| WAT HONG (วัดหงส์) |
Wat Hong or the "Monastery of the Swan" (1) was located off the city island in the
northern area of Ayutthaya in Wat Tum sub-district. The temple is located on the
premises of a farm and farming tools topped the ruin.
The temple was situated within a loop of the old Lopburi River of which the southern part
is at present called Khlong Wat Tum. At a certain moment a short cut or "khlong Lat"
had been dug to straighten the Lopburi River. The latter canal was called Khlong Bang
Khoat referring to the village Ban Bang Khoat in which vicinity the canal was dug. Wat
Hong stood north of Wat Tum and west of Wat Sasada.
The monastery is completely ruined. Only brick walls standing in an east-west axis and
without any windows, remain on top of a brick mound. The southern wall still has its roof
junction visible, giving more or less an idea of the height of the monastic structure. The
northern wall collapsed and only its foundations are visible. Only a little bit of fragmented
remains of Buddha statues were found in situ. There were no traces of a chedi on its
western side.
The historical background and period of construction of the former monastery are not
known.
The monastery probably had once a relation 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]
Wat Hong features on a 1993 and a 2005 Fine Arts Department map. Some remains of
the temple were excavated by the Fine Arts Department (FAD) in Geo Coord: +14° 23'
33.59" N, +100° 32' 9.39" E.
Footnotes:
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.
References:
[1] The Wheel of The Law - Henry Alabaster (1871) - Trubner & Co, London - Page
299.
northern area of Ayutthaya in Wat Tum sub-district. The temple is located on the
premises of a farm and farming tools topped the ruin.
The temple was situated within a loop of the old Lopburi River of which the southern part
is at present called Khlong Wat Tum. At a certain moment a short cut or "khlong Lat"
had been dug to straighten the Lopburi River. The latter canal was called Khlong Bang
Khoat referring to the village Ban Bang Khoat in which vicinity the canal was dug. Wat
Hong stood north of Wat Tum and west of Wat Sasada.
The monastery is completely ruined. Only brick walls standing in an east-west axis and
without any windows, remain on top of a brick mound. The southern wall still has its roof
junction visible, giving more or less an idea of the height of the monastic structure. The
northern wall collapsed and only its foundations are visible. Only a little bit of fragmented
remains of Buddha statues were found in situ. There were no traces of a chedi on its
western side.
The historical background and period of construction of the former monastery are not
known.
The monastery probably had once a relation 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]
Wat Hong features on a 1993 and a 2005 Fine Arts Department map. Some remains of
the temple were excavated by the Fine Arts Department (FAD) in Geo Coord: +14° 23'
33.59" N, +100° 32' 9.39" E.
Footnotes:
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.
References:
[1] The Wheel of The Law - Henry Alabaster (1871) - Trubner & Co, London - Page
299.
| Text, photographs & map by Tricky Vandenberg - April 2009 Reviewed August 2011 |
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| (Click thumbnail for an aerial view) |
| (Remaining south wall) |
| (View from the east) |
| (View from the west) |
| (South wall) |
| (South wall) |
| (Remaining brick work) |
| (Extract of a 1993 Fine Arts Department map - Courtesy Khun Supot Prommanot, Director of the 3th Regional Office of Fine Arts) |
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