognizerl it as the type of ware
which, alil we shall presently see, was at this time highly pri11ecl by
the tea masters and ceramic connoisseurs of Japan.
The noterl Dutch scholar, T. Volker, gives us further evide11ce
in his recent book Porcelain and the Dtttch East India Company
that Sawankalok pottery was not being produced in the late lGth
and 17th centuries.
''Nowhere in the Da,gh Registm·s, '' he writes,
"nor in the other contemporary papers examined is Siamese ceramic
export ware even once mentioned as a merchandise."
'l'he only
pottery,.,exported from Siam at that time were coarse earthen ware pots
used as containers for honey ancl occaflionally oil, "but never shipped
as an article of trade in themselves."
heen of Chinese origin.
Even these vessels may have
Hence, Volker concludes that "the expol't
of Sawankalok, the only ware on a par with Chinese stoneware,
came to a full stop in 1460, when the town of Sawankalok was taken
by hostile northern forces; the potters were dispersed, ancl many of
the kilns were left in a .. hnrry with their contents still intact, to be
excavated only in the 20th centnry." Nol' could Volker find evidence
of a pottery industry of any kind at Ayuthia, for with a Duteh East
India Company Factory established there, any locally- made wares
of export standing would certainly have come to the attention of
these energetic traders. The only wares the Dutch found at Ayuthia
were Ohinese and later .Japanese porcelains, much of which was
imported by the king's merchant marine both for loc!.tl use and reexport.
Again, the writings of Jeremias van Vliet, who was in
Ayuthia in 1639, make no mention of Siamese pottery. On the basis
of these various pieces of evidence, I believe we can discard any
belief that Sawanlmlok pottery was prodncecl in the 17th century,
while no available evidence snppcwts the view that it was proclnced

78 Chmles Nelson Spinks
in the 16th ce;ntury. It would appear that this ware was made for
only a comparatively short period, frow about the middle of the
14th centnry nntil u.bont the middle of the 15th century.
Export of Sawankalok Ware
There is little eviclence that Snkhoth ai pottery was eyer
made for export, although a few pieces have been found in Java and
elsewhere. 'fhe first export of wares from Sawankalok was probably
by way of Martaban. 'l'his port was in fact sei>r,ed from the Peguans
by King Rama Khamheng around the beginning of the 14th century
along with the Tenasserim area.
M:artahan was occupied on ancl
off by the Siamese until the beginning of the 15th centnry when it
fell to the Burmese who held it continnously thereafter. During this
period Ma rtaban became an import ant commercial entrepi)t for
traders from India and the Near East.
As an outlet for Siam's
products, however, Mal'taban suffered two disadvantages: the long
and difficult overland route from north-central Siam, and the fact
that the port was only in Siamese possession periodically until it
was permanently lost to the Burmese early in the 15th century.
Consequently, as we shall presently see, the port of Mergni in the
'fenasserim area, which was continually held by the Siamese from
King Rama Khamheng's time, was to assume a greater importance
in the trade of Siam. The trade route from Sawankalok to Martaban
was nnclonbtedly by way of Haheng ( 'l'ak) and Mesot, the Siamese
using elephant trains for transport.·
Unless 'rhai distaste for commercial enterprise is a more
recently acquired chal·acteristic, it was probably the Chinese potters
or Chinese and other fm·eign traders who first promoted the export
of the products of the Suwankalok kilns. Consequently, there may
have been, as noted above, strong commercial reasons for the
appearance of Lnng-ch'i:ian potters in Siam. 'l'hey may well have
been brought there fot· the specific purpose of producing a type of
ware which wonld be saleable in the potte1•y marltets of India and
the Near East,

Some Types of Sawankalok Export Wares
A. B.
v~~
~ .:;_·
\ ~
u
,/'-~
u
c. D.
E. F.
A, Narghili bottle. B., C. Ewers. D., E. Vases.
F. Vase of type sought by Japanese for use as a tea caddy.

Siatn and the Pottery Trade of Asia 79
At this period (the middle of the 14th century) China wae1
experiencing troubled times as a result of the conflicts which over.
threw the Yi.ian dynasty and finally brought the Ming to power in
1368. 'l'his was not only a period of wars but also one of famines,
plagues, locnsts, earthquakes and floods and consequent social unrest.
'l'he Ming Dynasty was no sooner established when the ;rapanese
pirate fleets of the dreaded wulcu ( 141:.1[) began theit· large-scale raids
along the China coa&t which seriously interferred with trade and
shipping.
Lung-ch'i:ian and the other famous Sung kilns were
situated principally in Kiaugsi, Chekiang and Fnkien, the districts
most exposed to u.wko depredations. Many of theso hilns had suffered
during the st.rife attending the Mongol conquest, and again during the
subsequent liberation by the Ming, whilt' before the end o£ the YUan
period a rival pottery centet• harl begun to rlevelop at Ohing-t8 Chen
( -f.f.t:lf\.) which eventually was to dominate the export trade with its
underglaze blue and white wares which largely took the place of
celadon in popular taste throughout the Asiatic marl,ets. Early in
the Miug period, the Lnng-ch'thm putters were compelled to move
to Ch'u Chon ( ~;f.:H·])
where they were able, however, tu continue
producing their famous celadon in the face of rising blue and white
competition unlil alruost the end of the Ming period.
H is possible, therefore, that some of the Lnng-ch'Uan potters
may have moved to Siam during this troubled pcniocl around the
middle of the 14th century in search of batter opport.nnities as well
as in response to the desire of the Siamese for ucldi.tional Chinese
potters to ~upplement the original company brought to Siam hy King
Barna Khamh&ng. Although no evidence is available, the A1·ab and
Indian traders may also havo been instrumental in such a move.
Having seen and possibly handled samples of the wares produced at
Sukhothai, they may have endeavored to promote the production of
the more saleable celadon lines in Siam, a country more accessible
to the Indian mal'kets and at the same time not subject to the
viscissiiucles which were thn disrupting the economy of China.
This is conjectural, of colll'se, but it is by no means outside the realm
of possibility.
offer a cas.e in point.
:For example, the famous Kirmau wares of Persia
Shah Abbas I thought it possible to develop

80 Cl\

Siam and the Pottery 'l'l'ade of Asia 81
were exchanged for the products of India and the Nem· East. Some
pottery was also shipped overlanu from Ohina by the old silk route
across Asia. By the Ming period, howeve1·, there arose such a strong
demand for Ohi.nese ceramics throughout Asia that the Ohinese began
to participate in this trade on a much larger scale. One significant
as well as picturesque result was the series of spectacnlar maritime
expeditions undertaken on orders of the Emperor Yung-Lo ( 7 ~~)
by the Mohammedan court eunuch Cheng H6 ( ~~~ll') who held the
rank of admiral. His expeditions not only visited Ohampa, Siam
and Java, but India, Persia and Arabia and possibly the east coast
of Africa, one curious by-product of which was the bringing of the
first live giraffe to OhhHt. 'l'hese voyages have been described by
J.J.L. Dnyvendak in his engaging monograph China's Discovery of
Aj·rica and in his brillant article in 'l''ozmg Pao. One important
result of Oheng Hu's voyages was the re-establishment of tributary
relations with Sumatra, for among the subsequent tribute goods were
much-needed supplies of cobalt which the Ohinese used for making
tbe underglaze blue of their famous Ming wares.
'l'he widespread dissemination of Ohinese ceramics throng hout
Asia from as early as the T'ang period down into the Ming period
is an almost unbelievable story.
White 'l"ang pieces were being
copied in Persia as early as the 9th centmy, long before the Mongol
Hulagu b:ronght Ohinese potters to 'l'abriz, and Ting glazes and shapes
were being imitated by Persian potters in the 12th century. By the
following century the Persians were nsing the same types of enamel
glazes developed by the Ohiuese.
Sung fragments have been
unearthed at Samarra, the temporary residence of the Oaliphs of
Baghdad, destroyed in the 9th century, and similar shards have
been found in excavations at Fostat near Oairo. There is a record
of a shipmen.t of forty pieces of celadon from Egypt to Damascus in
1170. Ming blue and white shards were found at Hama, a city in
nort~ern Syria desLroyed by 'l'iruur in1401, and fl'agments of celadon
and other Ohin(;)se wares have been unearthed at various sites in
Persia, India and even at Mombasa and Zanzibar.
It would almost

82 Charles Nelson Spinks
seem unnecessary to add that celadon, Ming blue and white and
other Chinese wares have been found in considerable quantities
throughout Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia, Malaya, Borneo,
Siam and the Philippines.
It was, of course, the great overseas demand for Chinese
ceramics which accounts for this remarkable expansion in China's
pottery trade. Many Indian and other Asiatic rulers appear to have
developed an unquenchable desire for Chinese wares. Pet·sian
miniatures of thj) 14th and 15th centuries frequently show exquisite
pieces of Ming blue and white, and the Venetian ArnbassadOl' at
Tabriz in a report to his govemment in 1474 expressed amazement
at the great quantities uf Chinese porcelains he had seen at the
Shah's court. In 1487 the envoy of the Sultan of Egypt presented
some Chinese porcelains to Lorenzo de Medici. Shah Abbas the
Great of Persia ( 1587-1629) assembled a magnificent collection of
Chinese wares which was originally housed iu the mortuary mosque
at Ardebil in A~almi.ian but is now in the National Museum at
Toheran. A still more fabulous collection was amassed by the
Sultans of Turkey, parts of it representing loot taken by Selirn I and
Suleiman the Magnificent when they invaded Tabriz, or pieces
carried off. as booty during Turkish military expeditions to Syria
and Egypt. From the 15th centtll'y Chinese potcelains were being
used as tablewa1·e in the Sultan's palace and a special building called
the China Khane was constructed to house these treasures. The vast
collection of some ten thousand pieces, o:E which over three thousand
are celadon, has happily been preserved and is now on display in
the enormous kitchens of the former Seraglio in Istanbul. Another
great collection was assembled by Akbar and Jehanajir, which was
kept in the Mogul Fort at Agt·a until it was regrettably destroyed
by the Mahrattas in 1771.
'
I
!'
·' ,,
The R6le of Siam in the Pottery Trade
The export wares of China were carried to India by way
of Java and Sumatra, the ships often touching en route at the
.Philippines, Borneo, Celebes and the Moluccas, which explains
the discovery of so .many pieces of old Chinese pottery in

A Siamese Trading Junk of the Late 16th or Early \7th Century
·,
. _,,.-
i!
f1t
~~ ·;t
1'\il
;'t ,,
~
-f.;t
From the Karabunc E-maki (~-Jf~t-";;Jl..), An Album of Foreign Ships, a two-volume manuscript
scroll in the Nagasaki Provincial Library. The above picture was reproduced in Nompo /lakai
Kobunken Zuroku
( m ;t )JJ(~"t :)i:~£ IIJ j~ ), An Album of Old Documents Pertaining to
Navigation in the Southern Regions, compiled by the Osaka Provincial Library and
published by the Kobayashi Shashin Seihanjo, Kyoto, !943.

Siam and the Pottery 'l'radc of Asia
a a
these islands. On these long voyages the small trading junks
often encountered fatal storms or were exposed to attacks by
pirates lurking among the islands and especially in the Straits of
Malacca. Until the advent of the T:'ortngnese with their gunnery
skill and their supedor types of vessels with heavier armament, the
pirates of the Malacca Straits were a formidable and traditional
obstacle. Even as early as the 5th century these pirates prese11ted
a problem, as the famous Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Fa-hsien, who
travelled overland hom China to India and then returned by sea
via Ceylon and Java in 399-414 A.D., has so graphically described.
Consequently, many of: the Chinese junks and other vessels began
to prefer a less convenient but safer route over which to transport
their precious cargoes. This lay from the South China pot•ts along
the coasts of Tongking, Annam, Champa, 011mbodia and Siam,
where at the capital nt Ayuthia there developed from perhaps as
early as the 14th century a great trading cente1• which was in time
to rival Palembang. Merchants from Ohina and the various kingdoms
of Southeast Asia as well as from snch distant lands as India
and Persia established themselves in individual settlements outside
the walls of the Siamese city. In time this polyglot community
was enlarged by traders and adventurers from Japan, Portugal,
Holland, England and France.
At Ayuthia the silks and ceramics of China were
exchanged for goods from Siam, India and other areas and were
then trans.-sbipped eit.her by junk or overland to Pranbnri or Kni
on the western shore of the Gulf of Siam for transport by caravan
across the narrow isthmus to Tenasserim and thence down-stream
in small river boats to the port of Mergui. ]!~rom this entrepot the
goods were loaded aboard Indian, At·ab and later European ships for
the g1•eat markets in India and the West.. From Ayuthia there was
also an iooportant trade in Ch ineae and other goods with Pattani,
Malacca a.nd Java, while some of the werchandise which went to
Mergui was also shipped to Acheen in Sumatra.
While the gt•eat bulk of this trade consisted of Chinese
products, in.cluding celadon and other wares, Sawankalok pottery
also entered into the inventories and in the distant· markets undoub- .

84 Charles Nelson Spinks
tedly lost its indentity and was sold as Chinese goods. By this
process the products of the Sawankalok kilns were carried in some
quantities to India and possibly even as far west as Egypt, for the
Fostat finds contained shards among the Chinese celadon fragment.s
which are believed to be pieces of Sawanlmlok. But the various
Asiatic dealers who frequented such trading centers as Martaban,
Aynthia and Mergui were, we may assume, shrewd fellows who
were undoubtedly well aware that the products of Sawanlmlok could
not be substituted for the s11perior celadon of China in any trade
with the more discriminating customers of India and the Near East.
It appears, therefore, that the principal markets for Sawanlmlok
were among the less demanding peoples of Java, Borneo and the
Philippines, for it is in these islands that the largest finds of
Siamese ware have been discovered nu tside the kiln sites in Siam. In
other wnrds, Sawanlmlok pottery, being inferior in quality to
Chinese celadon, was shipped to those parts of the East where there
were suitable markets for what were regarded as second-grade
goods. The same practical considerations we know governed the
export of all ceramics from China, the flner wares going to India
and the Near East, while the coarse, crude potteries were shipped
to Java, Borneo and the Philippines.
The Demand for Large Water Jars and the Martaban Trade
There is one notable exception to this, however, namely, the
great demand which p1•evailed throughout India and even in the
Near East as well as throughout Southeast Asia for large jars for
storing water, oil or wine. Many of these vessels were of crude
workmanship, although we today have come to admire them for
theh• artistic qualities, 'rhese jars were also in great demand by
the Indian, At•ab and early Enropean traders who found them a
convenient cargo, not only for storing fresh water for the long
voyages but also as containers for other more valuable commodities.
The provincial kilns of South China and those of Sawankalok
endeavored to meet the great demand for these jars. As
we noted, the product!! of Sawan1ralok were probably first
exported by way of Martaban. For some reason the trade in:.

