Page 15 - The Royal Coronation Ceremony

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The Royal Fan and Fly Whisk or “Walawichani”

The “Walawichani” made in the reign of His Majesty King Buddha Yod Fa

Chulalok (Rama I) was the form of a fan made of a palm leaf, and was so-called a palm-leaf

fan. The rim of the fan was trimmed with gold and the rod was made of enameled gold.
Originally it was called “Phatchani Fak Makham” or the “Fan in the shape of a tamarind-pod.”

The meaning of its name was reconsidered by His Majesty King Mongkut (Rama IV) who
recognized that for the name “Walawichani,” taken from the Pali language, use of a palm leaf

fan may not be the correct interpretation. It referred more to a whisk-like item, made from
the hair of a yak, as the word “Wala” meant the hair of one type of a cow, an animal that

Thais called “Chammari.” Hence, His Majesty King Rama IV ordered a fly whisk to be made

with the hair of a yak and to be included in the Royal Regalia. In a later period, yak hair was
replaced with the hair from the white elephant’s tail, and the name was changed to the White

Elephant Fly Whisk. But as it would be deemed inappropriate not to use the original royal

Palm-Leaf Fan, His Majesty ordered the use of both the Palm-Leaf Fan and the “Chammari
Fly Whisk,” and together had them called the “Walawichani.”

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