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One of the first sights that greeted foreigners
arriving in Thailand 150 years ago was a brilliant white pagoda
on an island in the middle of the river. The locals called it
'Phra Chedi Klang Nam', or Pagoda in the river. The island
was partly natural caused by the accumulation of sand brought
dow n by the flood waters. Over the years the river
has silted up even more causing the island to become part of
the west bank. Now the temple is more known by its official name
of Phra Samutchedi.
King Rama II was the first to have the
idea of a temple in the middle of the river. He noticed a natural
sandbank in the river at Paknam. He thought it would make the
ideal location for a temple. However, he died before his dream
could be realised. The task was taken over by King Rama III who
started work on the temple on Tuesday 30th October 1827. It was
completed seven months later at a cost of 233 chang (18640
baht). The Sri Lankan-style chedi stood 20 metres high.
It was bell-shaped and topped by a ringed spire. To one side
was a small temple which contained a brass image of the Buddha.
The chedi was improved some 30 years
later by King Rama IV who wanted to show all visitors to Thailand
that his people were Buddhists. He decided to increase the height
of the chedi to 38 metres and he placed inside 12 sacred
relics of the Buddha, Phra Chaiyawat and a Buddha image.
In 1862, Anna Leonowens wrote the following
about her first view of Phra Samutchedi: On an island there "is
perhaps the most unique and graceful object of architecture in
Siam; shining like a jewel on the broad bosom of the river, fantastic
and gilded, flashing back the glory of the sun, and duplicated
in shifting shadows in the limpid waters below... Visiting this
island some years later, I found that this temple, like all other
pyramidal structures in this part of the world, consist of solid
masonry of brick and mortar. The bricks made here are remarkable,
being fully eight inches long and nearly four broad, and of fine
grain. There are cornices on all sides, with steps to ascend
to the top, where a long inscription proclaims the name, rank
and virtues of the founder, with dates of the commencement of
the island and the shrine. The whole of the space, extending
to the low stone breakwater that surrounds the island, is paved
with the same kind of brick, and encloses, in addition to Phra
Chedi, a smaller temple with a brass image of the sitting Buddha.
It also affords accommodation to the numerous retinue of princes,
nobles, retainers, and pages who attend the king in his annual
visits to the temple, to worship, and make votive offerings and
donations to the priests."
In one of the temple buildings there is
an interesting mural showing the history of the province. There
is an annual temple fair here for nine days and nine nights in
the 11th lunar month (usually in October). The temple is the
symbol for Samut Prakarn province. |
