13TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THAI STUDIES GLOBALIZED THAILAND? CONNECTIVITY, CONFLICT AND CONUNDRUMS OF THAI STUDIES 15-18 JULY 2017, CHIANG MAI, THAILAND
Naga Art in Buddhist Temples of Mueang Chiang Mai District
Chang, Ya-Liang Department of Southeast Asian Studies National Chi Nan University Taiwan ------
Abstract
Chiang Mai was the capital of the Lanna Kingdom from the 13th century, the city has many important Buddhist temples. This study involved field research, recording Naga arts in 34 Buddhist temples of the Mueang Chiang Mai District. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the characteristics of Naga art in northern Thailand. The results of this research are as follows: (a) in terms of motifs, the mom om nak motif is the most important characteristic of Naga art in northern Thailand; (b) in terms of shape elements, the Naga stair works of various historical periods represent different technical methods involving materials, shapes, lines, and colors, with the most obvious difference being the crest design; and (c) in terms of features, Naga works with horns and the use of the Lanna painting pattern in the chest pattern are unique in Northern Thailand. To sum up, the main characteristic of Naga art of northern Thailand was influenced by Lanna culture, as revealed by their motifs, shapes, patterns, etc. Keywords: Buddhist art, Chiang Mai, Naga
Introduction
“Naga art” refers to the Naga-themed art forms that make use of materials such as clay, plaster, wood, gold, silver, or copper, which can often be molded in three dimensions. Although Naga art is popular in Thailand, Burma, Laos, Cambodia, etc., little research has been conducted on it. However, over the last decade, the Naga has gradually become a subject of research. The Naga is also important for Lanna culture. Lanna in northern Thailand, also known as the ancient Lanna Kingdom (13–20 A.D.), was not a country with sharply defined borders but rather a group of city-states that were ruled directly by Chiang Mai and its administration (Penth, 2004, p.81). The Lanna Kingdom was founded in the 13th century. Its first king, King Mangrai, chose Chiang Mai to be the capital of the Lanna Kingdom in 1296 A.D. There are many versions of Lanna's historical periods, such as those described by Wyatt (2003), Penth (2004) and the Chiang Mai National Museum. Generally speaking, the history of Lanna can be divided into four periods: the Lanna Kingdom (about 1259–1564 A.D.), Lanna under the ruling of Burma (about 1564–1774 A.D.), Chiang Mai Dynasty (about 1775–1939 A.D.), and Thailand Administration (1939–present A.D.) (Wyatt, 2003, pp.310–311). The main religion of the Lanna Kingdom is Buddhism. Buddhist temples are important places for 118
13TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THAI STUDIES GLOBALIZED THAILAND? CONNECTIVITY, CONFLICT AND CONUNDRUMS OF THAI STUDIES 15-18 JULY 2017, CHIANG MAI, THAILAND observing Buddhist art. Chiang Mai has been the capital of Lanna for centuries, so the city has many important Buddhist temples. According to the data of the National Office of Buddhism, Chiang Mai has the highest number of Buddhist temples in northern Thailand, including those from the four historical Lanna periods. Additionally, more than 60% of the ancient temples built before the 17th century are preserved in Chiang Mai City (National Office of Buddhism, 2016). Therefore, research on Chiang Mai City can provide a representative understanding of Lanna art. The Mueang Chiang Mai District has 16 administrative regions and 122 Buddhist temples (Chiang Mai Municipality, 2016; National Office of Buddhism, 2016). The author travelled through the Mueang Chiang Mai District from October to November, 2015, and conducted field research, which included recording the instances of Naga arts in 34 Buddhist temples in Chiang Mai’s old city ( ). The Buddhist temples of Thailand contain many buildings. This study focuses on the Buddha image halls ( , viharn). For basic information about temples, refer to Appendix 1. The biggest limitation of this study is that the time of production of the Naga works is not certain, because they were not part of the main body of the temples. Moreover, since they were outside the main temple, they were not protected. Since many existing Naga works in ancient temples have been repaired, reconstructed, or remade, this study only lists the years when temples were built as a reference in Appendix 1. However, the methods of creating Naga art had fixed production modes. Though we cannot identify the date of manufacture of the Naga works, we can still explore Naga art works of different historical periods.
