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Kite flying has been a popular pastime for
people all over the world for a long, long time.
Nobody knows who first invented and flew the
kite, though according to The World Book
Encyclopaedia, the Greek scientist, Archytus,
made a kite in 400 B.C. and in ancient China,
a general named Han Xin was recorded to have
used it in a battle in 208 B.C. It seems reasonable
to presume that kites were made in many places
in the world independently without imitation
since the process of making kites is simple
and the materials used are easy to obtain.
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Anyway, the Thai
people can lay no claim to the invention of the
kite in view of the short written history of their
country covering only a little over 700 years.
However, the art of making and flying kites has
been developed to a higher level in Thailand than
many other countries in the world, and the Thais
are proud of this.
In other countries, people may be content to fly
their kites smoothly in the air. When they want
to add some excitement to the recreation, they
do nothing more than treating the kite strings
with powdered glass and trying to cut each other's
kite off. But the Thais have elevated kite flying
from child's play to a national competitive sport
for adults with standardized rules. |
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Left: A Chula
kite
Right: A renowned kite flyer in King Chulalongkorn's
time with his Pakpao kite |
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This has been
possible because the weather conditions in Thailand
are particularly suitable for kite flying during
the dry season which lasts from November to April.
During this period, wind almost never fail to
blow, first from the mainland towards the coast
and then from the ocean towards the mainland.
Also during this period, there is hardly any rainfall
at all and the sky is clear and bright. This is
also the slack season in farming, when rural people
have plenty of free time to spare. With all these
favourable factors added together, it is no wonder
that kite flying has been so popular in this country
ever since the founding of the Sukhothai Kingdom
over 700 years ago. |
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Tourists attracted by many
colourful kites
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| Evidence of this
popularity can be found in mural paintings, in
literary works and in historical records. |
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A kite maker concentrating
on his work
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Thai mural paintings,
mostly found on the walls of Buddhist temples,
are an important source of visual evidence of
the way of life in ancient times.
They depict scenes of daily life of the relevant
period as well as stories related to the Buddhist
faith. Such scenes are found in murals in several
important temples, such as Wat Ratchapradit next
to the Foreign Ministry, Bangkok, Wat Pradu Songtham
of Ayutthaya, Wat Phra Sing of Chiang Mai and
Wat Matchimawat of Songkhla. |
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Kite flying is
also mentioned, described or eulogized in several
major Thai literary works, including poems, dramas
and Phra Aphai Mani, a story in verse written
by Sunthon Phu, the foremost poet in Thai history,
who was named by the UNESCO the Classic Poet of
the World in 1986.
Several Thai kings were recorded to have particular
connections with kite flying in some way or other.
As early as the Sukhothai period (1238-1438),
King Phra Ruang* was mentioned in a chronicle
of northern Thailand as enjoying this sport. In
the early Ayutthaya period (1350-1767), kite flying
was so popular that an unspecified king had to
issue a royal decree, possibly as a security measure,
to forbid the flying of kites over the Royal Palace.
Offenders were punishable by cutting off the hands
Narai the Great (1656-1688) was another king known
to have a special liking for kite flying. De la
Loubere, the envoy from King Louis XIV of France,
wrote that the king's kite could be seen in the
night sky over the palace throughout the two winter
months with courtiers assigned to hold the kite
string in turn. Father Pere Qui Tachard, also
sent by Louis XIV, recorded that when Narai stayed
at Lop Buri, kites in various shapes were flown
round the palace at night with lanterns and small
bells hanging from them to give light and sound.
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| In the reign
of Phra Phet Racha (1688-1703), kites were employed
in the suppression of a rebellion. After failing
to capture the rebels' stronghold of Nakhon Ratchasima
in his first attempt, the commander from the capital
had pots of gunpowder tied to the strings of the
big Chula kites, which were flown over
the town. |
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Then the fuses, which ran parallel to the strings,
were lit and the explosives blew up, causing fires
to the thatched wooden houses in the town. Following
the resulting turmoil, the king's army forced
their way into the city and put down the revolt. |
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In
the early Bangkok period, King Rama II (1809-1824)
and his younger brother, Prince Maha Senanurak,
were both fond of flying kites, so much so that
they were identified with the Chula kite
and the Pakpao kite respectively in a saying
of the time. But it was not until the reign of
King Rama V (Chulalongkorn 1868-1910) that kite
flying as a sport reached its zenith in Thai history.
