The Cult of Chamadevi, Queen of Ancient Lamphun

                                 by Jim Goodman

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 7^th 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 7^th 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.

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.

Wasuthep and the Buddha, Wat Ku Tao

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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. 

the main chedi at Wat Phra That Haripunchai

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 10^th century.  Her dynasty died out in the early 11^th 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. 

Blackie Purple, Chamadevi's elephant

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.

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-16^th century.  In the late 18^th 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.

Ku Ma, the monument to Chamadevi's horse

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.

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. 

      Endorsing this cult, the city government back in 1982 opened a park dedicated to Chamadevi, just within the moats on the southwest corner of the old town.  A rather voluptuous statue of her stands at the north end of the park.  Behind it are several sandstone reliefs depicting periods of Lamphun’s history, from the founding of Haripunchai to the introduction of railways, flanked by statues of Blackie Purple and Chamadevi’s horse.  Lavish decorations fill the park on holidays.

Loy Krathong balloon

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.

larger than life--Queen Chamadevi and her subjects 

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Mon to Monkeys: The Evolution of Lopburi

                                                             by Jim Goodman

the 12th century Khmer monument Prang Sam Yot

       The small town of Lopburi, about three hours north of Bangkok, began its existence around the 6^th century as Lawo, part of the Mon state of Dvaravati that dominated central Thailand long before any Thais lived there.  At that time the sea levels were higher and reached further inland than today.  Lawo lies beside a river connected to the Menam Chao Phya, the main waterway through this part of the country, and it conducted trade with Indian merchants via the Gulf of Thailand.

        In the 8^th century Lawo’s ruler, at the invitation of Mon missionary monks, dispatched his daughter Chamadevi to rule as Queen of the new city of Haripunchai, today’s Lamphun, in northern Thailand, three months journey by boat.  Lawo officials, merchants, artisans and five hundred Theravada monks accompanied her.  She subdued the local Lawa population and created a replica of the Lawo realm.  This was the furthest extension north of Mon civilization and it lasted until its conquest by King Mengrai of Lanna in the late 13^th century.

Prang Khaek

       Lawo itself, and most of the Menam Chao Phya Valley, fell in the early 11^th century to invading Khmer armies of the expanding Angkor Empire.  How much destruction Lawo suffered at this time is not recorded, but Lopburi’s relics today do not include any Mon structures.  The oldest relic in Lopburi is Prang Khaek, in the center of town.   

       The prang is a typical Khmer monument like an upright cylinder, tapered towards the top, with a blunt end.  It sort of resembles a bomb or a bullet, though such things didn’t exist in Angkor times.  It was usually, but not always, erected behind a viharn, or main assembly hall.  The prangs of Prang Khaek stand close together and are not very tall, with the remains of the viharn close by.  Though they have lost much of their exterior decorations, considering they have stood there over a thousand years, they’re in pretty good shape.

ancient Lopburi Buddha

       More impressive, and in better condition, are the three towers of Prang Sam Yot, dating from the 12^th century, on a small mound near the railroad tracks at the eastern edge of town.  Connected by a building along their bases, standing a little apart from each other, the trio of prangs, originally intended as a display of Khmer power, has become the ionic image of contemporary Lopburi.

       At the time of Prang Sam Yot’s construction, Lawo was the most important western outpost of the Angkor Empire.  Suryavarman II, who commissioned the building of Angkor Wat, used Lawo as a base to control the former Mon states and try to extend Angkor’s frontiers.  But the last Mon state, Haripunchai in the north, successfully resisted three Khmer invasions.

chedis at Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat

       The first of these was not actually a battle, but rather a contest to see which side could excavate a reservoir faster.  Haripunchai won and the Khmer forces retreated.  Apparently this was not a once-and-for-all verdict, though, as Suryavarman II launched two more invasions.  They both failed and Haripunchai remained independent until Mengrai’s conquest.

       In the 13^th century the mighty Angkor Empire began to decline and its hold over its most distant provinces weakened.  Taking advantage of this, the Siamese ruler of Sukhothai, in western central Thailand, renounced his allegiance in 1238, defeated a Khmer force sent from Lawo, and established an independent state.  

