WAT HONG (2)





Wat Hong, or the Monastery of the Swan (1), was situated in the northern area of Ayutthaya in the Pho Sam Ton Sub-district of Bang Pahan in Ayutthaya Province. The temple is located more or less opposite the Wat Dao Khanong school.


The temple stood near the east bank of the old Lopburi River (2) and the north bank of Khlong Chang (3) near the defunct Burmese camp.


The monastery has been restored in the sense that the foundations of the different structures have been redone. No walls are standing.


The historical background and period of construction of the former monastery are not known.


The monastery probably had once a relationship with Mon immigrants or captives.


The Hongsa, or royal goose of the Burmese, is associated with the half-mythical Himaphan (Himalaya Mountain) forests. The Hongsa mythical swan lived on the Mujalin Lake, a lake in the Himaphan forest. The bird gave its name to Hongsawadi, the capital of Pegu. Representations of it, carved on the tops of high columns, are common in the temples of those Siamese villages where live the descendants of captive Peguans. It is probably the same as the Hindu Hanasa, the bird which carries Brahma, and from it, the common goose of Siam has derived its name, "Han" (ห่าน). [1]


We read in the Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya that King Borommakot (reign 1733-1758 CE) offered land for settlement to the Mons, who migrated from Pegu - after it was attacked by the Burmese King Alaungpaya (reign 1752-1760 CE) - in the outskirts of the capital at the village of Pho Sam Ton.


"Furthermore, Phraya or Phra Ram, Phraya Klang Müang, and over four hundred followers of Saming Thò, were routed and fled on in to seek the protection of the Holy Royal Accumulation of Merit by way of the Municipality of Tak. They were directed to establish homes at the Three Fig Trees." [2]


Wat Hong is in geographical coordinates: 14° 24' 28.99" N, 100° 32' 59.65" E.





(Indication board along Road No 2003)



Footnotes:


(1) หงส์ means "swan" in the Thai language, but as it was derived from the Sanskrit word "hamsa", it is often considered also to be a goose.

(2) The old Lopburi River entered the Bangkok lowland in the Bang Pahan District. The waterway meandered in front of Wat Khao Din (Wat Wara Nayok Rangsan) in Pho Sam Ton Sub-district towards Wat Muang, passing Wat Pa Fai, likely located on its right bank. The area here was altered mainly by the construction of the Asian Highway in the second part of the 20th century which cut through it. Near Wat Muang, we can find the remnants of the old river bed again. The waterway ran between Thung Ban Lao and Thung Pho Sam Ton towards Wat Tha Yak, near the northern royal tax station (both defunct). The stretch between Wat Muang and Wat Dao Khanong includes numerous old temple sites. Stretches of the old river can be seen left and right of the Wat Muang Canal, but much of the landscape has been altered due to landfilling. The old Lopburi River was until the early years of the 20th century, an important and heavily used waterway. The river connected the northern area of Ayutthaya with the Hua Ro Market on the northeastern corner of Ayutthaya City Island. The waterway between Wat Muang and the Hua Ro Market, sometimes called the Pho Sam Ton River, consists of three connected canals: Khlong Wat Muang, Khlong Bang Khuat and Khlong Hua Ro.

(3) Khlong Chang, or the Canal of the Elephants, is an old canal north of Ayutthaya on the border of the Ayutthaya and Bang Pahan districts. Khlong Chang was the northern leg of the U-loop in the Lopburi River near Thung Lumphli before the Khlong Bang Khuat was dug. The waterway between Wat Kuti Lai and Wat Dao Khanong was called Khlong Chang, likely because Wat Chang Yai and Wat Chang Noi, opposite Ban Maen, were situated along the track of this canal. Khlong Chang had its mouth near Wat Dao Khanong near the Bang Lang northern royal tax station. The canal continues under the same name, running along the southern side of Wat Dao Khanong towards Wat Ton Satu and pouring here into the new Lopburi River.


References:


[1] Alabaster, Henry (1871). The Wheel of The Law. London: Trubner & Co. p. 299. [2] Cushman, Richard D. & Wyatt, David K. (2006). The Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya. Bangkok: The Siam Society. p. 446.