Wat Phumin

Last updated
A frontal view of Wat Phumin 2013 Wat Phumin Nan.jpg
A frontal view of Wat Phumin
Wat Phumin seen from an angle Wat Phumin, Nan.jpg
Wat Phumin seen from an angle

The city of Nan's most famous wat is renowned for its cruciform ubosot which was constructed in 1596 and restored during the reign of Chao Ananta Vora Ritthi Det (1867-1875).

Contents

Exterior

It is the only temple which was built as if it were on the back of two immense snakes (or Nagas). Each of the four entrances is preceded by a small corridor topped by a finely decorated, point-shaped structure (underlining the royal origin of the temple) and is equipped with smoothly carved doors; with Chinese demon guards in the east, flowers in the north and forest life motives in the Lanna style in the west and south.

Interior

The wat's interior is impressive. It is also a good example of Thai Lue architecture. The structure of the roof is supported by twelve teak pillars decorated with gold on black and red lacquer and elephants' motives. The ceiling is also finely decorated. The flowered altar resting in the center of the bôt supports four Buddhas of the Sukhothai style in the pose of Bhūmisparsa mudrā ("Buddha Invoking Mother-Earth", "Bhumi to be His Witness" or "Buddha subduing Māra" - the hand pointed down to the earth with the fingers touching the ground), facing the four directions. The shape of the ears and nose shows a Lao influence. Next to the altar one finds a splendid thammdat (a dhamma seat used by teaching monks).

Murals

Well preserved murals of great value illustrating the Khattana Kumara Jataka on the Northern wall and the Nimi Jatakas on the Western wall as well as scenes of the local life of the time when they were painted by Thai Lue artists during the restoration of the temple at the end of the 19th century. Europeans can even be noticed: a reference to the arrival of the French to whom the East of the Nan valley area was yielded in 1893. The style is rather distinctive and quite removed from the traditional style of temple paintings in Thailand. They somewhat resemble the style of the murals of Wat Phra Singh in Chiang Mai and are very much like the murals of Wat Nong Bua in Tha Wang Pha District, just north of the city of Nan. The setting of the murals at Wat Phumin however, is that of the culture and everyday life of the Thai Lue people. The two most famous scenes are of greater dimensions than the majority of the other paintings: a man whispering to the ear of a woman (on the Southern side of the Western door) and the portrait painted on the side of the Southern door, which could be king Chao Ananta Vora Ritthi Det. The large paintings on each side of the main entrance show a Chinese influence which can be explained by the origins of the Thai Lue people.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lan Na</span> Indianized state centered in present-day northern Thailand (13th–18th centuries)

The Lan Na Kingdom or The Kingdom of Lanna, also known as Lannathai, and most commonly called Lanna or Lanna Kingdom, was an Indianized state centered in present-day Northern Thailand from the 13th to 18th centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phayao province</span> Province of Thailand

Phayao is one of Thailand's seventy-seven provinces (changwat) lies in upper northern Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Nan, Phrae, Lampang, and Chiang Rai. In the northeast it borders Xaignabouli of Laos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thai art</span> Overview of art in Thailand

Thai art refers to a diverse range of art forms created in Thailand from prehistoric times to the present day, including architecture, sculpture, painting, textiles, decorative arts, crafts, ceramics, and more. While Buddhism has played a significant role in Thai art, with many sculptures and paintings depicting Buddha images and religious themes, nature, including flora and fauna, as well as mythical creatures, has been a major inspiration for Thai art, with colorful motifs appearing in various types of art forms. In contemporary Thai art, traditional works remain significant and continue to influence artists' concepts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lampang</span> City Municipality in Thailand

Lampang, also called Nakhon Lampang to differentiate from Lampang province, is the third largest city in northern Thailand and capital of Lampang province and the Mueang Lampang district. Traditional names for Lampang include Wiang Lakon and Khelang Nakhon. The city is a trading and transportation center. Lampang lies 601 km (373 mi) north of Bangkok and 101 km (63 mi) southeast of Chiang Mai.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wat Phra That Doi Chom Thong</span>

Wat Phra That Doi Chom Thong is located in Nakhon Chiang Rai, Amphoe Mueang, Chiang Rai Province, Thailand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nan, Thailand</span> Town Municipality in Nan, Thailand

Nan is a town in northern Thailand. It is 688 km (428 mi) north of Bangkok. It is in the centre of Nan province which bears its name, and of which it is the former administrative capital. It covers tambon Nai Wiang and parts of tambon Pha Sing of Mueang Nan district, an area of 7.60 km2 (2.93 sq mi) divided into 30 chumchon. In 2010 it had a population of 21,333 spread along the Nan River's right bank. Nan is a small city, primarily devoted to commercial, administrative, educational, and hospital activities. The old heart of the city, where Wat Phumin, the national museum and other tourist attractions are found, is being restored.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thai temple art and architecture</span> Art and architecture of Buddhist temples in Thailand

