WAT TUM

Wat Tum is located off the city island in the northeastern area of Ayutthaya, in the Wat Tum Sub-district. The monastery is situated on the south bank of Khlong Wat Tum, a canal which had its mouth at the old Lopburi River and can be reached via Road No 309, linking Ayutthaya with Ang Thong. The temple is still in use by the Buddhist clergy and covers an area of approximately 15 rai.

Wat Tum was located in an oxbow of the old Lopburi River, the same as Wat Chumphon and Wat Chang Yai. A shortcut was dug in the Ayutthaya era - a source suggested King Borommakot (reign 1733-1758 CE) - through this loop and was named Khlong Bang Khuat. The present Khlong Tum was thus a part of the old Lopburi River.

Wat Tum lies south of Wat Chumphon, Wat Chang Yai and Wat Chang Noi, three temples related to warfare, where in its vicinities, war elephants were trained, and troops were gathered before going into battle. Some sources state that King Naresuan held the ceremony of 'Drinking of the Water of Allegiance' at this temple, a significant ancient rite. (1)

The ceremony of "Drinking of the Water of Allegiance" was one of the most important Ayutthayan state ceremonies from the point of view of the upkeep of the established form of government. It was a ceremony derived from the Khmers, which performed this kind of activity in the 10th-11th century CE following engravings found on regular bases. During the Rattanakosin period, the rite took place twice yearly, on the third day of the waxing of the fifth month (Chaitra) and the thirteenth day of the waning of the tenth month (Bhadrapada), in the Chapel Royal in Bangkok as in one temple in each seat of the provincial government. The Ceremony of Drinking the Water of Allegiance in the Ayutthaya period was the same as what was followed in Bangkok from the reign of Rama I onwards. Horace Wales described the rite as follows:

"The water is previously hallowed in the usual way by the monks, who recite mantras, the sacred "sincana" thread being stretched round the water vessels, while the Court Brahmans also dip into the water the State Sword and other royal weapons, this being a rite of contagious magic, by the power of which any official meditating treason would be destroyed. It is said that persons have not infrequently in the past died of cholera after drinking the hallowed water, a result which no doubt did much to strengthen the general belief in the efficacy of the magic. On the day of the ceremony a Brahman reads out the Oath [of Allegiance] and each official must drink the contents of a small cup, which he must drain to the last drop. Any appearance of difficulty in swallowing was, in the old days, considered as equivalent to an admission of disloyalty. The ladies of the palace, as well as members of the royal family, drink the Water of Allegiance but, of course, with suitable privacy. Officials confined to their houses through illness are not excused from drinking the Water, but it is taken to their bedsides by royal pages or other officials." [1]