In 1906, Chulalongkorn organized the first ever
kite fighting contest at Dusit Palace with many
members of the royal family and high-ranking officials
participating.
The competitors were divided into two camps, one
flying Chula and the other Pakpao.
The winner was awarded the Royal Gold Cup. The
contest was held annually until the king's death
in 1910. |
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Colourful and strangely-shaped
kites for sale at Sanam Luang
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| Then
the popularity of kite flying dropped to a low
ebb, because following the changes of the times,
people became busier and busier making their living
and large vacant spaces became fewer and fewer
in Bangkok and other cities. |
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Children
enjoy flying kites
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It
was not until April 1983 that a Kite Festival
was held in Bangkok and the unique kite fighting
contest was revived with Princess Maha Chakri
Sirindhorn presiding over the ceremony at Sanam
Luang adjacent to the Grand Palace. Since then,
the festival has been held at the same place annually.
A kite fight in Thailand is always between a Chula
and a Pakpao. The Chula kite roughly
resembles a 5-pointed star. But only the upper
triangle has a sharp point and straight sides.
The two horizontal arms are rather fat with convex
sides and the two legs are also fat, each with
a concave side and a convex side. Placed standing
on the ground, it looks like a man wearing a pointed
hat with arms akimbo and legs wide apart.
A standard Chula is 7 ft. (2.13 m.) high.
It is very heavy in flight and several people
are needed to handle it. It has 3 "craws"
affixed to the string a few metres from the kite
and 8 inches from each other. Made of split bamboo,
the craws are the Chula's weapons used
to entangle the string of the Pakpao. |
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The
Pakpao is like a diamond in shape and has
a long tail to give it stability. It is much smaller
than a Chula with a length of no more than
32 inches (81.28 cm.). It also has a weapon called
a niang, which is a loop formed just under
the point where the long string meets the two
short strings tied to the kite. The loop's function
is also to snare the enemy.
Both the Chula and Pakpao are quite
different from any other kite in design and in
performance. Both are exquisitely made and are
highly manoeuvrable in the air. That is why the
kite flier must be very skillful in order to win
the contest.
In a kite contest, the field is divided into two
parts -- the windward and the leeward. The Chula
team occupies the former and the Pakpao
team the latter. As mentioned above, there are
well-defined rules for the contest. |
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The main point is for the Chula
to try to catch the Pakpao and bring
it to Chula's territory. On the Pakpao's
part, the object is to foil the rival's attempt
and to cause it to drop to the Pakpao's
own territory. The fight is thus full of fun
and excitement. In view of the different sizes,
shapes and actions in the air, the Chula
is compared to a male and the Pakpao
a female. As the Chula is much bigger
and has more deadly weapons, the Pakpao
is allowed a 2-1 advantage in a fight.
Every year, the Kite Festival takes place at
Sanam Luang next to the Grand Palace from late
February to early April, during which exhibitions
and contests of other kinds of traditional Thai
sports and games will also be held. This year,
the festival will be organised magnificently
in order to celebrate the 72nd birthday anniversary
of H.M. Queen Sirikit which will be completed
on 12 August 2004. Besides the exciting activities,
performances of Thai traditional music will
also be held. There are thousands of people
and hundred of kites waiting for you to join
them. If you go with your friends or family,
you can rent a mat and enjoy snacks and soft
drinks while watching.
The kite festival is also held annually at Phrachuap
Khiri Khan Province. This year, it will take
place from 13-14 March. For more information,
please contact Tourism Authority of Thailand
(TAT) office,
Tel: 0 3247 1005-6.
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*The term
Phra Ruang has been used loosely to refer
to several Sukhothai monarchs. It is not clear
which of the nine kings of the Sukhothai Kingdom
is referred to here.
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