The King of Thailand
River of King
Suphanahong
History brought to life
The royal barge procession was a proud moment for Thailand and its unique cultural heritage
Viewers of the royal barge procession on the Chao Phraya River this past Monday evening had a rare opportunity to witness a bit of Thailand's glorious cultural heritage -- an opportunity that left many with goose-bumps. The 52 boats and 2,082 oarsmen that glided down the river were viewed by numerous mumbers of royal families and dignitaries from across the globe along with tens of thousands of Thais. It was remarkable sight indeed with cultural treasures like the Temple of Dawn and the Grand Palace in the background. Thailand is crisscrossed with waterways and water has always figured prominently in the Kingdom's history. Thus the Thais' long love affair with water and boats is easily explained.
In the past, many families were boat-owners; so too the royal family. Vessels called ruea luang were reserved primarily for military activities and for use by the monarchy. These ruea luang were long but slender vessels rowed by 20 to 30 or more soldiers. Large boats used for war might be rowed by 60 to 70 men, who changed from oarsmen to warriors once they were on land. In those days, there was no separation between the army and the navy.
The present royal throne barge, the Suphanahong, was built at the command of King Rama VI to replace the original, which had fallen victim to the years. It took part in the barge processions held for the coronations of kings Rama VI and Rama VII, and also for the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the foundation of Bangkok held during the reign of King Rama VII.
When the king had business that required travel by water, he boarded his own special royal throne barge. Sometimes the trip was on personal business, sometimes for religious reasons or for an important royal ceremony. On such occasions, the king's boat would be part of an elaborate flotilla known as a royal barge procession, such as the one held when the Emerald Buddha was brought from Vientiane to Ayutthaya and from there to Bangkok. The flotilla that brought it from Ayutthaya included 115 boats. When the image arrived at Thon Buri, King Taksin went out to receive it aboard his royal barge; another 131 boats joined the procession.
Royal barge songs -- known as bot hey ruea -- are an important component of the procession. This year the bot hey ruea were led by Lt Nathawat Aramkuea, who took over from his mentor, National Artist Rear Admiral Mongkhon Saengsawang. Lt Nathawat began by singing the name of the royal throne barge, then telling about the number of vessels in the procession and which major boats were taking part. As they gathered in the middle of the river, he began to chant in the style called cha-la-wa-hey to accompany the slow rowing that the oarsmen use while aligning their vessels into the proper configuration. He then began a song that described the beauty of the procession and the rhythm of the rowing.
As the rowing became faster, the singing style switched to one called moon-la-hey. The boat song leader praised the fish, birds and forests. As the procession reached its destination, the singing returned to the cha-la-wa-hey style and the rowing slowed down. Just after the procession ended, 60,000 candle-bearing krathongs were released into the river while 5,000 Northern-style floating lanterns were released into the air -- other bits of cultural heritage that added a charming finishing touch to the proceedings.
