Art and Culture / Architecture Part 2
Vihara
The Vihara is a replica of the Bot and is used to keep Buddha images. In central Thailand the Vihara is smaller than the Bot, while in the north of Thailand it is the reverse. The reason for this difference is that in the north there are more Wats so that many Wats have just a few monks while in central Thailand there are fewer but larger Wats - hence the Bots of northern Thai Wats don’t need to be as large as those of southern or central Thai Wats.
The Vihara is often enclosed by a gallery walled outside and open inside having generally square pillars to support the roof. Along the galleries are many Buddha images modeled in stucco or cast in bronze. In a few cases the walls of the verandah are decorated with paintings.
The roofs of these galleries are covered with the universally used glazed tiles in brilliant colors, while the walls are painted white.
Chedi or Stupa
The Chedi or Stupa is the most venerated religious structure in a Wat. Originally it always enshrined some relics of the Buddha. Later on it contained relics of some holy men or kings, etc; finally it has become a religious symbol as the cross is for Christians.
The prototype of the Stupa originated in central India. It is composed of the drum, (basement), the dome (tumulus) surmounted by a cubical chair symbolizing the seat of Buddha, and over it the Chatra umbrella which originally had only one tier and later on became a slender pinnacle formed by many tiers. In Thailand, Stupas are found in many various forms.
The typical northern type is formed by a cubical solid mass having four niches at its sides containing images of Buddha in high relief or round relief; this cubical mass is superimposed by one or more storeys and crowned by a dome. If the structure is hollow, one of the niches serves as entrance. At the corners of the cubical basement and even at the corners of the superposed storeys, there are small Stupas which remind of both, Srivisaya and Burmese art. Difference of proportions in width and height varies the appearance of this kind of Chedi (Stupa).
Another type of Chedi is the one resembling the Sat Mahat Pasada at Polonnaruva in Sri Lanka. It is formed by many receding cubical storeys enriched with horizontal rows of standing Buddha images in high relief.
In general, the round Stupa built in Thailand has the same elements as the Indian prototype which was introduced from Sri Lanka. The form of the round Stupa nevertheless is eminently Thai because of its high pyramidal curved outline, a characteristic noticeable in all Thai religious buildings. This Stupa has a high drum formed by many moldings of the same design, a bell-shaped dome, a square throne surmounted by a low circular colonnade supporting the high and slender Chatra (umbrella).
During the Ayutthaya period, by adding four niches (an element borrowed from the northern art) to the dome of the classic Chedi, the Thai composed a fine new style. The beautiful group of the three Chedis of Wat Phra Sri Sanphet of Ayutthaya show this style at its best development. In later times the outline became more slender and more slender losing in such a way its monumentality.
Generally this type of Stupa is hollow with one niche serving as entrance. The interior contains, as usual, Buddha images.
Found in Thailand are many Stupas of the classic type - all of them have a high square basement and a high drum. In some instances the drum is octagonal suggesting Chinese influence.
Chedis are built in all sizes: small ones may just be about two meters high (ca. 6ft); but they can be as tall as the large Stupa of Nakhon Pathom which measures 115 meters (376ft) from the ground.
Prang
The Prang originated from the corner tower of the Khmer temple, becoming a new form of the Thai Stupa. Square in plan with a domed roof it rises elegantly from a large base to an elliptically shaped mass. Usually, a Prang has three niches and one entrance door reached over a very steep staircase. The interior contains images of Buddha.
The best example of a classic Thai Prang is at Wat Mahathat in Sawankhalok. This old monument originally was part of a single edifice with the Bot erected in front of it. Such planning corresponds to the Khmer style which again was borrowed from Indian temple architecture.
In the opinion of Professor Silpa Bhirasri, from about the end of the 17th century A.D. on the shape of the Chedi and the Prang started to degenerate for two reasons. One was the tendency to build the structure too narrow and to give too much prominence to the basement, reducing the space of the cell of the Prang or that of the dome of the Chedi; the second cause was the fashion to replace old architectural moldings with the ‘S?shaped lion-leg of the Chinese low table. By transporting characteristics of Chinese wooden structures into brick ones, the Thai buildings lost their monumentality.
Professor Silpa Bhirasri applies this criticism also to the concave line of the longitudinal moldings of the Bot or Vihara below the level of the windows. This concave line was meant to imitate the Chinese Sampan (boat).
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