It's neither Ta Kwai nor Ta Wai, but Cambodia's Ta Krabey Temple!

The temple has long been known to locals as Ta Wai Krabey. NOPPARAT KINGKAEW

Well, that's just the Wai it is

14/05/2010
Nopparat Kingkaew
Bangkok Post

SURIN : A Hindu temple located in the disputed area along the Cambodian border near Surin, commonly referred to as Ta Kwai, should be called the Ta Wai temple, a local scholar says.

Boonrueang Khachama, an expert on Cambodian history at Surin Rajabhat University, said Ta Wai temple was named after the man who first discovered the sanctuary.

Mr Boonrueang said the temple has long been known to locals as Ta Wai, and a misunderstanding may have led to it being called Ta Kwai (water buffalo eyes).

During Wednesday's Lower House meeting, Maliwan Thanyasakulkit, the Puea Pandin Party MP for Surin, called on members of the media to refer to the temple correctly as Ta Wai out of respect for the man who discovered it.

She said she had discussed the matter with the Fine Arts Department after receiving complaints from locals about people referring to the temple by the wrong name.

Mrs Maliwan said the Cambodian media have begun referring to the temple as Ta Krabey in Khmer, the equivalent of the incorrect Thai name Ta Kwai.

Krabey translates as krabue or kwai in Thai, which means water buffalo in English, said Mr Boonrueng.

He said most names of ancient temples in Thailand and Cambodia were not the same as those given when they were built.

The temples were usually renamed after the people who discovered them, the name of the nearest village or a geographical landmark, he said.

The Ta Muean, Ta Muean Thom and Ta Muean Tod temples on the Dangrek mountain range, for example, were discovered by a man named Ta Miang. The temple names are believed to be distortions of Ta Miang.

The Ban Plaung temple, he said, was an example of a temple named after its surroundings. Plaung is the Khmer word for water chestnut and the temple is situated in an area full of water chestnut plants.