Types of Water Vessels
A. B. c.
D. E. b'.
G. H.
A. Khmer. B. Chalieng. C. Srlsujchanalai. D. Luang Prabang.
E., 1•'., G., H. So-called Martaban.

Examples of Large Water Jars
A. B.
c. D.
A. B. Typical tall, narrow vessels of the Martaban type with "ears" for lashing
coverings in place.
C. Large water jar of Sawankalok make.
D. Wide-mouth water vessel of Chinese make.
(From the collection of Mr. Lek Viriyaphand)

Relief depicting the Hindu Myth, the Churning of the Cosmic Ocean, on the south
pediment of the second Gopura of the 12th century Khmer Temple at Khao Phra Vlhara,
Srisaket Province, Northeast Thailand, showing a large water vessel resembling some of
the so-called Martaban jars.
(Photograph by the author )

Siam and the Pottery Trade of Asia
R5
these large water ;iars, whether of Siamese or Chinese manufacture,
eventually became centered at Martaban. Cumbersome
as they were the Sawankalok jars were undoubterlly shipped overland
to this pol't by elephant caravn.ns, while e;ome of the jnrs from
China which reached Siam may have been shipped over the same
route. It would appear·, however, that most of the jars of Cbine~,;e
make reached Martaban by sea.
Since this trade became centered
at Martabnn, these large storage vessels became known as 1\fartaban
jars and thf;l belief grew up that they were actually manufactured
at the Peguan port. In India anc1 elsewhere the term Martaban
became variously corrnptecl into Martavan and Martabani as terms
to designate any celadon or celaclon-like ware, since considerable
quantities of celaclon ghoree dishes of Chinese origin were also
exported from the Martahan pottery entrepfit or from other ports in
the delta region of Burma, such as Syriam and Bassein. In India
the term Martaban became so synonymous for any large glazed
water vessel that the Ohinese and Siamese jars were later copied
in the 18th century by Muslim potters aronnd Delhi who unabashedly
marked their wares with the word "Marta1lril1". Occasional
references are made to Pegu jars of local mannfactnre which were
exported from Martaban and other ports in lower Bnrma. So far
as I have been able to ascertain, these were of nnglazecl earthenware
nnd were made solely as containers :Cor export commodities, much
as the Siamese at Ayuthia in the 17th century employed similar
vessels as containers for expo1t.ing oil, honey ancl other loc:al
products.
The best description of the so-called Martab:~n j:ws is to be
found in Namme Ottema's H andboek de;· Ohineesche 0e1'rtrm'ek.
They have been found all the WRY from the Philippines to Egypt,
and what look vel'y much like such water jat·s can be seen in the
12t·h century reliefs at Pl':trnbnnan and Borohndnr in .Java. At
Khao Phra Vih§.ra, nn 11th-12th century Kbmer ruin on the Thai­
Camboclian border, there is a remarkable relief depicting the
Chnming of the Ocean in which appears a jar having no resemblance
to the typical KlHner vessels but looking very much lUre some of
the Martal:um water jars. These jars were desct·ibPd by Ibn

86 Charles Nel~on Spinl~s
BattLJ.ta in the 14th century and by the Portuguese traveller Duarte
Barosa in the 16tll century.
They are also mentioned occasionally
in later accounts of Dutch and English travellers.
T. Volkor in his PO?'celw'n and the Dutch East India ComJJany
offers evidence that the Chinese, possibly as enrly as the Sung period
(long before Martaban was annexed to the Kingdom of Sukhothai ),
were shipping some of their celadon wares overland to the Peguan
ports by way of Bhamo, a trade \Vhich continued long after the
Siamese were forced out of Pegu.
Bhamo was the western terminus
for the mnle teams which entered Burma from Yiinnan. The course
was not by the Shweli River but through the Taping River pass considerably
to the north, joining the Bhauw- Myitkyina Road about
twenty miles north of Bhamo. This old Bnrma-Yiinnan mule track
is still in use. Accordingly, there developed a sizeable Chinese trading
community at Bhamo (which even today ir; predominantly a Chinese
towu ).
E'1·om Bhamo the Chinese products were shipped by boat
down the Irrawaddy River to the delta area for trans.shipment to.
India and elsewhere. No doubt mueh of these goods found their way
to Martaban because of its importance as a trading center.
As Volker notes, the Dutch East India Company became very
interested in the Martahan tra.de nnd from 1635 to 1678 maintained
factories in Pegu.
In 1670 the Company actually made an atte1npt
to op.en a post at Bhamo in order to tap lbis overland trade from
China closer to its source.
Because of fear of the Chinese, howeve.r,
the Burmese 1•efnsed to grant, permission, :for in 1659 the Shan and
. .
Kachin regions had been cn·errun by Y i:innancse refugees fleeing.
before the Manchu forces, all of which was, as Volker reminds ns,
strangely analogous to. certain events in that area in our own day,
Nevertheless, the Company continnecl to maintain an interest in the
Bhamo trade, ancl it) 1G7 fi the Company's representative in Pegu in
a report to the Governor-General at Batavia called attention to the
fact that the Chinese were coming annually to Bharno with caravans
of pack mules bearing ghoree clishes for the Indian and Near Eastern
mrwkets.

An unusual jar of Chinese provenance but probably made for Thai
order. The design around the central portion of the jar depicts a deerhunting
scene. The two very un.Chinese figures shown above are
carrying pieces of venison suspended from a pole. The jar has a
yellowish-gray glaze with the decoration In brown, green and red.
(From the collection of Mr. Lek Viriyaphand)
Similar scene of Siamese returnlrog from a hunt carrying pieces of a
deer's carcass. (Photographed by the author in Amphur Koke Samrong,
Chan~tvad Lopburi)

Siam and the Pot'tery 'l'rade of Asia 87
The Magic Appeal of Celadon
Aside fl'nm theit· artistic and utilitarian purposes, Chinese
pottery and porcelain, particularly celadon wares and the celadonlilre
prochJCts nf the Sawnnko.lok kilns, crtme to pos;;ess for many
veoples throughout Asia a strange, magical power.
For example, it
was a commr.n belief in India and Persia that a celadon cup would
crack or abruptly change color if it were filled with poisoned wine,
and it was nniversally believed throughout South and Southeast Asia
that celallon plates, known as ghor·ee dishes in Inclia, had the power
to detect the presence of poison in any food served upon them.
Monarchs ancl officials throughout the East have traditionally
been preoccupied with tho danger of assassination by poison in
consequence of which it is not difficn1t to understand the greRt
demand which prevailed for such magical pottery.
rare porcelain und jade C11LJS
In China· some
wel'e also believed to possess magical
powers, although the favoJ•ite safeguard against poisoned wine among
tho Chinese was th1' use of th·inking veBsels mnclo of rhinoceros horn,
\vhile aecllrdiug to the AhbL' Hue the 'l'ibetans believed that bowls
made of eertain rare woods htul tho power to neutrali.2e pcJii:!ous.
N cvertheless, tho Chirli~So
have trad it,ionally regarded a rare or
especially fino pieeu or pottery or porcelain with an almost snperstitions
awe, and it was customary J'or the owners of such trea.sm·es
to keep them eoncealed with the greatest secrecy.
It. was also helcl iJi. many parts of tbe East that a modiciue
prepare

88 Charle:> N cis on Spinl~s
with such appalling ingredients as cinnabar, alum, copper oxide and
a dash of arsenic.
vVe should have no canse for wonder that some
of those who experimented with these elixirs often came to an abrupt
om!, hut before passing jndgmnnl on such customs "it is salutary
fm· ns to realize," as Maurice Collis has written, ''that there are
persons who salntc pol'celains for l'easous other than our own."
ln his study of Chinese pottery in the Philippines Fay-Cooper
Oolu u1ade some interesting discoveries conceming the magical powers
attributed to old jars and vessels.
Many l\fing and Sawaukalok
pieces have been unearthed in the Philippine archilpelago and in
B01·neo where large water vessels were freqnenty called Siam jars.
They were highly regarded by the peoples of these islands, and those
having exceptional powers were given names and grades of rank.
The Sultan nf Brunei was re1mtecl to possess a magical jar which
conltl speak to warn hirn o£ approaching danger. In the Philippines
an

Examples of the Curious Use of Chinese Dishes and. Bowls
as Architectural Ornaments
One of the gable ends of Wat Chamni Hattal,arn
( Wat Sam Ngam ) near the 'l use Bridge,
Bangkok, lavishly decorated with bowls and
dishes set in the plaster.
Chinese dishes and bowls used as gable ornaments
at Wat Mai Chaivichit, Ayuthia.
Small Chinese dishes and fragments of Chinese
pottery used to ornament Wat Arun, BangJ.;oJ.;.
Chinese dishes set in the balustrade around thP.
great Phra Pran11 of Wat Puthai Sawan, Ayuthia.

I
Use of Chinese Pottery and Porcelain as Building
Ornaments at Wat Thai Chumpol, Sukhothai
f
( Photographed for the author by Dr. Pan Lauhabandhu)

A Fine Example of Pottery Used to Ornament a Pagoda
The Phra Chedi of Wat Paknam at Samut
Prakam lavishly ornamented with old
Chinese dishes and bowls.
Detail of Phra Chcdi at Wat Paknam showing pottery
ornamentation on section of pagoda surrounded by Tephanom.
( Photographed by the Author)

Siam and the Pottery Trade of Asia 89
equally deplorable manner rnin the pot or jar from the standpoint
of the archaeologist ot• collector in the belief that by damaging an
unbroken vessel it will be made so unattractive that the spirit will
no longer care t.o use it as an abode and the discoverer can consequently
carry it off with impunity. It is for this reason, I have
been told, that one rarely if ever finds an undamaged piece of old
pottery or porcelain in or around the home of a 'l'hai farmer or
woodsman.
In the Philippines, Borneo and other parts of Southeast Asia
old Chinese jars are used by some peoples for brewing rice wine for
their ceremonial drinking bottts. In his A Dragon ApJJCt'l'Ant Norman
Lewis has given au interesting account of this custom as practiced
by the Moi peoples of Indo-China who brew rice wine in sacred jars
and drink the beverage by means of long hollow reeds. The Moi
were also fond of using exceedingly large jars of the Mart a ban type
as rl wellings to house their tutehny spirits. In Northeast 'l'hailand
rice wine, called chang (elephant), is rn·epared in and consumed from
pottery vessels in the same manner by the Phu 'l'hai, while other
Thai peoples in the Northeast and Central Siam make a similar
beverage called i~lc which is also brewed in and consumed from jars.
'l'he present-day 'l'hai, however, seem to attach no particular importance
to the age or supposedly magical properties of the jars,
using any old vessel at hand including those in which nam 21la
(fish sanoe) is packed for the market.
Use of Ceramic Vessels as Architectural Ornaments
In Persia old celadnn and other Chinese porcelain vessels
were often set in the plaster on the walls of tombs anc1 mortuary
lUOSqnes, the purpose of which may have been more decorative
than talismanic, although the idea of providing the deceased with
the magical vessels he once cherished should not be excluded.
Strange to say, the 'l'hai have also used Chinese ceramics to ornament
some of their wats, generally employing small ft·agments of porcelain
somewhat in the manner of making a mosaic. Nevertheless, there
are some notalJle examples of this practice in Bangkok, Ayuthia
and elsewhere in 'l'hailand where in addition to the use of mosaic-

90 Charles Nelson Spi~ks
like fragments whole dishes and bowls haye been set in the plaster
in the Persian manner.
One striking examp}(J is Wat Anm in
Dhonbnri, its huge towers having. a strange, porcellaneous quality
from the countless pieces of Chinese bowls and whole dishes
cemented to its surface. Other curious examples are Wat Phra
Yurawongse, Wat Anongkaram, and serveral other temples in
Dhonburi, Wat Lieb and Wat Sam Ngam in Bangkok, Wat Phra
Mongkol Bawphit, Wat Maha Dhatii and several other temples
in Ayuthia, and Wat Bang Chang in Samut Songgram. It is
interesting and perhaps signiilcant tlwt a number of these temples,
notably Wat I'ra Ynrawongse ancl Wat Sam Ngam, havo been connected
.with the famous Bunnag family, descendents of Sheik
Ahmad, a Persian or Arab trader who settled in Aynthia early in
the 17th century. Similarly, Wat Bang Chang in Samnt Songgram
was founded by the Bang Cllang family who were also descendents
of Sheik Ahmad. It may be possible, therefore, that this unusual
custom of using frugments of pottery and whole dishes as architectul'al
decorations on temples in Shtru was of Persian or Near Eastem
ongm. It was not a Chinese custom to employ porcelain wares in
this manner, which would be considel'l'U a gross rnisnse of dishes
and bowls from the pmpose for which they were originally intended.
The Chinese, it is true, nsed ceramic tiles in building ·construction
but these were specially made for this purpose. '!'here is also
no indication of any earlier use of pottery and porcelain in thi:s
manner in Siam. While the kilns at Snkhothai turned out many
dishes, bowls and other pottery utensils, they also manufactured rooi'
and building ornaments, as was occasionally done at Sawankalok
as well.
Japanese Trade in Chinese and Biamese Pottery
In studying the part played by Sawanlmlok ·ware in the
·pottery trade of the East, the Philippine Islands assume an
important position. Berthold Laufer believes that Chinese jars
~urd other vessels were first brought to the Philippines as ear•ly as
tbe Sung 11eriod, although the great bulk of Chinese poLte1•y most
likely reached the islands during the heyd.ay of tb:e Ming expor.t

