Thailand's Royal Barge Procession can be dated back to the
Sukhothai Kingdom from the 13–14th centuries (1238–1438 AD). However, further examination of the Thai chronicle,
Phraratchaphongsawadan Nuea, found that it could be traced back to the 11th century.
Pre-Ayutthaya era (Ayodhya period) In the 11th century, the Thai chronicle,
Phraratchaphongsawadan Nuea (Royal Chronicle of the North), recorded the royal barge procession of Prince Sai Nam Peung, a pre-Ayudhya king of Siam who had set the barge and landed at the cape of Wat Pak Klong temple. Later he ascended to the governor seat with the
regnal name, Phra Chao Sai Nam Pung (), and ruled the Ayodhya region from 1165–1205.
Sukhothai era In the reign of King
Ram Khamhaeng the royal barge procession was performed at
Loy Krathong ceremony. The
Ram Khamhaeng Inscription (RK) 1292 AD reads:– after which he watched and listened to people, men and women, sing and play... Whenever the royal barge alighted in front of a monastery, officials lighted fireworks. (NN:67). In the reign of King
Maha Thammaracha I, the
King of Sukhothai performed a royal barge ceremony using a boat on the lake in the middle of his grand palace.
Ayutthaya era . , a comprehensive
atlas published by the Franciscan geographer
Vincenzo Maria Coronelli, Volume 1 between 1691 and 1692 in the reign of King
Phetracha of Ayutthaya era. Since
Ayutthaya Kingdom in the 14th century, strategic waterways and water transportation became more important to the Siamese people, according to the
Safine-ye Solaymani mentioned variant of
Shahr-i Nāv literally "City of Boats, Canals" with reference to Ayutthaya Kingdom. The traditional plays and competitions, i.e. the Siamese long boat racing festival described in the
Royal Ceremonies of the Twelve Months, were celebrated at peace, and the grand parade of the royal fleet rushed out to confront the enemies at war. In 1582, according to
Marcelo de Ribadeneira’s archive,
History of the Islands of the Philippine Archipelago and the Kingdoms of Great China, Tartary, Cochinchina, Malacca, Siam, Cambodia, and Japan (1601), the Franciscan missionary friar recorded the testimony of a Franciscan friar who came to reside in Siam in 1582. The Ribadeneira’s archive described the royal barge procession of King
Maha Thammarachathirat in Spanish:– {{Blockquote|text= (Translation): In honor of the arrival of the King of Siam, four large royal barges were moored in front of His Majesty. Many people blew small silver trumpets. The royal barges of the King of Siam were painted and carved with many works and statues. When the stern and bow were opened, they became a beautiful golden color. Both the shape and the craftsmanship looked like elephants. These royal barges moored beside a temple on the other side of the river. It is said that the King of Siam would moor his royal barges to pray and ask for worship. The next royal barges of trumpet barges had other long barges different from the first one. Many people wore clothes decorated with various patterns. Each of the great members of the royal family of Siam walked in order according to their positions and ranks. They dressed and walked in the procession with their barges, showing the majesty and greatness of their king. There were countless Siamese nobles. On the royal barges were many things, all very expensive and luxurious. And everyone stopped beside the temple. In 1594–98, King
Naresuan performed the royal barge procession before leading his 120,000 battalions to attack the Burmese
Hanthawaddy kingdom. When the moment was auspicious, the royal astrologer then ordered vassals to beat the drum for the oarsmen and sailed the royal barge
Sri Suphannahong ahead, on which the barge installed a golden Gautama Buddha containing the holy relics of the Lord Buddha, Phra Phichai, to lead the procession for good fortune. King Naresuan then ordered vassals to sail his royal barge
Kanokratanawiman Mahanawa, following the royal barge
Sri Suphannahong to celebrate the auspiciousness of His Majesty. In 1684, during the reign of King
Narai, the spectacle of the procession was in the memoirs of a number of foreign dignitaries who witnessed the event. The Royal Barge Procession was assigned to hail the arrival of
Chevalier de Chaumont Mon. Alexandre, the envoy of King
Louis XIV to Siam. Nicolas Gervaise, a French missionary and member of the French diplomatic corps, described the procession:– {{Blockquote|text=Unmatched in beauty by any naval spectacle, the procession consisting of over two hundred boats, is led by the Royal Barge manned by oarsmen themselves seated in a double row and distinguished by the red bands on their tunic sleeves. Each oarsman wears a headgear, tunic, and trousers marked by gilded bands. The strokes are synchronized and orchestrated by the rhythmic songs sung in praise of the King. The oars are also gilded. The drapes lining the Royal Barge are embellished with precious stones. In 1687,
Simon de la Loubère, a French diplomat to Siam, handwrote the royal barge procession of King Narai in his famous book,
