Thailand (Lonely Planet, 13th Edition) - China Williams [43]
Rooflines in central, northern and southern Thailand are steeply pitched and often decorated at the corners or along the gables with motifs related to the naga, a mythical sea serpent long believed to be a spiritual protector of Tai cultures throughout Asia.
Geographic differences abound and often reflect influences from neighbouring countries. In Thailand’s southern provinces it’s not unusual to come upon houses of Malay design, using high masonry pediments or foundations rather than wooden stilts. Residents of the south also sometimes use bamboo and palm thatch, which are more plentiful than wood. In the north, the homes of community leaders were often decorated with an ornate horn-shaped motif called galare, a decorative element that has become shorthand for old Lanna architecture. Roofs of tile or thatch tend to be less steeply pitched, and rounded gables (a feature inherited from Myanmar) can also be found further north.
Temple Architecture
Most striking of Thailand’s architectural heritage are the Buddhist temples, which dazzle in the tropical sun with wild colours and soaring rooflines. Thai temples (wát) are compounds of different buildings serving specific religious functions. The most important structures include the uposatha (bòht in central Thai, sm in northern and northeastern Thai), which is a consecrated chapel where monastic ordinations are held, and the wí·hhn, where important Buddha images are housed.
Another classic component of temple architecture is the presence of one or more stupas (chedi in Thai), a solid mountain-shaped monument that pays tribute to the enduring stability of Buddhism. Chedi come in a myriad of styles, from simple inverted bowl-shaped designs imported from Sri Lanka to the more elaborate octagonal shapes found in northern Thailand. Many are believed to contain relics (often pieces of bone) belonging to the historical Buddha. In northern and northeastern Thailand such stupas are known as tâht. A variation of the stupa inherited from the Angkor kingdom is the corn cob–shaped prang, a feature in the ancient Thai temples of Sukhothai and Ayuthaya. Dotting the grounds of most temples are smaller squarish chedi, known as tâht grà·dòok (bone reliquaries) that contain the ashes of deceased worshippers.
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HOUSES OF THE HOLY
Many homes or inhabited dwellings in Thailand have an associated ‘spirit house’, built to provide a residence for the plot of land’s prá poom (guardian spirits). Based on animistic beliefs that predate Buddhism, guardian spirits are believed to reside in rivers, trees and other natural features and need to be honoured (and placated). The guardian spirit of a particular plot of land is the supernatural equivalent of a mother-in-law, an honoured but sometimes troublesome family member. To keep the spirits happily distracted, Thais erect elaborate dollhouse-like structures on the property where the spirits can ‘live’ comfortably separated from human affairs. To further cultivate good relations and good fortune, daily offerings of rice, fruit, flowers and water are made to the spirit house. If the human house is enlarged the spirit house must also be enlarged, so that the spirits do not feel slighted. Spirit houses must be consecrated by a Brahman priest.
More elaborate spirit shrines stand alongside hotels and office buildings and are sometimes dedicated to a Hindu deity, such as Brahma or Shiva. In Bangkok especially, many of these mega-site spirit houses have earned a reputation for expediting certain types of prayers and have become city-wide shrines filled with beseeching visitors.
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Other structures typically found in temple compounds include one or more sh·lah (open-sided shelters) that are used for community meetings and dhamma lectures; a number of gù·ì (monastic quarters); a hr rai (Tripitaka library), where