| WAT KAITIA |
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Wat Kaitia is located off the city island in the south part of Ayutthaya. It is situated
even further south than Khlong Takhian in the Ban Run District. The closest landmark is a
new bridge crossing the Chao Phraya River from Highway 3469 to Highway 3447,
which is the easiest way to find it. Wat Kaitia is on the western bank of the Chao Phraya
River. A small island named Ko Rian is situated opposite of it. Wat Kaitia marks the
southernmost perimeter of this website’s research.
Wat Kaitia is an active countryside monastery with all the usual structures required to
deliver religious services to the lay community. Most of its buildings are recent
construction. The oldest structure on site is a staircase leading to nowhere. The sermon
hall that it was formerly attached is long gone. The current ordination hall also looks like it
was built in the Bangkok period; however, an old Buddha image sits at its entrance.
Visitors will note that there is building in situ that houses a large quantity of ceramic
pottery, terracotta kitchenware, and a variety of forged knives and blades. They will also
see several large anchors made of wood near the river. These artifacts are connected to a
story that has spawned a great deal of urban folklore. A few decades ago, Ayutthaya
authorities were shocked by the amount of old artifacts turning up at the Hua Ro market.
Their investigations eventually revealed that this merchandise was being hauled out of a
ship that had wrecked in front of Wat Kaitia. In order to preserve these precious goods,
a small museum was built on the premises of the monastery so that it could be properly
showcased. The ceramics, metalwork, and wooden anchors supposedly originated from
this sunken ship.
From this basic information, there have been many ideas promoted about the ship and its
treasure. One version is that Wat Kaitia was used as a place for loading elephants onto
boats for transportation abroad, and that the ship capsized due to the weight of its cargo.
A second spin-off is that this ship was the remains of an ancient Chinese junk. A
disillusioned Chinese princess jumped into the river and drowned in front of Wat Phanan
Choeng. The crew could not save her because it was forbidden for commoners to touch
Royal family members. As punishment, holes were drilled into the ship and the crew was
killed as it sunk. It allegedly floated downstream over the centuries until settled at the
banks of Wat Kaitia. A third version is that a monk at this temple had a reoccurring
dream in which it was revealed that the ship was buried deeply in the mud along with a
Buddha image that needed rescue. These urban myths have grown strong and tend to
ignite superstitions. As a result, it is common to see Thais rubbing dust onto the wooden
anchors to predict winning numbers on lottery tickets.
Nevertheless, some locals have a more cynical take on this story. It is sometimes
suggested that the entire ship was a fabrication, and that its discovery was just an excuse
to quickly sell plundered or inauthentic merchandise. The truth about the sunken ship and
its merchandise has yet to be revealed, but there is a community of treasure hunters in the
city that continue to dive into its rivers. This community used to be based at the harbor
near Pom Phet, but they have relocated to Khlong Muang, where they are
headquartered. Given that Ayutthaya was a center of maritime trade, it is quite believable
that many ships have yet to be uncovered. A major underwater archeology project could
prove very useful.
There is not much known about the history of Wat Kaitia. The Dutch East Indian
Company (VOC) planted orchards near this temple on the opposite side of the Chao
Phraya River. In addition, many boats docked nearby at a small canal running beside Ko
Rian. It was a good place to stop before moving to the city’s main harbor.
The Ayutthaya Historical Studies Center points out that there were five toll houses
(Khanon) located within the boundaries of the ancient city. One of the most important toll
houses was situated south of this monastery. This toll house is where all the foreign
merchants were required to stop to have cargo inventoried. During the reign of King
Songtham (1610-1628), three clauses were added to Royal Criminal Law (36, 37, &
38) that prohibited the smuggling of contraband as well as the evasion of trade tax.
Vessels traveling along this canal were required to stop and pay tax. Harsh penalties
faced those who violated this law including expensive fines and the confiscation of
merchandise (Chatthip 44).