trade.
Siam ani! the Pottery Trade of Asia 91
Among, the jars and vessels excavated in the Philippines by
Professor Beyer were a groat m~wy pieces of Sawankalok w~ue; in
fact, in the Visayan Islands Sawankalok pieces ran from twenty to
forty percent of' the total finds, indicating that there must have
been large shipments of this ware from Siam to the Philippines.
The presence of so much Sawankalok in these island has another
significance which I shall presently relate.
The Chinese also shipped considerable quantities of their
export wares to Japan during the Sung and Ming periods.
Thet'e
\vas an es11ecially skong demancl for these wares under the Ashikagfl.
( .lt..;flj) Sho.p:uns (1339-157 4) because of the development of chano-yu
( &~i!5 ), the tea ceremony, as an aesthetic pursuit and
social refinement among the warrior class.
'rhe tea ceremonY'
requires the use of various pottery and metal utensils all of which
must meet the rigid aesthetic standards inherent in the ceremony
itself. It was among some of the export wares of China that the
chajin (.$A.), or tea masters, found the types of vessels best suited
to their exacting taste. The Ashilraga Shogun Yoshimasa ( ,j\~3::,)
(1444:-1475) was a devotee par excellence of the tea ceremony, which
in turn meant that he was also a connoissenr of fine ceramics.
Under the Ashikaga Shoguns fo1·mal diplomatic and trade
relations were re-established with the Ming Oourt, the Japanese
shoguns in effect making their conntry tributary to China in order
to take, fnllest advantage of the trade. On the Japanese' side this;
diplomatic•com:mercial intercourse was placed largely in the hands
of the Zen monks of the Tenryuji ( 7t -M. -t ), a temple near l{yoto.
Its. ships which S::tiiled to Ningpo and other. Chinese ports' bearing
envoys anrl merchandise in the guise of tribute goods anc1 roturni:r:Jg
with the s•ilks,. ce!'amics and othN' prized prodncbs of Ohin!V were
thns known as the '1' et!?'JJUji-bu.ne ( J;. ~ -4='f%i) and .represent • a
rat,her unusual example of formal coBilmerchtl activity on. the part'
of the Buddhist .clet•gy.
Several of the ceremonial utensils pl'ize.c1
by Yoshimasa were acquired through these tribute-bearing trade
missions. One of the pieces is the exquisite little aha·.i?'ll ( .:(;,.>.... ), or
tea caddy., to which Yoshimasa was moved to give the. poetic name,
of Hatsuhana, ( 1n./t ), Early Spring Flowet•.
This famous piece.

92 Charles Nelson Spinks
became a shogunal heirloom and has. remained a treasured possession
of the Tokngawa family to the present clay, Another unique piece
obtained by Yoshimasa through the trade of the Tenryuji-bune was
a Sung celadon censer which became known to history as the
CMrlori Koro ( -t 9!,. :ft )Jli ), the Plover Censer. 'rhe supernal vessel
was said to have been given this name because when incense was
burned in H birds were reputed to ha'ile hurst into song with delight
at the paradisical fragrance. Another and perhaps more plausible
explanation of the name lies in t.he fact that the shape of the
censer resembles in a way the chidor•i, or plover. Like the
magical jar of the Sultan of Brunei, the Chidori Koro was also
said to have had the power to warn its owner with a cry when
danger was at hand.
In addition to the tribute and trade missions of the
'1' em·yu}i-bune, it is also likely that the wa7co, the Japanese
pirates who ravaged the coasts of China and even Annam from the
14th to the 16th oen tnries, brought bacldo Japan in their Ba.han-sen
( .i\.. 1 ~-&7~~) quantities of Chinese wares, since the growing popularity
of the tea ceremony created such a lucrative demand for fine
ceramics.
It is possible, therefore, that some Sawankalok pieces may
have been introduced into Japan through both the Ashikaga tribute
missions of the Tenryu.ii-bune and t.he more unconventioual trading
activities of the wako. Both Giga Tetsuji and Mild Sakae (.E..*~),
the two foretnost Japanese authorities on Sawankalok, are of the
view that it was the wako who first brought this ware to Japan
during the Ashikaga period. If so, as we shall presently see, they
roost lil{ely obtained the wm·e in Annam rather than in China.
Mild cites one piece of Sawankalok ware in Japan which can be
elated, at least to its Japanese ownership, as far back as the 16th
century by its lwlco- ga7ci ( ;f~ "f), that is, the inscription on the lid
of the box in which the piece was kept, which was writ.ten as a
certification by the famous cha}in Sen Bikyu ( -t ;fl]i;f;.) (1.521-1591).
In all possibilit.y, however, the Japanese at this cl ate regarded
Sawankalok as some form of Chinese or Annamese ware.

Siam

04 Charles Nelson Spinks
ut· 11-ien !tao (-~v;t) to show the

Siam and the Pott:el'y Tl'ade of Asia
95
Next, uwrning befort- we landed, the police officials,
acting under orders of the Governor of the place, came on
boanl to search among all the sailors, merchrmts awl"
passengers for certain earthenware vestlels, which an~
commonly imported from tlw Philippines aiHl elsewhere
iu the1:1e parts, antl which, by the lawtl of the King of
.Japan, everyoue is obligt>

96 Charles Nelson Spinks
Osaka where they were placed on U.isplay in oue of the great rooms
of thA Oastle in ot'der to be appraised and classified hy Senso-no-Eki
( 1-* ~ ), a famous tea mastct'. 'fhe :iar::: were t.hen offered to the
various shogunal officials, bnt appm·entl~- some unsc·emly disagreement
arose over the

Sia111 and the Pottery Trade of Asia 97
Siamese Pottery in Japan
While the .Japanese grmera\ly called the eet·amic wares
which came from the Philippines Bnson-tsnbo or by the more
general term Rtuwn-ya7ci ( .g *-~~ ),
h:tving the meaning of Ln;.;

98 Chdr!Ps Nelson Spinks
8onlwrokn.
It. is alsD of interest that the .Japanese taste for
8oukorokn or its imitations i::;
believed to have exercised some
influence on the development of sueh noted Japan0se potteries as the
Shino ( ,'if:Jt), Kar·atsu ( !#5$:) and Mishima ( :3-. ,Iii,) wrtl'OS.
We are by no means certain, however, ;inst what the
.Japanese at this time meant when they used the term Sonkornl

Slaru and the Pottery Trade of Asia 99
Nevertheless, the 'l'o Ka.gwni warned pt·uspectin collectorH that
kiln-damaged and poorly llred pieces of Sonkolrolw often appeared iu
the marl

ioo
Charles Nelson Spinks
lror·oku. Mild claims that this word was a term meaning ceramic
ware, and cites the p b mse 1'obut.nt ( ~ 40 ) kor-olcM nst>d by the tea
mast,et· l\Iitani Ryoboku (.:::._~it~+),
better known as Mitani Sr"'ichin
( .;::.~;j;'1fl- ), meaning Chinese porcelain. t.o describe fl. vas!' made
in Foochow. If the word !::(woku thus has the menuing of (:enn11it
ware, Hi:! modified m;l" withont. tht' long "o" in Lhe term Srmkorokn
might wl'll refer to Sung pottery, for the ideography .son(*) is, of
eonrsP, the samE· Ohin!•St• character 1Hl!•d for t.lte Sung dynasty.
I have beeu uuable, hnwc·v!'!', to identify eit,hc>r the term lcor-oku or
1co1'oku in any Japanese dicti"mll'y or n·ference work on pottery.
Likewi\lo, I havn been unahlt• to illt·11tify tlw two pPcnliar eharaeters
Mild has use1l for this tenu.
Sawankalok Pottery and the Japanese Tea Ceremony
The .Tapanese wet·e greatly attracted to the rustic, simple
hPauty ol' Sawankalnk pot.tery.
Evc;n some of the damaged pieces,
especially those which had he

Types of Sawankalok Vessels Popul!'lr Among Japanese Tea Masters
A. B. c.
I
/ .
I
'
I
'
u
I
'
D. E. F.
G. H. I.
J. K. L.
A. Shioac ( .I~ ), ~alt pot type. B. Asayao ( ~Jl .fjj ), morning glory type. C. Suainari ( ;1'.3 if3 ),
a cylindrical often conical type. D. jikiro-no-te ( 1tti 9 -t ), cake box type. E. Tokkuri-no-te
( {,t\~1)0-t ), wine bottle type. F. Tokkuri-kiri ( f.t~l]ff.l ), cut wine bottle type. When the
upper part of the bottle was damaged, the vessel was sawed through the middle to make it into a tea
bowl. G. Kaki-no-te ( {$0-t ), persimmon type: a small covered container in the shape of a
persimmon, the handle of the lid representing the stem of the fruit. H. 1-lachi ( $i.j;. ), water
basin type. I. Kohachi ( •I•U, ). small bowl or basin type. J, Chatsubo ( -!t:fk ), tea cannister
type. K. Koaame ( •I• 1!( ). small jar type often for used as tea cannisters. L. Futamiml rmbo ( ~
x,;t. ) double-eared not

Siam and the Pottery Trade of Asia 101
to account for the fine collections of Sawankalok which were matle
in Japan in the 16th and 17th centnries. From the earliest periods
of their history the .Japanese have been attracted to the strange and
often beanlifnl things which have reached their sho1·es. Sometimes
this mania for the exotic has reached unusunl if not disturbing proportions,
and to some degree this was ti·ne dming the period from
the latter half of the 1Gth until almost the end of the 17th century,
when the Japanese became enarnonred of things foreign from
European firearms, clocks and velvet cloth to Siamese pottery,
lacqnerware and game cocks.
Other Siamese Influences in Japan
We have noted the role of Sawaukalok pottery in the Japanese
tea ceremony and how to some extent 'it influenced the development
of several Japanese wares. To tal•e a few other examples of curious
Siamese influences in ,Japan, in the 17th century the .Japanese began
to manufacture a type of lacquer which was called lcimma.nuri
( ~ -t'Ht), or lcimma lacquer. St.range as it may seem, this was a
copy of a kind of a Ohiengmai ware which the .Japanese had apparently
discovered through their contacts with Ayuthia and greatly
admired. The word kimma is believed to be a Ja})anese corruption
of the Siamese term lcin mak, betel.chewing, for the Siamese ware
which attracted the at.tention of the Japanese were the lacquer
vesesls used to bold betel-chewing ingredients. Again, during the
17th centmy Siamese text.ile clesigns exercised a peculiar appeal to
the Japanese. The Siamese cotton prints which reached Japan were
most likely made in India from Siamese patterns, just as Bencharong
potte1•y, a kind of wu ts'cd ( Ji_ ~J ), or ware in five colors, was made
in Ohina from Thai designs. During the latter half of the 17th
century Siamese cotton prints became so popular in Japan that one
cloth dealer styled himself Shamnro-ya ( ilU!i J1 ), that is, Siam
House. The merchant of Omi ( jft);:..) who established this shop had
traded with Siam and was said to have introduced this style of
cotton prints into .Tapnn during t)le Genwa (jt~) era (1615-1623 ).
He was known as Shamu-ya Kambei ( il!J'!i ;ff_ ~JJ-A-f$t ), that is,
Jl:'rop~;;ny
Siam Society's A
.BANGKO;(
r,.
,_

102 Charles Nelson Spinks
Kambei of the Siam House,
'l'he goods he produced were called
8hrtrn'lt-sanum ( Ul.!.JL9';_(:j·) or Shamu-some ( ~1U!i-*' ), namely, cotton
prints with typical Siamese patterns.
To take a few more examples of such Siamese inflnences, to
this day a game cock in Japan is called a shamo (:if£$), a cot·ruption
nf S hamu-dor·i ( i}Lfri ,0 7 ), meaning "Siamese bird". ']'he ideographs
for the word shmno should properly be read gttnlcei. They were
selected because they literally mean "fighting chicken"; but the
arbitrary pron nnciatian used clearly betrays the Siamese ot•igin of
the term. Pl'esnmably, thii:! long-legged brown and red fighting
rooster was first brought to .Japan from Siam or some other part of
Southeast Asia. During the 'l'emrnei (~n}l) period (1781-1788) a
dance known as the S'hamu-odm·i ( Gi!.iiff1~) became popular among
the chonin ( ll1J A.), or townsmen class, in Japan and was based npon
due of the classicM Siamese dances. One of the principal Japanese
imports from Siam in the 17t.h century were deerskins which the
J apaneso used for mal{ing leather soclm called Tcawatabi (Jt A:..1k).
'1.'his material was known as Shamtt-gawa ( rr&. !.JiJF. ), or Siamese
leather.
Among the JontT£ ( i1i fB Jf/J ), or puppet players, a seedy
Whether in
looking person was kno\VU us a Shamu, Taro ( :t.P-11 ).
this case the word shc~mtt, which was written in the lcana syllabary,
referred to Siam is not clear, but the word strongly suggests this
association and may have originated from the strange jf not seedy
(tppearance of some of those .Japanese traders and ad venturers who
1·eturned to Japan from Ayuthia.
During the Edo pedod there was an official at Nagasald who
held the title of Shamu 1'sushi ( ill.!.fi:@.~;iJ ). He was the Siamese
interpreter of the Shogunate and dealt with the Siamese shjps which
occasionally arrived at this port, which wel'e, of course, callecl
Shmm.J/ro-bune ( UL!.Jt+1&: ), Siam ships. It is possible, therefore, that
some of the foregoing terms were coined by these Siamese interpJ'eters
an4 throngh them fonnd theil' way into the ;Japanese vocabulary,
Several plants also came to have the prefix S hamu or Sham~t-ro
attached to them.
vu'l{Jaria, was frequ·ently called the Shamzwo dailcon ( llt!.fi ;k fit),
Ol' Siamese radish.
For examp1e, the lojisa ( J?j J!#J g ), or Beta

Siam and the Pottery Trade of Asia 103
I shall cite but one more exam1Jle of a Japanese term of
Siamese origin because of its rather unique and picturesque character.
Soon after the Portuguese arrived in Japan in the middle of the 16th
century the Japanese adopted the newly-acquired European custom
of smoking tobacco.
At first the ,Japanese used rather heavy metal
pipes, two feet or more in length, but soon began to search for a
lighter, more suitable material for the steJ:Il. Bamboo was, of course,
the most logical choice, but the kind of bamboo available in Japan
which had sui!icient space between the 11.0des was much too large in
r from the North or the Northeast and which they ar.cor­

104 Charle~ Nelson Spinlequontly, it would have been a simple matter for the Japanese to
select

Siam ami the Pottery Trade of Asia 105
In any event, Sawankalok pottery for at least a century
played an important r6le in the cm·amic trade of the East. Because
it did not measure up to the standards of the Chinese export wares,
most of it apparently went to the cheaper markets of Java, Borneo
and the Philippines. In these countries it was probably regarded
vrimarily as ordinary household ware, except in those curious cases
where certain pieces were treasured for their supposedly magical
powers. It is, therefore, not only of historical interest but also a
significant commentary on the aesthetic character of the Japanese
that it was only in Japan, so far as we know, that Sawanl{aluk
pottery was valued principally for its artistic qualities. Happily for
this reason there are some splendid collections of Sawankalok wal'e
in Japan today, many of the pieces of which have come down from
those appreciative vha}in and devotees of the tea ceremony who
were first attracted in the 16th and 17th centuries, if not even
earlier, to this truly unique Siamese prod net. Accordingly, it shonld
be no eause for surprise that the most elaborate and best book ou
Sawankalok pottery in any language should be Okuda Seiichi's
(.Jl~lll~-) maguificent SonlcoJ·olc~t Zultctn (';jHJliU\lJ!f), Au
Album of Sawankalok.

