The legacy of Chum Abhaiwong, the former Siam puppet-governor in Battambang

A legacy of HERITAGE

Thanks to one man's love of his hometown, Thailand and Cambodia possess a paired architectural heritage that has lasted for a century

9/04/2009
By PLOENPOTE ATTHAKOR
Bangkok Post

The heritage sites - two stately mansions and two temples in Thailand's Prachin Buri and Cambodia's Battambang - remain as the legacy of Chao Phraya Abhaibhubejhr (Choom Abhaiwongse, 1861 to 1922), the last lord governor of Battambang before Siam gave up the province, together with Siem Reap and Sisophon, to French-ruled Cambodia in 1907.

Chao Phraya Abhaibhubejhr (Choom Abhaiwongse), the last lord governor of Battambang under the rule of Siam.

Chao Phraya Abhaibhubejhr was born in Battambang, but received education in Bangkok. He took over the position of lord governor of Battambang from his father who died in 1892. He was the fourth and last governor of Battambang from the Abhaiwongse family.

In 1905, Chao Phraya Abhaibhubejhr began building the baroque mansion in Battambang with the intent to make it his residence. However, the mansion was incomplete at the time he abandoned Battambang as France took over the province after the Siamese-French territory pact relinquished it for Trat and some islands on Siam's eastern coast.

The Chao Phraya Abhaibhubejhr building, now a museum of traditional Thai medicine. This year marks the building’s centenary.

Chao Phraya Abhaibhubejhr, who enjoyed hunting and a rural lifestyle, spent a short time in Bangkok before eventually asking for royal permission to settle down in Prachin Buri where he could pursue an adventurous life.

In 1909, he decided to build another mansion in a similar architectural style in Prachin Buri. His motivation came after he received King Chulalongkorn during a royal visit in the hope that he would have a proper place to serve the monarch if he travelled to the province again. The monarch never did as he passed away the following year.

The old mansion in Battambang, which once served as the provincial hall.

"Chao Phraya Abhaibhubejhr had the mansion face east, towards Battambang, instead of the Prachin River, in accordance with traditional construction practises," noted Supaporn Pitiporn, managing director of the Abhaibhubejhr Foundation. It significantly indicates the bond Chao phraya Abhaibhubejhr felt with his former home, and he is said to have re-hired the same group of craftsmen who completed the mansion in Battambang to construct the new building in Prachin Buri.

Moreover, the way he built the main hall of Wat Kaewpichit in Prachin Buri's Muang district after that of Wat Domrey Sor, a monumental temple with spectacular architectural work in Battambang, further accentuates the affinity he had with his hometown.

its interior.

"He didn't return to Battambang until his death, however," she said, adding it must have been difficult for the nobleman to leave his birthplace and ashes of his parents and wife for a new land.

Chao Phraya Abhaibhubejhr presented the mansion to King Vajiravudh as a wedding gift when he married his granddaughter Khun Kruakaew (promoted to Phra Nang Chao Suvadhana). She later donated the building to the Royal Thai Army to be used as a hospital for soldiers and members of the public. The building is now a museum of traditional Thai medicine.

The balcony of the old mansion.

The nobleman never made use of the mansion. Only after his death did his body enter the building, placed inside for a funeral ceremony before being cremated at Wat Kaewpichit.

While the Abhaibhubejhr mansion underwent a major facelift to its former grandeur in 1994, it's twin building in Battambang is still in a sorry state. It had served as the Battambang provincial hall for many years until it was worn out and abandoned. The province now has a new building on the same compound and the mansion is now a meeting place for a local association.

The Chao Phraya Abhaibhubejhr building

Neang Chanthara, assistant to the Battambang governor, said the Thai and Cambodian governments discussed a restoration plan some four years ago. Experts from the Thai Fine Arts Department estimated the restoration plan for the mansion to have an approximate cost of 17 million baht.

A budget problem on the Thai side has delayed restoration, he said, expressing no confidence that the plan will be realised.

Neang Chantara hopes the mansion, when fully restored, will become a city museum.

He pointed out that leaks in the mansion's roof are an urgent problem.

