Ban Bu Community (; or simply Ban Bu) is a traditional community in the Siri Rat Subdistrict, Bangkok Noi District,

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

Thonburi __NOTOC__ Thonburi () is an area of modern Bangkok. During the era of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, Kingdom of Ayutthaya, its location on the right (west) bank at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River had made it an important garrison town, which is ref ...

side. It is regarded as the last source of bronzework handicraft makers in Bangkok and has become a

cultural tourism Cultural tourism is a type of tourism in which the visitor's essential motivation is to learn, discover, experience and consume the cultural attractions and products offered by a tourist destination. These attractions and products relate to the ...

destination. The word "Bu" refers to the method by which copper and tin are alloyed into objects, mostly bowls, and polished with stone to obtain a smooth, shiny surface, with the word "Ban" meaning house, home, village, or hamlet. Only one household remains engaged in metalwork at present. The community is located on the canal Khlong Bangkok Noi. It is believed to have derived from a group of craftspeople from

Ayutthaya Kingdom The Ayutthaya Kingdom or the Empire of Ayutthaya was a Thai people, Thai kingdom that existed in Southeast Asia from 1351 to 1767, centered around the city of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya (city), Ayutthaya, in Siam, or present-day Thailand. Europe ...

who resettled in the area following the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767.

History

In the early Rattanakosin period, when King

Rama I Phutthayotfa Chulalok (born Thongduang; 20 March 1737 – 7 September 1809), also known by his regnal name Rama I, was the founder of the Rattanakosin Kingdom (now Thailand) and the first King of Siam from the reigning Chakri dynasty. He asc ...

established Rattanakosin (or Bangkok in present) as the capital, he wanted the city to be as similar as possible to Ayutthaya Kingdom, to strengthen the spirit and willpower of the people. As for the people themselves, they got together in groups and communities to carry out the professions that they were accomplished at doing. They denominated their communities identically to that which they were in Ayutthaya Kingdom. For example in ''"Ban Dok Mai"'' (บ้านดอกไม้), the community made

firecracker A firecracker (cracker, noise maker, banger) is a small explosive device primarily designed to produce a large amount of noise, especially in the form of a loud bang, usually for celebration or entertainment; any visual effect is incidental to ...

s, in ''" Ban Chang Lo''" (บ้านช่างหล่อ), the community moulded the

Buddha statues Much Buddhist art uses depictions of the historical Buddha, Gautama Buddha, which are known as () in Sanskrit and Pali. These may be statues or other images such as paintings. The main figure in an image may be someone else who has obtained B ...

, and in "'' Ban Khamin''" (บ้านขมิ้น), the community made turmeric powder.

Culture

Only a few communities remain who carry out the same professions as before - one of them is the community that makes "''Khan Long Hin''" (ขันลงหิน; lit: stone-finished bowl). This community is residing around

Wat Suwannaram 250px, Ordination hall of the temple. Wat Suwannaram Ratchaworawihan () or usually shortened to Wat Suwannaram and Wat Suwan (วัดสุวรรณาราม, วัดสุวรรณ; RTGS: Wat Suwan Naram, Wat Suwan) is a historic ...

, southward of Khlong Bangkok Noi, and they are known as Ban Bu Community. A stone-finished bowl was a popular utensil used in

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

; some houses used it for containing water, as the water would become cool and refreshing. The other use was to hold rice to be given as alms to the monks, but presently, since the process of making this utensil is labour intensive and complicated, a stone-finished bowl has become a high priced item and is actually now used as a decorative item.

References

{{Coord, 13, 45, 44.4, N, 100, 28, 44.2, E, region:TH_type:landmark, display=title Bangkok Noi district category:Tourist attractions in Bangkok

History

Culture

See also

References