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Shrine on the Right Side of the Patio of the Holy Guanyin Temple (觀音聖廟) (A Nia Keng Shrine ศาลเจ้า อาเบี้ย)

From the Ground Up: Buddhism & East Asian Religions (FROGBEAR Project)

The Holy Guanyin Temple (觀音聖廟) (A Nia Keng Shrine ศาลเจ้า อาเบี้ย) is a Buddhist temple in Bangkok, Thailand. It is unknown when this temple was constructed, but the last renovations took place in 1992. The temple was constructed with the wood from boats coming from China, and Chinese craftsmen were brought over to construct it without nails and screws - everything was carved to fit into place. It was originally a place for sailors to come and stay temporarily, and they slept on the floor of the temple. Before the 1992 renovations, there were originally two levels of the temple, but since the temple has experienced various bouts of water damage incurred from flooding, it now is just sequestered to the top level. According to the temple caretaker, the neighborhood has experienced quite a lot of fires, and the temple itself has suffered from fires, but since they have instructed templegoers to pray outward "for the community," rather than pray "facing towards the deity," the temple has not experienced a single fire. The temple caretaker noted this temple is particularly special, because it is one of two temples in the Bangkok area which features the main deity as Guanyin (觀音) sitting on a lotus. The temple is managed by a committee of five different families who are owners of different shops in the area; the membership of the committee is hereditary, and this hereditary membership was supposedly established during the reign of King Rama III (1788-1851). While many different types of Chinese people frequent the temple, the temple caretaker noted that Teochew Chinese (Deung Nang 唐人) (ชาวเถิง) and Hakka Chinese (客家) (ฮักกา) people are the most prevalent. The following images show the shrine on the right side of the temple patio. Image 01 shows a closer perspective of the shrine. The altar table in front has a censer with Chinese "Golden Flower" (金花) offerings with peacock feathers placed inside. Above the altar alcove reads, 三聘娘公社. This inscription refers to a committee that is also mentioned atop of the opera stage across from the temple. For more information on the opera stage entry, see "Opera Stage across from the Holy Guanyin Temple (觀音聖廟) (ศาลเจ้าอาเนี้ย)." Image 02 shows a closer view inside the shrine. There are lanterns hanging from the altar roof and behind those are Phuang Malai, or Thai flower offerings (พวงมาลัย). Image 03 shows the censer. There are lanterns hanging from the altar roof and behind those are more flower offerings. Image 04 and Image 05 inside the shrine alcove. There are two figures, one in the middle and a grandmother-like figure to the right. There is a mirror to the left of the middle deity. On either side of the figures are flower offerings, and at the entrance of the shrine alcove are bowls with Phuang Malai. Image 06 shows the inscription on the right side, reading from top to bottom 福神顯赫合社康樂. Image 07 shows the inscription on the left side, reading from top to bottom, 德威恩錫治子平安. Image 08 shows an inscription on the right outside of the shrine, that likely refers to donors. Metadata created and compiled by: Kira Johansen

Bangkok (Thailand); 13.74042; 100.5064

chi

Cluster 3.4: Typologies of Text-Image Relations

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0441351

Non UBC

Faculty; Graduate; Undergraduate

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