วารสารมนุษยศาสตร์และสังคมศาสตร์ บัณฑิตวิทยาลัย มหาวิทยาลัยราชภัฏพิบูลสงคราม | 623
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บทความวิจัย (Research Article)
ท่ามกลางปูชนียสถานของไทย:
การสักการะชัยชนะแห่งสมเด็จพระนเรศวรมหาราชในสงครามยุทธหัตถี
Among the Thai Pantheon:
Worshipping King Naresuan’s Victory in Elephant Duel
แม็ททิว โคสุตะ1*
Matthew Kosuta1*
บทคัดย่อ
งานวิจัยนี้ครอบคลุมแง่มุมทางศาสนาของการราลึกถึง พิธีกรรม และความเชื่อของรัฐและปัจเจกชนใน
ภายในบริบทแวดล้อมที่เกี่ยวข้องกับการสักการะสมเด็จพระนเรศวรมหาราชและชัยชนะทางการทหารที่ยิ่งใหญ่
ที่สุดซึ่งก็คือชัยชนะเหนือพระมหาอุปราชของพม่าในสงครามยุทธหัตถีในเดือนมกราคม พ.ศ. 2136 ในวัฒนธรรม
ไทยนั้น ความเป็นกษัตริย์อยู่ในฐานะกึ่งเทพ และผู้คนจะจดจาความสาเร็จอันยิ่งใหญ่ของกษัตริย์องค์นั้นเมื่อเสด็จ
สวรรคต นอกจากนั้นผู้คนมากมายต่างเชื่อว่า กษัตริย์ผู้ยิ่งใหญ่จะมีพลังเหนือธรรมชาติ เป็นสื่อกลางให้ความ
ช่วยเหลือเพื่อประโยชน์สุขแก่ผู้ที่ร้องขอผ่านพิธีกรรมสักการะการถวายเครื่องเซ่นไหว้ หรือการบนบานศาลกล่าว
ด้วยเหตุนี้กษัตริย์ผู้ที่มีชื่อเสียงมากที่สุดจะเป็นที่จดจาของผู้คนมากมายและยังมีอิทธิพลต่อผู้คนเหล่านั้นทั้งในแง่
ประวัติศาสตร์และรัฐศาสตร์ และที่สาคัญไม่น้อยไปกว่ากันคืออิทธิพลที่เกี่ยวข้องกับพลังเหนือธรรมชาติซึ่งควบคู่
กันไป บทความนี้เริ่มต้นด้วยการอธิบายแง่มุมทางศาสนาของการสักการะโดยรัฐและสังคมพลเมือง หลังจากนั้น
จึงเข้าสู่การอภิปรายความหมายแห่งการสักการะทางศาสนานี้ในบริบทของวัฒนธรรมศาสนาของไทย รวมถึง
บทบาทที่เกี่ยวข้องกับการศึกษาศาสนาไทยในปัจจุบัน โดยเฉพาะอย่างยิ่งในส่วนที่เกี่ยวกับข้องกับ สถาบั น
พระมหากษัตริย์ การอภิปรายนาไปสู่ข้อสรุปว่าการศึกษาศาสนาไทยมีความจาเป็นที่จะต้องได้รับการจาแนก
ประเภทและสร้างมาตรฐานใหม่
คาสาคัญ: นเรศวร วิญญาณนิยม การราลึกถึง
1
วิทยาลัยศาสนศึกษา มหาวิทยาลัยมหิดล
College of Religious Studies, Mahidol University
*Corresponding author; email: matthewkosuta@yahoo.com
(Received: 19 April 2020; Revised: 22 May 2020; Accepted: 23 June 2020)
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Abstract
This study covers the religious aspects of governmental and independent
commemorations, rituals and beliefs, surrounding the worship of King Naresuan and his greatest
military achievement, his victory in elephant duel over the Burmese crown prince in January
1593. In Thai culture kingship is a semi-divine state and after death the greatest kings are
remembered for their historical achievements but they are also believed to have supernatural
power to intercede for the benefit of people who ask for their aid by performing rituals of paying
respects, giving offerings and the promise of future gifts. Thus the most famous Thai kings have
both a historical-political memory and influence and an equally important concurrent
supernatural influence. The article first describes religious aspects of official governmental
commemorations and of Thai civil society. It then enters into a discussion on what this religious
worship of a king’s military victory says about Thai religious culture and where it is placed in
relation to current scholarship on Thai religion, especially in relation to Thai royalty. This
discussion leads to the conclusion that previous scholarship on Thai religion needs
reclassification and standardization.
