by Jim Goodman
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| devotees at the altar of Chamadevi in the park |
Men have been the movers and
shakers of historical events almost everywhere in Thailand. The notable exception is Lamphun, the
oldest city in northern Thailand, supposedly founded in the 7th
century, where the first ruler was a remarkable woman named Chamadevi. Historians differ on the dates, but
none dispute her existence and her role in the foundation of Haripunchai, as
Lamphun was first known. But there
are no extant contemporary accounts and the chronicles about the period were
all written long after King Mengrai of Lanna conquered the city in 1281.
Chamadevi was a Mon princess
from Lawo (today’s Lopburi), one of several allied Mon city-states in central
Thailand in the 7th century.
Invited to rule the newly established city of Haripunchai, she brought
along 500 monks, as well as scholars and skilled artisans, with the intent to
make Haripuuchai a new Lawo and a successful northward extension of Mon civilization. She subdued the indigenous Lawa people
and established Theravada Buddhism as the state religion.
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| Chamadevi setting out from Lawo, from a mural in Wat Prayeun |
This much of her story is
certain. It’s the details that
have been embellished. Writing centuries
after the events, the chroniclers probably relied on the oral accounts of local
residents. And they uncritically
recorded everything they heard. Thus,
historical facts have been embroidered with legends filled with fanciful,
colorful details that so resonated with the local people that they turned her
into a cult figure.
According to the best-known
story, Chamadevi was born to a wealthy farmer near Pasang, south of Lamphun. At the age of just three months she was
carried off by a giant bird and taken to the residence of the hermit Wasuthep
on the mountain west of present-day Chiang Mai that in later times would be
named after him—Doi Suthep.
He raised her as his own daughter and gave her the name Chamadevi.
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| Wasuthep and the Buddha, Wat Ku Tao |
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| Chamadevi's shrine, Wat Ku Kut |
When she reached puberty at
13, Wasuthep decided to divine her fortune and discovered she was destined to
become the ruler of a new state.
In order that she would obtain the proper training for such a role, the
hermit dispatched Chamadevi by raft downriver to Lawo, along with a pair of monkeys to keep her company, believed to be the ancestors of contemporary Lopburi's monkey community. Her arrival both astonished and pleased
Lawo’s king and queen and they raised her in the palace.
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| Chamadevi's army, Wat Prayeun mural |
She grew up educated, pious
and adept in military affairs. By
the time she was twenty she was very beautiful and attracted many suitors, all
of whom she turned down. One of
them, a neighboring Mon prince, reacted
to her rejection by leading an army against Lawo. Chamadevi herself directed the defenders, who repulsed the
disappointed prince’s troops.
A few years later Wasuthep,
who had been busy recently laying the foundations for Haripunchai, arrived in Lawo
to request that Chamadevi be allowed to serve as sovereign of the new
city. Chamadevi happened to be
pregnant at the time, but not married.
In fact, her lover had entered the monkhood. She may have been an embarrassment at Court and perhaps the
King of Lawo agreed to her departure to squelch the gossip.
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| repelling Viranga's attack, Wat Ku Kut mural |
They made the journey by
river, which took, depending on the chronicle, three to seven months. A week after her arrival she gave birth
to twin sons—Mahantayos and Anantayos.
With the large retinue that accompanied her, she quickly set up a state
modeled on that of Lawo and began patronizing Buddhism.
Wasuthep disappears from the
narratives, but back around his former home on Doi Suthep, the Lawa inhabitants
were aware of developments just 25 km south. But when their leader King Viranga listened to his spies’ reports,
what struck him most were their descriptions of Chamadevi’s great beauty. He fell in love and dispatched a
messenger asking the new queen to marry him. She bade him wait, for she was weaning her infant sons.
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| Chamadevi's court at Haripunchai, Wat Prayeun mural |
Viranga waited. Every year he sent a renewal of his
request to Haripunchai. Each time the
queen replied that she was still weaning her sons. When the two boys finally reached the age of eight, Viranga
got fed up with this obviously false excuse and decided to invade Haripunchai
and take Chamadevi by force. His
army was strong enough to breach the city walls and open the northern gate,
through which Viranga rode through for his triumphal entry.
