The official guide gives the name of this temple as 'Wat Srakesa Rajavaramahavihara', mentioning that it used to be called 'Wat Sakae' and indicates that is was mentioned in Royal chronicles going back to 1782 (or 2325 in the Buddhist calendar).

Adjacent to the Wat is the 'Royal Mount', which was started in the reign of King Rama III, as an attempt to build a large pagoda in the style of a replica, of a golden pagoda in Ayudhya. Unfortunately the  ground was too soft and the pagoda subsided. In 1865 during the reign of King Rama IV the pile of rubble that remained of the collapsed pagoda, began to be transformed into a new 'Royal Mount'. Although the official name is 'Royal Mount' many people call it the 'Golden Mount'.

Buddha relics were interred in the 'Royal Mount' during the reign of King Rama V in 1877 and again in 1899. King Rama V also presented a replica of a tooth relic to be kept at 'Wat Srakesa'.

A book entitled 'Bangkok in 1892' published by White Lotus Co. Ltd, is based on a collection of articles by 'Lucien Fournereau' published in 'Le Tour du Monde' magazine issues of July 1894, has among other things this to say about Wat Saket:-

"..... Wat Saket, the great necropolis. Wat Saket, which is in our opinion the greatest scandal of Bangkok, merits a special visit.....".

Apparently Wat Saket was a busy location for cremations at that time. Much of Fournereau's fascination and disgust seems to be due to the fact, that bodies and body parts were accessible for dogs and vultures to feed on, before they actually got cremated.

Who was Tuptim? What was her link to Wat Saket?

Anna Harriette Leonowens (1834 - 1914) has generated much controversy, both about her personal life, and regarding the extent of how much is fact and how much is fiction, in her two books 'The English Governess at the Siamese Court' (first published in 1870) and 'The Romance of the Harem' (first published in 1873).

Having read both, I would imagine that the first book is largely fact, while the second probably contains facts and hearsay, greatly spiced up to make the story more interesting.

Regardless of the answer there is no doubt that additional fiction has been added over the years, some by Margaret Landon in her book 'Anna and the King of Siam' (first published in 1944). In her preface Landon acknowledges that her book is probably about 75% fact and 25% fiction. Since then Hollywood has been even more creative when presenting the stories.

In her book 'The Romance of the Harem', Anna Leonowens tells the (probably fictitious) story of the slave girl named 'Tuptim' (which translates to 'Ruby' or 'Pomegranate' in English) who catches the King's eye (Rama IV).

After disappearing from the Royal Palace for a while, Tuptim is eventually found in the quarters of a Buddhist priest 'Khoon P'hraa Bâlât' at the temple of 'Rajah Bah ditt Sang'.

Suspicion that Tuptim and the priest have had an improper relationship, combined with the jealous fury of the King, lead to Tuptim and Bâlât being sentenced to death by fire, which was carried out publicly outside 'Watt Sah Katè' (spelled as 'Wat Saket', in Margaret Landon's 'Anna and the King of Siam').

It is interesting to note that in the 1956 film of the musical 'King & I', Tuptim escapes being flogged for her alleged crime, while in the 1999 'Anna and The King', she is beheaded. Only the 1946 film 'Anna and the King of Siam' has Tuptim and Bâlât being burnt.

Wat Saket and the Royal Mount

( The 'Royal Mount' is referred to often as 'Golden Mount' despite royal decrees to refute this )

Later the King decides that Tuptim and Bâlât were probably innocent after all, and in recognition of his remorse, has a monument erected to their memory. This episode in 'The Romance of the Harem' concludes:-

"Anyone who may now pass by Watt Sah Katè will see two tall slender P'hra Chadees, or obelisks, erected by order of the king on the spot there those lovely Buddhists suffered, each bearing the inscription : 'Suns may set and rise again, but the pure and brave Bâlât and Tuptim will never more return to this earth."

