Sometime in the 19th century, before the ancient Bang Rak Canal had been paved over to create Charoenkrung Road, the oldest modern paved road in Bangkok, a man was out fishing early one morning, and noticed something odd in the water. Fishing it out, the man discovered a mysterious old statue covered in mud.
He cleaned it up and brought it to his brother, who owned a nearby chicken far. Once they had cleaned the statue up, it was discovered to be an image of the Chinese goddess Taptim. How it ended up in the river, nobody knows!
Believing it to be good luck, the family built a Chinese shrine to house the image, and has been living at the shrine as caretakers ever since.
The shrine itself was never really on my radar - there are hundreds, if not thousands, of centuries-old shrines in Thailand, but recent news made me want to pay a visit.
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| a sign points the way to the shrine, hidden behind a construction site |
The shrine sits on land owned by nearby Chulalongkorn University. Very expensive land, I might add. Prime real estate.
The university is currently trying to renovate this land in order to build dormitories and apartment buildings, and while they have offered to build a new shrine, the family is resisting moving. Currently, the two factions are in a sort of legal struggle, and the shrine is at present sitting on a tiny patch of land surrounded by massive construction.
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| the shrine stands defiant, surrounded by construction |
I started my day with a maple iced coffee at the nearby Tim Hortons, then stepped out into the sweltering morning to make my trek to the shrine. It was easy to find - it really stood out against the corrugated metal walls, concrete pillars, bulldozers, and cranes that surrounded it!
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| the Chao Mae Thubtim Shrine |
The shrine is a pretty typical Chinese shrine, but what makes it unique is the story of the image of the goddess that sits inside.
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| the storied goddess |
The statue, clad in a pink robe and draped in necklaces, is believed by many in Thailand to grant wishes. There's something so mysterious about the way that the statue was found, that many Thais believe it to have great power.
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| Chinese deities at the shrine |
I do understand the controversy over the Taptim Shrine, and understand both points of view. It's a difficult situation without a clear solution, and one which I hope is resolved in a happy way.
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