Literature Review
1.1 Where Did the Naga of Thailand Come From? Where did the Naga of Thailand come from? Generally speaking, there are two schools of thought about the origin of the Naga: the Indianized school and the local school. The Indianized school suggests that the Naga came from Indian mythology, as argued by the following scholars: Sasanka Sekhar Panda (2004), Sumet Jumsai (1997), Siripot Laomanajarern (2003), and Ngaosrivathana and Ngaosrivathana (2009). Several studies in various disciplines have noted Thai-Indian cultural linkages through the Naga. Panda (2004) discusses Naga images in Indian literature and Naga sculptures in Indian temples as examples, and describes how Nagas have been presented in Indian culture through various forms, including the snake, half-human half-snake, and human images. From Panda’s study, we know that the images of India’s Nagas have the following characteristics: Nagas are the leaders of the oceans, live under the earth, bear a jewel on their heads, and some have an odd number (such as 3,5,7,9) of serpent hoods above their head (Panda, 2004, pp.17-18). The Indian Nagas are similar to those in Thailand. Because the Indian Naga appeared earlier, the Indianized school suggests that the prototype of Thailand’s Naga came from India. However, the local school stresses indigenous serpent worship of Southeast Asia, and notes that serpent worship probably existed before Brahmanism and Theravada Buddhism came into Southeast Asia. Wongthes (2003, p.1) takes as evidence snake-wrapped graphics of archaeological artifacts, such as those at Ban Chiang, Udon Thani Province and Ban Kao, Kanchana Buri Province as evidence that serpent worship probably existed in prehistoric times in Southeast Asia. Wongthes explains, “Indigenous serpent
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13TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THAI STUDIES GLOBALIZED THAILAND? CONNECTIVITY, CONFLICT AND CONUNDRUMS OF THAI STUDIES 15-18 JULY 2017, CHIANG MAI, THAILAND worship existed when Brahmanism and Theravada Buddhism came into Southeast Asia. Later, serpent worship combined with Indian religions and was transformed into new beliefs” (Wongthes, 2003, pp.5-6). Another proponent of the local school is Phan Anh Tu, who observes that serpent stories were very popular among the various ethnic groups in Thailand, Burma, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. That is, indigenous serpent worship has long existed in Southeast Asia. Buddhism peacefully fused with indigenous animism, integrated serpent worship and transformed it into Naga beliefs (Phan, 2007, p.2, 17). Yen (2005, pp.17-18) mentions Dvaravati ( ) as possibly the first area where Buddha appears in Southeast Asia in the mudra of Pang Nak Prok ( ), that is, seated in meditation upon a coiled Naga whose hood protects him from the rain. This posture could relate to serpent worship at that time. As mentioned above, Thailand’s Naga developed out of multiple sources, and is not fully Indianized. It must be noted that although the prototype of the Thai Naga comes from India, indigenous serpent worship has also long been present in Southeast Asia. Simply stated, Buddhism integrated serpent worship and transformed it into Naga belief. For example, Virapaksa ( ), one of the four great kings in Buddhism, was the leader of Nagas (Ngaosrivathana & Ngaosrivathana, 2009, p.1; Brahmagunabhorn, 2014, p.199; Laomanajarern, 2003, p.152).
1.2 Diversity of Naga Images The word “Naga” came from Sanskrit and various dialects led to changes of the pronunciation of “Naga”. For example, the pronunciations Ngan, Ngua, Nam Ngu Ak-ngu, and Namngum can be found in Thailand and Laos (Ngaosrivathana & Ngaosrivathana, 2009, p.6). Nagas have a variety of images, such as the water Naga in Ahom, crocodile in Shan, water snake in White T’ai, dragon in Pa-yi, and serpent in Siamese (Davis, 1984, p.212). Therefore, the names, pronunciations and images of Nagas vary in different areas.
1.3 Naga Art Researches The last decade has seen more research of Naga in Thailand. In Thai temple architectural ornaments, Naga art usually appears on gable boards, hanghong, temple roofs, brackets, stairs, etc. (fig. 1), but the data on Naga stairs is the largest, compared to data on other kinds of art works. Naga research has mainly focused on comparison of buildings, art history and case studies. However, few studies have discussed the characteristics of Naga art in particular regions.
