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gaan khaeng reua yao (การแข่งเรือยาว) Thai for longboat race. gaan nuat paen boraan (การนวดแผนโบราณ) Thai. 'Massage according ancient plan'. Thai name for traditional massage. Also nuat paen boraan. The recessed face of a pediment or fronton, situated between the two slanting roof edges and the horizontal tie beam. In traditional Thai buildings the gable board is usually a decorated woodcarving with mythological figures, and on Buddhist temples it is usually a colourful bas-relief with symbols (fig.), characters or deities from mythology. Old and antique gable boards are often used as mural decorations in modern houses in eastern style (fig.). Also tympanum.
gada (गदा) Sanskrit. A club or mace, one of Vishnu's attributes and the main weapon of many a yak. In Thai katha. Sanskrit-Pali. 'One resembling an elephant'. A name for Ganesha. Pali. 'With the face of an elephant'. A name for Ganesha. A name for Ganesha. A name for Ganesha. Pali. A mythological lion with the head of an elephant (fig.). See also kodchasih (fig.).
See kalae. See kha. See kha. Thai for cannabis, marihuana, hashish and hemp. See gandharvas. Gandhara (गन्धार) Indian art style that developed during the Kushan period, from the first to second centuries AD. It is distinguished by depictions of the Buddha with realistic features, wearing draped robes (fig.), reflecting Greek influence.
See gandharattha. gandharath (คันธารราษฏร์) Thai for gandharattha. gandharattha (गन्धरत्थ) Sanskrit. A mudra 'calling upon the rain' with the right hand, whilst the left hand is held at the waist forming a bowl to 'collect the rainfall'. This mudra is usually found with statues from the Rattanakosin period. Also gandhararath and in Thai gandharath.
gandharvas (गन्धर्व) Sanskrit. Male half-gods and celestial musicians who in Hindi mythology are accompanied by the female apsaras. They are the guardians of the soma. Generally considered aerial spirits who live in the firmament and reveal the Divine Truth in the form of a celestial rain. In Pali called gandhabbas. Gandiva (गांडीव) Sanskrit. Magical bow that Arjuna received as a reward for helping Agni and Krishna burn down Khandava forest. Sanskrit. 'Lord of hordes', a compound name made up of and the word gana, meaning 'horde' and isha meaning 'lord' or 'ruler'. Son of Parvati, consort of Shiva. He was created by Parvati from the flakes of her skin mixed with oil, and brought to life with water from the Ganges. He is represented with a human body and the head of an elephant, with one tusk broken off (Ekatanta - fig.). His mount is the rat. According to legend he was decapitated during one of Shiva's tantrums, who promised a new head from the first creature that he would encounter - it turned out to be a baby elephant. His broken tusk is a souvenir from the event when the rat, tired of carrying him, threw him off. The moon who witnessed this laughed mockingly and Ganesha in anger broke off his tusk and threw it at the moon. He is the protector of art (fig.), remover of obstacles, and the god of knowledge and intelligence, and of transition and new beginning. In his terrible form he represents the underworld. In Thailand he is also called Phra Kaneht and Phra Phikhanesawora, and is worshipped as the deity who improves fortune in trade. He is honored with Motaka, sweets and fruit, when business is good, and he is made ridiculous by putting his picture or statue upside down, when business is down.
Ganga (गङ्गा) Sanskrit. Goddess personifying the river Ganga or Ganges in India. Her symbol is the makara. The river Ganges is considered sacred by Hindus. See also Ganga. Ganga (गंगा) Hindi for Ganga. River in India considered sacred by Hindus. In mythology it is personified by the goddess Ganga, in Thai called Khongkha. Also nicknamed celestial river. See also Ganga. Thai. A decorated gable roof, as found on a sedan chair or on the central portion of a state barge in Thailand. In Thai a state barge is called reua ganya. Also kanya.
