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Naḥhānaḥ Tittha Maṅgala, The River-bathing Ceremony in Siam.
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 December 2009
Extract
According to Manu the samskāras, or Hindu initiation rites, are twelve in number, but by other early Indian writers the list is variously estimated as from ten to sixteen or even more. In the Siamese Brahmanical books the number laid down is ten, and these rites are known as “ the ten auspicious ceremonies ” (bidhī daśamaṅgala), but there are in addition some ceremonies in connection with conception and birth which would bring the number up to sixteen or more. The latter remain in force, but of “ the ten auspicious ceremonies ” most are obsolete and the only ones that are still in general favour are the shaving of the first hair of the newborn, the giving of the first name to the child, and the tonsure; while the ceremony which we are about to consider has been performed up to modern times, but for princes and princesses of the highest 
rank only. With the exception of the tonsure, which was made the subject of a scholarly monograph by the late Colonel Gerini,2 none of these ceremonies has ever been seriously studied by European scholars. This is perhaps in the main due to the difficulty of obtaining information on account of their private or domestic nature and the fact that there is little mention of them in Siamese literature. But since the river-bathing ceremony of 
, like their tonsure, is of a semi-public and very spectacular nature, some interesting official records of it have been preserved.
- Type
- Papers Contributed
- Information
- Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies , Volume 6 , Issue 4 , February 1932 , pp. 957 - 962
- Copyright
- Copyright © School of Oriental and African Studies 1932
References
page 957 note 1 The system of transliteration used in this article is that of Coedès, M. G., for which see Recueil des Inscriptions du Siam, pt. 1, p. 10.Google Scholar
page 957 note 2 Chǔlİkantamaṅgala, by Gerini, Colonel G. E., Bangkok, 1895.Google Scholar On pages 2 and 3 the author gives a list of “ the ten auspicious ceremonies ”.
page 958 note 1 My chief authority is Braḥ rāja baṅṣāvaḥtāra kruṅ răṯanalkosindra răjakāl dī sòṅ (History of the Second Reign), pp. 144 to 149, by H.R.H. Prince Damrong, who bases his account on the contemporary Bangkok annals by Cau Braḥyā Dibākravaṅṣa, together with the official regulations for the carrying out of the ceremony.
page 959 note 1 The rājavİt fence is made of lattice, with gaps for ingress and egress, and is decorated at intervals with small tiered paper umbrellas. It is erected around the area in which ceremonies are performed, when these take place in the open air, in order to exclude evil influences.
page 960 note 1 The sokănṯa procession is headed by military units, behind which march pages dressed as devatā, and groups of boys dressed in the costumes of various countries, red and green drummers of victory, Brahmans scattering parched rice or playing ceremonial instruments, and damsels bearing peacock standards; then comes the prince's palanquin accompanied by royal umbrella, sunshade, and fan, and the procession is closed by officials impersonating devas of the Indra and Brahmaā heavens, maids of honour carrying the prince's insignia, and pages leading caparisoned chargers.
page 962 note 1 The pai śri, of whichever material, consists of superimposed trays on stands (bān) of decreasing dimensions, so that the whole has an auspicious tapering appearance.