Beamish, 'l'ony
BIBLIOGRAPHY
"First Report on ''l'he Johore Lama Hoard',"
The :Afctlayan HistoJ'ioal J mwnal, II, 1, July, 1955.
Black, Harding
'' 'rwo Siamese Bowls Refired,"
Par Eastern Ceramic Bulletin, VI. 2, Jnne, 1953.
"The Carletti Discourse, a Contemporary Italian Account of a Visit
to Japan in 1597-98,"
translated by Bishop Trollope,
T?·ansctctions of the Asiatic Society of Japan, 2nd Series,
IX, 1932.
China-'l'e-Ohe·n 'l"ao-Lo 01' the PottM··ies of Chinct,
translated with notes by Geoffrey R. Sayer,
Routledge and Kegan Pfml, London, 1951.
Cole, Fay-Cooper
Chinese Pottei'1J in the Philippines,
Field Musenm of Natnral History, P1.1blication 1132,
Anthropological series, XII, 1, Chicago, 1912.
Collis, M.S.
"Fresh Light on the Ronte Taken by Export Porcelain from
China to India and the Near East during the Ming Period,"
Tt·ansctctions of the Ot·iental 0M"amic Society,
XIII, 1935-36 (London).
Dai J iten ( -:k ~¥-#!- )
(Dictionary ), 26 vols.,
Heibon-sha, Tokyo, 1934-3ti.
Dai Nippon Kolcugo J it en ( }.::_ ~ .$-lml ~ ~f:~ )
(Dictionary of the Japanese National Language), 5 vols.,
:F'usambo, Tokyo, revised 12th edition, 1928-29.
Duyvendal{, J.J.L.
China's Discovery of Africa,
Arthur Probathain, London, 1949.

Siam and the Pottery Trade of Asia 107
Duyvendak, J.J.L.
"'l'he 'l'rne Dates of the Chinese Maritime Expedit,ions in the
Early Fifteenth Cent11ry,"
'P'ounr; Pao, XXXIV.
Forbes, W, datnet'on
1' he Philippine Islands,
2 vols., Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston and New York, 1928.
Fukui Kilmsabnro ( 1&-#- 46 E. V.~)
Nihon 1'o}ilci to SonoKolcuminsei( l:t ;!}-f#.J11JJ.W:.Z.Jt.0®1J\:Ii)
( Japanese Ceramic Art alid National Oha1'acteristias ),
Privateiy Pdnted by Ohashi Mitsuyoshi,
Tokyo, 1927. (Text in Japanese and English).
Giga Tetanji

108 Charles Nelson Spinks
Ibn Battuta
Travels in Asia ar1d Africa, 1325-13154, selected and translated
by H.A.R. Gibb, Routledge and Kegan Paul, Ltd., London, 1953,
I wao Seiichi ( ,f; i. J]( _...)
Nanyo Nihon-macM no Kenlcyu ( m?f fl .$-\l1f0.ffl~)
(Study of the .Japanese Communities of the Southern Regions),
South Asia Cultural Research Institute, Tokyo, 2nd ed., 1941.
.Tenyns, Soame
Ming Pottery and Po1'celain,
Pitman Publishing Corp., New York, n.d .
.J ushichi S eiki ni olcercu N issha Kanlcei(-!- --l::iit~e.,l%;5·Ht '5 l=l Ul ~ i~)
( J apanese-Sh1mese Relations in the 17th Century), ed, by Gunji
Kiichi ( ;\1~ a)-!--) and published by the Research BureA.U of
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tokyo, 1934.
Kawajima Motojiro ()I] !1'r ::it;.k~f\)
ShHinsen Boeki Shi ( ;f..~pfitG ~f ~X)
(History of the H.ed Seal Ship Trade ),
Kojin-sha, Osaka, 4t.h ed,, 1942.
Kraisri Nimmanahaeminda
"Sangambaeng Glazed Potteries,''
JSS, XLIII, 2, Jan., 1956.
le May, H.eginald
"The Ceramic Wares of Siam,"
T1·ansactions of the Or•iental Oemrnic Society, 1944-45 (London).
le May, Reginald
Review of H. mley Beyer's "A Preliminary Catalogue of Pre­
Spanish Ceramic Wares Found in the Philippine Islands,"
JSS, XXV, 2, 1032.
le May, Reginald
"The Ceramic Wares of North-Central Siam,''
The Btwlington Magardne, LXIII, nos. CCCLXVII ancl
CCCLXVIII.
le May, Reginald
"Notes and Queries on Thai Pottery,"
JSS, XXXI, 1, 1939.

Siam and the Pottery Trade of Asia
109
le May, Heginald
" A Visit to Saw1mkalok,"
.TSS, XIX, :2, 19:24.
Lyle, 'l'.H.
"Notee tlil Aneit.•n[, Pnttt•ry KilnB ut Snwankalok, Situn,"
J uMnal of tho Autlwopulogical Institute, XXXIII, July.Dt-lc.,
1903.
Lylt•, 'l'.H.
''Siam: ()e]ulluu 'Wt~l'IJ,"
klan, Nos. :\9-!iO, l HOl.
Mild Sakae
The S'cnur.~nlm.luk
Kiln in S·inm,
Pl'ivalely Printed, 'l'ol{yo, 1931.
l\lild Sakae ( ,;:_,t. '* )
Shamn no Geijntsn ( i!Uii0t{lflf)
( 8iarnese Art), Knroy11ri-sha, Osaka, 19il0.
Mild Sakue ( ,;:..,t.*)
"Shamn nn Sonkorol

110 Charles Nelson Spinlts
Nishirmna Shin.ii ( ®*t Jt..;X.)
Ni1Jpon Km:r1ai Hatten ,')'hi (a .$-ifU.-PHfffi..:t)
(Histo t'Y of .J apr1nese Overseas 'Bixpansion ),
Tok:vii-do, Tokyo, 1942.
Okuda Seiichi (~tEl tffi. ~)
,C:.,'onlcoi'OlcU Z nlcan ( *$}j ;i~ @1 J!t.)
(An Album nl' Sawankalok ),
7>aHddbo Kanku Kai. 'l'okyo, 1944.
Ottema, Nanne
De Pmlctdlc vrt.n hl't Po?'cele,:n V m·zamelen,
.J.H. de Bnssy, Amsterdam, 1953.
Ottema, N anne
H anduoelc de1· Ohinee8dle Oerr1mie!r,
J.H. De Bussy, Arnsterdarn, 1943.
Paske-Smith, M.'l'.
"'l'be .Japane.se 'l'rade and Hesidence in the Philippines befnl'e
and dnring tl.J.e Spanish Occupation,"
1'?·anMtclions of the Asiaiit Sudety of .Trtpan, XLII, 2, Nov.,
1914.
Pelliot, Paul (trans. am1 ed.)
jJ[{mwi?·es szw les Ormtwnes du C'a?J!IiiJdfJe de 'l'r:herm 'I'r.Hcouan,
Lib.r.airie d'Amerique et d'Orient, Paris, 19f>l.
Pupe, .John Alexander
Ji'mwteenth Oenttt?'U Blue-mul-liVhile.
A. G1·vnp of Chine-se Ponelains in the 7' o pkrt Jnt ,',' twayi
_ll;[u,zesi, !8trmlml,
Smithsonian Institution, 'Free GalJ~,ry of Art, Occasional Papon:,
II, 1, Washington, 19fi2.
Raphael, Oscar
"Note::; on Shtmese Oer:tmics, ''
'1'1·nnsaetions of the 01'ienfol Oertt.rnid)'odely. 1980-31 (LHndon).

Siam and the Pottery Trade of Asia
1l1
R.ollb, Walter
"New Data on Chinese and Siamese Ceramic Wares of the
14th and 15th Centuries,''
PhiliJJ1Yines M((,(fazine, XXVII, 2,4, Aug., Sept., 1930.
Shamu 8onkol'oklt 'l'oj1: ll1on~io Shu ( ilt¥.li5IHJJit.f&l~it~9:t~JP::)
(A Colleetifln of Siamese Sawanlmlok Designs), Societ.y for
Co1leet.ion ant1 Dissominntion of :-\inmese Ancient. Art, Tokyo,
1931.
8ldnsen Dai .hmmet: J iten U',. t~::k.A.,trim-~~)
(New Biographical Dictionary), 8 vols.,
Heibon-sha, Tokyo, 1937 -i3t~.
"Siamesr, Pottery,"
Bulletin of the A1•t. Institute of Ghica(Jo, XVIII, 2, Feb., 1923.
Tsi1Jr.'o Ir:Mran ( i!!iiv--~)
(An J~pitome
of Communications by Sea),
6 vol!:!., privately printed by the Koknsho Kan ko Kai
(Society for the Publication of NaLinnal Litet·atmH ), Toldii,
1912-1:3.
V nlker, '1'.
P01·nelain and the Dutch East Tndirt OomJJctny,
E..J. Brill, Leiden, 1904.
Wang Yi-t'ung
O:fjic?:az H. elation.~ between OMna and J rqJan, 1.368-1549,
Hat•va rd-Yenching Institute 8tut1ies, 1X, Harva1•t1 D niversity
Press. Oam\)J'idge, 19Mt
Watanabe Shnnjiro ( ?J.{.i.ft1!t..::.~~ )
8 elwi ni olcmt · N ihon jin ( 1!!-Xl-.Lzi5Hti5 a ,$-A.)
(.Japanese in the World), Keizai Zasshi-sha, Tokyo, 1893.
Wood, W.A.R.
A H 1:stm•y of S1'am,
The Siam Barnakich Pl'ess, Bangkok, revised edition, l9B3.

THE ORIGINS OF SUKHODAYA ART
~·
H. Cf-. !Jiur.rilch Wales, Ph. D., Litt. lJ.
'l'lw )H'nhlems coucerniug the origins oJ' Snkhoday~e in 8iamose eultUJ'('. SinCt! they refer to a periorl
that is relativ\·ly \lBtLl' tn us in timu, thure i:; a chance they may
help us to know wore of some ol' tlw principle8 that; were also
involved in the forBwt.iun of the earlier Inllianized art.H of Southeast
Asia. Reciprncally, viewed iu this wider pel'Spective, it may
be that we c::m identify !'actors in the making ,)f Snkhodaya art
that woultl not l1e so reallily reeognizable if our field of stndy
rmnains too narrow.
In considering the Incliauization of the curlier peoples of
Snnth- east Asia, I came to the conclusion that a people might
tm

lJ..l
TI.C:. Quaritch Wale3
iucln,lu all tl.cl'ived ma.nifel:itat..iow;. sueh us Klunet·, SitJhalose,
DvaravatT, et.e. Tn rencling King Ha1na K'amhnng's f

The Origins of Sukhodaya Art 115
soltl.iers ligtu'etl on the l:2th century Anglmr Wat reliefs contrltSt
strongly with the straight uoses and wide ehius oJ the Khmer
solrliers immocliately following.
On the other hand the 'l'hai
facial .[eatures closely re~emhle Lhu:::t> of' the Snkhodaya Buddha
iuwges.
To me, at any mte, this status of margin;tlity to develope([
lnLlitLll cnlture is an aid tn tLppl·eciating wha.t Mt·. Griswold luts in
mitul when he S;tys of SulDille Indian ir!}1uences, India Society, London, pp. 28. 29.