Suddenly, from the southern
part of the city, came Chamadevi’s counter-attack. Her young sons rode her personal war elephant, named Blackie
Purple after the color of its skin, charged at the Lawa and terrified both them
and Viranga’s war elephant. The
latter turned so quickly that it broke Viranga’s leg against the gate. Commemorating that incident, the
northern gate of contemporary Lamphun is named Pratu Chang Si—Elephant Crush
Gate.
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| Wat Sanpayangluang, Chamadevi's cremation site |
Blackie Purple died not long
afterwards and Viranga believed his next assault would be victorious. Chamadevi suspected that as well, so
she proposed a deal. Since he
claimed supernatural powers he should prove it by hurling a spear from his home
on Doi Suthep to the city of Haripunchai.
The confident Viranga accepted the challenge, mounted Doi Suthep,
summoned his powers and hurled his spear.
It fell just short of the city walls. Not bad for a first attempt and, by terms of the deal, he
had three tries.
Alarmed at the result,
Chamadevi resorted to guile. She sent
Viranga the gift of a special cloth hat to congratulate him on getting so close
to success on his very first attempt.
The love-struck Viranga donned it at once and prepared for his second
throw. But this time the spear
landed a few meters from his feet.
Part of the hat was made from Chamadevi’s undergarments, soiled by
menstrual blood, a condition that automatically canceled Viranga’s supernatural
powers. Realizing he’d been
tricked, Viranga threw his last spear straight up into the sky and bared his
chest so that it struck him dead when it fell back down.
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| Mon-style sculptures at Wat Sanpayanglaung |
Chamadevi never did
marry. And neither the Lawa nor
anyone else attacked Haripunchai again during her lifetime. The rest of her reign was peaceful,
devoted to establishing the government on a firm foundation, building temples
and promoting Buddhism. She
reigned for about two more decades and then abdicated in favor of her son
Mahantayos and moved south to Lampang, a new city whose ruler was her other son
Anantayos.
She died at the age of
89. King Mahantayos had her corpse
brought back to Haripunchai in a stately procession. She was cremated at what is today called Wat Sun Pa Yang
Luang, north of the old town and one of the most attractive temples in the
region. This was the site of
northern Thailand’s first Buddhist temple, dated 542, long before the
establishment of Haripunchai.
Chamadevi came here frequently to pray.
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| the main chedi at Wat Phra That Haripunchai |
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| 13th century chedis at Wat Ku Kut |
Chamadevi’s legacy was a
strong state that maintained its independence even after its parent Lawo fell to
the Khmer in the 10th century.
Her dynasty died out in the early 11th century, when a
devastating epidemic caused the city’ population to evacuate to Thaton, in
lower Myanmar, for nearly a generation.
But then they moved back to Haripunchai. In 1044 the king of a new dynasty ordered the construction
of Wat Phra That Haripunchai on the grounds of Chamadevi’s former palace.
The magnificent gilded chedi, 43 meters tall, that dominates the compound, is said to
be on the site of Chamadevi’s bedroom.
It was built a century later by King Aditayaraj to celebrate three
victories over Khmer invaders. Conscious
of the state’s original sovereign, he also had a chedi built at Wat Ku Kut, a little west of the old city, in honor
of Chamadevi.
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| Blackie Purple, Chamadevi's elephant |
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| Chamadevi's horse |
This chedi collapsed in an earthquake several years later. In 1218 King Saphet ordered it rebuilt
to a height of 21 meters. Called
Chedi Suwan Chang Kot, it is a stepped pyramid on a square base, with niches on
each side containing standing Buddha images. The same year saw the erection of a smaller companion, 11.5
meters high on a hexagonal base, called Chedi Ratana, which is believed to
contain the ashes of Queen Chamadevi.
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| Ku Chang, the mouument to Blackie Purple |
By now Haripunchai was past
its peak as a kingdom. Tai Yuan
people from further north began migrating into the state. In 1258 they were strong enough to
overthrow the king and install a new dynasty. In 1281 the Tai Yuan state of Lanna under King Mengrai
conquered the city, but more by subversion rather than by violence. Mengrai admired Haripunchai and modeled
his own capitals, first Wiang Kum Kam and then Chiang Mai, on the moats, walls
and city gates of Haripunchai. He
was equally impressed with its level of civilization and patronage of Buddhism,
which he sought to replicate in his own kingdom.