Keywords: Naresuan, Animism, Commemorations
Introduction
In Thai culture kingship is a semi-divine state and after death the greatest kings are
remembered for their historical achievements but they are also believed to have supernatural
power to intercede for the benefit of people who ask for their aid by performing rituals of paying
respects, giving offerings and the promise of future gifts. Thus the most famous Thai kings have
both a historical-political memory and influence and an equally important concurrent
supernatural influence. This article covers the religious commemoration, rituals and beliefs in
the worship of King Naresuan’s victory in elephant duel over the crown prince of the Burmese
Pegu Empire in January 1593. Other events in the life of King Naresuan are celebrated, especially
his declaration of Thai independence from the Burmese Empire. However, the elephant duel
victory was the event that sealed Thai independence and indeed was key in the subsequent
downfall of the Burmese Empire. This article does not discuss these historical events or their
authenticity. Given that this is a Thai story, the article takes for granted the story of King Naresuan
as presented in the Thai version of history. The goal of the article is to better understand Thai
religion and culture specifically in the case of King Naresuan and his military career, and by
extension other deceased Thai kings and Thai religious belief and practice in general.
วารสารมนุษยศาสตร์และสังคมศาสตร์ บัณฑิตวิทยาลัย มหาวิทยาลัยราชภัฏพิบูลสงคราม | 625
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The study begins historically with the presentation of a state religious ceremony
conducted at the presumed site of the elephant duel during the royal visit in early 1914 by King
Vajiravudh (Rama VI). The religious aspects of the printing of commemorative stamps and a
banknote are presented followed by the various official religious ceremonies conducted during
the construction of three commemorative monuments directly related to King Naresuan’s
victory in elephant duel: (1) in Suphanburi, province; (2) at the Royal Thai Armed Forces
Headquarters in Bangkok; (3) in the Kanchanaburi province, here the monument ostensibly
commemorates King Naresuan’s passage through the area in 1599, but in reality the site is
claimed to be the true site of the elephant duel. The presentation of the findings from fieldwork
conducted at the three main monument sites follows the historical overview. A discussion and
conclusion section introduces the argument that polytheism better describes Thai religion than
the standardized tripartite system of Buddhism-Brahmanism-animism.
Research Objectives
Three main objectives have been set: (1) Study the religious worship of King Naresuan’s
victory in elephant duel in stamps, banknotes and particularly as it is related to the two main
(and one pretender) monuments dedicated to the elephant duel. (2) Catalogue the specific
religious beliefs and practices of Thais in regards to King Naresuan’s victory in elephant duel
including the believed aid King Naresuan can bestow on his worshippers. (3) Critique existing
scholarship in English on the classification of deities in Thai religion and introduce polytheism
as a better concept to describe Thai religion than the concept of animism.
Sources and Methods
Review of books and publications on the building and commemorations of the three
main elephant duel monuments and other commemorations of the elephant duel. Review of
sociological and anthropological works on Thai religion and particularly in relation to Thai
kingship. Fieldwork conducted within a general socio-anthropological framework. Fieldwork
included thirty random sampled anonymous semi-structured ten minute interviews with visitors
worshipping at the monuments. Conducted six in-depth random sampled anonymous semistructured interviews (duration: thirty to forty-five minutes) with visitors or people responsible
in some way for a monument site. Narrative description was used for the presentation of the
findings. Causal Narrative with some process tracing is used in data analysis and comparing the
study findings to existing scholarship on Thai religion. Comparative method was applied to Thai
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religion and ancient Roman and Mediterranean religion to draw out similarities of explanatory
value.
For this study religion is defined as: acceptance of the existence of non-empirical
(subjective experience rather than objectively provable) beings, forces, and states and the
beliefs, practices and experiences in relation to those beings, states, and forces.
Results: Worshipping King Naresuan’s Victory in Elephant Duel
Around the world, in government commemorations, remembrances, celebrations of
victory and the like there have always been a religious component to the ceremonies. Niels
Mulder nicely summarizes the basic Thai religious ritual performance and this closely matches
the rituals and ceremonies presented in this article – “The ritual of invocation is always the
same: one first pays respect and makes a small offering of burning incense in order to attract
attention, then one states one’s wish and make a vow, and finally, after being granted one’s
wishes, redeems the vow” (2000: 19), the process is reliable and predictable (Mulder, 2000: 20).