116 H.G. f!uilritch Wales
nniveJ•sality of u.ppl'fLl D[ t.!Je ::wrtlpt.ru·u, )mil uot yet attracted the
attention of al'l
historiaJ,s, nnd. wu luwe pra.ut,ieally only the
•Losc:J·ipt.1ve aecountH uJ' l'isiti11g French architects.
'l'he 'l'lwi ol' Sukho!Laya wcee nn

The Origlns of Si1khodaya Art 117
about that time was ~Llso influencing the Khmers.? So now here,
in the light of that concltu:lion, aml in the hope of testing the
pl'inciplo hll'thcr, I look round to t1iscover wlwthet· some new
stlmnlns, Jot· the time being rnure ttetiYe th~tu tlt,Lt of the Klnners,
was l'lieiting tt response .i:J'tjlJl tho '.l'lmi.
Tho resnJt, oJ t.his enquiry is even betlt•r thau might lw
expeete

118 H.G. Quarilch Wales
IJ

The Origins of Sui\hndaya Art
118
\Vat Hl'i Uhum, with it8 remtwlmhly thick-walled vihara, through
which an interior ~tail'ease takes one to t·oo.l' level. 'l'his severe
looking llniltling must have hocm morlelled on the Xllth eent,urv
'l'lm]Hlrii,ma nt l'olonnarnwa. Ceylon.
iutl•l'inr sttLil'etLi·W which takes o1w U[J to a parapet.
'l'he latter has a simila:·
I still remumbn
how, wbt•n I visited Ceylon a ycrLr afte1• my visit, to
Sttkhndaya (which Wail in 1()~7)
resewhlaneo nut1l!• 011. me at thL• tim

l20
H.G. Quaritch. Wales
accepted by lo l\lay.ll Pannentier, wri"Ling a bon(; the same Lime, 12
knew better than to turn to a Khmer model, for he ·was aware
tlmt long l>efore this period tlw makwm had hoen replaeell by the
nagr~.
However, he did no more than note its analogy to primitive
Khme1· ant1 ancient Indian archtJs.
He llirl not think in terms of
tlw contcmpo1·ary influences which went to the formt\tion oi'
Siamese t nuLki.n!..( i.t.s full puwPr felt. in Siam.
In the Snkhotla.ya perliment borrler the main (lecotaHve
features are the roset.te in tho cuntro :1.wl, rtmnitig' alo'ng the
baud, the spiral design with tl1c
volntPS forming expanded
Howers. One may also mention that the (louble spiral l>ehnv is
well known i.n mediaeval Sinhalese art..13 Now if' we tarn to the
arch i11 the Laukatilalm tempi(· of A. D. li34:2 i11 Ceylon we see
that the sirnhanwlclut awl rnaJcams, tho lat.t.or retaining more .fishy
tail~, are very similar. 'rhe bnn

Fig. I. Wat Mahathat, Sukhodaya.
(!~rom
L. Fournereau, Lc Siam Anci

Fig. 3 Design on Sinhalese Book Cover
(After A.K· Coomaraswamy, Mediael'al Sinhale.le :lrt, fig. 32 J
Fig. 4. Wat Chedi Chet Theu, Sawankalok
(Author's Copyright)

Fig. 5 Wat Cbedi Chet Theu, Sawankalok
(Author's Copyright}
Fig. 6 • .\wpa of Prah Kbau Pur5at
(After H. Parmentier, L'Art Archirecttlral Hindou,
fig. 144. Permission to reproduce requested
from L'Ecole Franpise d' Extreme Orient)

Fig. 7. Wat Chedi Chet Theu,
Sawankalok: the main chedi
( Auth"r's Copyright )
Pl .. n A 0
0
Pl6

Fig, 9. That Pbong Pheng, Ban Na Sui Tranninh
(After H. Parmentier, L'art Architectural Hindou .. ,.
fig. Hl8. Permission to reproduce requested from
\'Ecole Franfalse d'Extreme Orient)

The Origins of Sukhodaya Art 121
T mentioned kinnaras as forming the rlfJCOl'cttion of the
bawl in t.he Ceylon arch, fmrl it. may \Yell be thut this points to '~
Sinhalese origin of the !cinnm·a.s that terminate the pediment
borders of one of the othe1· annexe~ o:l' Wn.t Mahathat. Certainly
nothing eomparuhle can he fmtncl in Khmer art.
1 have already mentionetl one or two typiea1ly Sinhalese
decorative motifs, and I ·would not be snrprized if much oE 'l'hai
ornament is closely relaterl to that nJ Ceylon.
pa.rative stndy has not yet lwen carried ont.
But such a com­
One temple at,
Sawttnlmlok, Wat Nang Phya, has a vihrtm which is, or was.
largely covererl with a rieh Ol'll[~tnent in stucco. It should provir1e
the most vtLlnallle 1naterial for sneh a ;;tndy.
Now I come to the question u.r the origin of what is perhaps
the lrtnst distinctive type of strnetHre in Siamese architecture.
tho chedi 1' hai, of which a goocl example iH the main vhedi of W at
}VItthathat, Snkhmlaya. So far we have tmly 1lCen considering its
annexes, which do not seem to 'he essential to this type of towerlike
lmilding. Now let us consirler the cherN itself' more elosely.
One 1nay say that, it conSi8tS of i>hl'Oe majn1· portions, a lmsement
in sc voral stages, a more or less cylindrieal bnt pihtsterec1 central
portion, ct·owne

122 · U.U. Quaritch Wales
At Wat. Chudi Ulwt 'l'JH)n ttl SrLwankalok, one can soc side
lly sitle the type ni: shrine that I believe to have been the originul
form, and the finii:ihed c/wh 'l.'hai (a rather i:imall example) that
was developed from it (:Fig . ..J. ).
'J'he formet· is a simple type of
pr(r..s(ul, or i:ianctnnry tower, in which most ()l' t.Jw upper fictive
stages have hoou replaced hy a Bwlrlhist stHpa. In the developecl
c!wd£ Tha.i tlw stages ot: the basement havu heen considerably
heightened, the• '[J/'rtsiid proper has lm>t it::; prH·clu:.-s, real and false,
awl thl· pi lnskrs have lH•t•u much l'L~tlnc(•tl.
On tht! otlw1· sitlL· of thiK chedi 1'lw.1: there t~tanlls a
,:t t·uet ure that appua n; to t·qn·eseut auuthe 1'
raisiug the· t'Prlneed Jlrrtsrul, not f>Jl
expuriment, t.ht1t of
a high tiered lmsornent, but
on tho ::~hnul(len;, as it wNe, of auothe1· .zn·asad. P1·obnhly the
wuight and oth('l' llloclr:tuical cUillcnltics were tlisadvant.ageous to
tho gonr:md acct>ptlmct• o!' this experiment. Clurtuinly the P?'asad
raised nn a high :;olid ha,.;,·menl wn.s adopted as the tlefinitivo
type, and lmilt. as th

The Origin~ of Sukhodaya Art 123
1wiisiitl. 'l'het'l' i~:~ th lt' l · 1 1 l
•· .t' 1g 1 pyrmnH a. l:till'll!Emt., the redu.lDliea.ted
plinth, a11tl o11. lhe C.t•ntml port.iolt the pih~:~t>el'S 1•en1ain mol'o
~:~trmtgly nu11:kotl tluti

124 H.G. Qu;tritch Wales
impossible to accept his eon elusion that the '[J1'1.tng
·was the only
entirely new form reali~ed in 8ianlt\Se a1·chitecturt1. 'l'he two
forms, though products ol' cliJferent periodi:!, ancl 1111der

THE POLITICAL EXPANSION OF THE MAO SHANS'''
hy
Padnwsii'M' Oogoi
'fhe Mrw Shrms are a well-known Sl'ctinn of tho 'l'hni ra('e
that migrated to Burma from the north f:rom very et\l'ly times,
when in the 13th century A.D. they became very powe1·fnl and
started to build an empire for themselves. The rise of the Mao
Shan power in the region of YUnnan and Upper Emma in the first
qnnrler of the 13th century hron~ht about a great change
in the political strnctnro and the social outlook nf the peoples
inhabiting this area as W(;'ll us uE>ighhoring territories, The concrntration
of the Mao Shnn::~ in the extensive fertile plains of the
Shweli valley and thei.l· advance to the sunth.east and to the west
np to the va1ley of the Brahmaputra in what is now called Assnm
led to the consolicl::ttion of their power in a m11nl>er of closely allied
states in this region, some of which had enjoyed six to seven
hnndrecl years of unbroken 1''11e. A review of the history of the
Mao Shans is necessary to nnrlc~rstand their political e:xpansion,
part.icularly in Burma ancl Assnm.
As to tb e migrations of the Thai into Emma, t.he opinion
generally held by scholars is t.hnt these movements hegan abont
two thonsanr1 years ago, 'fhe great waves of migratlon always
moved towards the sonth and west whcmever events in the north
t,pset the 'I'hui centres of power. Infiltrations during times oE
comparative peace. were chie!:!y dne to "lhe restless character 0f tbe
race.
Other . causes of movement in I arge masses were, of eom•se,
warlike expeditions Ol' the pressure of 01Jinese invasions ancl
conqnests. Dr. Cushing enlightens ns on the fact t.hat the 6th
century of the Christian era saw a weat wave of Thai migra\>ion
descending from the monntnins of southern Yi:innan into the Nam­
Mao (Shweli) valley and adJacent regions. (V1:rle: "Tho ShfmH" in
·the Ropo1't on the Oenwus of Bw·1na, 1892, p. 200).
Compared with the earlier movementa the strE'ngth of thi.s
6t.h centnr.v mi~ration
was snr.h as to convert. almost the whole
'l.i See!also the ;;;:!~ted article -by Kachorn Sukhab;~nii, which immediately
follows.

126 Padmeswa,r Gogo!
valley of the Sh weli into a great centre iJf 'l'hai political power for
the first time in history. The result was the speedy growth of
states such as l-Isen Wi, Mong Mit, Rhamo and others in d1is
region. It was from the Shweli valley that the Thai communities
spref!c1 southeast OYer the present Shan States, reinforcing the
earlier colonists, and to the north and 'vest .across the Irrawaddy
in Upper Bnrma. By the HHh century the spearhead of the Thai
migration in the west established a foothold in W ehsali Long (Assam)
which in a few centnri.es came completely under 'rhai rule.
In the 7th century there arose a po\verfnl Shan kingdom,
eallecl Mong-Mao-Long, across the nol'l heastern frontier of Burma
in t.he neighborhood of the Shweli River.
'rhis was the kingdom
founded by the Ma() Shans, the Shans who settled along the Shweli.
Who are the Mao Shans? M. Terrien de Laconperie, from his
Chinese sources, gives Ti, Moii and 1'sin as the "tribal names with
settlements in Szetchnen ". Ti has its modern representaqye
in Mong-Ti; Mou, in Mung-1\fou Ol' Mong-Mao; and Tsiii seems to
appear in Hsi), the Tiger race of the Hsen Wi. 'l'he Shweli River
was called Nam-lHao by the Mao community of .t.be 'l'Jui who
settled in its valley.
all through the lon~
No one place was the seat of the government
period .of Mao rule in the kingdom, but the
site often adopted was Oheila, according to Ney Elias' marmscript.
It was wher.e modern Se Lan is located, about thirteen miles east
of Nam Hkam, while modern M'oug Mao is in the territory of Yi:lnnan
opposite Se Lan on the right hank of the Shweli.
called Pang Hkam was an old Mao capital.
Another place
Relics of Mao Shan cities
in the shape of parapet and foi·midable entrenchments are still to
be seen,
Anuwrahta, the Pagan king (1044-77 A.D.), once visited
Nan Chao in qiwst of the Buddha's tooth, but while reLnrning,
married Sao-M6n-la, a daughter of the Mao Shan king.
But .there
is nothing to show that the Mao Shan king ever had to acknowledge
the ovedordship of the Pagan monarch. Accordii1g to the Hsen
Wi 0tll'oniele, Sao-Mon-La was the danghter of Sao-H6m-Mong.
In the year 1047 "the king Anawrabta Mangsaw of Pagap went

'l'he Political' Expansion of the Mao Shan~ 127
up to Mo1ig Wong in search of t.he five relics of the Buddha, and on
his way back he stayed at Mong-Mao and 1\1ting Nam and met Sao­
Hom-Moug there and married his daughter Sao-Mtm-La".
The disintegration of the Shan Kingdom of Nan Ohao that
inevitably followed the Mongol conquest of Ta-li in 1253 harl farreaching
effects on the fortunes of Btll'ma and Sittm. When the
heart of Nan Chao fell there was almost a general exodus of the
people, who were mostly Thai, froril Yi.innan to the west and to the
south.
In Burma the 'l'luti bad already been in power in the regions
of the Shweli valley since the 6th century, although in the 11th
century the extension of the Pagan empire llrought mnch of the
tel'l'itory, over whicll the 'l'hai co!llmunities were holding sway,
under the su;~erainty of the Bmmese monarch Anawrahta. But
Kul.llai Khan's advance alrnust t,o the frontiers of Bnrma n~t only
exposed tho Pagan kingdom to the invading Mongols, Lut also cau::sml a
gl'eat inllnx of Thai people into Bnl'ma ft·om t.he northeast.
These
new entrants upset the balance of JlPPU lution in tLe conn try and
became n.p immediate source of stre11gth to their kinsmen who lm\1
alreauy been settled there .for generations.
For abont thirty years ufter the conqnest of Ytinnan tho
Mongol-Obinese army was moving about on the border of Burma
as an impending menace to her security. During this period Kublai
Khan negothtted with the Pagan 1dng, Narathibapate, for a perpetual
alliance with his countJ'Y· Bt1t the latter's insolent rejection of the
offer provoked the Mongol chief'so that in 1281 (ot• according Lo some,
1287) an expedition, compqserl largely of Mohammedans of 'fnrkish
~·ace and Shan levies, S\vept down on Pagan and ovel'threw the Burmese
monarchy with great slaughter and devastation. The downfall
of Pagan afforded an opportunity to the Shuns (Thai) of Burma to
assert their st.rength.
'l'hi& eventually l'esnltecl in the partition of
Burma into a number of free Shan states with theit· own princes,
although subsequent events mncle them tri butttl'Y lo China and 8iam.
It is to be noted that Kublai Khan's expedition against Pagan must
have ma1•ched throngll Muo tert·itor.Y and that the latter t·ouutineJ.

128 t'admcswur l~ogui
1m!Januell can be accounted fnt· only by the exi:>teuce of friendly
rcdati1mS bt.:tween the Lwo eunntries. Moreover, the destruction of
Pagan was a blessing tu the Mao ldngdom, enabling it to extenu it:>
inllueuee into Burma.
JTrum long before Kublai Kl1au's invasion of 'l'a-li the 'l'hai
tribes bad been rnigra ling to the sont.h, following t.he courses of the
great rivers like the 1\Iekong and the Menam Chao Phya, forming
t:lettlements in ·what iH now Siam but what was then part of t.he
Klnnet· empire.