From then on Haripunchai’s
history is subsumed into that of the Kingdom of Lanna, which fell under Burmese
rule in the mid-16th century.
In the late 18th century, in the wake of Kawila’s expulsion
of the Burmese from northern Thailand, the city, like other cities in the
north, was deserted. After Kawila
re-established Lanna he launched kidnapping campaigns in northeast Burma to repopulate
the kingdom. Among those captured were
Tai Lue from Muang Yong, more popularly known as Yong people, who were forcibly
resettled in Lamphun, the new name for Haripunchai. They are still an important part of the city’s population.
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| Ku Ma, the monument to Chamadevi's horse |
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| statue of Chamadevi in the park |
In recent decades Lamphun has
become very conscious of its ancient heritage, including the importance of Chamadevi. This is in spite of the fact that
virtually nobody living there can trace descent from Haripunchai’s original
population. Yet as residents of
Chamadevi’s city, they are conscious of her legacy and legends. The chedis
at Wat Ku Kut, also called Wat Chamadevi, have remained in remarkably good
condition. The new temple in the
compound features wall murals of the Chamadevi story, such as the founding of
Haripunchai and the contest with Viranga.
In the eastern suburbs of
Lamphun lies Wat Prayeun, where the interior walls of the ubosot—ordination hall—are also filled with murals of Chamadevi’s
life. These are a bit more ornate
than those at Wat Ku Kut, and not always historically accurate. The painting depicting her departure
from Lawo shows the three prangs that are the iconic symbol of Lopburi, Lawo’s
successor. But those were built by
the Khmer, long after the event.
Another painting, of a scene in Haripunchai, includes the gilded chedi, which wasn’t built for another
few centuries.
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| holiday decorations at Chamadevi's Park |
Besides Wat Chamadevi, Lamphun’s devotees also visit
Chamadevi’s animal shrines, located in a quiet compound on the Kuang River east
of the city. The biggest is Ku
Chang, a bullet-shaped chedi with a
tapering top, said to contain the tusks of Blackie Purple, Chamadevi’s famous
war elephant. Behind it, smaller
and shaped like a bell, stands Ku Ma, the tomb of her swiftest warhorse. Large images of elephants stand in the
courtyard, while smaller ones, of elephants and horses, crowd the fronts of the
chedis and the rear wall of the
compound.
These unique animal shrines
are still venerated by Lamphun residents, who pray before them and leave
offerings of fruits and flowers or another small elephant statue. In the bushes left of Ku Ma, not easily
visible, is a small shrine to Chamadevi’s cat. To the right of Ku Chang stands another dilapidated little
shrine to the queen’s rooster, whose morning crow could allegedly be heard for
several kilometers. Neither of
these receives local devotees, yet Ku Chang and Ku Ma attract regular
attention, for they are integrally part of Chamadevi’s cult.
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| Loy Krathong balloon |
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| Salak Yom 'trees' at Wat Phra That Haripunchai |
Lamphun’s two major annual
cultural events are Salak Yom in September and Loy Krathong in November. Both center their activities on Wat
Phra That Haripunchai. In the
former, a Yong community festival, people make artificial trees of offerings,
the upper half for the monks, the lower half for the deceased, and carry them
in a long procession to the temple.
They leave them there until next evening, when they distribute the
offerings.
For Loy Krathong, people float
offerings in the river and moats in the evening, as in Chiang Mai. But the biggest event is the launching
of huge balloons the morning of the full moon day. This takes place right next to the chedi. Thus both
celebrations climax on the grounds of Chamadevi’s former palace. The shrine to her within the compound
is busy those days, but attracting even more devotees is the altar beneath her
statue in the park. For her
worshippers, Chamadevi is modern Lamphun’s patron and protector and a heroine unmatched
by any other anywhere in Thailand.
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| larger than life--Queen Chamadevi and her subjects |
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