AYUTTHAYA HISTORICAL RESEARCH



BOATHOUSES OF AYUTTHAYA





Preface: This page is mainly based on a section of the ‘Description of Ayutthaya’ (Athibai phaen thi Phra Nakhon si Ayutthaya) translated and edited by Chris Baker and published by the Siam Society in 2013 CE. [1]


The ‘Description of Ayutthaya’ is a document probably compiled early in the Bangkok era from the memories of people who had lived in Ayutthaya before 1767 CE. It might have been compiled on royal command during the First Reign to assist with the planning of Bangkok. [2]


Ayutthaya was typically a Siamese water-based settlement, one of the characteristics which gave the city its UNESCO World Heritage status.


Simon de La Loubère (1642-1729 CE), who led the second French embassy to Siam, wrote: “Most of the streets are watered with strait Canals, which have made Siam to be compar’d to Venice, and on which are a great many small Bridges of Hurdles, and some of Brick very high and ugly."


Nicolas Gervaise (1663-1729 CE), a theology student at the College General in Ayutthaya, also noted: “The great river flows under the walls on the southern, eastern and western sides and through the city in three main branches, which traverse it from end to end, thus making it into another Venice.”


When speaking of Venice, we imagine boats. Boats needed protection from the wear and tear of the hot sun and the heavy rains. Ayutthaya, for this purpose, had several boathouses, mostly outside the city walls. Find below a list of these boathouses.





(War junks on the Samsen Creek - Thomson, John. Photograph album of Siam, 1865-1866. Collection Number: 4863. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections. Cornell University Library)



The main dock of Royal Barges

The ancient Dock of Royal Barges stood on the north bank of the old Lopburi River (presently named Khlong Mueang or City Canal) diagonally opposite the Grand Palace. Nicolas Gervaise, a French priest residing in Ayutthaya in the late 17th century, wrote in his work "The Natural and Political History of the Kingdom of Siam":


"Outside the palace on the left can be seen on the river bank the great boat-houses where the royal barges are kept. There are more than a hundred and fifty of these barges and all of them are as magnificent as the ones that were brought out on the arrival of the ambassador of France." [3]


In the "New Historical Relation of the Kingdom of Siam" written by La Loubère, we read that the ancient dock was divided into separate trenches, each locked up in a wooden and roofed enclosure.


"Their arsenal is over against the palace, the river running between. There every one of these barges is locked up in a trench, where into runs the water of the river and each trench is shut up in an enclosure made of wood, and covered. These enclosures are locked up, and besides this is a person watches there at night." [4]


There were 20 barge houses adjacent, from the mouth of Khu Mai Rong (1) to Wat Choeng Tha. The Kalahom, or Minister of Defense, was in charge of the dock. During the last Burma-Ayutthaya war in 1767 CE, King Ekathat (reign 1758-1767 CE)] ordered the royal barges King (2), Chai (3), Sri (4), Krap (5), and all the royal barges, including the large and small head-ships, as well as all the ships and warships, to be moved to the ‘Rear of the Moat’ (south of the city) as they were vulnerable in the Burmese attack. The Burmese moved down to attack the ‘Rear of the Moat’ and then burned and destroyed the royal barges, ships, and warships. It is understood that only a few were left. The royal dock did not survive the attack. No visible traces remain of it, and the landscape has been, unfortunately, largely altered. [5]





(Detail of Vicenzo Maria Coronelli's map of Ayutthaya published in 1696 CE)



On Vicenzo Maria Coronelli's map of Ayutthaya published in 1696 CE, (6) we find the word ‘Arsenale’ east of a waterway. ‘Arsenale’ is Italian for a ‘cantiere navale’ or dockyard. It should be the location of the Royal Barges Dockyard near the Khu Mai Rong. The waterway opposite Wat Khlong Pak Tho was likely the Khu Mai Rong, while the temple (just below the word ‘Arsenale’) should be Wat Choeng Tha. It is noticeable that the Khu Mai Rong had the same width as Khlong Sra Bua and is here depicted as going rather far inland.


The ‘Description of Ayutthaya’ mentioned that there is a left and a right boathouse for royal barges, each 40, 50, or 60 metres, with square or octagonal pillars of Makha wood (Afzelia xylocarpa), roofs with eaves on both left and right sides, and swan-tail finials. Each boathouse has plastered brick walls with openings to allow air passage, usually just under the roof.


The boathouses for boats of the right are lined up along the river to the front of Wat Choeng Tha. There were, in total, twenty boathouses, each with five or ten boats, including animal-shaped boats, principal boats, and victory boats. The boathouses on land for boats of the left stretched from the Khu Mai Rong (1) to Wat Choeng Tha. One boathouse houses the royal barge with the head of a swan and screening, and another the Lord Garuda boat, both for the king to go fishing on the sea coast.


