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Ganesha
God of Art and Remover of Obstacles

Literally, the name of this Chinese Year of the Rat in the Thai language - Chuat - itself contains a negative meaning, referring to missing out something. Hence, to remedy this, to provide things rat-related with a positive spin, they are associated with Ganesha, the God of Art and the Remover of Obstacles in Hinduism, whose conveyance is a rat.

Unlike Greek gods and goddesses that are portrayed with perfect human physical forms, Ganesh is plump and elephant-headed. However, these characteristics are interpreted positively: the rounded body suggesting fertility and productivity, whereas the elephant head and small sharp eyes symbolically indicate wisdom and the ability to determine what is righteous or evil, while his massive ears and trunk are the physical indications of his excellence in picking up what needs to be known of the world around him.

There are a number of stories as to how Ganesha came into being and how he acquired his elephant head. Beloved of his mother Parvati and protective of her, he had a rather more troubled relationship with his father, Shiva. In one myth Shiva cuts off his head, and rather carelessly - seeing his wife is not best pleased - replaces it with that of an elephant. He is nevertheless regularly portrayed as a wise, powerful and merciful deity with strong sense of morality, reflecting the universal concept of a true hero in human society. Almost all Hindu-Brahmin rituals except the funeral involve Ganesha as the main deity to worship.

But what does Ganesh have to do with a rat? According to one of his mythological anecdotes, a demon in the form of an elephant named Gajasura caused trouble to the earth, heaven and underworld. What made a bad situation worse was that he could be killed by no-one. Shiva had Ganesha handle this tricky customer. And handle him he did, but only after aeons of battle, when he transformed Gajasura into a rat - actually a bandicoot, which is close enough - and made him his 'vehicle'. Hence, Ganesha is also known as Akurot, meaning a person who rides a rat. This explains the excellent characteristics attributed to Ganesha, since additional to those mentioned above, he is also credited with the rat's dynamism and celerity. In worshipping the elephant-headed god then, anyone aspiring to be a great man - particular in the world of commerce - asks to be granted not only or primarily physical strength but also the sharp intelligence we see in the rat.

The anthropologists have their own take on the god's animal duality, suggesting that one can interpret it from either an interdependence and harmony perspective, or representing authority and superiority. More concretely, some theorists believe that the combined animal characterists relate to tribal conflicts in the distant past. They suggest that the Indo-Aryan invader, with his warlike-pastoral background, took the elephant as his iconic animal. In conquering the various agriculturalist peoples they encountered in the sub-continent, they would have been inclined to the supremacist interpretation of Ganesha's duality. However, by incorporating the rat, always a crop-destroying pest of the agriculturalists, they would have sought to justify their overlordship by presenting the elephant god in the superior position relative to his 'vehicle', but also supportive of the subordinated indigenes.

Greatly influenced by Indian culture, the Thai people - especially those engaged in the arts - have long worshipped Ganesha. Though there are several Hindu deities associated with Thai custom and belief, Ganesha appears to be the best-known and most-worshipped, with his gifts of success in the arts and the removal of obstacles especially celebrated.

"They suggest that the Indo-Aryan invader, with his warlike-pastoral background, took the elephant as his iconic animal."

Many rituals today and also the logos of some governmental departments involve Ganesha, and it is his intelligence and ability to dispel bad luck that are most recognised there.

Even today then, Ganesha has not lost his hold in popular belief, and may even be gaining ground there. Sociologists surmise that this is one of the consequence of modernisation, and globalisation with it, which have brought deepening feelings of insecurity and doubt, which in turn encourage the perpetuation of age-old supernatural cultural beliefs and practices.

Information courtesy of Ganesha Museum, km. 35, Chiang Mai-Hod (Inthanon) Rd., T. Yangkram, Doi Lhor Sub-district, A. San Pathong, Chiang Mai. Open daily: 9 am - 5 pm. More information at 053-269101, 089-8555852, 089-4304050 and www.ganeshhimal.org.

Photos courtesy of Madoo Art Shop, Kam Thieng Market, Chiang Mai.

Ganesha Museum is located on the Chiang Mai-Hod (Inthanon) Rd., on the way to San Pathong district. Pass the Gaart Ngua Saturday Flea Market and make a u-turn. Then you'll find the sign of the museum on the left.The yellow bus public transportation to San Pathong district is available daily at the corner of Wualai Road, just beyond the Chiang Mai Gate.

Text : Mario & Jiratorn S.
Photos: Mario & Assistant Prof. Assawinee Wanjing