The former viharn of Wat Thammachai is part of the history of Ban Mae village. Wood carving and other historical traditions, by contrast, are associated with the wider subdistrict. For a cultural overview, it is worth keeping these different scales in mind: the history of a particular temple, a village craft, and traces of a city’s recorded past each tell a different part of the local story. The topics range from building materials to carving styles and a single sculpture.
Wat Thammachai: Construction and Change
The former viharn of Wat Thammachai had white-plastered brick walls bonded with clay. Its columns and roof structure were made of Lanna teak. This identifies two different groups of materials and the parts of the building they were used for: brick and clay for the walls, and teak for the columns and roof structure. Visitors interested in temple architecture will find a specific look at the construction here, without reducing the historical description to general statements about style.
The history of the temple complex also spans more than one period. Around 1897, the damaged viharn was renovated by the abbot and worshippers. The Chofa and Bai Raka, the roof ornaments mentioned, were renewed to reflect the tastes of the time; the temple was also renamed Wat Thammachai. The renovation and renewal of the ornaments therefore belong to this historical period.
Around 1907, a different period followed: after Wat Thammachai was abandoned, important old objects from the temple were taken to Wat Nam Bo Luang. These included Buddha images. The two approximate dates distinguish the renovation and renaming from the temple’s later abandonment and the transfer of its objects; they do not describe the same event.
Local tradition about Wiang Mae adds another historical dimension. According to this tradition, Wat Thammachai stood at the center of the city. Today, only a few remnants of the earthen wall that surrounded Wiang Mae are still visible. The temple’s history and the account of the walled city thus sit alongside one another: the first encompasses changes to the buildings and the site’s abandonment, while the second connects the location to the recorded history of Wiang Mae.
Wood Carving and Art in the Subdistrict
Wood carving has been practiced in Ban Kio Lae Noi village for more than six decades. The works include bas-reliefs, high reliefs, and fully three-dimensional forms. These different forms give the craft a broad range of expression, from relief-style depictions to fully rendered figures. To understand the craft, it is helpful to consider not only the subjects but also these different carving techniques.
Subjects include elephants, literature, Jataka tales, and scenes from village life; depictions from the Ramakien are also part of the repertoire. The themes bring together stories, images of elephants, and everyday scenes rather than focusing on a single visual world. Works by the village’s artisans were selected for “One Tambon One Product” in 2004. This selection is therefore a dated milestone in the history of the local craft.
Another form of local art is a stucco sculpture of a lion by Khru Saman Sao Sing. It stands in an open area next to a school in the subdistrict. While the wood carving is described in terms of several techniques and subjects, this is a single work with a named artist, a specified material, and a lion motif.
These different features offer several points of focus when planning a cultural trip. Wat Thammachai provides a historical context encompassing its construction, renovation, and later abandonment; the carving in Ban Kio Lae Noi represents a craft tradition practiced for a long time. Local tradition about Wiang Mae adds a connection to the walled city to the temple’s history. If you are primarily interested in architecture and history, the construction and sequence of events are the most distinctive topics. If you are interested in crafts, the carving techniques and range of subjects offer a different perspective. The sculpture, in turn, adds a singular artistic note to the subdistrict.
For the broader travel overview: San Pa Tong District.