To take a boat into the boathouse, the dyke at the front was broken to allow water to fill the dry dock, and beams were placed on the stanchions. When the water level falls, the boat's hull rests on the beams. The dyke is then closed, and all the water bailed out of the dry dock. [1]





(Detail of Phraya Boran Ratchathanin’s map of 1926 CE indicating the main boathouses)



The Wat Tha Ka Rong Riverine Dockyard


The ‘Description of Ayutthaya’ stated that near Wat Tha Ka Rong Village, there was a row of thirty boathouses for freshwater war boats. The pillars were made of Makha wood, and the roofs of lukfuk tiles. Depending on the size of the boat, the boathouses housed six to ten boats. There were minor officials and royal phrai (7) to look after them each month. If there was a war, two hundred boats could be caulked, hauled out from the dry docks in the boathouses, and used immediately on royal service. Phraya Maha Ammat (8) looks after the freshwater warboats.


The King of Hongsawadi, Bayinnaung (1550-1581 CE), came down to besiege Ayutthaya by way of Kanburi in 1564 CE as his request for white elephants was denied. He established its headquarters at Ban Kum (Dong), Northwest of the Phut Lao Plain. Ayutthaya prepared its defences, and a monk from Wat Phukhao Thong defrocked, set up fences from Wat Phukhao Thong to Wat Pa Phu, and dug a moat to defend the war boats harboured in front of Wat Tha. The position of this naval cluster dates thus likely already back to the 16th century.


“The Reverend Maha Nak, who was a monk at Phukhao Thòng Monastery, left the monkhood and agreed to erect a stockade to protect the naval forces. He erected a stockade from Phukhao Thòng Monastery on down to Phlu Forest Monastery. The followers of Maha Nak, uniting their strength to that of his relatives and of his male and female slaves, helped each other dig a ditch, hence called Maha Nak Canal, outside the stockade for the protection of the naval forces.” [6]


Engelbert Kaempfer (1651-1716 CE) was a medical doctor working for the Dutch VOC (Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie) who surveyed the city of Ayutthaya in June 1690 CE. Multiple boats are shown on Kaempfer’s draft map below Wat Wong Jak, opposite Wat Tha Ka Rong. As this area is not listed as one of the four floating markets in the ‘Description of Ayutthaya’ (Bang Kraja, Khu Cham, Wat Doem, Khu Mai Rong), it must be the boathouses described in the Description.





(Detail of Engelbert Kaempfer’s drafted map)



The Pak Khlong Takhian Marine Dockyard


The ‘Description of Ayutthaya’ states there was a dockyard for various seagoing war boats, large and small, below the mouth of the Takhian Canal. The boats were kept in a row of dry docks alongside the main river, each with the hull perpendicular to the river and the stern at the mouth of the dock. Some housed one boat, some two. There were thirty large sea-going war boats with junk sterns and a hundred small sea-going war boats with fish sterns, all made from ironwood. The boathouses had pillars of Makha wood, roofs of lukfuk tiles, walls, and doors. There were officers and phrai to take care of them. The Phraya Ratcha Wangsan (9) was in charge.


The position of the mouth of the Takhian Canal (either north or south) can be disputed as the Chao Phraya River and its connected canals are tidal. Thompson (1910), in his book ‘Siam: An Account of the Country and the People,’ writes that “In the time of King Narai, whose reign ended in 1688 A.D., the tide is said to have come up as far as the town of Lopburi …”. Today the tide can still be felt until Ang Thong. On Jacques Nicolas Bellin’s map, ‘Plan De La Ville De Siam, ’ the flow of the Takhian Canal is shown to go north (upstream).


A boat concentration is shown on Kaempfer’s draft map opposite the St Joseph Church, near the entry of Khlong Takhian. As this area is not listed as one of the four floating markets in the ‘Description of Ayutthaya’ (Bang Kraja, Khu Cham, Wat Doem, Khu Mai Rong), it should have been a docking area. Near the entry of Khlong Takhian was also the entry of Khlong Nam Ya, an old canal leading to the old bed of the Chao Phraya River (today the Noi River) and further to Bangkok. The canal had the same function (connecting Ayutthaya to the main Chao Phraya River) as Khlong Maha Phram in the Ayutthaya era.





(Detail of Engelbert Kaempfer’s drafted map)



The Ban Tha Suea Kham Boathouses


The ‘Description of Ayutthaya’ mentions that there is also a row of eighteen dry docks for the building of royal ships and junks at the end of Tiger Crossing Landing Village (บ้านท่าเสือข้าม). Suea Kham is the area south of Ayutthaya, between Wat Song Kuson and Ko Rian still today, and is opposite the entry (or exit) of Khlong Takhian.


François Valentijn (1666-1727 CE), a Dutch minister and author, wrote: "Opposite this Island [Ko Rian] on the left-hand side one has the King's Wharf, …. Just past the King's Wharf, going North, one has the corner of the murdered Makassars, and their quarter, beyond which one sees the golden Pagoda of the King, and much other lovely Temples, Cloisters, and beautiful buildings, each expressed by its name."