Thai temple art and architecture is the art and architecture of Buddhist temples in Thailand. Temples are known as wats, from the Pāḷi vāṭa, meaning "enclosure". A temple has an enclosing wall that divides it from the secular world. Temples served as a stabilizing center in these communities because their sacred teachings became a basis of authority and boundaries, their precincts became places of instruction, their regimes of common ownership of property formed them into economic centers, and their functions allowed them to serve at the heart of these communities in a variety of ways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tha Wang Pha district</span> District in Nan, Thailand

Tha Wang Pha is a district (amphoe) in the central part of Nan province, northern Thailand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wat</span> Buddhist or Hindu temple in Asia

A wat is a type of Buddhist and Hindu temple in Cambodia, Laos, East Shan State, Yunnan, the Southern Province of Sri Lanka, and Thailand. The word wat is borrowed from the Sanskrit vāṭa, meaning "enclosure". The term has varying meanings in each region, sometimes referring to a specific type of government-recognised or large temple, other times referring to any Buddhist or Hindu temple.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingdom of Chiang Mai</span>

Kingdom of Rattanatingsa or Kingdom of Chiang Mai was the vassal state of the Siamese Rattanakosin Kingdom in the 18th and 19th century before being annexed according to the centralization policies of Chulalongkorn in 1899. The kingdom was a successor of the medieval Lanna kingdom, which had been under Burmese rule for two centuries until it was captured by Siamese forces under Taksin of Thonburi in 1774. It was ruled by the Thipchak Dynasty and came under Thonburi tributary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wat Phra Singh</span> Temple in Chiang Mai

Wat Phra Singh is a Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand. King Ananda Mahidol, bestowed upon it the status of Royal temple of the first grade in 1935.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wat Chiang Man</span>

Wat Chiang Man is a Buddhist temple inside the old city of Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wat Suan Dok</span>

Wat Suan Dok, also known as Wat Buppharam is a Buddhist temple (Wat) in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand. It is a Royal Temple of the Third Class. The temple is on Suthep Road, approximately one kilometre west of Suan Dok gate at the west side of the moat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ordination hall</span> Type of Buddhist building

The ordination hall is a Buddhist building specifically consecrated and designated for the performance of the Buddhist ordination ritual (upasampadā) and other ritual ceremonies, such as the recitation of the Pāṭimokkha. The ordination hall is located within a boundary that defines "the space within which all members of a single local community have to assemble as a complete Sangha at a place appointed for ecclesiastical acts ." The constitution of the sīmā is regulated and defined by the Vinaya and its commentaries and sub-commentaries.

<i>Yuan Phai</i> Historical epic Thai poem

Yuan Phai, "Defeat of the Yuan," is a historical epic poem in the Thai language about rivalry between Ayutthaya and Lanna culminating in a battle that took place in 1474/5 AD at the place then called Chiang Cheun at Si Satchanalai. The Yuan are the people of Lanna or Yonok, then an independent kingdom in the upper reaches of the Chao Phraya River basin with a capital at Chiang Mai. The poem was written to celebrate King Boromma Trailokanat of Ayutthaya, the victor. The poem was probably written soon after the battle. It counts among only a handful of works of Thai literature from the Early Ayutthaya era that have survived, and may be still in its original form, without later revisions. The main body of the poem consists of 1,180 lines in a variant of the khlong meter. The poem is considered important as a source of historical information, as an example of poetic form and style, and as a repository of early Ayutthayan Thai language. A definitive edition was published by the Royal Institute of Thailand in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phitsanulok</span> City Municipality in Thailand

Phitsanulok is a city, municipality, the capital and the largest populated place of the Thai province of Phitsanulok. It is also the headquarters of the Mueang Phitsanulok District. In 2022, it had a population of 62,000, making it the second–largest cities by population in the lower northern Thailand. The city is one of the centre of Thailand's tourism industry, and it is a historic city in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tilokaraj</span> King of Lan Na

Tilokaraj, also spelt Tilokarat and Tilokkarat, was the 9th monarch of the Mangrai Dynasty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wat Hong Rattanaram</span> Buddhist temple in Bangkok, Thailand

Wat Hong Rattanaram Ratchaworawihan, or just called Wat Hong Rattanaram is an ancient Thai Buddhist temple located in Bangkok rim the Khlong Bangkok Yai canal. It is classified as the second rank of royal temple and can be considered a temple of Prince Pinklao.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wat Kamphaeng Bang Chak</span>

Wat Kamphaeng Bang Chak is an ancient Thai Buddhist temple in Mahā Nikāya sect in Thonburi side of Bangkok, considered as one of the oldest and most dominant temples in Bangkok.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chiang Saen</span> Place in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand

Chiang Saen is an old city in Northern Thailand. Chiang Saen is the capital of the Chiang Saen district, which lies in the north of the Chiang Rai province.

References

18°46′28.81″N100°46′17.73″E / 18.7746694°N 100.7715917°E / 18.7746694; 100.7715917