All of Thailand is excitedly looking forward to the kingdom’s first royal coronation in nearly seven decades. After years of preparation, His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn will be ascending to the throne in a series of elaborate events from 4 to 6 of May.
The Thai royal coronation is influenced by various religions and cultures, and comprises practices aimed at blessing and elevating the status of the king to a divine level.
There are hundreds of events leading up to the actual coronation, but two of the most highlighted in the royal coronation ceremony, called Phra Ratcha Phithi Boromma Racha Phisek, are the RoyalPurification Ceremony (Song Phra Muratha Bhisek) and the Anointment Ceremony (Abhisek).
In Hinduism, which exerts an enormous influence on Thai culture, water is the source of life and represents purity, divinity and power. For the coronation ceremony, water is used to symbolize the people’s willingness to bestow kingship to the chosen one. In return, the monarch is bound with a duty to protect and look after his people.
Ancient Hindu ceremonies use water collected from India’s five most sacred rivers—the Ganges, the Mahi, the Yamuna, the Rapti and the Sarayu—which are believed to flow down from the abode of Isvara, the Hindu Supreme Lord, in Mount Kailasa. The ancient Siamese kingdom of Ayutthaya (1351 to 1767) adopted this practice, and collected water from four sacred ponds in Suphanburi in central Thailand for the coronation rituals of their monarchs.
Throughout the first three reigns of the early Rattanakosin period (1782 to 1851), the ceremonial rituals remained heavily Brahman-influenced, and holy water was collected from five virtuous rivers—the Bang Pakong, the Pa Sak, the Chao Phraya, the Ratchaburi and the Phetchaburi—in addition to water collected from four sacred ponds in Suphanburi. Later on, King Mongkut (Rama IV), who spent almost three decades as a Buddhist monk, added water blessed by Buddhist monks to the ceremony. King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) took things a step further for his second coronation ceremony— he also brought water from India's five sacred rivers to add to the water mix.
For the royal coronation of King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), water was collected from significant sources around the country, hence the water consecration ritual took place at sacred temples across Thailand and at the royal temple.
For the purification of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn or King Rama X, water has been collected from 108 sources from all the provinces in the kingdom.