The researcher will add that for rituals involving larger groups of people, as general practice an
offerings table (to mūbūchā) is laid out in front of the statue or stupa being worshipped.
Early State Commemorations
The Thai state sponsored the main commemorations of King Naresuan’s victory in
elephant duel which include images on stamps, a banknote, and two major monuments. Barend
Terwiel explains that King Culalongkorn (Rama V r.1868–1910) had a series of ninety-two
paintings and poems made all inspired by the Royal Chronicles (2013: 31). A painting of the
elephant duel was made. The elephant duel was recognized as an important part of Thai history,
but it is unclear if it had yet been singled out as such a defining moment of that history. Nearly
fifty years later the elephant duel appeared in a set of murals depicting the life story of King
Naresuan painted in the wihān (vihāra – gathering building of a Thai temple complex usually
housing the main Buddha statue) of Wat Suwan Dararam in Ayutthaya. The largest mural and
most prominent mural is that of the elephant duel. These murals were painted during the reign
of King Prajadhipok (Rama VII, r. 1925-1935) being completed in 1931 (Aphiwan, 2013: 74). I have
found no mention is made of the types of religious ceremonies that were most likely performed
in the process of painting these murals.
Stamps
Several Thai postage stamps were released during the 1950s coinciding with a series of
th
400 anniversaries in the life of King Naresuan. The first set commemorates the anniversary of
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King Naresuan’s 400th birthday in 1955. A series of five stamps was issued depicting Naresuan on
his war elephant in combat position, thus a commemoration of the elephant duel.
The very next year in 1956 another set of four stamps each depicting a stupa was issued
to commemorate the commencement of the restoration of the claimed original Don Chedi
elephant duel stupa in Suphanburi province. Then there is a gap of nearly thirty years before in
1984 a stamp was printed to commemorate Royal Thai Armed Forces Day. The stamp depicts
King Naresuan combat ready on elephant back (copying the elephant duel monument in
Suphanburi). King Naresuan floats over and dominates images of modern Thai military
equipment.
The final stamp commemorating the elephant duel, that the researcher is aware of,
came out in 1992 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the elephant duel. This stamp
reproduces the mural at Wat Suwan Dararam mentioned above.
In terms of a religious component to the issuance of these stamps, in a telephone
interview with a representative of Thailand Post (praisanī thai) conducted in June 2019, the
Thailand Post official said that normally for stamps depicting Thai royalty Thailand Post
representatives perform a standard Buddhist religious ceremony (phitī tāng sāsanā) honoring the
particular King or member of the royal family to be represented on the stamp The ceremony
involves monks chanting, merit making, and remembrances of the royal grace bestowed that
particular royal (Thailand Post 2019). However, because the first two sets of stamps were issued
over sixty years ago, the representative could not state definitively what was done then.
Banknotes
The Bank of Thailand issued one series of banknotes depicting the elephant duel. The
banknote has an image of the monument to King Naresuan at Suphanburi. The banknote is a
100 Baht bill of the 12th series of King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX r.1946–2016) banknotes
issued on 6 April 1978. In an email exchange, a representative of the Bank of Thailand explained
that in preparation to make banknotes honoring Thai kings, visits are made to memorials of the
kings. Thus for this 100 baht banknote series with the representation of the King Naresuan
monument at Suphanburi, representatives of the Bank of Thailand travelled to the Suphanburi
monument and performed a ceremony to pay respect and wish for blessings (phitī būangsūang)
(Bank of Thailand).
Medallions (rīan)
Medallions commemorating Thai kings, famous monks, and various deities are produced
in large numbers in Thailand and there are a number of King Naresuan medallions. Medallions
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with a depiction of some representation of the elephant duel are usually produced in
conjunction with some special occasion at one of the monument sites in Suphanburi or
Kanchanaburi. These medallions do commemorate the historical event; however, at the same
time, as with most Thai medallions, they act as amulets (phra krū̕ang). Official venders sell
several types of King Naresuan medallions at the Suphanburi and Kanchanaburi monument
sites. At the Buddhist temple complex at the Suphanburi monument site, monks sell a diverse
selection both in depiction and price.