Du Royaume de Siam:– {{Blockquote|text= (Translation): Because in Siam we only travel by water rather than by land, the King of Siam has many beautiful barges. I have said a barge made from only a single tree sometimes takes 16 to 20 wa (32–40 meters) in length. Two men sit cross-legged, parallel to each other. One paddles to the right, and the other to the left. Boating is to row with the paddle, and the paddle is a short oar, which is held in both hands, by the middle, and by the end. All we do is sweep the water with force. It is not attached to the edge of the barge, and the person rowing the boat faces the bow and paddles down with his back to the stern. For a single barge, there are sometimes a hundred or up to twenty paddlers arranged two by two with their legs crossed on planks; however, the lesser officers have shorter boats or fewer paddlers, like 16 or 20 paddlers. In order to plunge the paddle together, the paddlers sing or roar; they plunge in rhythm with a movement of arms and shoulders that is vigorous, simple, and graceful. , French diplomat to Siam of King
Louis XIV. European visitors witnessed and wrote about "an immense procession with 200 boats" upon their arrival in Thailand in the 17th century; one witness was
Pierre Brigot, bishop of Tabraca Vicar Apostolic in Siam; later, it was collected in the book History of the Kingdom of Siam (1770) compiled by
François Henri Turpin:– {{Blockquote|text=It is impossible to compare the beauty of the immense procession with 200 boats. The Royal barges travelled in two in the front. All oarsmen have been trained to an admirable proficiency, dressed uniformly in gold- trimmed hats, tunic, knee and arm bands. All rowing in synchronized movement and rhythm. The oars also of gold, touch the water with a sound that harmonizes with the boat song sung in praise of the King During the processions, the
oarsmen were kept in rhythm by the beating of
drums, with accompanying music. This traditional boat song was written by Prince Dhamma Dibes of the late-Ayutthaya period. Most of the vessels in the procession doubled as warships, and when war erupted, the barges and boats were used as weapons.
Thonburi era In 1767, the
Burmese invaded Ayutthaya Kingdom, and, for the second and last time, were able to capture the capital,
Ayutthaya. The entire fleet was burned and destroyed after the Burmese found them at their hideaway. General
Taksin rallied the Thais and established a new capital at
Thonburi. During his short 15-year reign, Taksin ordered the reconstruction of the barge fleet, and used a fleet of 115 barges to carry a revered likeness of
Buddha to his new capital. Chao Phaya Chakri succeeded King Taksin and moved the capital to the east side of the river to what is now known as Bangkok. Chao Phaya Chakri, founder of the
Chakri dynasty, ruled as
King Buddha Yodfah (Rama I) and began the Royal Kathin Ceremony Procession. The
Kathin Ceremony is a presentation of Kathin robes to monks and earns merit by honoring and supporting Buddhism.
Rattanakosin era–present , the Crown Prince of Siam, during the reign of King Rama V. This event was captured in a photograph album given to Mrs.
Bertha Honoré Palmer by Queen
Savang Vadhana, the Queen of Siam, in commemoration of the Siamese Exhibit in the Woman's Building at the World's
World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, United States of America. The exposition was held from May 5 to October 31, 1893. Soon after his
coronation in 1782, King Rama I ordered construction of the royal barge
Si Suphannahong. The
Si Suphannahong was the principal royal barge for more than a century. In 1911, King
Rama VI launched its successor, also named
Suphannahong. The
Prince of Nakhon Sawan, during the reign of
Rama V, devised fleet formations, which became the standard "major" and "minor" formations used today. In 1870,
Anna H. Leonowens, the teacher to the children of the Siamese, wrote of the Royal Barge Procession of
Ananta Nakkharat boat on her own distinct perspective and experience in the heart of an Asiatic court in the reign of King
Rama V. Her work was published in the
English Governess at the Siamese Court—the forbidden resale book in Siam.:– {{Blockquote|text=The royal state barge, one hundred cubits long, beside being elaborately carved, and inlaid with bits of crystal, porcelain, mother-of-pearl, and jade, is richly enamelled and gilt. The stem, which rises ten or eleven feet from the bows, represents the
nagha mustakha sapta, the sevenheaded serpent or alligator. A
phrasat, or elevated throne (also termed ''p'hra-the-nang
), occupies the centre, supported by four pillars. The extraordinary beauty of the inlaying of shells, mother-of-pearl, crystal, and precious stones of every color, the splendor of the gilding, and the elegance of the costly kinkob
curtains with which it is hung, combine to render this one of the most striking and beautiful objects to be seen on the Meinam''. The barge is usually manned by one hundred and fifty men, their paddles gilt and silver-tipped. Processions took place occasionally until the absolute monarchy ended in 1932. Most of the royal barges were kept near Thonburi train station. It was bombed in WWII, destroying a large number of royal barges. They were not employed again until the celebration of the 25th century of the
Buddhist Era in 1957. In 1959, Bhumibol Adulyadej revived the Royal Barge Procession as a means of presenting the Royal Kathin (robes for monks) in a royal ceremony. == Modern processions ==