       For the time being, Lawo remained under Khmer control and it still enjoyed prestige among its neighbors.  In 1254 the teenaged Prince Ngammueang, of the small northern state of Phayao, went to Lawo for his studies.  There he met and befriended fellow student Prince Ramkamhaeng of Sukhothai. 

the 'watermelon chedi

Khmer and Ayutthaya style chedis

        Four years later Ngammueang became King of Phayao and in 1279 Ramkamhaeng ascended the throne at Sukhothai.  The two friends later formed an alliance with King Mengrai of Lanna, not against the Khmer, who were no longer a serious threat, but against the Mongols.  They also helped Mengrai design and lay out his new capital at Chiang Mai, founded in 1296.

sculptures on the central prang

Ayutthaya style chedi

       Ramkamhaeng greatly expanded Sukhothai’s territories, including the absorption of Lawo.  He was the kingdom’s last strong ruler, though, and after his death in 1300 Sukhothai went into decline.  By mid-14^th century the new Kingdom of Siam, founded in Ayutthaya in 1350, began challenging its pre-eminence.   In 1438 Ayutthaya extinguished Sukhothai’s last vestiges of autonomy and annexed its territory.  

       Lawo became Lopburi and to restore its prestige the Ayutthaya Court sponsored the construction of Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat in the 14^th-15^th centuries.  Just opposite the train station today, it is a large compound containing numerous old monuments.  Khmer influence dominates the architecture, from the tall central prang behind the ruined viharn, to the many subsidiary prangs in the courtyard.

ruins of King Narai's palace

       The prang is not the only type of chedi here, however.  A few are in the Ayutthaya style, resembling an inverted bell, with the upper part tapering to a sharp point.  Another features a watermelon shape for its upper tier, without any crown surmounting it.  Sukhothai-style chedis, with a vertical rectangular block just below the crown, are absent.  But the existing sculptures, on the central prang and other chedis, reflect the Sukhothai style.  This is especially true of the occasional Walking Buddha, an image first created in Sukhothai.

       In the 17^th century, under the reign of King Narai (1656-1688), Lopburi became the most important city in the country.  When Narai became king, Western powers were already locked in fierce competition over their commercial ambitions in the Far East.  Having supplanted the Portuguese as the dominant naval power in the region, the Dutch were the most aggressive.  When Auytthaya objected to the terms of the trade agreement the Dutch offered, which gave the latter monopoly on prime exports as well as extraterritoriality—the right of its citizens to be free from arrest for violations of local law, the Dutch blockaded the mouth of the Menam Chao Phya River. 

the reception  hall of King Narai's palace

       Without a navy of his own to expel the Dutch, Narai had to agree to the Dutch terms.  The event had two important effects.  It left Narai with the feeling that Ayutthaya, now a large city, was vulnerable to a naval attack.  So he moved to Lopburi, about 55 km northeast.  At first it was just a winter capital, but eventually Narai spent most of his time there.

       The other effect of the successful Dutch blockade was to convince Narai to seek an ally from the Western countries against the Dutch.  He didn’t trust the English, so he opted for an alliance with the French.  In 1862 he gave permission to French Jesuit priests to settle in Ayutthaya.  Their main goal was to convert the king to Catholicism.   Though Narai expressed an intellectual interest in Catholicism, as well as Islam, he never intended to abandon Theravada Buddhism, his own faith and that of his subjects.  Yet French hopes for his conversion persisted throughout his reign.

palace wall to King Mongkut's compound

       Some of the Jesuit missionaries were also architects and engineers and assisted Narai in turning Lopburi into a proper royal city.  For some time (the construction date is uncertain) a large reservoir had lain about eight km east of the city, catching and storing the runoff from the Prabat Hills.  French engineers constructed an underground aqueduct with lead pipes to convey water from the reservoir to the palace.  French architects designed the fortifications, as well as the palace and other secular buildings and the European influence is evident in the use of brick rather than wood as the basic building material, plus the wide windows and general look.  Lopburi became known as the Versailles of the East.

       In 1673 the French sent an ecclesiastical mission to Lopburi, with letters to King Narai from King Louis XIV and Pope Clement IX.  In 1680, still seeking an ally against the Dutch, Narai sent a diplomatic mission to France.  But it got lost at sea somewhere near Madagascar.  The French responded to the effort by dispatching a commercial mission to Lopburi two years later.