Sanskrit. 'Womb house'. The square inner chamber of a Khmer sanctuary. One of the two leaders who in 953 AD founded the city of Phitsanulok, the other being Nokrong (fig.). Also Kaanbun. Garuda (गरुड) Sanskrit. A large and savage mythological bird, mount of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is the king of birds and half-brother, and arch-enemy, of the nagas and snakes. He is depicted with a human body and the wings, feet and beak of a bird, and in art often in battle with a snake or naga (fig.). In Thailand he is also called Krut and is the nation's royal symbol, showing the connection between the Thai monarch as the protector of the nation, and the mighty god Vishnu as the protector of the universe.
See krathing. Gautama (गौतम) Sanskrit. 'The best ox'. Patronymic or family name of the historical Buddha usually used in texts to refer to the Buddha before he attained Enlightenment. He is the fourth of five great teacher-buddhas and was born in the region of present day India and Nepal. His full name as the prince of the Shakya clan is Siddhartha Gautama, son of Suddhodana Gautama. Also spelled Gotama. Sanskrit. The sister of prince Siddhartha's mother, who became Siddhartha's guardian when his mother died, seven days after his birth. She later married his father Suddhodana. Also known as Maha Prajapati. 1. Chinese art of divination by lines and figures, used to determine the correct placing of objects and buildings. See also feng shui. 2. Prophecy by drawing lines in earth or sand. Sanskrit. A bell, sometimes held in the hand of a deity. Its sound symbolizes existence, and as an attribute of the Hindu god Shiva it is a symbol of creation. In Buddhism it may represent wisdom. An Indian architectural feature consisting of steps or a platform at the edge of a water reservoir used for bathing. See Gui Yue. A giant swing in Bangkok, on the plaza in front of Wat Suthat. It was formerly used during a Brahman festival in honour of the Hindu god Shiva, in which participants tried to reach a sack of gold attached to a fifteen meter high bamboo pole. It was held in the second lunar month, from the morning of the third day until the evening of the ninth day of the new moon. Due to the large number of people falling off the swing the festival was banned during the reign of king Rama VII. In 2007 the old giant swing was replaced with a new one. In Thai sao chingchah and lohchingchah. See also trihyampawaai.
Name of a genus of monkeys without a tail, with long arms and a black non-hairy face. There are several species such as the white-handed gibbon with either a light fur and a dark face (fig.), or a brown fur with a white rim around its face, both have white fur on their hands. Another kind is the crowned or tufted gibbon. Gibbons occur in all of Southeast Asia and spend most of their life in treetops, as they are rather clumsy on the ground. They live in small family groups consisting of a male and female with up to four young. They feed on fruits and insects alike and might occasionally even eat squirrels and small birds which they, through their speed, are said to pick from the air. They have a lifespan of about 25 years. In Thai they are called chanie, a word which can also be used derogatory for women, since the gibbon call sounds like 'phua', the Thai word for husband, thus indicating a gibbon sounds like a woman who is calling for her husband. Their scientific name is hylobates.
Term used for the Thai form of art called laai rod nahm, literally a 'design washed with water'. Gilded designs are obtained by outlining them first onto a polished lacquered surface. Then the area that will be the background is covered with a 'pasty resist'. The whole surface is next coated with a resin, making the applied gold leaf stick on the outlined pattern. Then the surface is gently 'washed with water' removing the resist and leaving the gold leaf fixed to the design. Gilded lacquer is often used in temple architecture and as decoration on furniture, especially on scripture cabinets (fig.) that hold religious manuscripts.
The rootstock of a tropical plant with different species which serve as a spice, a side dish and a medicine. Of the genus zingiber and in Thai called khing. See also red ginger, Thai ginger or kha, and krachai.
The fleshy root of a climber-like plant with therapeutic effects and the botanic name panax of which several species exist, including panax ginseng and panax pseudoginseng. The word ginseng derives from the Chinese term renshen, literally 'man root' and its scientific name panax means 'all-heal' in Greek. In Thai sohm jihn.
