Royal barge procession: Mae Ya Nang Homage begins

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Mae Ya Nang Homage begins

By The Nation

 

 

Today, December 12, is a special day for Thailand, with the historical royal barge procession taking place on the Chao Phraya river. At 6.55 am, Admiral Luechai Ruddit, Commander in Chief of the Royal Thai Navy, presided over the ceremony to pay homage to Mae Ya Nang at the Thonburi navy dockyard where all the barges are moored.

 

Admiral Luechai Ruddit

 

The goddess Mae Ya Nang, who is the guardian of boats, has been respected since ancient times in accordance with the Thai belief that every tree has a guardian. Once a tree is cut and transformed into a boat, its guardian does not leave but instead stays on and protects the boat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30379342

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-12-12

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Public readies for royal barge procession

By The Nation

 

 

Members of the public begin to pass through checkpoints this morning to reserve a seat for the royal barge procession which is scheduled to start at 3.30pm on Thursday (December 12) once Their Majesties King Rama X and Queen Suthida board the vessel.

 

The barge procession will depart from Wasukri Pier and sail to Ratchaworadit Pier where the land procession will be held. Rama VIII and Phra Pin Klao Bridges will be closed to traffic from 3.30 to 5pm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30379345

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-12-12

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Thai king completes coronation year with barge procession through old Bangkok

By Artorn Pookasook

 

Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn is carried on a sedan-chair after taking part in the Royal Barge procession near the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand, December 12, 2019. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Aboard a golden royal barge, King Maha Vajiralongkorn was rowed along the river winding through the oldest part of Bangkok on Thursday, as thousands of loyal Thais thronged the banks to see the final ritual of his drawn out coronation.

 

King Vajiralongkorn, also known as King Rama X, was formally crowned in May, during three days of ceremonies filled with ancient Brahmin and Buddhist rituals, but the barge procession marks the monarch's last journey in his ascent to the throne.

 

As part of a near seven-century-old tradition, the king's vessel was positioned in the centre of a procession of 52 gold-painted barges, elaborately carved in the shape of swans and mythical creatures.

 

Dressed in ceremonial costume, some 2,200 oarsmen rowed the wooden vessels along the 3.4-kilometre (2-mile) route, keeping time with the help of chants.

 

The king was accompanied by Queen Suthida Bajrasudhabimalalakshana and his 14-year-old son, Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti, on one barge, while his two daughters were on another.

 

As the vessels glided over the Chao Phraya River, Thais dressed in the auspicious colour yellow watched with reverence.

 

"I am a Thai and I want to attend this ceremony so I can tell my children about how great our country is," said Sudarat Sangyuthanan, a 55-year-old woman.

 

Devotion to the monarch is an ingrained part of Thai culture where the king is considered by many as a living-god.

 

"The king has just been crowned and I want to show him that we, the Thai people, are with him and are supporting him all the way, so the country can progress in the way our forefathers have wanted to build it," said 64-year-old Patipan Mahantanathibodi.

 

The monarchy's bond with the people was strengthened during Vajiralongkorn's father's 70-year reign. King Bhumibol Adulyadej

was widely loved and regarded as a pillar of stability during decades of political turbulence and rapid development in Thailand.

 

Though King Bhumibol forewent the barge ceremony at his own coronation, he revived their use to enhance the spectacle of major religious ceremonies, notably the celebration of the 2,500-year-old Buddhist era in 1957.

 

"In the past when there were no television or modern communication, so a ceremony like this allows members of the public to see the new king after he was crowned," Tongthong Chandransu, an expert on royal protocol told Reuters.

 

"The last time we had such a ceremony was almost a century ago," he said.

 

The last barge procession for a coronation was in 1925, when King Prajadhipok, Thailand's last absolute monarch, ascended the throne.

 

(Additional report by Panarat Thepgumpanat and Panu Wongcha-um; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-12-13

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