Chofa ( th, ช่อฟ้า, ; lit. sky tassel) is a Lao and Thai architectural decorative ornament that adorns the top at the end of wat and palace roofs in most Southeast Asian countries, such as

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

, Laos, and

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

. It resembles a tall thin bird and looks hornlike. The chofa is generally believed to represent the mythical creature

Garuda Garuda (Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ; Vedic Sanskrit: गरुळ Garuḷa) is a Hindu demigod and divine creature mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain faiths. He is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. Garuda i ...

, half bird and half man, who is the vehicle of the Hindu god

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within ...

History

The representation of ''cho fah'' is unclear and believed to represent garuda, however, the present research indicates that the original ''chofah'' upon which most subsequent ''chofah'' have been based is the ''gajashimha'' of

Suryavarman II Suryavarman II ( km, សូរ្យវរ្ម័នទី២), posthumously named Paramavishnuloka, was a Khmer Empire, Khmer king from 1113 AD to 1145/1150 AD and the builder of Angkor Wat, the largest religious monument in the world which h ...

, the Khmer king who built

Angkor Wat Angkor Wat (; km, អង្គរវត្ត, "City/Capital of Temples") is a temple complex in Cambodia and is the largest religious monument in the world, on a site measuring . Originally constructed as a Hindu temple dedicated to the g ...

. Temple finials representing gajashimha was presumably appeared in

during or shortly after his reign (1113 AD to 1150 AD). These finials (chofah) symbolized the unification of the northern and southern Khmer kingdoms and the reign of King Suryavarman II. This symbolism spread extensively throughout the region including part of today Laos,

Lanna The Lan Na Kingdom ( nod, , , "Kingdom of a Million Rice Fields"; th, อาณาจักรล้านนา, , ), also known as Lannathai, and most commonly called Lanna or Lanna Kingdom, was an Indianized state centered in present-day ...

, and

Isan Northeast Thailand or Isan ( Isan/ th, อีสาน, ; lo, ອີສານ; also written as Isaan, Isarn, Issarn, Issan, Esan, or Esarn; from Pali ''īsānna'' or Sanskrit ईशान्य ''īśānya'' "northeast") consists of 20 provi ...

which were once the Khmer empire. From 13th to 18th century, ceramic finials or chofah in the form of the gajashimha were largely produced in Sukothai, Sawankalok, and Ayutthaya. Today most wats or pagodas and palaces throughout

, Laos, and

are adorned with these sacred finials at their roof end with many types and appearance.

Components

* Horn * Tip * Breast

Types

* Swan tip ''(Pak Hong; ปากหงส์)'' * Garuda tip ''(Pak Khrut; ปากครุฑ)'' * Fish tip ''(Pak Pla; ปากปลา)'' * Elephant head ''(Hua Chang; หัวช้าง)'' * Naga head * Bird head ''(Hua Nok; หัวนก)'' * Lanna ''(ล้านนา)'' * Others Image:Chofahwatpkaeo05.jpg, Chofa of Ubosot,

Wat Phra Kaeo Wat Phra Kaew ( th, วัดพระแก้ว, , ), commonly known in English as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and officially as Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram, is regarded as the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand. The complex c ...

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in 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 estimated populatio ...

(Garuda tip Chofa) Image:Chofahwatchyod04.jpg, Chofa of Viharn, Wat Ched Yot,

Chiang Mai Chiang Mai (, from th, เชียงใหม่ , nod, , เจียงใหม่ ), sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the second largest city i ...

(Elephant head Chofa) Image:Chofahwatpsingh05.jpg, Chofa of Ubosot, Wat Phra Singh,

(Lanna art Chofa) Image:Ubosot_giebel_1.jpg, Chofa of Viharn Luang, Wat Suthat,

(Fish tip Chofa) Image:NagaHeadedChofaP1010393.JPG, Chofa of Wat Monthian,

(Naga head Chofa)

References

External links

Thai Architecture

Buddhist Art: Architecture Pt.1
Ornaments (architecture) Thai Buddhist art and architecture {{Thailand-struct-stub