See sang. Thai. 'Banana'. Fruit of the banana plant (fig.), of the genus musa and of which several species exist, such as gluay glaay, gluay hom, gluay hom chan, gluay naam, gluay naam wah, gluay hak muk, gluay thani, and gluay kai. Exceptionally banana plants are found producing a bunch with more than a thousand bananas to a single raceme, in Thailand known as gluey roy wie. Also spelled kluay. Thai name for the wild banana, a large species of banana. See also gluay. Thai. 'Angular pearl banana'. A kind of tapered banana that has an angular shape (hak) which far end narrows into a short nozzle. See also gluay.
Thai. 'Fragrant banana'. Long and sweet, domesticated species of banana, the kind best known in the West and most suitable for human consumption. See also gluay.
gluay hom chan (กล้วยหอมจันทน์) Thai. 'Fragrant sandalwood banana'. Name for a species of banana with an angular shape. When ripe the fruit is greenish yellow. See also gluay. Thai. 'Egg banana'. Name for a kind of banana from the province of Kamphaeng Phet which is small egg shaped (khai). See also gluay.
Thai name for orchid. Thai. 'Water banana'. Name for a species of banana that resembles the gluay hom chan but which fruit is longer and its peel thicker. See also gluay. Thai. Wild specie of short bananas growing from a plant with a raceme that bears around twelve bunches with combs of around ten bananas. Inside there are small inedible black seeds. See also gluay.
gluay nguong chang (กล้วยงวงช้าง) Thai. 'Elephant trunk banana'. Nickname for the gluay roy wie, a banana plant which raceme consists of a very large bunch of bananas, resembling an elephant's trunk.
Thai. 'Banana plant with a hundred combs'. Banana plant (fig.) on which, one single raceme bears a giant bunch of more than a thousand bananas, with each comb having around a dozen fruits. Usually these plants need support otherwise they will collapse under their own weight (fig.). Also known by the nickname gluay nguong chang, elephant trunk banana plant. See also gluay.
Thai. 'Thani banana'. A thick and short banana with many large, inedible black seeds. Its peel may be of a reddish color. Its name is derived from the old name for the town of Pattani in the south of Thailand, which was formerly called Thani. The plant's strong leaves are used as wrapper and their strength makes them more suitable than other banana leaves to make a krathong. See also gluay.
Sanskrit. A niche in a Jain temple. Lotus that grows from the navel of
Golden Temple of the Sikhs at Amritsar in the Indian Punjab. Its name is derived from the amrit, the sacred 'water of immortality' surrounding the temple.
The place on Thai soil in Sop Ruak near Chiang Saen that has borders with Myanmar and Laos. The name also refers to the wider area of this region infamous for the cultivation of opium. Sop Ruak lies on the banks of the Mae Khong river and is home to Wat Phrathat Doi Khao, a hilltop temple featuring naga-stairs (fig.). The hill offers a bird's-eye view of the valley and on the left side of the main temple building are the remains of the ancient moss-covered Buddha image of Luang Poh Singh Neung (fig.). On the left side of the temple's naga-stairs is Ban Fin (House of Opium), a museum that displays artifacts relating to the region's history with opium production and the trade in this drug. In the past the region was known for regular power struggles for control of the region's poppy fields, fought between many contenders, including the Shan United Army from Burma. In 1967 a battle took place here between fighters of the later disposed opium lord Khun Sa and troops of the Kuomintang, who were allowed by the Thai government to control the illicit drug trade. In 2005 a monument (fig.) and large Buddha image (fig.) were erected on the banks of the Mae Khong river to commemorate the sixth life cycle of HRH Queen Sirikit. In Thai the Golden Triangle is called Saam Liam Thong Kham.
Pure 24 karat gold is flattened into ultra thin leaves by hammering and is then cut into small pieces of about one inch square. These are then applied in an ornamental form on objects with a ground layer of lacquer. Gold leaf applied to religious objects as a way of tamboon, a deed known in Thai as pit thong is normally 5% gold. Thai for gold leaf is thongkhamplaew.