Religious Rituals and the Construction of the Elephant Duel Monuments
Two major monuments commemorate the elephant duel while a third ostensibly
commemorates King Naresuan’s passage through Kanchanaburi province on an invasion of
Burma: (1) the 1959 monument built in Suphanburi province at the site of a ruined stupa that
Prince Damrong Rajanubhap declared as the original stupa said to have been built by King
Naresuan to commemorate his elephant duel victory; (2) the elephant duel monument built at
the new Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters in 2004; (3) the monument in Kanchanaburi
province officially commemorating the 400th anniversary of King Naresuan passing through
Kanchanaburi province on his way to invade the Burmese Pegu Empire in 1599, but popularly
claimed to be the site of the original elephant duel and commemorative stupa.
The construction and opening of these monuments included religious rituals at key
moments. The first religious ritual performed in connection with these monuments was in 1914
when Prince Damrong read out a declaration during the visit to the site by King Vajiravudh (Rama
VI r.1910–1925) to the newly discovered alleged stupa in Suphanburi province. In Damrong’s
biography of King Naresuan, the appendix has the story of the discovery of the stupa and the
text of the religious ritual. The ritual being performed is a worshipping and asking for blessings
(phitī būangsūang), and the title of the text Damrong read out is “Announcement of Offerings to
the Gods” (prakāt sangwēo thewadā). First Prince Damrong called the gods of the heavens and
the god protectors of the jungle and the stupa to listen to his speech on the career of King
Naresuan. In his closing remarks, Damrong invokes the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha along with
the gathering of gods at the stupa to give well wishes and prosperity to the people of Siam
(Damrong, 2012: 150-154). A decision was made at that time to renovate the stupa and build a
monument to King Naresuan. This plan would have to wait forty-five years before being realized
in 1959 with the completion of a new stupa covering the ruined original stupa and a monument
to King Naresuan mounted on his war elephant.
วารสารมนุษยศาสตร์และสังคมศาสตร์ บัณฑิตวิทยาลัย มหาวิทยาลัยราชภัฏพิบูลสงคราม | 629
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Religious rituals were performed throughout the process of constructing these
monuments. Many of these rituals are noted in information panels at the monument sites,
program booklets of the events, anniversary commemoration booklets, and in books on King
Naresuan. A sampling of the major ceremonies follows. All major construction projects need a
foundation stone and in Thai tradition this is an astrological chart engraved in stone set for the
time and date of the ceremony (silā-rū̕k - literally ‘auspicious-time stone’). The time and date
to begin work must be auspicious according to Thai astrology. The ceremony for the laying of
the foundation stone for the Suphanburi monument was held on 25 January 1956 and chaired
by a deputy prime minister with the then Sangka nāyok Somdet Phra Wanarat representing the
Sangha (Somchāi, 1984: 430, 432; Worawut, 2010: 21). The foundation stone for the Kanchanaburi
monument was placed by Princess Sirindhorn (Worawut, 2010: 69; Information Panel
Kanchanaburi) while the foundation stone for the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters
monument was anointed by the Saṅgha-raja in 2002 and then laid on site in a ceremony led
by a top general of Thai army. At the foundry where the casting of the statues is done, rituals
of worship and offering (būangsūang) were held when the statues for both King Naresuan and
the elephant were completed. Exactly at what point in the final construction these rituals took
place is not clear. For the Kanchanaburi statues one ritual was in preparation for moving the
statues from the foundry to the monument site (Information Panel Kanchanaburi). The next
important ceremony is when the statue on King Naresuan is placed on the neck of the elephant
statue at the monument site. At the Suphanburi, the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters
and the Kanchanaburi sites the ceremony was called ‘ceremony of respectful invitation’ (phitī
anchœn) (Somchāi,1984: 434; Warawut, 2010: 75 and Information Panel Kanchanaburi,
respectively). At Kanchanaburi the ceremony is also termed ‘installation ceremony’ (phitī
praditthān) (Informational Panel Kanchanaburi). The final major ceremony in each case was the
opening ceremony. Each opening ceremony was presided over by a high ranking member of the
royal family: 1) King Bhumibol for Suphanburi on 25 January 1959; 2) Crown Prince (now King)
Maha-Vajiralongkorn for Kanchanaburi on 18 February 2003; 3) Queen Sirikit for Royal Thai Armed
Forces Headquarters on 29 June 2004.