'l'hc Political Expan~lon of the Mao Shans 129
Another 'l'hai kingdom, called Ayudhya, was founded by the
Prince of Uthong (modern Snp'an) in 1350.
It was destined within
a few decades to supplant altogether the older kingdom of Sukhoday~L
and become the capital of a g1·eater Siam for more than four hundred
years. 'l,he Prince of Uthong became its first king under the Hinduil',ed
name of Ramadhipati I.
In Burma, as we have noted above, real Thai immigration
began in the 6th century about the time of the descent of the
heavenly Princes Hkun-lung and Khun-lai. At that time Upper
Burma was ruled uy the princes of the Sakya dynasty of India
who had 1Jecn driven fl·om ICapilavastu as a result of wars that took
place between Kapilavastu aml the neighboring states.
According to
the Burmese '.l'(t{fa.ung Y azatm:n, the first Sakya prince to enter
Blll'ma with his army wai:l Ahhi Rttjah of Kapilavastthu (Kapilavastu,
or the Mitldle Country), who arrived us early as 923 B.C., that is,
several centuries lH~forc the birth of Gautama Buddha. He came
by wa~' of Arakcm and first founded wlwt was callecl Suugassamttha
in the 'l'agaung Country.
'l'he capital was established on the site of
the old city of Pagan, called Chiudue in SOllle accounts, on the left
bank of: the Irrawaddy. It seems his family virtually merged
among the local tribes and his two sons were lmown 1Jy Bmmcse
names.
He carried to Burma the pre-Buddhist traditions of the
Sakyus, a people of the sub-Himalayan region of uot•th India.
It is
doubtful whethct· the Aryans had extended their sway over this
part of India to the north of the Gangetic valley proper during
that early period.
'l'he thhty-third descendant of the Sakya line of
princes was Bhinnalwl'ajah who reigned roughly speaking about
the commencement of the Buddhist e!'a, or partly during Gant.ama's
lifetime. Dndng his reign a Chinese army which was actually
manned by 'l'hai forces invaded his country, captured Pagan, des~
tl·oyed it, and compelled him to fiec for his safety.
was .from the "Sein Country in the kingdom of Gandhala".
As a rc~;ult
This invasion
of Vitatupa's invasion of Kapilavatthu anoLher
Sakya prince, Dhaja Hajah, fled to Burma and took shelter at the
place where Bhinnakarajah's queen resided, Naga Seng at Male in

130 Padmeswar GrJgoi
Burma.
He founded a kingdom for himself in Burma and rebuilt
the capital immediately beyond tho nol'th wall of the old cHy of Pagan
after tbe withdrawal of the invading Chinese army.
'l'his was the
Tagaung of the Burmese ami the Tung Kung of the Shans, and the
date of its foundation as given by the Burmese is the twentieth
year of the year of religion (523 B.C.), and by the Shans the
twenty-fourth year (519 B.C.).
Dhaja Hajah's dynasty appears
to have ruled at Taganng until the g.reat Hknn-Lung of the Ahom
Chronicles displaced it and placed his son Ai-Hkun-Lung. on t.he
throne at some date probably within one generation posterior to the
yea1· 568 A.D., the date of the foundation of the kingdom of
Mong-ri Mong-ram (in Shan:
Chronicles.
Mong-hi Mong-ham) of the Ahom
Tho Thai pl'incipali lies came for a tirnll unller Burmese
domination duriug Anawrub tn l'eign. But with the fall oJ' l'agau
and further accession of irnmigrauts from the Nan Chao and Mung­
Mao regions, the 'l'hai principalities of old assel'ted theit• indepl'mdence.
'Yhether Anawrabta reduced Mi)ng-Mao to the status of a
vassal state or not, it is ceetain that the succeeding kings of that
state were entirely independent and reigned in nnbroken continuit.y
and peace until the death of Pam Yao Pong iul210 A.D.
According
to the Burmese Buddhist's Tagmma Y azawin we find that Pam
Yao Pong was the son of Chao Taiplung and the grandson of Khnn­
Ktim of the line of Hknn.Lung. Chao 'raiplung, t.ht:: ruler of Mong
Mao-long,
divided his kingdom between his th1·ee sons giving
Tailung, the eldest, Mong Mao; and Lengsbam Phuchaug Khii.ng
(or Phrutyaug Kh1·ang), the second son, rule of the territories of
Mong-Mit and Kupklingclao in the Shweli valley in Upper Burma.
According to one manuscript by Harakanta, Dm·rua Pameoplung
was the eldest son of Chao 'l'aiplung.
Phnchang Khi1ng was sueceded
in his kingdom hy his thil'd son, Sulraph!\ (Hso-Ka-Hpa), who
later founded the Ahoru kingdom in Suuruarpit.h in Assam some
five years after Sam-Long-llpa's invasion of Assam, as !'elated
b~low.
The eldest son, Sujitpha, was appointed rulet· of a country

The Poll tical g:Mpansion of lhc Mao Shans 131
called 'raip ahd Snkhranpha; the second son was given the rule of
Tai-Pong of which Mong Kawang or Mogaung was the capital.
Since Pameoplnng was wilhon t issue, his ministers decided
to place on the Mong Mao throne a pt·ince named Tyao-Aim·Kharn­
Neng (Chao or Sao Aim Kham Neng of N ey Elias) of the line of
Khnn-Su, the youngest son of Khnn-Lung. Tyao.Aim-Khani-Neng
is undoubtedly Chao Cbangneu, son of Chao Ch:mgbnn (or Chao
Changmnn of Assamese history). Chao Changeu advanced with his
followers from Mong-ri Mong-ram to M()ng-1d1a Mong-jaw and then
entered the territory of Mao-Ltmg ( Mong-Mao-Long ), marching
through Mong.pa Mong·khan. 'fhis was said to be the third influx
of Hkun-Lnng's posterity. At this time Chao 'raiplung, the king of
Mao-Lung and father of Pameoplung, advised Chao Changneu not to
proceed beyond, tl1e Irrawaddy River: "Yon should never cro~s the
Namkeo, '' he said. ''We were sent down at the same time, We were
porn at the same timE>. We are,in peace up to this time, so we m.ust
always be on friendly terms." ·This possibly refers to the :western
pqundary of Mao-Lung beyond which the independe~t bro~her
princes were ruling with whom peace and amity were maintained.
'J'he old King Chao 'l'aiplung offered his daughtf;lr Nang-mong-blok~
kham-sl).eng h~ marriage to Chao Cbangnen, It appears from the
~bove acconnt that at that time Mong-1\[ao was a feudatory sta~~
within the kingdom of Mao.Lnng which extet~decl up to t,l1e Namkeo
on the west, Mao-Lung was simply M(;ng Mao J.,nng, the. great
country of the Mao Shans. According to the Hsen Wi Chronicle, in
those clays Chao 'l'aiplung ( Sao Tai Pong of the Hsen Wi Chronicle)
governed the whole of the Shan States except Mcing Mit,Mong Yang
(Mohnyin. ), Kare Wong Hso, M(ing Kung Kwai Lam; Mong Kawng
(.Moganng ), and Mi1n Maw ( Bhnrno ), which were independent of
him and were governed by Sao Hkun Kom of Sung Ko. · In this
connection we cannot rely on the dates as given by the translator of
the Chronicle. Chao Taiplung's capital was the golden city of Haen Se.
Parneoplung suffel'ecl from hysteria an.cl after ruling for seven
years oommittecl suicide ·by outting his throat witlt a l

132 Padmeswar Gogoi
Chao Changnen died after ruling for ten years. He left behind two
sons, Sao Hkan Hpa and Sam Long Kyem Mong or Sam Long Hpa,
the latter being a remarkable figure in Mao history. Sao Hkan Hpa
(or Hso Hlmn Hpii.) sncceecled to the throne of M(ing Mao on the
death of his father in 1220. Sam Ltmg Hpii. ( Hknn Sam Long) had
already become tbe first Smobwa of Mong Kawang or Moganng in
1215 and built a city on the bank of the Nam Kawng. He laid
the fonndat.ion of a new line of Sawbwas at Mogaung, tributary to
MC\ng Mao.
Sam Ltmg Hpi1 was n great general anr1 under the direction
of his brother, Sao Hkan Hpa, nnclertook a brilliant series of campaigns
of conquest with startling successes, ad ding thereby vast
territories to the kingdom of M(ing Mao. 'l'he first of these campaigns
began by an expedition against Mithila (Yun-nan-sen) which was at
once crowned with success by the snhjugat.ion of the states of Mong
Ti ( Nam Tien), Momien (Teng-Yneh) and Wan Chang (Yung-Obang),
From the1•e he extended his operations to the sonth with the result
that Knng Ma, Mong Mong, Keng Hung ( Oheli ), Keng Tung and
other smaller states fell under the Mao yoke. The state of Hsen Wi
managed to establish friendly relations with Mong Mao by a certain
agreement. But according to tl1e Hsen Wi Chronicle, Hso Hkan Hpli,
himself commanded his forces while ma1·ching for the conquest of
territories in the east in Yiinnan and also later in the Hsip Hsawng
Panna of M(ing Yon and further south. Only t.he expedition to Mring
Wehsali Long (Assam) in the west was led by Sam Long Hpa, as
mentioned in this record.
Immediately after the close o.f t.he first campaign, Sam Long
Hpa was ordered to start with the second series of operations on
the west. '!'his time he swept across Burma right up to Arakan,
annexing many important cities on the hanks of the Chindwin whose
rulers acknowledged the supremacy of the Mao Shan monarch.
His third and fourth expeditions were directed against
Manipur and Assam, respectively. After the conquest of Manipur,
Sao Hkan Hpa ordered, according to the Hsen Wi Cht·onicle, "au

The Political Expansion of the Mao Shans 133
iihn~'
of nine hundred t.honsaud men to march against Mong Weheali
Long (modern Assam) under the command of his brother Sam Long
Hpa and the !ninisteJ'S 'l'ao Hs;i Han Kai and Tao Hs(; Yen.'' When
they reached Welu}ali L6ng, S1lnJEJ cowherds reported the arrival or
the army l'rom Kaws[tiitpi, the cunntt·~'
of white blosstm1s u!H1 lat·ge
leaves, ancl the minislet·s snhtnitted withoi1t resistance ai1d iH·omisNI
to unke annual payment of l wenty-five ponies; seven elephants,
twenty-fi\·~ vis.9 (about; 7 pounds weight) of gold, arl(l two hundred
vis8 of ~ilver t'\'~l'Y t.hre(:' yt>ars. Sam L6ng Hpa accepted these terms
and commenced his lll

134 P uf
the Lao; Lnang Prabang has outlasted. Wing-elumg
as the c;Lpital ), Wung Kawk, Mawk lVlni, H~ip
Hsawng Panna, Keng Hnng, Ohieng Hai, Chieng
Hsen, Ohieng M ai, Pai-lm (Pegn), :Pang-ya (Piny a),
Eng-wa (Ava). Hsa Tnug, Yankollg, Mnw Lamyong.
besi

The Political I

13n
Siamese alphabet intl> use.'' ' 1 ' Until 1;~8i:l various foru:ts of writiugs
wert; used in Sia!ll, such :ti'l Kanji, Pali and Cambodian, ereatiug
confusion.
Who was t.lw Mao prinee tlilmtioued her·(• ( Was he the
King 'Hama K'amht\ng uf Snklwdaya whng Hpa
antwxed Zilllmo ( Ohiengrnai) or possibly Snkhoclaya in about 1:29a
dul'ing his sonthern dt•ive. That event must lHtYe lal(en plaet• about
1220 and bdor'' Kbun Bang Klang T'ao, ascended the throne of
Sukhudaya, a neignbnring state of Zimmo.
Zimme's rulet· was the
great fignre King Meugrai. Another important neighbut'ing state of
the tillle waH P'ayao of wbieh Khun Ngam Muang was the rnlel'. '!.'be
three pott,ntates weJ•e iu fl'ic•JHlship autl amit.y at. least (Juring t.he
e.arly period of their rnle.
founded by King Mengrai in 1296.
'rhe present city of Ohiengmai was
Hence, th

The Pollticnl [:imihll'itiCB l.J,~tween the Ohiengmai Thai and the Shans of
Uppet· Bnrma nntl of Assam te:>tify to some form uf political relations
of the Ma" Shans wit.h that region. Ftll'lht•t· I believe the Ohiengmai
'l'hai and the Ahnm uf As:'lam have great.er affinity than can he fonnd
between the Sanskl'it and Pali-doroinated Bangkok 'rhai and the
Ahum. 'l'hat affinity will ho greater l'ven in d t•ess, mnsieal t\l!H'S•
mnnners and mode nf living between the two groups of the 'l'hai
people even today.