At the end of July 2000 I visited Wat Saket in Bangkok. Due to the company of friends who had a different agenda, my search for the reported Chadees was brief. Indeed Wat Saket contains a fair number of them, but I could find no inscriptions in either Thai or English. I should point out that the whole Wat area has recently been extensively renovated. I did find a rather nice pair of small Chedi sitting next to each other as pictured above. They could be anywhere from 3 months to 150 years old, but with their sharp lines and recent coat of white paint, a few months seems more likely.

It should be noted that many Thais are very offended by Anna's books and the subsequent films. In particular they feel that Hollywood tries to present fiction as though it were fact. They also feel that Anna herself through her books and the resulting movies show disrespect for the King. In actual fact if you go back to the original sources, Anna Leonowens actually says a lot of very complimentary things about King Rama IV, though she does also launch into occasional tirades about him being barbaric. Definitions of what is or is not acceptable behaviour change dramatically over time and from culture to culture. It is quite probable that some of Rama IVs actions may have seemed barbaric to some westerners in the 1860s, even though they were probably quite acceptable to Siamese at the time. I'm sure the reverse was also true. However even Anna conceded that Rama IV was a very loving (to his children) and enlightened man. Regardless of opinion it is clearly wrong that any real person's reputation should suffer, as a result of having fictional atrocities attributed to them. As for the movies, personally I think that the musical 'The King and I' gives a much better impression of King Rama IV, Siam and the Siamese, than the Thais give it credit for. Apart from portraying the Siamese people as being inquisitive, intelligent and fun loving, it gives a glimpse of the richness of Siamese culture. It also does no particular favours to Anna, who comes across as arrogant and culturally insensitive. Certainly all the movies suffer from implying some kind of romance between Anna and the King. This is highly improbable given the king's age and indeed Anna herself never alluded to any such thing in her books.

Correspondence Received

In May 2002 - Gerry Foley ( FoleyGW@aol.com ) sent this:-

I was very interested to see your Web page about Wat Saket, Tuptim and Balaat. I read the "Romance of the Harem" some years ago, and when I was in Thailand in 1989, I decided to conduct the same search for the two chedis as you did.

My wife and I found two dilapidated chedis at the end of the enclosure, one brown, and one whitish. They appeared to be very old. When I returned there in 1995, they had been completed refurbished, and appeared exactly as in your photograph.

So here's the first bit of info for you - the two chedis you found are not new, but are old, and have been renovated since 1989.

But it gets much more interesting. The bottom of the brown chedi had been damaged, so that there was a hole. Partly lying in that hole was a painted figure (ie a little statue) of a male (kneeling as I recall), with no head, and red paint around the top of the neck. The figure was about 2 feet tall.

On a ledge of the white chedi were two small dolls, only several inches high, one male, one female. They both had a band of red paint around their necks (the heads were intact).

So it looked like someone was keeping up some sort of memorial to two (executed?) individuals, one male, one female. And the larger statue partly lying in the hole seemed to indicate that the remains of someone who had been executed were in the chedi.

All very tantalising. Usually chedis hold the remains of very holy monks, or royalty, certainly not executed people. So is there a link with Tuptim and Balaat? It seems quite possible to me. However, there was no-one who spoke English at the Wat that day, so I couldn't get further information. I've always regretted not taking my camera with me that day, and not being able to make a visual record of what I saw. You can imagine my disappointment 6 years later, when I returned to find that all the strange evidence had gone.

In April 2001 - Stanley Krug ( krugs@pacific.net.ph ) sent this:-

I was most intrigued with your message on the internet regarding the story of Tuptim and the chedis at Wat Saket which you visited.

First, I would like to explain that my family and I lived in Thailand for 13 years (1969-1982) during which time I was an active member of the Bangkok National Museum Group, was the International Council of Museum's Area Research Officer for 10 years, a member of the Siam Society for 13 years and a member of its governing council for three. So much for my pedigree.....

