In 1995, 17 antique Siamese maps were discovered in the
Grand Palace. Ironically, the people who found these rare old
maps weren't even looking for them. On a search for old court
textiles for an exhibition, officials stumbled upon some cotton
sheets with elaborate markings in a cupboard in the Princess
Abhantri Paja Mansion, royal residence of a daughter of King
Rama V.
The cotton sheets turned out to be antique Siamese maps. The
discovery of these maps started a quest for their origin and
purpose that was to last almost 10 years. The officials
presented the maps to the Crown Princess who tasked
Santanee Phasuk, a geography teacher at Chitralada School to
embark on this mission.
In 1997, Santanee went on a royally sponsored doctorate in
cartography to research on these maps at the School of
Oriental and African Studies, University of London.
Together with Professor Philip Scott, Head of the Geography
Department in the same university, Dr Santanee researched
and analyzed the old maps, which covered Burma, Thailand
Indochina and China.
Characteristics of the old maps
The old maps are hand drawn and hand painted on large
cotton sheets with names written in Thai script. The maps
consist of topography maps with the terrain features
painstakingly marked, coastal maps and even a chart of a
battle plan!
Muang Tawai (Tavoy, Myanmar) is the largest map on display,
at 4 x 5 m showing the western test your broadband speed province of Kanchanaburi,
River Kwai and Three Pagoda Pass, the traditional invasion
routes of Burma into old Siam. The area was the scene of
frequent battles during the Siamese-Burmese Wars in the reign
of King Rama I.
Saiburi (Alor Setar, Kedah) is the only display that's not an
actual map but a detailed chart of a battle plan to capture a
coastal fort in what is now Peninsula Malaysia. It was the
battle plan of the Siamese expeditionary force to put down a
Muslim revolt in southern provinces.
The chart denotes details of enemy cannon and forces,
deployment of Siamese ships and forces, the attack plan,
including the assault and scaling parties for the walls. The
chart even records the outcome of the battle and casualties.
The name of rebel leader on the chart matched that of a rebel
leader during the reign of King Rama III.
Khemen Nai Ni (Cambodia) covers low cost broadband Angkor Wat and
Tonle Sap, the lake that drains and fills during the dry and
rainy seasons. The positions of Angkor Wat and other temples
and Tonle Sap with all its tributaries are clearly marked in
detail.
The area covers the Cambodian provinces of Battambang and
Siem Reap over which several wars were fought. These
territories were in dispute right up till the 1940s.
Of the five antique Siamese maps, Muang Jin (China) is the
most fascinating. The 2x4 m piece covers the entire coastline
from Thailand to southern China, Hong Kong and Aztec Adsl Modem all
the way to Japan and Korea, including the northern tip of
Luzon, Philippines. The coastline has been accurately mapped
with details of all the coastal inlets.
Muang Kwantung (Guangzhou, China) is a city map of old
Canton, showing the Pearl River delta, location of factories
and buildings in the city.
Purpose of antique Siamese maps
The topography maps on border areas with Burma and
Cambodia, traditional foes, were obviously for military
purposes, the military routes and terrain features mapped by
military commanders during campaigns to assert territorial
claims or suzerainty.
Trade with China, the major trading partner then, required
navigation charts mapped by ship captains and surveyors
hugging the coast to China on a 30 ?0 day round trip.
Accuracy of old maps - direction, distance and location
Military routes and distances were generally accurate as these
were physically traversed. Locations of terrain features,
mountains, jungles and rivers were also accurate.
The scale of these antique Siamese maps was compared with
modern maps; the directional error was 1 degree, quite a
mapping feat given the technology of those days.
streamyx pop3 of antique Siamese maps
The period of these maps was determined by a through
detailed analysis of the hand-written Thai script, the
consonants, vowels, tone marks used then and the writing
styles.
The use of obsolete consonants, the cursive writing style and
predominance of the first two tonal sounds in the Thai
language indicate that the period of these old maps during the
reigns of the first three Chakri kings i.e. around the late 18th
the early 19th centuries.
This rare collection of antique Siamese maps is remarkable as
there are very few maps of these areas before the early 19th
century. The collection is kept in the personal library of the
Crown Princess.
On special occasions they are put on public display. A public exhibition of antique Siamese maps was held at the Jim Thompson House from February - March 2006 when five of the 17 maps were displayed.
Antique Siamese maps are some of the old treasures in Tour Bangkok Legacies, a historical travel site on renowned places preserved for posterity, the momentous events surrounding these places and the legendary figures who left these legacies in the landscape of Bangkok. The author Eric Lim, a free-lance writer, lives in Bangkok Thailand.
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