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Figure 1: Naga in Thai temple architectural ornaments Reference source: The Royal Institute, 2007, p.523; Boonyasurat, 2000, p.192. owl tail Naga art research in northern Thailand includes investigations of Pritasuwan (2014) in Nan Province and หางหงส์ Phutamart (2013) in Lampang Province. These studies drew the following conclusions: (a) the Nagas usually appeared on gable boards, hanghong, along the tiers of temple roofs, on arches and stairs leading to the main shrine, and in temple architectural ornaments of northern Thailand (Phutamart, 2013: 5-6, 13), and (b) the basic features of the Naga comprised a snake’s body, big eyes, and fish-like fins (Pritasuwan, 2014, p.3). Although Pritasuwan and Phutamart studied the Naga art of northern Thailand, relevant discussions on, for example, the relationship between the Naga and other mythological animals, have not been explored. Several mythological animals are similar to the Naga, including the Makara (มกร), Hera (เหลา), and dragon. If we want to study the various kinds of mythological animals, we can analyze the shapes, accessories, motifs, location, and the whole context of the art work. What is the relationship between the Naga and these mythological animals? Are there any special explanations of the shapes of these mythological animals? In fact, the most important characteristic style of Naga art in northern Thailand is the mom om nak motif ( , fig. 2), depicting the Naga emanating from another mythological animal’s mouth. Most of the Lanna people call the other mythological animal “Mom” ( ). Mom is unique to northern Thailand. A few people also call this creature “Makara.” However, neither Pritasuwan nor Phutamart mentioned this important mythological animal in their research. As mentioned above, there are still several issues worth discussing, such as the relationship between the Naga and other mythological animals and the characteristics of Naga art in northern Thailand. Thus, these issues are the focal points of this study.
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Figure 2: Mom om nak motif, Wat Panping, Mueang Chiang Mai District. Reference source: author unknown, age unknown, mixed material, photo by the author.
1.4 Thai Painting Pattern The Thai painting/line pattern ( ) makes use of curved lines and complex but symmetrical features. In describing the Thai painting pattern, Changchaya (2002, p.48) said: “It is a kind of soft line design, shown in a variety of technological designs.” Changchaya explained it as a feature of Thai culture, depicted not only in paintings, but also in architecture, sculptures, embroidery, and other art works (2002, p.45). In fact, the prototype of the Thai painting pattern came from India. The ancient Thai accepted Indian Buddhism thousands of years ago, and assimilated the ancient Indian design style. Later, the Thai painting pattern was further developed and refined. Different styles were formed in the eras of Thailand’s history. The Thai painting pattern is inspired by aspects of nature, such as flowers, waves, flames, and rice, and natural shapes develop into complex symmetrical patterns (Changchaya, 2002, p.37, 46). Clear norms appear in the Thai painting pattern with different materials and positioning. In the case of the Naga, craftsmen drew different Thai painting patterns according to the positions of Naga bodies, such as by drawing the head with the kanok pattern ( , lai kano) or the chest with the prachamyam pattern ( , lai prachamyam). Most craftsmen complied with the norms of the Thai painting pattern. The Thai painting pattern is thus an important reference while observing Naga art.
Results
The research focused on Naga stairs due to Naga stairs is the largest, compared to data on other kinds of Naga art works. This study investigated Naga arts in 34 Buddhist temples of the Mueang Chiang Mai District and collected records on 29 Naga stair works to analyze the contents of the works. We analyzed elements including colors, motifs, crest shapes, number of heads, design lines, materials, body shapes, facial expressions, and patterns. The results of the analysis are presented in Table 1, which reveals several interesting points:
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Table 1: Elemental analysis of 29 Naga-ladder works Element motif Crest Number Head Design Does or Does or Body Have the Tail does or of Naga art shape of heads and focuses on does not does shape chest does not body the first use glass not is pattern follow the lines do half of the material have wavy or not Thai Temple or do body horns painting not pattern form a line Wat Chedi Luang N1 A 5 Wat Pra Singh N1 B 1 Wat Phan Tao N2 B 1 Wat Prasat N2 B 1 ♂♀ Wat Lam Chang N1 C 1 Wat Chieng Mun N1 C 1 Wat Pra Singh N1 C 1 Wat Chedi Luang N1 C 1 Wat Phra That Doi Suthep N1 C 7 Wat Rajamontean N2 C 1 Wat Muen Larn N1 C 1 Wat Mor Kham Tuang N1 C 1 Wat Panping N1 C 1 Wat Fon Soi N1 C 1 Wat Khuankha Ma N1 C 1 Wat Pouck Chang N3 C 1 ♂♀ Wat Pouck Chang N3 -- 1 Wat Puag Taem N1 C 1 Wat Saen MuangMa N3 C 1 Luang Wat ChaiPhraKiat N1 C 1 Wat Sumpow N1 C 1 Wat Tung Yu N1 C 1 Wat Saenfang N1 C 1 Wat Dab Phai N1 C 1 Wat Chang Taem N1 C 1 ♂♀ Wat Upakut N1 C 1 Wat Srikoed N1 C 1 Wat Phakhao N1 C 1 Wat Inthakhin N2 C 1 ♂♀ Meaning of symbols: 1. N1: mom om nak shape; N2: Naga shape; N3: mixed shape. 2. A: shield-shaped crest; B: acute angle triangle shaped crest: C: curved conical shaped crest. 3. ♂♀: Nagas are divided into male and female. 4. : yes; : no.