Phaulkon's house

Khmer Buddha in the palace compound

       King Narai’s closest advisor at this time was Constantine Phaulkon, the most remarkable of the scores of European adventurers who sought fame and fortune in the Far East that century.  A Greek islander by birth, Phaulkon arrived in Siam as an employee of the British East India Company n 1675.  In his late 20s, already a polyglot who also spoke English, Portuguese and French, Phaulkon learned to speak fluent Thai within a few years and served as a translator in the company’s dealings with the Siamese Court.

       Phaulkon’s talents eventually came to the attention of the Siamese Court and in 1681 he began working directly for King Narai, serving as interpreter during negotiations with the French mission of 1682.  Phaulkon rose quickly in Narai’s favor, received the title Phra Chao Wichayen and became Narai’s chief minister.  He had his own mansion in the diplomatic quarter and entertained lavishly.  He also converted from Anglicanism to Catholicism and shared the French priests’ ambition to turn Siam into a Catholic country.  

modern chedi at Wat Manee Choklakham

temple dancer in the Lopburi ruins

       Diplomatic missions traveled back and forth between Siam and France the next few years, resulting in the alliance Narai had long sought.  Though he did not convert to Catholicism, Narai allowed the French to build forts and station troops in Bangkok.  Phaulkon helped achieve this, though in loyalty to his patron he insisted on terms that put the French garrison under Narai’s direct command.

       Nevertheless, the very idea of stationing foreign troops on Siam’s territory outraged conservative factions at the Court.  In 1688 Narai fell seriously ill.  The leader of the Court dissidents, Phra Petracha, staged a coup, arrested and executed both Phaulkon and Mom Pi, Narai’s adopted son and heir, whom Phaulkon had persuaded to become Catholic. 

       Narai died soon afterwards and Petracha assumed the throne, abandoned Lopburi and expelled the French.  Versailles of the East fell into ruins, though parts of the palace, its walls, gates and reception hall, as well as the houses built for Phaulkon and foreign ambassadors, still remain.  Only its shell stands today, yet Phaulkon’s house is the oldest extant private house in Thailand, mainly because it was built of brick and stucco and not more perishable wood.

stars of contemporary Lopburi

       Since Lopburi was no longer the seat of royal government, many of its residents returned to Ayutthaya and the once glorious city reverted to a small town.  It regained a little of its importance in the mid-19^th century when King Mongkut (Rama IV 1851-1868) chose to make Lopburi one of his summer homes.  Rather than restore the ruins of Narai’s palace, he added a new walled compound to the rear of the original and erected his own quarters there, as well as other buildings, including one for his concubines, two-story white houses with balconies and sloping tiled roofs.

       Mongkut’s successor did not maintain the Lopburi residence and gave the new palace to Lopburi for use as its City Hall.  Another building became a museum.  Lopburi vanished from official thoughts until Marshal Pibul Songram, who ruled Thailand 1938-1947, decided to establish a military base in its eastern suburbs.

       The final phase in Lopburi’s development began in the last decades of the century in the role of tourist destination.  Naturally, its historic relics made it worth a visit, but it became more popularly known as the City of the Monkeys.  Great numbers of these creatures congregate around the railroad tracks on the eastern side of town.  Dozens of them hang out around Prang Sam Yot, though they don’t seem to enter the Si Rattana Mahathat compound. 

guesthouse in the monkey heartland

       They are the species called crab-eating macaque.  Lopburi doesn’t have enough crabs for so many monkeys, of course, so they feed on seeds, fruits, flowers, bird eggs and whatever else they can scavenge, including the sandwiches and noodles of unsuspecting tourists who dine too close to them.  Hotel staff guides and agencies warn visitors not to give food to the monkeys, or eat anything near them, and keep a firm grip on their cameras, cell phones and shoulder bags.

       Local mythology says that Hanuman, Rama’s Monkey General in the Hindu epic Ramayana, came here in ancient times and the monkeys today are his descendants.  Because of the religious connection, the city never tried to expel them.  Since 1989, thanks to the initiative of a local businessman, every November the city stages a Monkey Buffet Festival.  Residents lay out thousands of kilograms of fruits, seeds and other snacks for the monkeys to feast upon. 

       Intended to boost tourism, it did just that.  Now Lopburi is a popular excursion, especially as a day trip from Ayutthaya or Bangkok.  That’s actually sufficient time to see the historical sights, all of them within walking distance of the town center.  As for the unique presence of over 3000 monkeys, that will be a bonus for every traveler, and for those who’ve never been in an environment dominated by so many ‘creatures of the wild,’ perhaps a reason to stay longer.

Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat

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