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11/1 Soi 3 Bamrungburi Rd., T. Prasingh,
A. Muang., Chiang Mai 50200
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Ganesha God of Art and
Remover of Obstacles Text : Mario & Jiratorn S. Photos: Mario & Assistant Prof. Assawinee Wanjing
His mother loves him
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.
Elephant-headed icons
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.
Ganesha on rat-vehicle
"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
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