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5. --: Elephant head, no crest; Reference source: collated by the author.
2.1 The Characteristics of Naga Art in Northern Thailand Table 1 shows that, in all historical periods, the mom om nak shape (N1, 22 pieces) accounted for 75% of the content; hence, the most important characteristic of Naga art is the mom om nak motif in northern Thailand. In addition, the number of single-head Nagas was the largest (27 pieces). The results of this survey are the same as those of Pritasuwan. However, the most important characteristic, the mom om nak motif, was not mentioned in Pritasuwan’s research.
2.2 More Than Half of Naga Works Have Horns on the Heads Nagas with horns on their heads accounted for over 50% (16 pieces) of all the works, while four pieces were categorized as male and female; the male nagas with horns were placed on the right side of the door and the female nagas with no horns were placed on the left side. The main image of Thai Nagas comes from Thai literature, especially the Himmapan forest ( ). In the concept of the three worlds ( ), people believe that the Himmapan forest is located at the foothills of the Sumi Mountain. A variety of magic animals reside there, and the Naga is one of them. According to this concept of the Thai people, the Naga image is that of a serpent with a crest ( ) (Phlainoi, 2009: 202). In other words, it is generally believed that a Naga does not have horns on its head. However, some Nagas have not only horns, but are also depicted as male and female in Chiang Mai temples. This distinction reveals a local feature of Naga art in northern Thailand.
2.3 Analyses of Naga Works Although this article does not identify the manufacturing time of the Naga works, we still analyze them based on various elements such as the crests, materials, colors, patterns, and lines. Among the abovementioned elements, the most important is the Naga’s crest, which is also its most distinctive characteristic, when compared with those of other mythological animals. Therefore, in Table 1, the crest shapes are divided into three types: shield, acute triangle, and curved conical-shaped, as shown below.
2.3.1 Shield-Shaped Crest (Table 1, type A) The shield-shaped Naga crest works (Table 1, the short form is “type A”) include those found on the Naga stairs of Wat Chedi Luang (see fig. 3), which are the oldest and largest Naga stairs in Chiang Mai’s old city. The temple building is already more than six hundred years old. This kind of Naga has a shield-shaped crest, with a ferocious expression and complex patterns on the crest that are divided into several areas by straight lines. Different engraved patterns appear on each area of the crest, including whole flowers and ancient designs. Other features are the simple shape, monochrome, stone material with no glass, and a tail without the Thai painting pattern. Moreover, the design is focused on the front half of the body. Overall, these Naga bodies do not appear wavy, and the head-body lines look like straight lines.
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Figure 3: The shield-shaped crest Naga work, at Wat Chedi Luang; Reference source: author unknown, built age about A.D.1370-1411, stone material, photo by the author, Mueang Chiang Mai District.
2.3.2 Acute Angle Triangle–Shaped Crest (Table 1, type B) The acute angle triangle–shaped Naga crest works (Table 1, the short form is “type B”) are similar to type A Naga works. This kind of Naga has an acute angle triangle–shaped crest and a mellow expression. The patterns on the crest are divided into several areas by straight lines, with different patterns engraved on each area. The tail is curved into a hill shape (see fig. 4). Other features are similar to type A Naga works: simple shape, monochrome, stone material with no glass, a tail without the Thai painting pattern, and designs focused on the front half of the body. Overall, these Naga bodies do not appear wavy, and the head-body lines look like straight lines.
Figure 4: The acute angle triangle shaped crest Naga works, at Wat Prasat; Reference source: author unknown, age unknown, stone material, photo by the author, Mueang Chiang Mai District.
