Page 78 - A History of Siam

AHISTORT OF SIAM
74
the Governor of to deliver
compelled Kamp'engp'et
up to him. 1
This of Prince P'rohm's
image-stealing expedition
to Kamp'engp'et had serious consequences for King
The latter set out to assist the Governor
Boromoraja.
of Prince P'rohm, but was taken
Kamp'engp'et against
ill on the way, and died before he could be brought back
to
Ayut'ia (1388).
I was a successor to
King Boromoraja worthy King
Rama T'ibodi I, whose life-work he completed by the
of the of Suk'ot'ai.
subjection Kingdom
King Boromoraja I was succeeded by his son,
T'ong Lan, a boy of fifteen. The ex-King, Ramesuen,
Governor of Lopburi, immediately proceeded to
seized the and
Ayut'ia, young King, T'ong Lan,
caused him to be executed, after a reign of only seven
days.
The method presumably adopted in this case, as in
later cases where it was thought necessary to get rid of
a consisted in the victim in a
Royal personage, tying
velvet sack, and clubbing him to death with a club
of sandal-wood. By this means, no menial hand was
allowed to touch the Royal body. This mark of
respect cannot, however, have afforded much comfort
to the victim,
I This image bad an eventful history. It was cast in Ceylon early in the
Christian Era. King Ramk'amheng of Suk'ot'ai sent an envoy to Ceylon to
ask for it. It was despatched by sea, was shipwrecked, but swam or floated
ashore at Nak'on Srit'ammarat. It was taken to Jainat, whence it was removed
to Ayut'ia by Boromoraja I, about 1378- In the same reign it was taken away,
by means of a stratagem, by a son of the Governor of Kamp'engp'et, and remained
in that town until 1388, when Prince P'rohm obtained it by force, and took it
to Chiengmai. About 1548 it was removed to Luang P'rabang, together with
the Emerald Buddha and other very sacred images, by King Jai Jett'a. In
1556 it was sent back to Chiengmai. In 1662 King Narai took it to Ayut'ia.
After the capture of Ayut'ia in 1767, the Burmese returned it to Chiengmai.
The first King of the present dynasty caused it to be brought to Bangkok in
1795, and it is still in the royal palace there.
The P'rasingh now in Chiengmai is generally supposed to be a replica, cast
about 1388. Some believe, however, that it is the original image, and that the
one in Bangkok is the replica.