"The roofs need to be fixed immediately as seeping rainwater has extensively damaged the building's interior for years," he said.

Wat Domrey Sor

The roof restoration cost has been approximated at two million baht and is likely to be shared between the Battambang province and the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh, he said.

Moreover, he pointed out the Battambang province wishes to break down the restoration plan and budget into phases, as advised by the embassy, in order to make it more possible for Thailand to support the plan.

the twin temple of Wat Kaewpichit in Prachin Buri

The mansion, once fully restored, should serve as a museum, he said.

Supaporn said she hopes the Thai government will be able to participate in the mansion's restoration.

The mansion is a symbolic link between the two countries, she said, adding it may encourage the exchange of travellers from both sides and thus foster better understanding and relations.

The marvellous mosaic tiles of the old mansion in Battambang

"We are immediate neighbours and we should live and help each other like brothers. We should share with each other in good and bad times. If the neighbour needs helps, we should do what we possibly can," she said.

While it was widely believed that Chao Phraya Abhaibhubejhr cut off all the links he had with Battambang, historical evidence suggests otherwise.

Among it is an inscription carrying the Abhaibhubejhr emblem at the base of the back of the main Buddha image in the old ubosoth (ordination hall) of Samrong Khanong temple outside of Battambang town. The inscription says the image was built in 1911, four years after Chao Phraya had left Battambang.

from the Chao Phraya Abhaibhubejhr building.

It is believed by many that Chao Phraya provided the money for the Buddha image's construction at the temple.

Some Cambodian historical textbooks portray Chao Phraya in a negative light because of his decision to abandon Cambodia, but Supaporn sees the nobleman in a different way.

"He was a brave man with kind heart," she said. Chao Phraya's deep faith in Buddhism is attested to the fact that he built over 20 temples in Battambang while in power. One of them is Wat Domrey Sor (White Elephant), a monumental temple in the heart of Battambang town.

The temple became the prototype of Wat Kaewpichit when Chao Phraya Abhaibhubejhr patronised the construction of the temple's ubosoth in 1918, which signifies another historical link between the two countries.

Over the weekend, Supaporn, health officials from Abhaibhubejhr Hospital and Thai merit makers travelled to Battambang to conduct a pha pa ceremony at Wat Domrey Sor. It was part of the Abhaibhubejhr Foundation's celebration of the Abhaibhubejhr mansion's centenary in Prachin Buri this year and also was in honour of the nobleman. Supaporn said the event went well despite current border tensions.

"Every nation has border issues. But we should go beyond the problem as it would be mutually beneficial," she said.

The way the EU fosters integration is an ideal example, she said.

"Thailand and Cambodia are part of the region and each should do its part for Asian union. We lie in the same area, called Suvarnnabhumi, after all."

Mansion of Choom Abhaiwong, the former Siamese puppet-governor in Cambodia

Chaophraya Abhaibhubejhr (Choom Abhaiwongse, 1861 to 1922).

MANSION fit for A KING

The Chaophraya Abhaibhubejhr building has a storied history and remains an architectural jewel

10/03/2009
By VASANA CHINVARAKORN
Bangkok Post

This is a building inspired by love and loyalty. And for the past century, the ochre-coloured two-story mansion next to the Prachin Buri river has been through a fascinating history of transformations. Named after the original owner, Chaophraya Abhaibhubejhr (Choom Abhaiwongse, 1861 to 1922), the baroque-style building was born out of his simple wish to provide a vacation residence fit for a king. Then it was offered as a royal wedding gift, and later turned into a hospital touted to be the country's most beautiful. Now housing a museum on traditional Thai medicine, the picture of its facade has been used as the logo of Thailand's most popular line of herbal products under the brand name of "Abhaibhubejhr".

It all began in 1909. A loyal subject to King Chulalongkorn, Chaophraya Abhaibhubejhr had an opportunity to play host during the former's royal visit to Prachin Buri a year earlier. Due to limited resources at the time - Chaophraya Abhaibhubejhr himself had just relocated his whole family from Cambodia's Battambang to Siam in 1907 - the monarch had to stay in a makeshift pavilion for the entire trip. After the king's departure, Chaophraya Abhaibhubejhr thus decided to initiate the construction project, to build a mansion more fitting for His Majesty, lest he might return to the area again.