Gopa (गोपा) Sanskrit. The wife of prince Siddhartha Gautama, also called Yashodhara. gopis (गोपी) Sanskrit. Milkmaids, or female cowherds, who played with Krishna in his childhood. When they gathered on the banks of the river Yamuna to dance and flirt, each of them thought she was alone with Krishna, but in fact he multiplied himself and danced with them all. gopura (गोपुर) Sanskrit. An ornamental crowned gateway or entrance pavilion to a religious sanctuary, sometimes surmounted by a tower. The gopura of Hindu temples in South Indian style generally have an elaborately decorated, distinctive gateway-tower (fig.).
Name of a very rich but stingy man who lived during the time of the Buddha and loved eating kanom beuang pancakes. To avoid having to share them with anyone he would ask his wife to make the sweets in a hidden place, so he could eat all by himself. When the Buddha found out about the man's behaviour he sent Mogallana to visit Gosiya during his bintabaat alms round and told him to beg for kanom beuang as an alms offering. Gosiya, although unwillingly, couldn't decently refuse the monks request thus came up with the idea to offer only a very small pancake. However, each time his wife put the dough onto the baking plate it swell until it had the size of the hot plate itself. After several attempts to make just a small kanom beuang, he gave up his efforts and eventually became a generous man. Chinese. 'Merit heart'. Term for a kind of tamboon (merit making) ritual in which next of kin offer paper paraphernalia to their dead. It is commonly practiced at Thai-Chinese funerals. The paper paraphernalia may include paper mansions, paper cars, paper mobile phones, paper gold bars (fig.), Chinese gold ingots made from paper (fig.) and other materialistic goods, as well as fake paper money known as hell money (ming bi) and joss or gold paper (jin zhi). All these are burned (fig.) in specially built ovens (fig.) on the last night before the coffin is cremated or buried, for the use of the departed in the afterlife. The ritual may also be observed on the 7th or 21st day after the death of a person, during Qing Ming, Chinese All Souls Day and during Ghost Month, the seventh Chinese lunar month. The ritual is also intended to make it easier for mourners to come to terms with their grieve. Before burning joss paper the person offering it will first make a vow called athitahn, in which the hands are brought together above the head, making a wai. From Thai transliterated as kong teik. See also ngeun pahk phi.
See Gautama. Sanskrit. 'Increaser of cattle'. The mountain lifted by the Hindu god Krishna to shelter the herdsmen and their cattle from the storm caused by Indra, after they had refused to make offerings to him and instead became followers of Krishna. Govinda (गोविन्द) Sanskrit. 'Cowherd', one of the epithets of Krishna. Thai. 'Water chestnut', of the genus trapa (fig.). Also krajab. See sang. See Phra Rachawang. See Chakri Throne Hall. See celadon. European name for the former Mongolian rulers of the Mughal dynasty in pre-India. Also mogul. The moment when prince Siddhartha at the age of twenty-nine left his family and renounced his royal life to become an ascetic in order to find the cause of human suffering. In Thai known as Nih Banpacha, literally: 'depart to live as a monk'.
The silent and sad farewell of prince Siddhartha to his wife, baby son and his royal heritage, in order to become an ascetic. In Thai Aphinetsakrom. Gross Domestic Happiness Index National index, usually abbreviated as GDHI, that attempts to measure the well-being and happiness within a country. The term was thought up by the king of Bhutan in 1972 with the goal to build an economy that would serve the country's unique culture based on Buddhist spiritual values. It was later adopted by other nations, including Thailand. But, like many moral goals, it is somewhat easier to state than to define and since this index is based on rather subjective judgments about well-being, governments may be able to manipulate it to suit their interests. The GDHI is calculated by the ABAC Poll Research Center of the Assumption University, from data compiled from fact findings about happiness, with focus on Thai values and social development. It includes factors such as economic strength, income, commodity prices, governance, freedom, justice, environment, travel conveniences, etc. It is calculated on a monthly basis and represented in points on a scale of ten. The GDHI for foreigners in Thailand is in general noticeably higher than that for Thai nationals. Also called Gross National Happiness Index (GNHI), Gross Domestic Happiness (GDH), Gross National Happiness (GNH) and Gross Happiness Index (GHI). In Thai called Datch Nih Kwahm Suk Muan Ruam Pai Nai Phrathet for the GDHI or Kwahm Suk Muan Ruam Pai Nai Phrathet for the GDH, Datch Nih Kwahm Suk Muan Ruam Prachachaht for the GNHI or Kwahm Suk Muan Ruam Prachachaht for the GNH and Datch Nih Kwahm Suk Muan Ruam for the GHI. See Gross Domestic Happiness Index. Gross National Happiness Index See Gross Domestic Happiness Index. See kru. Chinese for 'trigram'. Chinese name for Kuan U (fig.). Fruit bearing evergreen tree which grows up to a height of ten meters with the Latin name psidium guajava. It is recognizable by its yellowish-white blossoms (fig.) and by its relatively tasteless fruits of the same name. The flesh is white and its core contains many small white seeds, although there is also a species of which the white flesh has a pinkish red core, a variety known in Thai as farang sai daeng or farang khai daeng (fig.). In Thai farang (fig.).
