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Nezha Altar in the Left Wing of the Bang Khun Thian Temple (โรงเจมหาโพธิสัตว์กวนอิม) (菩薩壇) Anderl, Christoph; Johansen, Kira; Thomson, Oliver; Sirothphiphat, Saly
Description
Bang Khun Thian (โรงเจมหาโพธิสัตว์กวนอิม) (菩薩壇) is a three-winged Guanyin (觀音) temple in Bangkok, Thailand. The temple houses both Buddhist and Daoist deities, even though the main altar is dedicated to Guanyin. The following images show the Nezha (哪吒) altar in the left wing of the Bang Khun Thian Temple. Image 01 and Image 02 show overviews. The cloth draped over the altar table in front of the main altar table reads, 吉样如意, "May everything go smoothly and as you wish," and features two mirrored dragons with a Thai inscription in the top left corner. Below this is a prayer mat. Image 03 shows a better perspective of the right wall, with one electric lantern on the right and a cloth lantern on the left, featuring the inscription, 哪吒三太子, which refers to the deity Nezha (哪吒), who is a Daoist deity, and one of the thirty-six Taoist generals in the Fujian Baijiao stories (福建白礁志记载). On the outer banners and the middle of this lantern is likely a donor name, as the inscription ends with 喜敬, "delightfully and respectfully." Image 04 shows a closer picture of the flags and chair placed in the right corner, as well as a pair of shoes, which may be for ceremonial use, as well as spears with golden rings. The flags may be associated with Daoist rituals, when priests give orders at the altar, or for Daoist magic. If these flags are in sets of five, called 五令旗, they represent the five elements, five spirits, five dragons, and five directions. Although, contrary to the flags that are pictured, which seem to have Buddhist inscriptions, these flags are supposed to have the characters 敕召万神 if they were meant for Daoist procession purposes. Image 05 shows a perspective of the left wall, with more flags placed on this side, in addition to an electric and cloth lantern. Image 06 shows the chair in the left corner, again with multiple pairs of shoes, also likely for ceremonial use. Image 07 shows a close-up of the altar table. There are chairs on either side of the table, and some flags placed next to the right chair. The painting on the back wall depicts two dragons, a large pink lotus flower, and two flaming Dharma wheels. Image 08 and Image 09 shows a right perspective of the items atop the front altar table, featuring lotus candle holders, lanterns, and a golden censer with Chinese Golden Flower (金花) offerings placed inside. Image 10 shows a close-up of the items atop the back altar table, which feature 6 figures total, two vases with bamboo, and one vase with a flag placed inside. Image 11 shows a close-up of the two deities on the top, with the main deity being likely Nezha (哪吒) a protector deity with three different heads, and the smaller deity also being a depiction of Nezha. Image 12 shows the entrance into the left wing of the temple from the inside. Metadata created and compiled by: Kira Johansen.
Item Metadata
| Title |
Nezha Altar in the Left Wing of the Bang Khun Thian Temple (โรงเจมหาโพธิสัตว์กวนอิม) (菩薩壇)
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| Creator | |
| Contributor | |
| Date Issued |
2023-11-27
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| Description |
Bang Khun Thian (โรงเจมหาโพธิสัตว์กวนอิม) (菩薩壇) is a three-winged Guanyin (觀音) temple in Bangkok, Thailand. The temple houses both Buddhist and Daoist deities, even though the main altar is dedicated to Guanyin. The following images show the Nezha (哪吒) altar in the left wing of the Bang Khun Thian Temple. Image 01 and Image 02 show overviews. The cloth draped over the altar table in front of the main altar table reads, 吉样如意, "May everything go smoothly and as you wish," and features two mirrored dragons with a Thai inscription in the top left corner. Below this is a prayer mat. Image 03 shows a better perspective of the right wall, with one electric lantern on the right and a cloth lantern on the left, featuring the inscription, 哪吒三太子, which refers to the deity Nezha (哪吒), who is a Daoist deity, and one of the thirty-six Taoist generals in the Fujian Baijiao stories (福建白礁志记载). On the outer banners and the middle of this lantern is likely a donor name, as the inscription ends with 喜敬, "delightfully and respectfully." Image 04 shows a closer picture of the flags and chair placed in the right corner, as well as a pair of shoes, which may be for ceremonial use, as well as spears with golden rings. The flags may be associated with Daoist rituals, when priests give orders at the altar, or for Daoist magic. If these flags are in sets of five, called 五令旗, they represent the five elements, five spirits, five dragons, and five directions. Although, contrary to the flags that are pictured, which seem to have Buddhist inscriptions, these flags are supposed to have the characters 敕召万神 if they were meant for Daoist procession purposes. Image 05 shows a perspective of the left wall, with more flags placed on this side, in addition to an electric and cloth lantern. Image 06 shows the chair in the left corner, again with multiple pairs of shoes, also likely for ceremonial use. Image 07 shows a close-up of the altar table. There are chairs on either side of the table, and some flags placed next to the right chair. The painting on the back wall depicts two dragons, a large pink lotus flower, and two flaming Dharma wheels. Image 08 and Image 09 shows a right perspective of the items atop the front altar table, featuring lotus candle holders, lanterns, and a golden censer with Chinese Golden Flower (金花) offerings placed inside. Image 10 shows a close-up of the items atop the back altar table, which feature 6 figures total, two vases with bamboo, and one vase with a flag placed inside. Image 11 shows a close-up of the two deities on the top, with the main deity being likely Nezha (哪吒) a protector deity with three different heads, and the smaller deity also being a depiction of Nezha. Image 12 shows the entrance into the left wing of the temple from the inside. Metadata created and compiled by: Kira Johansen.
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| Subject | |
| Geographic Location | |
| Type | |
| Language |
chi; tha
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| Notes |
Author Affiliations: Ghent University, Florida State University, Edinburgh University, Harvard University
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| Series | |
| Date Available |
2024-05-15
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| Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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| Rights |
Attribution 4.0 International
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| DOI |
10.14288/1.0443356
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| URI | |
| Affiliation | |
| Peer Review Status |
Unreviewed
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| Scholarly Level |
Faculty; Graduate; Undergraduate
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| Rights URI | |
| Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
Attribution 4.0 International