Rama (King of Thailand)

Rama (King of Thailand)

The kings in the current Chakri dynasty of Thailand are often referred to as Rama followed by Roman ordinal in English translation. The name Rama was adopted from the name of Hindu god Rama.

The use of the name Rama "n"th is in line with Thai practice of giving number to the king in the current dynasty. However, the translation was not exact and can give rise to some confusion as to whether this was actually the name adopted by the king on coronation.

In fact, the only king in the dynasty who called himself Rama was Phra Mongkutklao, who was the sixth to reign. His reigning title was "Phra Mongkutklao Chaoyuhua"; later in his reign, he preferred to style himself as "Phra Ram ti Hok" ("lit." Rama VI). It was presumed that he was influenced by the European practice of numbering the rulers with similar names while he studied in England.

This quite conveniently coincided with another practice of the Thais. Traditionally, the name of the king is sacred and would not normally be said. Instead people would refer to the king by other words — these days "Nai Luang" or "Phra Chao Yu Hua". When King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke founded the dynasty, he was commonly referred to as "Phan Din Ton" (แผ่นดินต้น "lit." 'The First Kingdom'); and when his son inherited the throne, he was referred to as "Phan Din Klang" (แผ่นดินกลาง "lit." 'the Middle Kingdom'). This then became awkward when King Nangklao, the third king, came to the throne, as the obvious referral would then be "Phan Din Plai" (แผ่นดินปลาย "lit." 'the Last Kingdom') — which did not sound very auspicious. Instead he was referred to as "Ratchakal ti Saam" (รัชกาลที่ 3 "lit." 'the third reign'). Since then, all the kings in the dynasty are also known unofficially as "Ratchakal ti" n"th" ('the "n"th Reign'). The present King is hence also known as "Ratchakal ti kao" ('the ninth reign'). This has also been extrapolated back to the first two kings of the dynasty as well.

Since King Mongkutklao called himself Rama VI in English, the name was seemingly equivalent to the Thais' "Ratchakal ti hok". This rough translation is still in use these days, although no other king in the dynasty used the name Rama.

There are also several kings in the Ayutthaya period who officially used the reigning name of "Ramathibodi" (Rama + Athi + Bodi, "lit." 'the great ruler Rama').

Kings of Thailand:
* Rama I, the Great (1782-1809), Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke
* Rama II (1809-1824), Buddha Loetla Nabhalai
* Rama III (1824-1851), Nangklao
* Rama IV (1851-1868), Mongkut
* Rama V, the Great (1868-1910), Chulalongkorn
* Rama VI (1910-1925), Vajiravudh
* Rama VII (1925-1935), Prajadhipok
* Rama VIII (1935-1946), Ananda Mahidol
* Rama IX, the Great (installed 1946), Bhumibol Adulyadej [cite web|url=http://www.kanchanapisek.or.th/biography/hmk.en.html|title=Biography of H.M.K. Bhumibol Adulyadej|publisher=www.kanchanapisek.or.th|accessdate=2008-05-15|last=|first=]

References

External links

* [http://www.soravij.com/kings.html Kings of the Chakri Dynasty] , and [http://www.soravij.com/kingspast.html overview of the Kings of Thailand]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Rama V — Rama V. Rama V. mit seinem Sohn Kronprinz Maha Vajirunnahis (Porträt des National History Museum, Bangkok) König Chulalongkorn der Große, im Westen besser bekannt als Rama V …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Rama V. — Rama V. Rama V. mit seinem Sohn Kronprinz Maha Vajirunnahis (Porträt des National History Museum, Bangkok) König Chulalongkorn der Große, im Westen besser bekannt als Rama V …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Monarchy of Thailand — King of Thailand Monarchy …   Wikipedia

  • List of Thailand-related articles — Thailand, known officially as the Kingdom of Thailand (IPAEng|ˈtaɪlænd, th. ราชอาณาจักรไทย, IPA2|râːtɕʰa ʔaːnaːtɕɑ #x0300;k tʰɑj) is a country in Southeast Asia. To its east lie Laos and Cambodia; to its south, the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia;… …   Wikipedia

  • Thailand — Kingdom of Thailand ราชอาณาจักรไทย Ratcha Anachak Thai ประเทศไทย Prathet Thai …   Wikipedia

  • Rama IX — König Rama IX. mit Bundespräsident Heinrich Lübke im Jahr 1960 Darstellung vor der dänischen Botschaft …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Rama IX. — König Rama IX. mit Bundespräsident Heinrich Lübke im Jahr 1960 Darstellung vor der dänischen Botschaft …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Rama IV — König Rama IV. 1866 im Ornat Symbol von König Rama IV., am Giebelbrett des Ubosot im Wat Makut Kasat, Bangkok: die Sieges Krone zwischen zwei fünf stufigen Schirmen König M …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Rama IV. — König Rama IV. 1866 im Ornat Symbol von König Rama IV., am Giebelbrett des Ubosot im Wat Makut Kasat, Bangkok: die Sieges Krone zwischen zwei fünf stufigen Schirmen König M …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Thailand —    Contemporary Thailand is a predominantly Theravada Buddhist country, where Hinduism, ani mism, Islam, and Christianity are also practiced. The Hindu minority constitutes only about 1 percent of the population. Nevertheless, the his toric… …   Encyclopedia of Hinduism

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”