Thai. A paste made of rice flour in the form of sheets which are cut up, put in a soup and topped with slices of chicken or pork. Also kuay jab. Thai. A popular dish usually sold at roadside food stalls and consisting of noodles made of rice flour. By mixing pure rice flower with water a paste is formed which is subsequently made into wide flat sheets. These sheets are then folded, sliced into any size wanted, or stretched into long spaghetti-like strings (fig.) and dried, or boiled for immediate consumption. Guay tiyaw noodles come as part of a variety of dishes and may be served either dry (guay tiyaw haeng) or in a soup (guay tiyaw nahm). If in soup usually meat, meatballs or fishballs are added. If dry, these noodles may be stir fried in a wok and are then called guay tiyaw phat. If with the stir fried noodles fried tofu, soy bean sprouts, tiny shrimp, egg and seasonings are added, the dish is called (guay tiyaw) phat thai. In the old days guay tiyaw noodles were sold from boats on canals and floating markets (fig.) and even today many shops will sell them as guay tiyaw reua (boat rice noodles). Therefore shopkeepers often decorate their noodle shop accordingly with a small replica (fig.) or real size sampan boat. Guay tiyaw noodles are customarily eaten with chopsticks and a spoon. Spices from a separate set of cups called kreuang prung are added according to personal taste. Also kuay tiyaw.
Chinese. 'Ghost Month'. Name of a Chinese festival that coincides with the seventh Chinese lunar month in which the deceased come out from the lower world and visit the living, whereas on Qing Ming the living pay homage to their ancestors by tending to their graves. During this month and especially on the thirteenth day which is called Ghost Day, Chinese Buddhists perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased by offering food and burn gong de paper paraphernalia and/or hell money. Other festivities may include releasing lanterns on water, similar to those on Loi Krathong. Also known as Zhong Yuan Jie.
Guo Nian (过年) 1. A mighty dynasty situated in the Ganges valley from 320 to 535 AD. 2. An earlier art form from northern India considered the classical period in Indian art. This art form influenced 5th century art found at Selagri Hill (Myanmar) depicting relief scenes from the life of Buddha, and 8th century terracotta Dvaravati figures found in Phetchaburi, Thailand. Term from Sanskrit meaning 'spiritual leader' and 'teacher'. The Thai word kruh (teacher) is derived from it. gurudwara (ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ, गुरुद्वार) Punjabi-Hindi. 'Doorway to the guru'. A Sikh religious complex, usually a temple building and a place to rest. Also transcribed gurudvara. Belgian diplomat and adviser to king Chulalongkorn (Rama V) who together with other Belgian lawyers reformed the Thai legal system and established law courts. As founder of the International Law Institute he also mediated in making a state treaty between France, England and Thailand which safeguarded the country against foreign colonial rule. His merit in 1898 availed him the title of Chao Phraya Aphai Raja, the highest noble title ever given to a foreign national. This happened only twice in Thai history, the first time to the Greek Phaulkon, an adviser to king Narai during the Ayutthaya period. Gustave Rolin-Jaequesmyns received a statue at the faculty of law at the Thammasat University.
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