Present: Horst Schneider, Ray Kaulig, Louis Gabaude, Michael Tuckson,
Bonnie Brereton, Gary Suwannarat, Bodil Blokker, Renee Vines, Dianne & Mark,
Barber-Riley, Marilyn Karr, Janey Bennett, Ken Dyer, Siripan & Tony Kidd,
William Lee, Glynn Morgan, Christina Fink, Aileen Roantree, Hedy Jentsch,
Jay Rabin, Guy Cardinal, Ratchada Koovuthyakorn, a Thai person, Jim
Goodman, Oliver Hargreave, John Cadet, Khin San Hiwe, Maybel Htoo, Toe Toe,
Dang Jar, Simone Buys, June Sperring, Bea Camp, David Summers, Shane Beary,
Thomas Ohlson. An audience of 37.
Introduction
The documentary was produced in 1989, when Reinhard Hohler led a German ZDF
television channel film team across Thailand to unravel the mystery of the
Emerald Buddha. The film Reinhard showed this evening was a recently
released American edition, with an English language narrative.
Reinhard was the author of the film and was responsible for putting
together the story and choosing the different shooting locations. The
production team traveled thousands of kilometres across Thailand, visiting
such places as the Spirit Cave in the North, Ban Chiang in the Northeast,
and Nakhon Si Thammarat in the South. The highlight at the end of the
one-month journey was to film the ceremony in which H.M. King Bhumibol
Adulyadej changed the robes of the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok's Wat Phra Keo.
The film examines some of the speculations about where the Emerald Buddha
came from and the history of the stone used to create it.
This year, H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej celebrates the 60th anniversary of
his accession to the throne. The film "The Jewel of Suwannaphum" clearly
establishes the relationship of the King with the Emerald Buddha, which is
the spiritual source of power to his reign. The film will be a valuable
historical document for many generations to come.
Reinhard's introduction to the film was drawn from two magazine articles
that he has recently had published.
The History of Suvannaphoum
By Reinhard Hohler, Chiang Mai (August 8th 2006)
In ancient times, merchants and Brahmins from the Indian Subcontinent
sailed to a destination called "Suvannaphoum" to explore and trade with the
people in what is today's South East Asia. They brought with them aspects
of Indian civilisation, which blended well with local cultures and beliefs.
The long-term impact of these voyages resulted in the acceptance of
philosophical thoughts, religions, political and administrative systems,
concepts of law, arts and most important of all, Sanskrit language and
literature.
India's contact with Suvannaphoum (Suvarnabhumi in Sanskrit) or "Land of
Gold" goes back 4,000-5,000 years. Legends tell that merchants had visited
the Buddha after his enlightenment in India and brought back lockets of his
hair as relics to enshrine in pagodas. Some stories also suggest that the
Buddha travelled the world and reached areas in today's China's Yunnan
Province, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. The communication
increased when Buddhist missionaries travelled to Southeast Asia to spread
the Buddha's teachings.
During the 3rd century B.C. King Ashoka had sent the missionary monks Sona
and Uttara to Suvannaphoum. It is assumed that they landed in the ancient
city of Thaton, a city of the Mon people in the southern part of Burma.
That is why Burmese historians claim that Burma was Suvannaphoum. Most
modern scholars agree that Suvannaphoum was a loose confederation of
kingdoms, stretching from the land of the Mon people in Southern Burma to
areas in present-day Thailand and Vietnam.
In Thailand many historians believe that Nakhon Pathom, west of Bangkok,
ought to be the capital of Suvannaphoum. They point out that Nakhon Pathom
was then nearer to the sea than it is now, thus rendering communication
easy with distant lands. Actually many relics have been found there, such
as wheels-of-law in stone and inscribed votive tablets. Furthermore, the
original Nakhon Pathom Chedi was restored several times and resembled the
great stupa at Sanchi in India, which dates back to Ashoka's time. A
thousand years later, when Chinese scholars visited the place in the 7th
century Nakhon Pathom was part of Mon Dvaravati.