Royal Chronicles mention a temple by this name in relation to the digging of a canal. A
short cut was dug beside the Monastery of Kaitia at the rear of the Village of the Three
Knolls (Cushman 394). There is a small irrigation canal named “Khlong Wat Kaitia” that
provides river water to inland rice fields; however, it should be clarified that the Royal
Chronicles are referring to a totally different temple - one that is closer to Bang Pa-in and
Bang Sai. This shared name has led to much confusion.
even further south than Khlong Takhian in the Ban Run District. The closest landmark is a
new bridge crossing the Chao Phraya River from Highway 3469 to Highway 3447,
which is the easiest way to find it. Wat Kaitia is on the western bank of the Chao Phraya
River. A small island named Ko Rian is situated opposite of it. Wat Kaitia marks the
southernmost perimeter of this website’s research.
Wat Kaitia is an active countryside monastery with all the usual structures required to
deliver religious services to the lay community. Most of its buildings are recent
construction. The oldest structure on site is a staircase leading to nowhere. The sermon
hall that it was formerly attached is long gone. The current ordination hall also looks like it
was built in the Bangkok period; however, an old Buddha image sits at its entrance.
Visitors will note that there is building in situ that houses a large quantity of ceramic
pottery, terracotta kitchenware, and a variety of forged knives and blades. They will also
see several large anchors made of wood near the river. These artifacts are connected to a
story that has spawned a great deal of urban folklore. A few decades ago, Ayutthaya
authorities were shocked by the amount of old artifacts turning up at the Hua Ro market.
Their investigations eventually revealed that this merchandise was being hauled out of a
ship that had wrecked in front of Wat Kaitia. In order to preserve these precious goods,
a small museum was built on the premises of the monastery so that it could be properly
showcased. The ceramics, metalwork, and wooden anchors supposedly originated from
this sunken ship.
From this basic information, there have been many ideas promoted about the ship and its
treasure. One version is that Wat Kaitia was used as a place for loading elephants onto
boats for transportation abroad, and that the ship capsized due to the weight of its cargo.
A second spin-off is that this ship was the remains of an ancient Chinese junk. A
disillusioned Chinese princess jumped into the river and drowned in front of Wat Phanan
Choeng. The crew could not save her because it was forbidden for commoners to touch
Royal family members. As punishment, holes were drilled into the ship and the crew was
killed as it sunk. It allegedly floated downstream over the centuries until settled at the
banks of Wat Kaitia. A third version is that a monk at this temple had a reoccurring
dream in which it was revealed that the ship was buried deeply in the mud along with a
Buddha image that needed rescue. These urban myths have grown strong and tend to
ignite superstitions. As a result, it is common to see Thais rubbing dust onto the wooden
anchors to predict winning numbers on lottery tickets.
Nevertheless, some locals have a more cynical take on this story. It is sometimes
suggested that the entire ship was a fabrication, and that its discovery was just an excuse
to quickly sell plundered or inauthentic merchandise. The truth about the sunken ship and
its merchandise has yet to be revealed, but there is a community of treasure hunters in the
city that continue to dive into its rivers. This community used to be based at the harbor
near Pom Phet, but they have relocated to Khlong Muang, where they are
headquartered. Given that Ayutthaya was a center of maritime trade, it is quite believable
that many ships have yet to be uncovered. A major underwater archeology project could
prove very useful.
There is not much known about the history of Wat Kaitia. The Dutch East Indian
Company (VOC) planted orchards near this temple on the opposite side of the Chao
Phraya River. In addition, many boats docked nearby at a small canal running beside Ko
Rian. It was a good place to stop before moving to the city’s main harbor.
The Ayutthaya Historical Studies Center points out that there were five toll houses
(Khanon) located within the boundaries of the ancient city. One of the most important toll
houses was situated south of this monastery. This toll house is where all the foreign
merchants were required to stop to have cargo inventoried. During the reign of King
Songtham (1610-1628), three clauses were added to Royal Criminal Law (36, 37, &
38) that prohibited the smuggling of contraband as well as the evasion of trade tax.