WAS NAM THOM fHE FIRST KING OF SUKHODAYA?
'l'he put·poBe of tbi:; po.per is to explor•) the possibility Lhat
the tit·:;t .kin~ of SuluHt!d 011
· lhiH period.
the history of the :neighbouring eount.rieH of
In 'l'h

Kachorn Still habah ii
l'!'ince ~t·i Sattha was tho grandson of Pha Muang. Since Pl'inee
Sri Sattha was ad.naly t.he grandson n£ Nam 'l'ltnm. he ennld not
be a graud~on o£ .?\fa1n 'l'hom's :-;on, Phn Mnang,
He eonltl tlwn
only he nHt' Lhiug; that is, the "nephew" oJ' l'lm :\In:mg, wltielt
the wort! "1Hl1H" in this sense in:Jplies.
Now the nwntioning of Nam 'l'hom in thit> imwt•ipt.iintique. awl M1e Amel'icau Orienhd Society, the name of Nam
'!'hnu.t appears 110\'tn' to httve he en rm·ntionell again. On L'
::;cholars
a1u1 historians have also followed Western 8cholars and hist;orians
by keeping umte. Yet :Nam 'l'hom wa.s undonht,edly a real historical
per::;on, rnling over Snkhodaya. ::lome t hil-ty to fort.y ynn t•s
l1efore the Eomuling of tho P'm Ruaug tlyllaHty.
In 1924, when Pro:f'essnJ• CoedeR pnbl ished hi:> ltl8cri:ptirm
de S ltkhoda.yn, Premiln·e part,ie, we ha \'e at ou 1' ([ isposal onr 'L''ai
version of the inscription, aud al:>o his French tntnslat,iun, l'q:mrt.
from the small OtT OJ' he 11wd e in tlu~ case of u~:~ing· "grand~wu"
for the con·eet worrl '' Hl'phew '', we still have his illmWnHe work
11pon which tn lm:'-1E'
Snkhodnyn.
tht•. reconst.1·uc:t.irllt of our l't·p- P'r·n H.nang
From the Frt~neb trltnslatioll of this Wat Sri .Jhum illscript.ion
(called in tho li'1·ench rntrt the "Yat l\[ahadhatu '' inscription)
we learn thnt Nam 'fhom was his T'ai name, wit.h the title of P'oh
K'nn. ur big chief,

Was Narn Thom the First King of Sukhodaya? 141
not to be wal'l:iko, for ho tliC~likeil
elephant dnels anrl preEenecl
the accumulation of fine things, snch as silken pillows, His grall!lson,
Prinee Sri Sattha, though rather warlike in his ynnth, gave
up worlrlly life when his infant son died to seek peace and srtlvation
in the footsteps of the J,ord Bur1r1ha, a.ncl rtfter pilgrimages to
India and Ceylon, came bacl< t;o be Patriach-Maha 'l'hcm-in the
reign of Ramn Kha.rnbUng's sncce8sm·, Dhammnra.ja I. AH these
events we know from this vYat 81·i .lhnm (nr Vat Mn.hadhatn)
inscription.
The :interpretation o:C the change of a simple 'l"ni name,
Nam 'l'horn, into a KhmeYizecl one, Sri Nao N nm 'l'hom, is tho!; on r
P'o K'un had accepted the hanc1 of friendship extended to him by
King .Jayavarman VII of Angkor. Why the hand of f1·iendship
n.ncl not the yoke of vassal:tge? Pedu~ops because tho great Jayn.­
vaJ•man hn.rl bestowed to his son, Pha Mnang, a Khmel' princess
in marriage. We know from the inscription that her name was
Sikorn- Mahadevi. 'fo his son- in -law, Jayavarrnan VII also
bestowed a sam·ecl swor

142 Kachorn Sukhabanij
Klang 'I'hno rlefeat the Khmer forces and. then "consecrated" his
younger ally as "Ki11g of Snlrhodayn."
'l'o retnrn to Nam Thom, we also know, however sketchily,
the extent of his domain. On tho Southwest as fnr as Chot, the
inscription tells us in the units of mcasn l'ing distance, that it was
20,000 units; to the South, 200,000 units-i e., ten times as far as
that of the Southwest. Would this come as far down as the old
Ayodhaya, then probably on the sea coast? 'ro tho North, the
inscription is unreadable. The direction of the l~ast seems to be
left ont completely. Was this pure negligence, or was it a fact so
well known at that time where the eltStern limit oJ' the domain
extended?
When was P'o K'nn Nam Thorn ruling at Snkhodaya- Sri
Sajanalai? Before the fonnrling of the P'ra Rnang dynasty by
Bang Klang Thao is certain, but how long before? We know from
Annamite ( JVIaspero, BEFEO, XVIII, a, page 35) and Cambodian
(Briggs, The Ancient Khme?' Ernpi·re, page 235) recorr1s that in
1216 a Khmer army sent to malie war against Annam and one
sent to occupy Champa were hastily wjthdrawn, although the
records give no explanation for this action. 'l'ho 1·eason seems to
be supplied by the Mao 'r'ai chronicle, as between 1215 and 1220
Chao Luang-fa of that kingdom came down with an immense army
and conquered the Menam delta as far ns Ayodhaya and 'l'avoy.
In consulting Ney Elias, Introductory Sketch of the History
of the Shans, \Ve find on page 19 a list of 25 places which at one
time or another might have fallen under the Mao kingdom as a
result of the first campaign of Chao Luang-fa (Sam Luang-pha)
in 121G. After I-Isen-wi, No. a on the list, we have the following
significant entries:
4 lVInang Nai
1) Ohieng'-mft
fi Ohieng Sen
·9 Ynn
10 Ohieng Rnng
l1 Keng Luang

Was Nam Thom the First King of Suld10daya? 143
1:2 l\Iuaug Lcm
li) 'l'ai Lai
18 Laweik
19 Lnpyit
;20 Lamu
:21 Laklwing
:22 Langsap
2:3 Ayodlwya
24 Tavoy
~)
,_ r'
..) Ynnsaleng
The order moves from North to South up to No. 13, nnll
then his army entered into the Khmer proper territories. 'l'he
mentioning of Ayotlhaya, 'l'avoy and Ynnsalcng ( Mnang 'l'halang,
or Stdang) susge:;ts that the Menam delta was then micled hy his
al'my. vVni:l Chao Lung-fa's eow1uest just a claim of suzerainty
over the 'l''ai peovle who hatl migrated South much earlier, or
wtts :it a conquest over alien peoples ? Be that as it may, the 1.215
to 1220 COll![llCSt of Uhao Lmmg-fa over. the 1\Iemun valley has
lJeun tteceptoll by Western scholars as an historical fact.
Ney ]~lias
cUd not specitically mention in what year tlds
1\bo 'l"ai raid took place. If it were in 12lli, it might account for
the reason why King Juyavarman VII recalled his armies from
Anumn and Clutmpa. ,Tayavarman VII did not recall his nrwies
out of ploasm·e. He must have bad a goocl reason for doing so
mHl that reason was most likely for the protection of his kingtlom
ag11inst Chao Lung-fa's army. The mention of Laweil( in the list
(No. 18) seems to coniirm this assumption.
:For the purpose of suggesting a date for P'o K'nn Nam
'l'hom's rule over Snkhocla.ya, 121G, or a year or two later, won ld
probably not be far b·om the mar]L He must. have been a Mtto
'l"£Li prince or a trusted of-Jicer left lJehind by Chao Lnnng.ftt to
control the Upper Menarn valley in conjunction with other 'l"ai
chiefs entrustecl to control ot,her northern and north-eastem territories
conquered. Chao Luang-fa's three other expeditions of
eolHlHOf:lt were in Arakan, Manipur and the Brahmaputra valley,
this la1:1t in 1:225. 'l'hen his ~tttr of destiny fell bemms.e hil:l older

Kachorn Sul

REVIEWS
.Tobn E. de Young, V'illa(Je L1:je in Modern Thailand, University of
Califomia Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1955. 225 pages with
maps, plans and photographs.
Since the late John F. Embree published his stimulating
book on tho .Japanese village of Suye Mura in 1939, there hafl been
a new approach to t.he socio-antht•opological study of Asian rural
communities. Professor deYoung's book on Thai village life is one
result. Embree, however, devoted his entire effort to an exhaustive
study of one village. Professot' deYoung's method is much broader,
being, as he explains in his foreword, "an attempt to present a
descriptive account of the life of the 'rhai peasants who live in that
vast area of 'l'hailancl which lies ontside the Bangkok delta plain. '•
Naturally the author conld not cover this entire area in his investigations,
and it has consequently been necessary to generalize from
tlte particular which occasionally, as noted below, leads to some
rather unconvincing conclusions. Nevertheless, the author spent
some thi·eo years of study in Tlutiland, one year ( 1948-'19) being
tlcvutcd to field investigation in a northern community near Chiengmai,
followed by shOl'ter periods of work in the Northeast provinces
an

146 IU~VIEWS
'l'hai village community looks largely to itself, but is at the same
time friendly toward tl.le outside world and, more impo1·tant, is
receptive to its \nfl uences,
It is on this last.namcd matter of receptivity to the influence:;
of the outside world that Professor de Young tlevotes considerable
attention throughout the course of his book; namely, the changes
which have come about in recent years as the village communities
have been brought more closely into contact with the nation as a
whole and with the things as well as the ideas which so often
accompany them which have bern brought into Thailand from abJ•oad,
particularly from the West. So fDr these changes have not been
great and they have not, as the author lat.er uotes, brought about
any d isintegraLiou of village eommnnily life,
In discussing the passing of some of the older cnstums and
habits, one receives the impression that the anlhor may have
experienced exceptional conclit ions in the communities where he
conducted his field in vestigalions. For example, he notes on page
31, in a manner which would appear to apply to the entire conntL·y,
that home weaving has now been given np. 'l'his may be true among
the highly commercial farming communities of the Central Plain,
hut household looms may still be observed in operation throughout
the Northeast and in many parts of the North. The reviewer has
observed hand weaving being carried on in every province in the
Northeast, and in the Phu Thai village of Renu in Nakorn Panom
Province almost every household had its loom, the women weaving
both cotton ancl silk and even producing their own mosquito nets.
Again, the. author maintains that betel-chewing and t-attooing have
died out as customs among the younger people of rural Thailand.
rro some degree this iS probabl? tl'Ue with respect to the .USe of betel,
but £rom the reviewer's observations over most of the country
talismanic tattooing is still very much in vogue among younger men
( and occasionally younger women for that matter), not only in the
villages but in the market towns and even in Bangkok. Or~e may
question, too, some of the author's conclusions about ehasity among
young folks in the COU!ltryside and his view that lml'vest and other

RIWIEWS 147
festivals only sometimes produce bawdy songs. One also wonders if
the 'rhai peasant, as noted on page 92, really obeys any "ancient
tahoo on milk products,'' when consideration is given to the great
quantities of tinned 'milk imported into this country, some of which
does reach the village level of consumption.
Tho author's account. of the religions life of the village
communities should go far to c1o.rify some of the confusion and
misnnclerstancling left by certain other writers \vho have touched
upon this subject. Particularly valuable are his descriptions of the
importnnt, role played by the Buddhist temple in village life and
the division of the villager's religious observances between the temple
and its monks and the animistic spirits which people jungle and
stream, trees and stones, the rice fields, and even the very pillars
of the villager's own house. 'l'he author notes that many of these
animii:ltic beliefs and practices are now losing their significance,
although the spirit house and the use of votive offerings, charms
and amulets are still widespread and from all observation appear
to have retained some validit.y and meaning.
The final chapter of the book, describing the changing scope
of the villager's world, is especially interesting and significant.
Despite the persistence of many customs and beliefs, the growing
contact of t.he village communities with the outside world has already
hegnn to produce politieal, economic and social changes. Through
its model'l1 poli~ical machinery, its economic controls, its health,
welfare and C:'clucational activities and military conscription, and to
a still limited degree through the media of radio and press, t.he
central government is now reaching into the village and affecting its
life patterns to an extent never known before. Other influences
from the outside world are reaching the village through the itinerant
medicine men and merchants as well as the ordinary traveller.
Conversely, the people of the village are moving more and more
from the confines of theil' own small communities. The coming of
the railroad was the first impetus, but more important have been
the great extension nf tho highway and t·oad system, the establishment
of netwot•ks of bus a11cl passenger truck lines which now reach

148 REVIEWS
the most isolated comers of the nation at least in the dry season,
and the increasing use of the bicycle. In consequence, we now have
almost monthly visits by village and commune headmen to the
amphur or di3trict seat, and comparatively Jarg.e movements of the
villagers themselves to the ampku1· and the provincial capital to
visit shops and moving pietme theatres, and to attend provincial
and temple fairs. Another significant point is the large yearly
migration of laborers from the villages of the countryside, especially
from the Northeast, to Bangkok and other areas. Many of these
migrants come to work as unskilled laborers and samlor drivers for
on1y a yem· or shorter periods, thereafter returning to their home
villages with impressions and ideas which, :for good or for ill, will
affect to some degree the thinking and habits of their families and
neighbors.
There is thns not only the beginning of changes in the ideas
and customs of the countJ•yside bnt also evidence of a change in the
physical character of village life. To a largo extent, the rural 'l'hai
have now adapted themselves to a money economy, an

n.EVlEWS !49
'l'he a11tl.tor touches upon thiH problem at. a number of points thr•.lUgh­
•mt the hook eHpecially in tlw t1nal chapter, but it is nnfortnnate
that be dit1 not expl!lt'c! it rmrl its implicatiuns more fully, .for herein
H·eems to lie tho explanation of R" lttuch of what i~:> taking placn in
t.his c•utntll·y t"dny.
lu brief, ally lnuget·-iumt view ol' 'rlJai]aHd leavos no doubt.
that. it. is Bxprrienoing the mixelll appJ'nximalely 8.0 million in
1900 to perhaps .'!0.0 milli11n ''I' morn tnday ). ThiA lutH been largely
the I'L•snlt. of a mark

150 REVIEWS
to •.lemnnds for political. e ~~OlHHD ic and social ehanges, which arE>
already being voiced in thP m·han eentl'rs or the country and which
al'e beginning t.o be evident at thtl eommuue aud village le1·ols.
In the long view, howevet·, the anlhur regards thl• fnlnre
with optimi:nn, providL•d extet·nal force:; do uot attempt tn alter the
basic political, economic und sneial structure of' the nnnntn·.
t.Jt(•
WhilH
belief of some that, 'l'hailaud c•lltld !Jy intew:>if:ied fal'ming,
adequnle il'l·igatiun programs, and otbL'l' impr·ov••uwnts cumfortahly
maintain a popnlatiu11 of 100 rui Ilion l!lay seem a ratllPr frightening
look into the futur1~,
the fad remains. as Pt·ofessPI' deYoung emplHtsizes,
that as 'l'hniland's population CDntinues to grow, so Ctln her rice
pt·oduction, and it. is his considered vie\V that, "for the next half
century at least, thL·re i:; no 1lnnger that Thailand will snfl'er ft·om
pnpnl;1tion pressure; rather, tilt· rever·so will he true, for the standard
of living of the peasant shnul1l l'ise as his nnrnhers increase.''
So far, in the unt.lwr'~
opinion, tbe changes inhereut in nu
Pxpanding economy have not yet. funda;nentally alt.erecl the basic
life of the village cnmmnni.ties.
Conseqnent.]y, it i::; significant to
note the author's fi na] cone! nsion that "'l'hai peas:m t society shows
none of the signs oJ' disintegration llntt. are so nftL·n evident \Vhon
a peasant gronp is brought rapidly into contact \Vit·h llHHlemization
and 'vVesterui~nt.ion,"
Wt' can 8ee such Llisintegl'lltiun, often wHh
disastrous cnnseqncnce::;, in some other Asiuu countrieH.
It. wunld
appear, therefore, that in their Mganization, trn,Jilions, and easy
and ad aptahlc way of life, the Thai village com m u nitiPs possess an
unusual resilieney which may, it is hoped, c•nable thnm to presrrve
tht~ir
integrity and community values in the face of a changing wodcl.
Charles Nelson Spinks
Miguel Cov arrnhirtH, 'l' he Eagle, the J agun1·, ctnd the 8e1•pent. I nd£a-11
A·1·t of the Am.erir:as. Ncwth Amrw·ica.: AltMlca, Canada (/.nd tlw
United 8/.ntes. Alfred A. Knlipf, New York, 195'1. 29!L pages,
i]]nstrated.
Miguel Covarrubias needs no intJ•oduction to stmle11ts of
S11nt.lu•ast. Asi:J. hecause of his ma.gnifif'.r•nl Island of l:Jali ( 1\):38 ).

