Wat Is It? Thai Temple Architecture
Among its many claims to fame, Thailand is known for its multitude of elaborate Buddhist temples. Throughout the kingdom there are more than 30,000 wats that are home, at any one time, to as many as 300,000 monks. Although they may vary somewhat depending on function and regional artistic proclivity, all wats have certain distinguishing elements.
Unlike a Christian church, a wat is actually a complex of structures, usually encircled by a wall and containing open grounds with gardens and walkways. Some may even include food vendors and parking areas. The main structures are easily spotted from a distance with their distinctive, multi-layered rooftops in green and orange tiles. While the simplest wats may only have two or three buildings, more elaborate compounds can boast as many as ten.
Once within the complex grounds, countless decorative details can almost overwhelm the first time visitor. In fact, for those unfamiliar with them, a wat may appear bizarre or even gaudy. Buildings are often covered in ornamentation of every sort. From festooned relief sculpture, colorful bits of appliquéd mirror, or ceramic tile fragments decorating temple walls, to wildly complex pediments (gable boards above entryways) or friezes and murals depicting Hindu gods, heroes, epic battles and the Buddha’s lives, a wat is alive with imagery.
Strange, mythic beasts, giant monster-like guardians, Chinese lions, enormous snakes and other creatures are usually scattered throughout the compound or used as architectural accents, further adding to the seeming clutter of these holy places. But once you are aware of the stories behind all this detail, you can begin to find a semblance of logic within the apparent chaos.
What’s Wat?
The principle and most sacred structure at a wat is the bot, also known as an ubosot or ubosatha. This is the monks’ ordination hall and is set on consecrated ground. You can recognize a bot because it is encircled by water or demarcated by eight sima or carved boundary stones, located at the four cardinal points and four corners. In many wats, the bot remains closed except during religious functions, while in others, this is the primary location for the laity to go in order to make merit (improve their good credit toward future lives) in the form of candles, flowers, incense or coins offered to a Buddha image.
The viharn or vihara is often the largest structure of a wat. Either rectangular or cruciform in shape, this is the assembly hall, where the laity can listen to monks reciting Buddhist scripture, make merit, or check their fortune by shaking a container of sticks until one falls out.
Historically, the viharn was the place of learning for the laity, so it is not uncommon to find mural paintings of the Buddha’s lives and teachings covering interior walls (although interior walls of any structure may include murals). Buddhists say that Prince Siddartha lived 547 lives prior to his enlightenment. His final ten lives tend to be the most popular, but not the only mural themes. Hindu epics, particularly the Ramayana (known in Thailand as the Ramakien) is another popular subject, with the most famous example to be found along the gallery walls of Wat Prah Keaw at Bangkok’s Grand Palace.
Small village temples throughout the country often boast murals featuring local folk heroes with distinctive local style. Nan Province, for example, is famed for its 18th century renderings that depict more commoners going about their daily lives (including women smoking) than royalty; and more folk hero adventures than Buddhist tales.
Chedi is the Thai word for stupa. These domed structures are used as monuments to house a Buddhist relic or the ashes of a monk or important person. Most large chedis sit atop a building that contains Buddha images, and may also include interior murals. A typical, Thai chedi, whose stylistic roots stretch back to Sri Lanka via the first Thai kingdom of Sukhothai, is shaped like a bell topped by a spire, and often sits upon a redented base (a series of recessed, rising levels).
A prang is another style of chedi that stems originally from the Khmer empire but had a renaissance of sorts during Thailand’s Ayutthaya period. A prang is very distinct and looks like an ear of corn with many carved niches along its tall, slim exterior. Excellent examples of both chedi and prang can be seen at Wat Prah Keaw. Wat Arun, across the river, is famed for its ceramic-covered prangs, while Wat Mahathat in the southern city of Nakhon Si Thammarat is the place to go to find the kingdom’s most massive chedi, weighing in at more than 200 kg and sporting a spire made of solid gold.
A mondop is a square-shaped, open-sided building used to shelter Buddha images or religious objects. Not all wats have mondops, but those that do tend to keep them decoratively simple. Excellent examples of mondops can be found at the Sukhothai ruins in central Thailand, where they house colossal stone Buddhas.
The library or ho trai is where sacred texts are housed. These structures are sometimes built on stilts over a pond, while others have basements or first floors made of brick. In both instances, the purpose is to prevent insects from destroying manuscripts. A Sala is an open air pavilion. At a temple complex, it is the place where monks can relax, since their living quarters tend to be quite small. Other buildings you may come across at a wat are the monk’s quarters called kuti, a crematorium (easily identified by it tall chimney rising from the center of the roof), a belfry, and a drum tower.
Mythic Monsters and Divine Beasts
When you visit a wat, expect to see some bizarre creatures. More than simply decorative – although they are certainly that – each has a story or symbolic meaning behind it. Many of these beings are key figures in Thai mythology, but most stem from Hindu India origins, making their way to the area via several early Southeast Asian empires including Khmer, Srivijaya and Dvaravati.
The half man, half bird Garuda, is often found on temple pediments carrying the Hindu god Vishnu. Garuda is a character from the Ramakien who dies trying to rescue nang Sida, the hero’s wife, from the evil demon Tosekanth.
The Naga or serpent king is usually fashioned in pairs as stair-flanking balustrades. Sometimes nagas are inlaid with small bits of colored mirror and glitter wildly in the sun. This mythic snake was said to have protected the Buddha as he meditated during flooding rains by coiling its body underneath him to lift him above the torrent, and using its multitude of heads to form a protective cover.
Decorative chaofah, or sky tassels rise from either end of temple roof peaks and are often shaped like a bird’s head. It is said that chaofah serve the purpose of protecting sacred temple space from flying demons. Should a demon or evil spirit fall from the sky toward a wat, it would become impaled upon the point of the choafah and thus be unable to do harm to the religious community.
The best examples of the free-standing guardian giants called Yak or Yakshas can be seen in Bangkok’s Ratthanakhosin period temples such as Wat Prah Keaw, Wat Arun and Wat Pho. These mythic beings are thought of as benign nature spirits, despite their somewhat frightening appearance, and their specific function is to protect temples.
The half woman-half bird kinnari is often seen carved within eave brackets, or as part of other architectural ornamentation. They may also be found as free standing, guardian-like figurines. In Indian mythos, the kinnari are considered a subgroup of heavenly musicians.
Paintings and figurines of the earth mother Thorani wringing water from her hair is a common temple icon. Thorani is the goddess who witnessed the Buddha’s accumulated merit immediately prior to his enlightenment.
The bulbous-eyed Kala, typically seen over doorways, is a bit of a frightening character. Sporting horns, a lion’s nose and a wide, toothy grin, this ‘face of glory’ is used to chase away evil, in both Buddhist and Hindu mythology.
Other creatures and characters you may come across during a temple tour include hamsa, the Hindu god Brahma’s sacred goose; Hanuman, the beloved monkey hero of the Ramakien epic; the mythic makara, a sea creature with the body of a reptile that spouts a multi-headed snake from its mouth; Erawan, (Hindu Airavata) the three-headed elephant said to be born during the cosmic churning of the sea; and themphanom, graceful celestial beings or devas posed in worshipping gesture.
The Thai wat is the historic seed bed and contemporary canvas for the culture’s artistic expression and religious iconography. Thus if you wish to get a feel for Siamese culture, a visit to at least one or two temples during your stay is well worth the time. While the structures and imagery can seem almost nonsensical on first glance, all of its elements are a part of an ancient religious and cultural iconography interpreted and produced in a manner that is distinctly Thai.