In the researcher’s companion article to this one (see author), the researcher presented
the political side of such rituals as legitimizing acts for the government that built them. Here he
wants to emphasize that for many if not most of the participants, there is a real religious
devotional aspect involved in these rituals of worship along with whatever political meaning
that may also be present.
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Contemporary Rituals of Worship at the Monuments
All three monuments are popular places of worship, but because the Royal Thai Armed
Forces Headquarters monument is on a government installation and the area itself is not
attached to King Naresuan historically, it receives far less visitors than the Suphanburi and
Kanchanaburi monuments. Thai military personnel working at the headquarters are the primary
worshippers. The most important ceremony conducted at this monument is the Thai Armed
Forces Day (wan kǭngthap thai) celebrations. Beginning in 1959, 8 April had been Thai Armed
Forces Day. In 1980 the date was changed to the date of the elephant duel because of the
significance of that event, but because of an error in calculating the lunar calendar to solar
calendar the date was put at 25 January. This error was corrected in 2006 when the date was
changed to the correct 18 January. The Thai Armed Forces hold several ceremonies on this
date, the most important being the one held at Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters in front
of the King Naresuan elephant duel monument and a ceremony held at the Suphanburi
elephant duel monument. These ceremonies include the standard religious rituals of offerings
and wishing for blessing, though far more elaborate.
Speaking with a pair of Thai army generals at the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters
a few year ago, they gave the researcher the copies of booklets and programs produced for the
opening ceremony and as general histories of King Naresuan. These publications served as
references for this article. The generals explained that while the monument is open to the
public, the majority of people who come to pay respects and worship are soldiers, sailors and
air force personnel. They might come individually for personal affairs such as promotion or in
groups if a unit has a more than routine assignment to carry out. Here, the generals said, the
rituals are with phrāhm (Thai polytheist priests, from Sanskrit/Pali: brāhmaṇa, see below for
further elaboration); Buddhist monks are not involved.
At the monument in Suphanburi
In 1959 an entire commemorative complex honoring King Naresuan’s victory in
elephant duel was opened in Suphanburi province. The monument complex is quite large, it
contains a Buddhist temple and monastery, a primary and secondary school, and the main
commemorative features of a monument to King Naresuan mounted on his war elephant and
a new stupa built over the ruins of what is claimed in some quarters of Thai society as a stupa
King Naresuan had himself commissioned to be built to commemorate the elephant duel (for
a complete overview of the controversy surrounding the site of the elephant duel and supposed
original stupa see author). The stupa constructed over the ruined stupa was built large enough
วารสารมนุษยศาสตร์และสังคมศาสตร์ บัณฑิตวิทยาลัย มหาวิทยาลัยราชภัฏพิบูลสงคราม | 631
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to allow people to enter and walk around the enclosed original ruined stupa. Located about
two and a half hours from Bangkok visiting the site makes an easy daytrip and the same for
people living in other neighboring provinces. The site has a nearly continuous stream of visitors
with weekends and holidays naturally being the peak time when visitors number in the
hundreds. During the workweek twenty to thirty people trickle in during the morning hours and
through the lunch hour with nearly no one visiting in the heat of the afternoon. In the evenings
after work, people may also stop by. Visitors come to see the monument, the stupa, the displays
inside the stupa, and worship and ask favors of King Naresuan. The site for worship is directly in
front of the monument. The majority of people perform the simple Thai wai (pay respect)
ceremony of lighting a candle and incense sticks. Placing the candle on the stand, making a wish
while holding the incense and then placing the incense in the receptacle in front of the
monument. Also available for paying respects are garlands and small, cheap in price and quality,
ceramic roosters. The garland is laid out or hung on a stand with the rooster being placed on a
stand in front of the monument. The candle, incense, garland and rooster can be purchased on
site next to the monument for beginning at 20 twenty baht and increasing depending what is
bought and the size of the rooster. The whole process of buying and paying respect takes only
a few minutes. Worshippers typically ask (khǭ) or make a wish (atitthān) for a blessing or boon.