(Detail of Valentyn’s map, published in 1726 CE and indicating the King’s Shipyard)



The Sala Trawen boathouses


There were boathouses beside Sala Trawen (ศาลาตระเวน), a guard and control post east of the mouth of the Sra Bua Canal next to Wat Mai. The guard pavilion is shown on a 19th-century map (based on the ‘Description of Ayutthaya’ or earlier documents). The boathouses on land had pillars and walls constructed of brick and tiled roofs with finials. One boathouse is for the royal barge with a Garuda head and screening for the king, and one is for the royal barge known as the Asura Wayuphak (10) with the head of a yaksa and wings.





(Sala Trawen at the mouth of Khlong Sra Bua, next to Wat Mai)



Other Dock Yards


There were four dry docks for ships and junks beside the city wall: Two below the Victory Gate (diagonally opposite Wat Phutthaisawan) and two old royal dry docks at Banana Leaf Quarter. This last position is not clear, but I presume the docks must have been near Pratu Chakra Noi.





(The Asura Wayuphak at the Royal Boat Museum in Bangkok - February 2008 CE)



Footnotes:

(1) Khu Mai Rong, or the Moat of the Crying Wood, was situated off Ayutthaya's city island in Tha Wasukri Sub-district. The man-made waterway split off on the northern side of the old Lopburi River (presently renamed Khlong Mueang) next to Wat Choeng Tha, which was the location of one of the four floating markets of Ayutthaya. The moat likely surrounded the main dock of barges and was also connected to a bustling land market behind the Royal Dock. Some old documents mention a temple called Wat Khu Mai Rong, but its position has never been established. Phraya Boran Ratchathanin wrote in ‘Tamnan Krung Kao’ that the squeals of boat timbers against the dock were heard as cries of the wood spirit, hence its name.
(2) King (กิ่ง) the premier class of royal barges. The name is said to have come from a custom of returning war boats setting up a branch in the bows to signal victory, resulting in branch designs being painted on the prows. (Baker, 2013)
(3) Victory barges.
(4) Likely Sri Sakkalat (glorious felt) boats, probably so named because felt was used on the roofs a boat for royal use other than processions. (Baker, 2013)
(5) Krap are small, suitable war boats for entering small canals. (Baker, 2013)
(6) Coronelli (1650-1718 CE) was a Royal Cartographer to King Louis XIV of France. He had complete access to the most current documentation of the French Academy of Sciences.
(7) Phrai were subjected to corvée labour and were identified by a wrist tattoo. Phrai were organised on a rota system. (Baker, 2023)
(8) Phraya Maha Ammat (พระยา มหา อำมาตย) was an officer in the Mahatthai in the division in charge of the north and had a sakdina of 3,000. (Baker, 2023)
(9) The Phraya Ratcha Wangsan (พระยาราชวังสัน), earlier written as Bangsan, was the title of the superintendent of the left division of the Krom Asa Cham (Cham Volunteer Corps) a division of the Ministry of Defense and in charge of the Cham and Malay communities in Ayutthaya. He had a sakdina of 2,000 (Thai feudal ranking). Chams were experts at seafaring, hence the position. (Baker (2013), Chularatana (2008) There was a Phraya Ratcha Wangsan boat landing at the mouth of Khlong Pratu Jin with a ferry to the landing of Wat Khun Phrom, which still exists today now motorised and takes people, bicycles and motorcycles across. The ferry must have been located near the house of Phraya Ratcha Wangsan.
(10) Asura Wayuphak, a demon with the wind as food, is a mythical creature of Himmaphan (Himavanta) Forest whose upper body is that of a demon wearing a crown and the lower part a bird and holding a twisted long club with both hands. The figure has a dark blue body with a purple coat.

References:

[1] Baker, Chris (2013). The Grand Palace in the Description of Ayutthaya: Translation and Commentary. Journal of the Siam Society, Vol 101.
[2] Baker, Chris (2011). Note On Testimonies And Description Of Ayutthaya. Journal of the Siam Society. Vol. 99.
[3] Gervaise, Nicolas (Paris,1688). The Natural and Political History of the Kingdom of Siam. Translated and edited by John Villiers (1998). White Lotus Press, Bangkok. p. 33.
[4] Loubère, Simon (de la) (1693). A new Historical Relation of the Kingdom of Siam (2 Tomes). London. Edited by John Villiers. Bangkok: White Lotus, 1986. pp 98-9.
[5] Ratchathanin, Phraya Boran (1907). Tamnan Krung Kao.
[6] Cushman, Richard D. & Wyatt, David K. (2006). The Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya. Bangkok: The Siam Society. p. 32



When the past no longer illuminates the future, the spirit walks in darkness.
(Alexis de Tocqueville)





HISTORY OF AYUTTHAYA



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