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2.3.3 Curved Conical-Shaped Crest (Table 1, type C) The curved conical-shaped Naga crest works (Table 1, the short form is “type C”) are clearly different from type A and type B works. The features of type C Naga works include the use of the Thai painting pattern, colored glass, and large curved lines. The crest of type C Naga works is usually sharp and thin, like a flame extending upward (see fig. 5). The crest is divided into several areas by straight lines, and engraved with different patterns on each area. However, the pattern changes are less noticeable than in the above two kinds of works. In particular, the Thai painting pattern covered almost the whole body, including the crest, mouth, body parts, scales, and tail. Overall, these Naga bodies appear wavy, and the head-body lines do not look like straight lines.
Figure 5: The Curved conical shaped crest Naga works, at Wat Chang Taem Reference source: author unknown, built age about A.D.2008, mixed material, photo by the author, Mueang Chiang Mai District.
The above three types of Naga works from different historical periods represent different technical methods involving materials, shapes, lines, and colors (Table 2). These elements are summarized as follows: (1) Material The materials used in the three types of works are different. The use of glass and cement are important clues to distinguish the types of Naga works. As shown in Table 1, although the time of production of type A and type B Naga works is not accurate, they can both be considered to be ancient works since they do not use glass material. Their main material is stone, which is hard, unlike cement, so type A and type B Naga works do not appear wavy. They are different from type C works, which use mostly glass and cement. The shapes of type C works are therefore obviously different from the first two categories. (2) Shape With regard to the “shape,” the biggest difference between the three types of Naga works is the change form straight lines to curved lines, that is, the use of the Thai painting pattern. In Naga art, the crest,
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13TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THAI STUDIES GLOBALIZED THAILAND? CONNECTIVITY, CONFLICT AND CONUNDRUMS OF THAI STUDIES 15-18 JULY 2017, CHIANG MAI, THAILAND body, and tail are key parts that show the shape, especially the crest pattern. Type A and type B Naga works have single, fixed design patterns, but not Thai painting patterns. Hence, they do not appear wavy, and the head-body lines appear to be straight lines. In contrast, type C works are made in accordance with the Thai painting pattern, and both the body and head-body lines are curved. (3) Line Line patterns, density, and design positions are the focus when observing the lines. The shape of type A works are simple and the designs focus on the front half of the body, which has high-density lines and different patterns on the shield-shaped crest. Type B works are similar to type A, but the obvious difference is the tail shape. The tails of type B works are usually curved into a hill shape, with patterns engraved on it. Type C is different from the previous two types because the Thai painting pattern is used and the whole body is covered with curved lines. (4) Color In terms of “color,” the biggest difference between the three types is the change from monochrome to color. Type A and type B Naga works are stone materials, so the works are mostly monochrome. However, most Type C Naga works are colorful, owing to the use of colored glass, chemical pigments, and so on. Table 2: Comparing the three types of Naga works; Reference source: collated by the author. Type Type A Type B Type C Element Material Main material is stone. Main material is stone. Most works use glass and cement. Shape The Naga body does not Most Naga bodies do not Most works use the Thai painting appear wavy, and the appear wavy, and the pattern, so both the bodies and the head-body lines look like a head-body lines look like a head-body lines are usually curved. straight line. straight line. Line The work is simple and the Most works are simple and the The entire bodies of most works are designs focus on the front designs focus on the front half covered with curves. half of the body. of the body. The tails are usually curved into a hill shape. Color The work is monochrome. Most works are monochrome. Most works are colorful.
2.4 The Chest Pattern The Buddhist art of northern Thailand is influenced by Buddhist literature. Therefore, Buddhist thought is the basis of Buddhist art. Most Naga art works are based on the Tripitaka. The Tripitaka tells us that the Nagas wore Kaeo Mani ( ) on their necks. This has become the main feature of Naga art design in northern Thailand. As shown in Table 1, 90% (27 pieces) of Naga works have a chest pattern. Different places have different views about whether this chest pattern represents Kaeo Mani or not. However, northern Thailand artisans deliberately enhance the chest pattern design to make it bright and dazzling. The diamond-shaped chest pattern appears in most Nagas of northern Thailand and resembles a bead on a cross, carved in the chest. The center of most chest patterns is circular, embellished by colorful glass to increase its brightness. In addition, the chest pattern particularly stresses curved lines. The locals call this the “Lanna painting pattern” ( , lai lanna, fig. 6). This pattern is somewhat different from the Thai painting pattern. 127
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Figure 6: The chest pattern of Naga, at Wat Chedi Luang Reference source: author unknown, age unknown, mixed material, photo by the author, Mueang Chiang Mai District.