Most people ask for career and money help, but interviewees said that Naresuan can help with
health or other problems. Inside the new stupa, there is a small altar in front of the ruins of the
original stupa where visitors can also pay respects. A small shop sells King Naresuan
paraphernalia including amulets. The Buddhist temple also sells amulets and there is a better
selection of amulets. Other activities at the monument include sports teams conducting
ceremonies or athletes simply jogging around the monument to ‘connect’ to the power of
Naresuan, Buddhist ordination parades come to the monument to circumambulate it and
remain a bit playing load music and dancing. The monument is a local site of supernatural
power.
The largest event is the yearly two week (give or take a day or two) fair held in January
coinciding with the 18 January anniversary of the elephant duel. A large event, the fair puts on
a nearly nightly light and sound show that reenacts King Naresuan’s life and climaxes with the
elephant duel.
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At the monument in Kanchanaburi
As a general statement, the religious practice at the Naresuan monument in
Kanchanaburi province is the same as that at Suphanburi. The site also has a small museum
displaying weapons and equipment found at the site indicating a battle had taken place there,
and panels provide information on the building of the monument. A steady trickle of visitors
comes through on weekdays, though somewhat less than Suphanburi, but increasing to match
the hundreds of visitors on weekends seen at Suphanburi. Weekend visitors frequently arrive by
bus with organized tours. Kanchanaburi city and province are a popular places to visit and this
helps increase the number of visitors to the King Naresuan monument. Most Januaries a fair is
also held here, though substantially smaller in size and shorter in duration than the one in
Suphanburi. Ostensibly built to commemorate the 400th anniversary of King Naresuan’s passage
through the area to invade Burma, locals and a large part of Thai society at large hold this site
as the true site of the elephant duel -and the original stupa. Thus a great many people come
to the site to worship believing it to be the site of the elephant duel. While lighting candles and
incense and laying a garland in front of the monument is de rigueur, most people also visit a
nearby small building enclosing a shrine with small statutes of King Naresuan, his brother and
successor Ekathotsarot, and elder sister Suphankanlaya as well as containing equipment for
spectacles (replica spears, swords, costumes, etc.), smaller statues of Naresuan and elephants,
and several elephant skulls. In front of the building are many statues of rosters from small to
enormous, and large private ceremonies are held here rather than in front of the monument.
This shrine building is located near the small stupa claimed to be the original elephant duel
stupa. Near to this shrine-building is a small very well kept typical Thai spirit house/shrine
dedicated to the ‘first soldiers’ (thahān ēk) of King Naresuan. Locals and some visitors at the
Kanchanaburi monument claim of hearing voices and sounds of ghost of soldiers, elephants and
horses.
Interviews at both the Suphanburi and Kanchanaburi sites show visitors believe that
King Naresuan is now a god (thēp, thēwā, thēwadā) who is protector of Thailand. It is believed
that the magnitude of the importance of the elephant duel victory increases both the
magnitude of King Naresuan’s power of protection and of the blessing one can request from
the god Naresuan. Some believe that his spirit (winñān) descends into the monument to interact
with worshippers, others that he can interact from heaven. The first belief matches Stengs’
findings that at the King Chulalongkorn equestrian statue the king’s spirit enters the statue on
Tuesdays evenings (2009: 86), the Thai is not given but the researcher assumes winñān. Despite
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the importance of the monuments for worship, many visitors also said that one can make
offerings and ask for blessings at home.
Discussion and Conclusions
The contemporary religious beliefs and practices in worshipping King Naresuan’s victory
in elephant duel and the King Naresuan cult in general are the same have been practiced by
Thais for as long we have records. Concerning modern scholarship, the researcher’s findings fit
into the general body of literature on Thai religion (see the definition of religion page 4;
Buddhism is included in Thai religion) and in particular on the monarchy, animism, and prosperity
religions (see Jackson, 1999a, 1999b; Kirsch, 1977; Kitiarsa, 2008, 2012; Mulder, 2000; Stengs,
2009; Swearer, 1995). However, the researcher does have disagreements with some of the
findings in these scholars’ works and for this discussion the researcher has chosen to critique
the use of ‘animism’ and terms such as spirit, saint and angel for description and categorization
of deceased Thai kings and introduce his contention to use the concepts of polytheism and
gods.
