Another royal barge enters Chao Phraya River to prepare for procession
The Royal Thai Navy on Saturday arranged the ceremonial transfer of the royal barge, Anantanakkharat, from the National Museum to the Chao Phraya River at 4.30pm on Saturday, in preparation for the Royal Barge procession.
The procession will be part of the Royal Kathin ceremony to present robes to Buddhist monks and will take place on the occasion of His Majesty the King's 72nd birthday on July 28.
After Anantanakkharat was lowered from the cradle, the boatmaster and crew performed a ceremony lighting incense and candles to pay homage to Mae Yanang, the guardian spirit of the boat, and to pay respects to sacred entities. The barge was then moved from the Bangkok Noi Canal to the Chao Phraya River and headed to the Thonburi Naval Dockyard, a distance of approximately one kilometre.
The journey to Dock No. 1 of the Thonburi Naval Dockyard took about 30 minutes.
Anantanakkharat was initially built during the reign of King Rama III, but the current vessel is a newer construction from the reign of King Rama VI. The prow of the barge is adorned with gold leaf and glass in the form of Anantanakkharat, a seven-headed Naga. In the middle of the barge is a throne used to house a Buddha image or Kathin robes.
The exterior of the barge is painted green, and the interior hull is red. It is 44.85 metres long, 2.58 metres wide, and 1.87 metres deep.
It requires a total of 72 personnel: 69 crew members consisting of two boatmasters, two sternmen, 54 rowers, a flag bearer, a signalman, seven umbrella bearers, a long-chant leader, and a boat song leader, along with three officials from the Royal Household Bureau.