Further to the east there existed the Kingdom of Funan, which was
historically known as a powerful trade centre. According to Chinese
history, Funan - meaning south of the mountains - was located in the
fertile Mekong Delta. Excavations at the site of Oc Eo in Southern Vietnam
reveal a rich culture. From 1st - 6th centuries, Oc Eo was part of a larger
political entity, with a capital further inland. The sketchy report that
has survived mentions walled villages, palaces and dwellings. Mon people
made gold rings, bracelets and silver plates. Taxes were paid in gold,
silver and perfumes. There were books and depositories of archives and
other things.
When trade with China and India declined, the political power shifted to
the Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia, where the Khmer Empire of Angkor arose. In
the 15th century, the riches of gold wandered to Ayutthaya in Central
Thailand, and finally to Burma, where most of the gold was attached to the
famous Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon. The memory of Suvannaphoum faded away
with the modern Vietnamese, Khmer, Thai and Burmese people. Only in Laos
was there a collective memory of the tradition to preserve and up-keep the
name Suvannaphoum into modern times.
Interestingly, there is a district town named Suvannaphoum in Thailand's
Isan Province of Roi Et, and just recently H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej
designated the new International Airport in Bangkok with the name
Suvarnabhumi - in memory of the Golden Land. Today, Suvannaphoum will again
attract foreign visitors from around the world.
The Emerald Buddha of Suvannaphoum
By Reinhard Hohler, Chiang Mai (September 14th 2005)
Three times a year, at the beginning of each season, King Bhumibol
Adulyadej changes the robes of the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok's Wat Phra
Keo. While the Emerald Buddha, which is only 66 cm tall, is the most
revered religious Buddha image in Thailand, its origin and its sculptor are
unknown.
The "green" Buddha image is venerated as the palladium of the Kingdom of
Thailand and is believed to bring prosperity and protection to the country.
It also believed to guarantee the annual rains needed for the rice growing
cycle. Thus, it is intimately connected with Suvannaphoum - the fabulous "Golden Land".
According to one of the Pali palm-leaf manuscripts of the Chronicle of the
Emerald Buddha, translated by French Consul Emille Notton in 1932, the
Emerald Buddha first appeared in India some 2,000 years ago. Later, its
legendary voyage took it to Sri Lanka, Bagan, Angkor, and the ancient Thai
capital of Ayutthaya. It miraculously resurfaced in Chiang Rai in 1434 and
travelled via Lampang to Chiang Mai. From Chiang Mai, it was transferred to
Luang Phrabang and Vientiane, from where, in 1778, it was taken to Thonburi
and finally to Bangkok, its present resting place.
There are a myriad of long-time speculations concerning where the Buddha
image came from and the history behind the stone that was used to carve it.
Since the reign of King Rama IV (1851-1868), it has been acknowledged that
the Emerald Buddha was made of jade. Jade is mined in Burma's Kachin State
and traded to China even more than gold. It seems that this ongoing jade
trade has been one of the sources of Chiang Mai and Thailand's prosperity
for centuries.
Jade is called the stone of heaven and has been known for thousands of
years, especially in China. It is interesting to note that the Chinese
characters for king and jade are identical. Jade comes in two major kinds:
nephrite and jadeite, the latter being the harder one to carve. Good
jadeite is much rarer than good nephrite and it is called imperial jade by
the Chinese to command prices equivalent to those of good emerald in the
gem market.
Strangely enough, most of the jade used in China for most of the enormous
span of history involved was nephrite and came from the ancient trading
centres of Khotan and Yarkand near the Kunlun Mountains in Eastern
Turkestan, what is today China's Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. From
the trading post of Kashgar, camel caravans made their way eastward along
the Silk Road.
Jadeite from Burma's Kachin State did not reach China until the 18th
century. Canton was the centre of this new trade, although much of the
material was cut in Shanghai and Beijing.
Today, jadeite is transported on elephant and mule caravans through Burma's
Shan State to reach Chiang Mai in Thailand. This secretive trade has gone
on for a long time and today extends even farther to Bangkok and Hong Kong.
It would be intriguing to know if the Emerald Buddha in the Grand Palace in
Bangkok was carved out from a piece of nephrite or jadeite. Or is it made
of some other material? No matter how much there is a discussion about it,
for the time being, jade is destined to remain a stone of legend and
mystery.
Reinhard Hohler is a PhD candidate in ethnology at Heidelberg University in
Germany. For further information about "The Jewel of Suwannaphum", please
contact Reinhard by e-mail [email protected]
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