05/11/2022
If you visit temples in Bangkok especially the first-class temples, you will find many stone figurines carved into figures such as warriors, nobles, and angels. Many tourists, including Thais, are amazed at what these heavy stone-carved dolls were made for and why they are so many in the temples.
One widely accepted answer is these stone dolls are used as junk to balance Chinese merchant ships. It is called ballast. Chinese merchant ships in the early Rattanakosin period carried valuable goods such as silk or tea leaves which are lightweight into the kingdom. Therefore, these ballasts must be loaded at the bottom of the ship to balance, allowing the boat to pass through the sea breeze to reach its destination. When reaching the destination these ballasts are useless but instead of throwing them away in vain, Chinese merchants thus offer these dolls to the king and the King gave these items to decorate various temples.
This makes a lot of sense however recently historians began to see many weaknesses to the explanation and carry out further research. To find out the answers join our tours.