Estimated to cost about a million baht, a rather considerable sum at the time, the ambitious scheme recruited the best of designers and craftsmen. A French architectural firm that had been commissioned to build a similar style of building in Battambang while Chaophraya Abhaibhubejhr was still the governor there was rehired; certain high-quality materials unavailable locally like roof and floor tiles, rainwater pipes and a weathercock (with both eyes made of real diamonds, it is reputed) were imported from overseas. It is believed that the builders may have been drawn from French Indochina, as well.

King Vajiravudh and his royal consort, Phra Nang Chao Suvadhana, formerly Tew Abhaiwongse, on their wedding day.

Despite his best intentions, however, the mansion was completed after King Chulalongkorn's demise in 1910. But Chaophraya Abhaibhubejhr was able to throw a lavish reception on the premises when King Vajiravudh paid him a royal visit two years later. Intriguingly, the building was subsequently presented as a wedding gift when the monarch married one of Chaophraya Abhaibhubejhr's granddaughters, Kruakaew, aka Tew Abhaiwongse, who was appointed Phra Nang Chao Suvadhana (royal consort) in 1924.

It should be noted that up until his final days, Chaophraya Abhaibhubejhr had never made use of the building himself. Ironically, the only occasion came after he passed away, in 1922, with his royally sponsored funeral service being held at the site.

The century-old Chaophraya Abhaibhubejhr building in Prachin Buri remains a testament to the unwavering loyalty of one man for his beloved monarch. It has been transformed from a vacation residence of Rama VI, who married Chaophraya Abhaibhubejhr’s granddaughter, to a public hospital and now a museum of traditional Thai medicine.

As a tribute to her grandfather, in 1937 Phra Nang Chao Suvadhana decided to donate the building to the Royal Thai Army to be used as a hospital catering to both the military and the local public. Four years later, it was transferred to the Ministry of Public Health, which named it the Prachin Buri Hospital. The present name of Chaophraya Abhaibhubejhr Hospital was unanimously voted on by the provincial council in 1966.

The first phase of restoration began in 1970, when then hospital director Dr Sujin Palakornkul deemed it necessary to return the building to as near the original condition as possible. From then on, it was used only for special occasions such as to receive members of the royal family and, interestingly, to host the wedding parties of hospital staff. In 1990, the Fine Arts Department registered the building as a heritage site.

Pharmacist Supaporn Pitiporn.

Substantial repair work did not take place, however, until well into the mid-'90s. In 1994, pharmacist Supaporn Pitiporn pioneered the task, with support from then-director Dr Prem Chinvanthananond. Despite the initial difficulty of fund-raising, the mission was finally accomplished - the first building of Chaophraya Abhaibhubejhr Hospital was restored to its former grandeur. In 1999, it won an award for the best architectural design (building category) from HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.

But a building is more than a combination of bricks and tiles. For years, Supaporn has been researching Chaophraya Abhaibhubejhr's life and the more she learns, the more she grows to admire his calibre and loyalty to his king. "This is a person who was willing to leave everything for the sake of his country." Supaporn refers in particular to the historic juncture in 1907 when Siam was forced to cede its control over Siem Riep, Sisophon and Battambang in return for the coastal towns of Trat and Chantaburi. Chaophraya Abhaibhubejhr decided to return to Siam despite an offer by the French colonial power that he could remain the governor of Battambang and adjacent areas if he wished.

Supaporn thus views her work at the hospital, promoting knowledge and use of traditional Thai medicine, as an effort to carry on Chaophraya Abhaibhubejhr's spirit. A century ago, the man stood up to defy the foreign powers. Now, it is to keep national "sovereignty" from the multinational pharmaceutical industry with its patent-oriented regime.

"So there is a continuation between the legacies of Chaophraya Abhaibhubejhr and us his descendants. We respect him because we understand, appreciate, what he tried to do throughout his life. Our hope is only that we will be able to be completely self-reliant in terms of producing our own [herbal] medicine for our needs, one day."

Were Chaophraya Abhaibhubejhr still alive, he would be tremendously pleased.