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K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Two men fishing at pond (Thai Ramayana mural)

About this photograph

Creator
Margery H. Freeman
Date created
Unknown
Location
Bangkok, Thailand
License
This photograph copyright ©2006. Terms of use

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Two men fishing at pond with white birds on Ramayana mural in Emerald Buddha Temple

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This scene from the painted Ramayana murals at the Emerald Buddha Temple shows men fishing at a pond bordered by boulders, low bushes, and bright flowers. Two men fish with poles in the foreground, while several large white water birds fly or perch on the far side of the pond. Beyond the pond in the background there is empty, unforested land, where an occasional tree, including a coconut palm, grows.

This mural painting suggests what life was like in the ancient kingdoms where Rama and Sita were born. It actually is based on an idealized vision of rural life during the late 1800s in Siam (now Thailand).

Some Siamese versions of the Ramayana were lost when the Burmese sacked the Siamese royal city of Ayudhya in 1767. A version was created between 1797 and 1807 under the writing supervision of King Rama I, the founder of the Chakri dynasty. His version was depicted on the painted murals surrounding the Emerald Buddha Temple in Bangkok.

In addition to their knowledge of the Indian epic Ramayana, the mural paintings also suggest a familiarity with Chinese styles of landscape painting.

The original mural paintings in the Emerald Buddha Temple galleries are two hundred years old, but scenes are repainted from time to time under the supervision of the Thai royal family. This image was photographed in August 1984.