Krom Luang Chumporn Khet Udom Suk

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Wat Phra That Sawi









The 30 metres-high stupa of Wat Phra That Sawi Houses relics of the buddha. According to legend, when king Sri Thammasokarat passed Sawi with his army, he saw a flock of crows on a brick mound. Since one of the crows was white, The king interpreted this as a good omen and immediately ordered the mound's excavation.
Workers found an urn containing relics of the Buddha beneath the mound. Overwhelmed with faith, the king ordered the construction of a stupa to enshrine the relics. In 1916 A.D. The stupa was in such a dilapidated condition that it had to be reconstructed.
A shrine honouring Phra Sua Muang or the city's spirit protector can also be found within the same compund.

Phra Borommathat Sawi
Phra Barommathat Sawi is located within Wat Phrathat Sawi at Mu1, Ban Sawi. Legend has it that around the year 1260; King Thammasokkarat on his way back from the fighting with Ayothaya at Kamnoet Napphakhun town stopped over at a deseted temple in Sawi. A flock of crows including one albino gatered, cawed and flapped their wing on an old brick mound. Although they were chased away by soldiers, they always came back to gather at the same place again The King then, instucted the removal of the rubble, which turned to be remains of a large chedi. He had the chedi reconstructted to house the reliquary discovered in situ underneath the rubble. The chedi was named Phrathat Ka Wi Pik, meaing the reliccontaining chedi of the flpping crows. Ka is a Thai word for crow, Pik for wing, And Wi is southern dialect for flapping. The name Sawi is believed to be a corruption of Kawi as the southern people call it. Before leaving for Nakhon Si Thammarat, the king instructed a soldier whose name was Nai Mueang to be decapitated and a spirit house to be erected so that his spirit stayed there to safeguard the chedi. The spirit house was called San Phra Suea Mueang and has been revered by the people. In 1916, the boundary wall of chedi was restored by a former abbot of Wat Don Sathon and an ecclesiastical district officer of Sawi. The topmost orb of the chddi was put in place on 26 August, 1996, by Mr.Somkid Chotihavanit, former Director'General of the Fine Arts Department. There is an annual homage-paing faire here around the middle of the sixth lunar months

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