Vessels traveling along this canal were required to stop and pay tax. Harsh penalties
faced those who violated this law including expensive fines and the confiscation of
merchandise (Chatthip 44).
Royal Chronicles mention a temple by this name in relation to the digging of a canal. A
short cut was dug beside the Monastery of Kaitia at the rear of the Village of the Three
Knolls (Cushman 394). There is a small irrigation canal named “Khlong Wat Kaitia” that
provides river water to inland rice fields; however, it should be clarified that the Royal
Chronicles are referring to a totally different temple - one that is closer to Bang Pa-in and
Bang Sai. This shared name has led to much confusion.
| Text by Ken May - September 2009 Photographs by Tricky Vandenberg and Ken May |
Addendum
The name of the monastery being "Kaitia" is derived from the sanskrit word "Caitya" of
trees or even in a single tree. This form of worshipping still can be seen all over Thailand.
According to Jaina and Buddhist texts from about 200 BC, wandering Indian ascetics
often gathered near caityas to beg alms from local religious pilgrims and to pay homage to
the deities residing in the trees. The term caitya assumed later the meaning of a meeting
place or meditation grove for mendicant renunciates and a pilgrimage centre for the laity.
The word "Caitya" is also used as an alternative name for a stupa, a place where the
relics were kept. Caityas began in India as hemispherical structures of brick or stone
housing texts or other relics of the Buddha.
In Southeast Asia, the relic monument received a streamlined shape with an elegant spire
and is called chedi or Phra That.
The premises of this temple harbors a few old and huge Siamese anchors. Some
unfortunately start to decay. De La Loubère wrote the following in is his "A New
Historical relation of the Kingdom of Siam" about the anchors the Siamese use for their
ships:
"They have iron mines which they know how to melt, and some have inform’d me
that they have but little thereof; besides they are bad forge-men. For their Gallies
they have only wooden anchors, and to the end that these anchors may sink to the
bottom, they fasten stones unto them." [3]
References:
[1] www.britannica.com - data retrieved on 14 September 2009.
[2] http://asia.library.cornell.edu - data retrieved on 14 September 2009.
[3] A New Historical relation of the Kingdom of Siam - Simon de La Loubere (1713) -
page 15.
The name of the monastery being "Kaitia" is derived from the sanskrit word "Caitya" of
trees or even in a single tree. This form of worshipping still can be seen all over Thailand.
According to Jaina and Buddhist texts from about 200 BC, wandering Indian ascetics
often gathered near caityas to beg alms from local religious pilgrims and to pay homage to
the deities residing in the trees. The term caitya assumed later the meaning of a meeting
place or meditation grove for mendicant renunciates and a pilgrimage centre for the laity.
The word "Caitya" is also used as an alternative name for a stupa, a place where the
relics were kept. Caityas began in India as hemispherical structures of brick or stone
housing texts or other relics of the Buddha.
In Southeast Asia, the relic monument received a streamlined shape with an elegant spire
and is called chedi or Phra That.
The premises of this temple harbors a few old and huge Siamese anchors. Some
unfortunately start to decay. De La Loubère wrote the following in is his "A New
Historical relation of the Kingdom of Siam" about the anchors the Siamese use for their
ships:
"They have iron mines which they know how to melt, and some have inform’d me
that they have but little thereof; besides they are bad forge-men. For their Gallies
they have only wooden anchors, and to the end that these anchors may sink to the
bottom, they fasten stones unto them." [3]
References:
[1] www.britannica.com - data retrieved on 14 September 2009.
[2] http://asia.library.cornell.edu - data retrieved on 14 September 2009.
[3] A New Historical relation of the Kingdom of Siam - Simon de La Loubere (1713) -
page 15.
| Addendum by Tricky Vandenberg - September 2009 Reviewed September 2010 |
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| (More wooden ship anchors at the premises) |
| (View of the ordination hall) |
| (Old "men" or open crematorium on the premises) |
| (Small museum at the monastery) |
| (Old wooden ship anchor) |
| (Old staircase) |