To sum up, the characteristics of Naga art in northern Thailand are as follows:
1. In term of motifs, the mom om nak motif is the most important characteristic of Naga art in northern Thailand. 2. In terms of shape elements, the Naga stair works from various historical periods exhibit different technical methods involving materials, shape, lines, and colors. The most obvious difference lies in the crest designs. 3. In terms of features, Naga works with horns and chest patterns that make use of the Lanna painting pattern are unique in Northern Thailand.
Discussion
3.1 The Relationship between Lanna and Chinese Cultures More than half of all Naga works have horns on the heads, which may be related to China's "dragon" culture, for the following reasons:
3.1.1 Interregional Cultural Communication The Lanna Kingdom in Chinese history is known as the Eight Hundred Daughter-in-Law Kingdom (History of the Yuan, 1981, p.720). The large area of ancient Lanna, Chiang Hung (in Xishuangbanna, China), and Chiang Tung (in Myanmar) is referred to as “the cultural area of tham letters (or Buddhist script)” (Kang, 2009, p.19; Penth, 2004, pp.58–59) and as “Great Lanna” (Grabowsky, 2005, p.3). The ethnic groups, languages, and religions of this region have engaged in interregional cultural communication since ancient times. According to the record of Wat Panping in the Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chinese bricks, the temple’s building materials, came from Yunnan, indicating that the ancient Lanna and Yunnan had been engaging in interregional cultural communication for a long time. The cultural communication of artisans and monks was common in the Great Lanna area, and therefore the shape of the dragon’s horns could have been brought into Lanna through cultural communication, influencing the Naga shape.
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3.1.2 The Evidence of the Twelve-Year Animal Cycle The Lanna Twelve-Year Animal Cycle originated in India, but was also influenced by Chinese culture (Conway, 2014, pp.27–28). The Naga is fifth in the Lanna Twelve-Year Animal Cycle. In it, the Naga is referred to as marong ( ), which is neither from the Thai ( ) nor the Lanna dialects ( ), but is similar to the pronunciation of the Chinese "long" (龍). Obviously, marong is a loanword. In the Thai language, loanwords usually retain the original sound, so marong likely came from the Chinese "long" sound. If that is the case, the image of the Chinese dragon might also have been imported from China into Lanna. This could be why most Naga works have horns on the heads. In summary, Naga works have horns on the heads, which may be related to China's "dragon" culture and may have been imported through cultural communication between Lanna and China. Over a long period of time, the horns became the local characteristic of Lanna.
3.2 Influenced of Lanna Culture on Lanna Naga Art The most important characteristic of Naga art in northern Thailand is the mom om nak motif, which depicts the Naga emanating from another mythological animal’s mouth. Since most Lanna people call this mythological animal “Mom,” it implies that Mom is local. In other words, Mom is Mom in Lanna, not the snake or dragon of China or the Makara of Indian mythology. Mom implies a local meaning and could point to the influence of Lanna culture on Lanna Naga art. In addition, the Lanna painting pattern belongs to Lanna culture. So, Naga art of northern Thailand were influenced by Lanna culture, as revealed by their motifs (such as mom om nak), shapes (such as Naga works with horns on the heads) and patterns (such as the Lanna painting pattern).
Conclusion
Designs of Buddhist temples in Thailand are based on Buddhist doctrine, mythology, and symbols. Nagas protect the Triratna, which is symbolically very significant in Theravada Buddhism. Therefore, Naga arts are seen particularly in the architectural decorations and ornaments of Buddhist temples. This paper analyzed Naga art in 34 Buddhist temples of the Mueang Chiang Mai District to explore its characteristics in greater detail. The results of this research are as follows: (a) in terms of motifs, the mom om nak motif is the most important characteristic of Naga art in northern Thailand; (b) in terms of shape elements, the Naga stair works of various historical periods represent different technical methods involving materials, shapes, lines, and colors, with the most obvious difference being the crest design; and (c) in terms of features, Naga works with horns and the use of the Lanna painting pattern in the chest pattern are unique in Northern Thailand. To sum up, the main characteristic of Naga art of northern Thailand was influenced by Lanna culture, as revealed by their motifs, shapes, patterns, etc.
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13TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THAI STUDIES GLOBALIZED THAILAND? CONNECTIVITY, CONFLICT AND CONUNDRUMS OF THAI STUDIES 15-18 JULY 2017, CHIANG MAI, THAILAND
References
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