Analysis: Animism or Polytheism
A prominent topic in Thai religious studies (and in Theravada studies in general) is the
role of animism, and also Brahmanism, in Thai ‘popular’ religion (see the works listed in the
paragraph above). In sum, while the researcher finds the description of the individual
phenomena generally well done; the analysis of animism is flawed in terms of (1) using the term
itself and (2) in the terms used in translating and categorizing Thai religion and supernatural
beings. The researcher posits that classifying Thai religion in terms of polytheism offers greater
descriptive clarity and analytical insight into Thai religion than the classic tripartite categorization
of Buddhism, Brahmanism, and animism. Polytheism as the worship of multiple gods in a
hierarchical pantheon encompasses all three of these components. The problem with restricting
many beliefs and practices of Thai religion to animism is that it constrains and diminishes deified
Thai royalty to ancestor spirits rather than the gods they have become. Gods differ from spirits
in autonomy and power. Gods generally are not bound to a single location, are more powerful,
and more beneficent – think of a god of the forest compared to a tree spirit within the forest.
The researcher has found works treating ancient Mediterranean polytheism, and Roman
polytheism in particularly, useful in understanding the dynamics of polytheism and thus Thai
polytheism. The researcher thinks too often Western notions of polytheism are influenced by
Greek or Norse mythology with their larger than life stories and thus there is a failure to realize
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Volume 14 No.2 July-December 2020
that many polytheisms are not like that. Following the ancient Roman philosopher Marcus
Terentius Varro (116-27 BCE), Jan Assmann presents Varro’s tripartite division of the religious
world: (1) Cosmic theology (theologia naturalis): the deities cooperate in creating and
maintaining the world. Human participation supplements the divine action with ritual action;
(2) cultic-political dimension (theologia civilis) “The pantheon is an assembly of town lords and
temple owners, headed, in some cases, by the god whose temple is in the capital […]”;
(3) stories of the gods (theologia fabularis) “personal or biographical aspect of the divine world”
(2004: 18-20).
All of these dimensions shed light on Thai religion, but the researcher only has space
to tackle one of the facets and that will be the second ‘cultic-political’ dimension. The Thai
pantheon indeed consists of town and local deities and spirits headed by the god of the capital
which is King Chulalongkorn. Irene Stengs’ description of the cult of King Chulalongkorn
conforms this (see Stengs, 2009). King Chulalongkorn, King Naresuan, and King Thaksin comprise
a supreme triad of Thai royal gods. These and other royal deities fit the Roman descriptions of
their gods as citizens using the “language of interpersonal civic obligation to explain the actions
and ambitions of cult” (Adno, 2010: 60). The researcher puts forward that King Naresuan is nearly
the Thai god of war, and for the Thai military he certainly is; though admittedly, the researcher
has never heard a Thai say this. The Buddha overarches these deities, and the researcher is in
agreement with Kitiarsa in that the Buddha is the supreme deity–god of Thai polytheistic religion
(2012: 23-25).
Thais themselves (confirmed by the interviews the researcher conducted) call these
royal beings ‘gods’ – thēp, thēwā, thēwadā. And while ‘deity’ is frequently used, there seems to
be aversion to simply saying ‘god’. Thai royal gods are not spirits or ghosts (phī, phraphūm,
nāngmai, nāngfā, etc.); they are gods as defined above. ‘Gods’, in contrast to ‘spirits’, presents
an accurate description of the gods Chulalongkorn, Naresuan, and Thaksin, as well as other
supernatural beings in the Thai Pantheon. Given this, I take issue with the characterization of
Thai gods as ‘spirits’ in the work of scholars of Thai religion. For example, the title and content
of Irene Stengs book on King Chulalornkorn (see Stengs, 2009) does not use ‘god’ and ‘deity’.