During this time I became involved in an extensive research project on the history of the Chakri Dynasty.  It is my understanding that the talk I gave for the NMVolunteers Introduction to Thai Art was translated into Thai and used as part of the Bangkok National Museum's centennial presentations, but I have no concrete proof of this as we departed Thailand shortly after the talk and before the Museum's plans for the centennial were completed.  I share this with you only to show that the research was well done.  I also became quite interested in the relationship of Anna and Rama IV during this project.  I hasten to point out Anna did NOT figure in my talk.

Anyway to get to the point it would seem Anna was a most indominatable and admirable lady -- and a great spinner of tales.  The story of Tuptim not only never happened -- the real Tuptim, the one on whom the character is based, lived to be a grandmother in the Inside -- the palace of the women.

In Thailand chedis serve largely as memorial markers.  They may, on occasion, hold the ashes of an individual or even of family members.  They may also commemorate an event.

Wat Saket means the Monstery (wat) of the washing (sa) of the Lord's Hair (kesai; ket).
It is one of the two highest ranking second class royal monasteries in Thailand -- Wat Chana Songkhram being the other.  A second class monastery means  that the wat was built by individuals other than the Sovereign, with or without aid from the Sovereign, and then offered to the Sovereign or Crown with a view to its being better cared for and supported.  It is also important to understand (if you do not already) that the translation of the word "Lord" referring to the Buddha does not indicate the Buddha as a god, but as a title of respect -- such as the English "Lord Blah-blah".

Wat Saket itself was built long before the establishment of Bangkok (I cannot find an exact date -- if you have one, please share).  Rama I (reign 1782-1809) added buildings; the Golden Mount was begun during the reign of Rama III (1824-1851) in 1850;  Rama IV (King Mongkut) continued the building which was finished in 1878 by Rama V (King Chulalongkorn).

I know this is not the information you requested about the chedis, but you might be interested to know that Wat Saket is most famous for the housing of its bai sema, the markers that designate the boundaries of the vihara or chapel where the most important functions of the monks, such as ordination, takes place, and for its bo tree.  This bo tree was grown from seedlings from the tree in Sri Lanka that grew from a cutting from the tree in India beneath which Gautama attained enlightenment and became the Buddha.  The housing of the bai sema markers, incidentally is considered the most beautiful in the kingdom.

Another small side-story of Wat Saket.  At the end of the 19th century the British discovered in Piprawa near the Nepalese frontier relics believed to belong to the Buddha.  These were duly distributed throughout the Buddhist world, Thailand receiving a share, and on May 23, 1899, these relics were interred at the Golden Mount, where they continue to attract a steady stream of devotees.

I will admit I have stood at more than one wat and heard a Thai tourist guide tell his group of tourists that "these are the chedis built for Tuptim and her lover by a remorseful king".  I have also longed to leap up and strangle such guides for it simply continues the fabrication, though I know most Thai will say whatever they think will please their listeners.  Someday perhaps the truth will prevail and Anna will become known as a brave and admirable lady, the king as a great statesman, her stories as just that -- stories -- and the musical as a delightful play with absolutely delicious songs.

Just for fun I looked up my source for the date preceeding 1782 for Wat Saket and here is what I found -- it comes from a translation from the Chronicles of the First Reign (not my translation), and I have excerpted those parts that pertain to Wat Saket. "The Chronicles of the first reign record that in the year 1783 work began on the building of the new city: the Grand Palace, the Palace to the Front (now the National Museum Bangkok), the city moat from Bang Lamphu past Wat Sakae, and Klong Mahanak (big serpent).  ..........When the klong was finished, Rama I named it Klong Mahanak after the Klong in Ayudhya.  The king also renamed the wat as Wat Saket and began rebuilding it, but not before removing its bell to Wat Phra Kaeo, the Chapel of the Emerald Buddha, because it rang so clearly. Note:  The building which formerly stood on the site of the present Wat Saket was called Wat Sakae, the Breadfruit Tree Monastery. The above accounts for the discrepancy in the dating.  And of course the Golden Mount came later.

If you know more about the Chadees mentioned in the Anna books please email me tonym@singnet.com.sg

GO TO INDEX