Rli:VIEWS I b 1
This gifted Mexican artist fltld anthropologist has, since publishiug;
Mexico 8tHlth in 1946, dovoLed his efforts to the ethnic and cultural
buckg't'otmcl of tlw pre-Columbian Americas. 'rhe volnme is not only
a monument to Covarrubias' scholarship ancl humanistic approach
to the snbjc~ct hut it is also a tl'ibutl~ to the publisher as an example
nf splentlid !Hlok~makin:J. 'I'ho work is lavishly supplied wit.h cl!·awings,
nmps, snmpluOtl8 color platl's, and photogmphs.
Headers of the Jutu•twl will llnc1 Chapter I, Origins of the
Amet'ill.ll1 In.lians, lluvering pa~ field. While a
tmrtisan to neither oi' t11ese contiicting schools oi' thonght, Covarrubias,
howev(Jl·, presents some we\ghty e'!idence t.o support cultmally if
uot. etlmieally a Pacific and Eastern Asian origin. In t1oing so he
has. of cuurse, leane1l heavily upon the wo!'l{s of snob n0tetl seholars
as Rivet, Gladwin and Heiue-l1Plclem. He pr·esents a most sl:aptling
list nf art mot.i [sand cultural cnnc·ept!:l which arc common to Eastern
Asia (including mneh of tht~ Pacifie) nncl the Americas, 'l'be list
inclncles sneh things as the hilatot•al splitting nf animals in art
designs; the ruo~e of totemic posts; the placi11g of eyes H!Hl faces on
t.hl\ jo1nts nnd ha;ncls in pidlll'l'l:l of the hnmun figut·c'; tlte widespread
.Malt.al't"f J.not.if; bird, feline, and S!:!rpt~nt cults; the carving of jade
and the lore at.tached to this stone; funerary monnds of earth;
masks tot• th8 cl ead; tnrquoise and feather m6S!~ics; the nse of lacqnet•;
st.t'iking simi.lat•ities in pottery fechniqnes and styles; and the making
oE bark cloth (tapa). Orio of the most. t•emarkable of all these
similarities is the nse o£ the sn-ealled '' hocker" motif, namely, a
figure with arms and legs outstretched in frog fashion-a circum­
Pltcifie al't element which has l1een typicftl of early China, Malaysia,
Melanesia and PolyneHia. Its use was, of conrse, widespread in the
AmericliS.

l.'i2
IUW ll•; W S
Uovat·t·uliia 01
It as done llJUelwlar a1Hl writer.
The first ·l9 pages of Lhe book are of particular interest, fot·
in this seeliou the authoJ' outlines the ethni

REV!I':WS
1-&3
KH.G. Uol>I.Jy, •'·iuul/wast .l.sitt, .l

154 REVI!se conut.des residing within t.he
bnnndaries of another, such as the Vietnamese in Northeast 'rhai land,
the IH'e8ent-day pu::;it.ion of (;he val'ions Thai pouplc•s in 'l'ongkiug,
au .. l final!~' Lhe appeal'ancc ol' the so-crdlerl "'l'hai Autonomons Arl'!l ''
in southern Yilnnau.
While this uhHpter seems to stray sornuwllat
frum what we might generally rogarrl as minority problems, tho
anthot'8 huve perfor•rned a real se1·viee by pt·eparing it i11 Ruch detail
without snerificing elarity.
Fin

H. Otley Bt>ye r·, 'l'htJ !.'P.l!l.tion of 1' 11kl-itt!8 to At·chacolorm. Paper
No. 2i~.
Proeeedings uf thH Font•th Far-Easkrn Prehistory Oo11gress,
published by the National HL'Senrch c.nrncil of (.]le :Philippines, 1955.
•if> page~, illm;t.rated.
1'-ime ruagazii1e, in t'llC of its r·eceJit. isKues (.July 9, 19;)1)),
devoted a lll'iLjf al'l.id(' to the UJIUS1Jal :mbjocl, ul: tektites in reporting
t.he theories of the American physicist Half Stairs concurnillg the
eLd!!SLinl origin 11f t.hese :;emiLranspnt•eJ!l, lllauk, hrn\vll, 1,,. dat"lr-gree11
pieces of natnral glass, ditrert>ni. fnnn all eal'th1y materials, which
h:l\'o lH•t'll fonn.t in many par·Ls n£ t;he world.
Profm:sor Heyer of
t.he University nl' the Philippines discnSHes these peenlinr obj

156 l{EVIEWS
clr•amatie elements of 11istory, lri01 ability to interpret. tlte charaetet·
and mntivatillllH of his protagonists, his knack in recreating the
scc•nc)l:l i a stut·yte]J,or. Nu doubt the strange car·L•ers oJ' Ool'lt'1s and
1Vlont e~nnn1 aml tlte even stranger association tl.t' LhL• t \HI men
presented Collis with a great. opportunity, for ther(•in were exactly
tho kinds of persomt!HiL•s and situat.iom; lw is alllt• to exploit so
sncces,;J'ully, w]rfl!hel' t.]w lol'a]n be• Asia or· Amer·ioa. Althongh
thns nppc)m·ing in l·alhtn· Hnl'amili:rr Mexin:tll n.ttir•), ManJ•iee Collis
iH orwcc again at hiH hPst.
C.N.S.

REVIEWS !57
D.G.E. Hall, A Histm·y of 8cntth-Easl Asia, Macmillan and Co.,
London, 1955. 807 pages with appendix.
'rhe assignment of this specific volume for review was as
specific and explicit ns an editor could ma1w it without risking an
affront to the reviewer. In the face of that charge nnfl its acceptance
the reviewer feels compelled to begin by ignoring the hool{ nssigned
nnd paying respects to another work whose appearance a centnry
earlier calls for some commemorative comment.
Bowring's famous two-volnme account of Siam appeared ;just
a centnry before Hall's worlr but this coincidence is not in itself
adeqnate justification for its inclusion in this review, A re-rea(ling
of Bowl'ing as a commemorative act does, however, prompt certain
reflections which tend to overshadow the considerations n.nd jndgments
more properly belonging to the later volume alone.
In spite of this
risk the reviewer wonld pay his respect to Hall by way of a preliminary
obeisance to the older work. 'l'he full significance of Hall's
impressive volume c::m best bf! appreciated when the reader recalls
that for decades the only work by a Western scholar on Thailancl
was Bowring.
I-Ie was not a trained historian and the brevity of
his stay in this country militated against its serving as a proper
substitute for hist.oricalresearch or wide familiarity with the sources.
Despite these limitations, his study remained not only the best
general work on Siam in a Western language hut it was the only
work. Not until Wood's H ist01'Y of ,'Narn appeared thirty years ago
did any other 'niter attempt to produce a history of this country.
Wood, too, was no trained historian, but. he hronght to his writing
a sympathy and unclerstanding born out of a lifetime of service and
residence among the Thai people.
Despite the merits of Wood's work anrl not because of its
deficiencies, his volume never supplanted Bowring. For threequarters
of a century the latt.er constituted virtually the sole introduction
to Siam on the part of most Westerners.
A search of
American libra1•ies at least during the last third of the 19th and the
first quat·ter of the 20th century wonlcl have shown clearly enough
that forArneric!'lns Siam had become the conntt·y of hut one book-and

15R
REVIEWS
that was Bowring. A re-reading of this work ag[J.inst tho lmclrgronnd
of materials now available may canae some bewilderment, particularly
to those who prefer "straight history" rather than the melange of
social institutions, culture, history, and geog1·aphy which constituted
Bowt·ing's Siam.
Friends of Thailand can be grateful, however,
that so many became indebted to Bowring and his sympathy and
goorlwill for their int,rodnction to nntl understanding of Siam.
All of this is pretty much of a demonstrable fact and few
would, and even fewer can, challenge it.
Much more imprn·tant is
the question as to why Bowring had no rival-not even a successor.
'l'rue, it was long aftE~r Gibbon had presented the wot'ld with his
famous Decline and .F'all of the Roman EmtJiTe before anyone had
the hardihood or the courage to challenge the seemingly definitive
quality of his work by offering auothPr interpretation of the period,
This is not to suggest that Bowring's Siam was comparable tn Gibbon's
Home.
Admittedly much of the explanation fo1· the non-

mvmws 159
neglected, save as her territory and interests impingell 011
the
expanding interests an

160 lmVlEWS
apponrlix contains sonw nino hundred names and invaluable lists of
mooardtt~ and rr~igu~. All oi' this coJistitutes the strength and some
rnight add, Lhe weaknes;,; of the book,
Specialists will cl'itici~~,e the handling of thrir own areas of
eompelencc•. Nationalist hisf.ol'iaus will complain of alleged slights
to glorious cha.pter·s of their own histories. Sueh reactions would
greet :1ny survey as this, but. in the reviewer's opinion subsequent
revisions of this book will call for few serious mo

PUBLICATIONS OF INTEREST IN OTHER ~OURNALS
Archiv Orientaln{
XXIII, 4, 1D5G.
Prusak, .J,: Hel:learches into the beginnings of the Chinese
Popular Novel: I Story-telling in the Sung
Period.
620-662.
Artibus Asiae.
XVIII, 2.
Picard, Ob.: La Lampe alexandrine de P'ong 'l'uk (Siam),
Arts asiatiques.
I, 3, 1954.
1iH-149.
ViannoL, U, : 'l'ypologie du mctlcam et essai de chronologie, 189-208.
I, 4, 1954-.
Coedos, G. : L'art siamois de l'f!,poque de Snkhodaya
( Xli-XIV siecles ), circonstances de son
ClVolntion 281-302.
GL'iswoltl, A.B.: Addendum a l'arLicle prec0dent, 3013-308.
Filliozat, J. : Les usages des tal>lettE'S bonddhiques aux
" Sa in tes Empreintes '', 309-3l6.
II, 1, 1955
Hivaramamur!.i, 0.: Samslrii,ras in Sculpture,
Boist>elier, J.: Uue st,atue feminine inBdite dn style de
Saml.Jor,
li, 2, 195!).
Deueek, M-M.: Vie de cour et fetes birmanes au XIX
siecle,
3-17.
18-il4.
127-1.36.
'
Bulletin de la Societe des Etudes indochinoises.
Nouvelle surie: XXX, 4, 1955.
Damais, L.C.: Les ecritures d'ol'igfne indienne en Indonesia
et dans le snd-ost asiatique continental, 365-382.

\
162 Publlcatiom,; of Interl!st in Other Journal~
Bulletin de l'Ecole francaise d'Extreme~Orient.
XLVII, 1, 1953.
Damais, L.C.: Etudes d'Epigraphie indonesienne: II
discussion de la date des inscriptions,
7-290.
XLVII, 2, 1953.
Marchal, H.: Modifications successives de la partie nord
de !a 'l'et'l'asse des Elephants d 'An kor 'l'hom,
617 -ti20.
East and West.
VI, 4, 1956.
'fucci, G. : 'l'lle Sym holism of the 'J'emples of bSam yas, 279-282~
Bnssagli, M.: The Univet·sal Value of Indian Aesthetics, 299-;315.
Quest.
I, 2, 1955.
Padhye, P., & Parikh, G.D.: 'l'he Iutellectuul in i\foderu
Asia,
F rance.Asie.
:3-15.
no 116, janvier 19fi6.
David Lenthal, M.: Histoire de Niln Manot'a (conte phn-uoi)
Bitai·d, P.: La merveilleuse histoire cle 'l'lunen Obey,
l'AsLucieux, conte populail·e, trad. & adaptee
du cambodgien,
oGS-571,
588-59o.
Both of these tales are well known in Siam nndet· the respecLive
names of Na/1) ~Wano1'i'-' and Sri Dhnonjai.
no 117,. fevr .. 1956.
Heiue-Geldern, R.: Relations Pl'ecolombiennes entre l'Asio,
et L'Amedque de Sud,
Bitard, P.: La meL·veilleuse histoire de 'l'ilmen Chey, (cont)
Martin, F.: Ba et Meet les noms de Inonuments khmers,
Indo-Asian Culture.
IV,. 3, Jan. 19~,6.
635-638.
648-6G2.
663-670.
Clthu.bra, B. Oh.: . Ancient India and Sonth-east Asia, 301-307

Mitra, S.K.:
Publications of Interest Other JC!urnals 163
'
Harsha, tl1e Third Buddhist Emperor of
north India, 333-339.
IV, 4, April1956.
Bhattacharya, V.: 'fhe Soul in Upanishadic Thought 349.361.
Pacific Affairs.
XXVIII, 3, Sept. 1955.
Harper, Norman D. : Australia and Sonth-east Asia, 203·220.
Fall, Bernard H.: The Political Religions Sects of Vietnam 235.253.
Tamil Culture,
IV, 4, Oct. 1955.
'rhani Nayagam, Rev. Dr Xavier S.: Tamil Onltnre, past, present and
fulnre, with specia1 reference to Oeylon, 341-364,
V, 1, Jan. 1956,
'l'hani Nayagam, Rev. Dr Xavier S,:
Amcient Tamil
Literature and the Study of Indian
J~dncation,
Rajagopalachal'iar, C. : 'l'he Place of E11g1ish in Indian
Education,
Nadar, A.O. Paul : Kamban's Modernism,
V, 2, April 1956.
Pillai, ICK. : The Brahmi Inscriptions of South India and
the Sangam Age,
1-15.'
16-29.
74-77.
175-185.
· Journal of the Ganganath Jha Research Institute, Allahabad.
XI-XII, 1953-5.
Edgerton, F. : Tbe Nature of Bnddbist Hybrid Sanskrit, 1-10.
Ojha, K.O.: Chronology of the Mauryas,
55-68.
Appendix to the Pratimoksha, (an l~nglish translation of
the In trod nctory section ),
24:3-248.