The title has King Chulalongkorn as […] the “Patron Saint of the Thai Middle Class” (my
emphasis). Further Stengs explains that Thais in general believe that King Chulalongkorn was
“reborn in a heavenly realm as a guardian angel (thep, thewada or deva)” (2009: 84). These
terms and concepts, saints and angels, are inappropriate because they have not been divorced
from their monotheist roots (Jewish, Christian, and Islamic). There is a difference in kind between
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God and saints and angels that is not found between the gods, goddesses, spirits, demi-gods
etc. of polytheism. In addition, a saint is known for religious accomplishments, and while Thai
kings must be good Buddhists, they are deified because of political and/or military-political
accomplishments not religious ones, and while some scholars use saint to describe religiously
accomplished people in general, thus a Hindu rishi or Buddhist arahant are ‘saints’, for this to
be possible the reverse must also then be true; yet, no scholar (or Christian) would call Saint
Mary or Saint Christopher, Rishi Mary or Arahant Christopher – the concepts are fundamentally
different. To reiterate, there is a fundamental difference of kind between God and angels, in
polytheism and Buddhist cosmology there are differences of degree and not kind; thus angels
and thēp, thēwā, thēwadā cannot be synonymous as there is no God in Thai religion. Just as it is
not possible to call the angels Michael and Gabriel gods, it is not possible to call Zeus and
Poseidon angels – this is an abuse of concepts and categories – for the same reasons it is not
possible to call Kings Chulalongkorn and Nareusan angels; thus, using ‘saint’ and ‘angel’ is a
gross misuse of concepts for describing Thai religion whether for translation, categorization, or
conceptualization. King Chulalongkorn, King Naresuan and King Thaksin are neither saints nor
angels, they are straightforwardly gods. More commonly the word ‘spirit’ appears for translation
and categorization of thēp, thēwā, or thēwadā in many scholarly works in English. Examples
include, Stengs title of a sub-section in her book which states “A pantheon of spirits” (2009:
148). Peter Jackson has a monograph titled “Royal spirits, Chinese gods and Magic monks”
(1999b) and he uses “divine being” for thēp (1999b: 266). Kitiarsa in his book “Mediums, Monks,
and Amulets” calls deceased royals both deities and spirits (see Kitiarsa, 2012). An example of
imprecise and inconsistent terminology for academic work comes in Kitiarsa classification of
supernatural beings in Thai religion – the titles of four sections on supernatural beings are (1)
“Indian gods and goddesses”, (2) “Chinese deities”, (3) “Royal spirits”, and (4) “Local guardians
and other tutelary spirits” (2012: 26, 27, 28, 29 respectively). Within the “Royal spirits” section
he also calls the deceased Thai kings “deities” (2012: 29). The descriptions of the phenomena
in all these sections is quite sound, but what distinguishes these gods, goddesses, deities, spirits
and local spirits to justify this terminology? What exactly warrants the use of each term? In my
estimation the use of such terminology and the concepts they express both misrepresent and
diminish Thai religion.
Conclusions
The building of monuments to King Naresuan and his victory in elephant duel was never
simply about historical commemorations or political ideology, it was a true expression of Thai
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Volume 14 No.2 July-December 2020
polytheist belief and practice. Within Thai polytheist culture kingship is a semi-divine state. No
surprise then that King Naresuan and his victory in elephant duel have become not only the
stuff of legends, but also the stuff of religious devotion. Whether printing commemorative
stamps and banknotes, making medallions or building state sponsored monuments, Thai
religious belief and practice were prominent and integral parts of the each process. Private
citizens whether individually, with family and friends, or in organized tours make visits to the
elephant duel monuments, certainly for historical remembrance, but mainly to worship and ask
for blessings.
The worship of King Naresuan and his victory in elephant duel conforms to the general
descriptions in scholarly works on Thai religion. In that sense, this article reinforces much of the
work done on Thai religion in its descriptive form. However, in terms of analytical method and
theory I find the categorization, terminology, and analysis off the mark. The classic tripartite
categorizations fails. The scholarship produced over the last several decades produced
excellent description and some valuable insights; however, it provides neither an accurate
understanding of the emic experience nor an accurate etic explanation of the phenomenon.
The conceptualization of Thai religion, and the researcher argues the same for all Theravada
Southeast Asia, must begin within the framework of polytheism which provides a more exact
conceptualization of Thai religion from which analysis can begin.
Suggestions
General Suggestions
Thai religion although seemingly similar has many variations and I recommend that
documentation of Thai religion increase with an emphasis on the specific beliefs and practices
of the worship of Thai Kings.
Suggestions for further studies
Re-categorizing Thai religion from animism to polytheism questions the standard
scholarly tripartite division of Thai religion into Buddhism-Brahmanism-animism. Though this
tripartite division is seemingly standardized, future studies are needed to investigate its
descriptive accuracy and analytical usefulness in order determine whether another
categorization, I suggest polytheism which dissolves the standard tripartite division, better
represents Thai emic religious understanding as well as providing a better scholarly theory on
religion in general.
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