Lak Muang

Exploring Lak Muang

Lak Muang is the City Pillar shrine of Bangkok. In most Thai towns and cities, it is customary to see a shrine erected for the founding of the city and usually usually located somewhere near the middle of the city.

The Lak Muang of Bangkok houses the City Pillar, the phallic pillar is the abode of Phra Lak Muang, the guardian spirit of Bangkok. It was driven into the ground on 6:54am, 21 April, 1782, the auspicious time and date for the founding of Bangkok by King Rama I, who was proclaimed the first monarch of the Chakri Dynasty. The City Pillar is made of laburnam wood and decorated with heartwood. It was driven to be 79 inches in the ground and sticks out for 108 inches. The top is covered with shellac and gold leaf. Within it is the "birth certificate" of Bangkok. This "birth certificate" is the horoscope of the city. In a way, the horoscope makes mention of threats to the city, such as Burmese invasion.

Within the Lak Muang shrine today, there are actually two city pillars. The taller one is the original that was placed by King Rama I. The shorter one was placed when the City Pillar shrine was restored under the reign of King Mongkut (Rama IV). He held a ceremony at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha where the city's birth certificate was inscribed on a gold bar weighing 1 baht. A shrine was buit to shelter the City Pillar, and the Lak Muang Shrine is said to be of the Ayutthaya style. In installing his city pillar, King Mongkut inscribed the present threats faced by the city, not the Burmese, by rather European colonialists. He also installed the image of a new deity, Phra Sayamthevathirat to be the supreme deity of the Kingdom of Siam. In so doing, he elevated the status of the new deity and made Phra Lak Muang and the other guardian spirits less significant. As King Mongkut adopted Western style of government, the practice of erecting city pillars became a thing of the past.

In 1896, the Lak Muang shrine was restored. During that time, the older, original and taller city pillar was brought in to be next to the one erected by King Mongkut.

At the time of my visit to Lak Muang, there was a Thai performance in progress. Such performances are usually held as entertainment to the deities.

Getting there

Lak Muang is located diagonal from the Grand Palace, along Thanon Lak Muang. The easiest way to reach this part of Bangkok is by taxi. Otherwise, you can also take the BTS Skytrain to the Saphan Taksin Station (S6)) and then catch a ferryboat to Chang Pier (N9).

Associated Sites

City Pillar of Chiang Mai

City Pillars of Thailand

Nearby Sights

Sanam Luang

Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew

Wat Mahathat (City Pillar)

Wat Pho (Temple of the Reclining Buddha)

Lak Muang (29 August 2006)
© Timothy Tye

Location Map of Lak Muang in Bangkok

Lak Muang (29 August 2006)
© Timothy Tye

Devotees at Lak Muang (29 August 2006)
© Timothy Tye

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