A ho trai ( th, หอไตร) is the

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vi ...

of a Thai Buddhist temple. A ho trai can come in different shapes and sizes. For many centuries, the sacred Tipiṭaka scriptures had been written on palm leaves. To preserve the scriptures against humidity and against

termite Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes ( eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blat ...

s, the library was often built on

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression (physical), compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column i ...

s to raise the storage from the ground. Bricks were preferably used in constructions to battle termites. Sometimes the ho trai would be built, especially for this reason, above man-made ponds. Traditionally, the Tipiṭaka scriptures consisted of individual palm leaves, each measuring around 50 cm in length and around 4 to 6 cm in width. They were perforated and threaded in order to combine them in stacks of 20 to 40 pages. These stacks are kept pressed between two pieces of

teakwood Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panicl ...

which is then wrapped in cloth and stored in a special bookcase. These bookcases are sometimes exquisitely crafted with mother-of-pearl inlay or with

gold leaf Gold leaf is gold that has been hammered into thin sheets (usually around 0.1 µm thick) by goldbeating and is often used for gilding. Gold leaf is available in a wide variety of karats and shades. The most commonly used gold is 22-kara ...

applied on black lacquer. Beautiful examples of bookcases can be seen in the Bangkok National Museum. Modern Tipiṭaka are now printed as books.

Gallery

File:Phetchaburiwysuwannaram9011.jpg, The ''Ho trai'' of Wat Yai Suwannaramt in

Phetchaburi Phetchaburi ( th, เพชรบุรี, ) or Phet Buri () is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in southern Thailand, capital of Phetchaburi Province. In Thai, Phetchaburi means "city of diamonds" (''buri'' meaning "city" in Sanskrit). It is approx ...

built above a pond File:Chedi_et_Haw_Trai,_Wat_Hua_Khuang.JPG, The ''Ho trai'' of Wat Hua Khuang in Nan File:Tungsrimuanglibrary.jpg, The ''Ho trai'' of Wat Tung Sri Muang in

Ubon Ratchathani Ubon Ratchathani ( th, อุบลราชธานี, ) is one of the four major cities of Isan (with Khorat/Nakhon Ratchasima, Udon Thani, and Khon Kaen), also known as the "big four of Isan." The city is on the Mun River in the sout ...

File:Watrakhanghortrai052000b.jpg, The interior of the ''Ho trai'' of Wat Rakhang, Khet Bangkok Noi, Bangkok File:Ho trai Wat Apson Sawan.jpg, The "Ho trai" of Wat Apson Sawan, khet Phasi Charoen, Bangkok

Gallery

See also