Anatomy of a Thai Wat Trivia Quiz

Answer: Wall around the outside

The word 'wat' means enclosure, and is used for Buddhist temples in Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. The wall around the outside of the temple complex is meant to show its separation from the secular world around it. Inside the wall, there are two general regions: the 'Phutthawat', which is set aside for the active worship of Buddha, and the 'Sangkhawat', where the living quarters and some other functional buildings are located.

Answer: Relics, usually of Buddhist monks and/or nuns

These are the Thai version of the stupa, a common feature of Buddhist architecture that has many regional variants. Stupas can be a range of shapes, from a simple hemisphere through the elegant bells common in Thailand to pyramids. Most contain a relic, either of Buddha or of a Buddhist saint, but some contain other physical objects associated with a saint (for example, their begging bowl).

The chedi is often covered in gold, indicating its importance. The act of circling the chedi in prayer (always in a clockwise direction), called Pradakshina, is highly significant religious action, and every chedi has a path around it for that purpose.

Answer: Eight large stones

The eight stones, called sema, are at the eight major points of the compass, and stand above the buried stone spheres (luk nimit) marking the boundary between the sacred ground inside them and the outer region. The sema may be connected by a wall to emphasise their presence.

A ninth sphere is commonly buried under the largest Buddha statue in the bot. The entrance to the bot is usually on the east side, with the largest Buddha at the west end, facing the entrance. The name for this building comes from the word 'uposathagara', which describes the fact that the hall is used for the rituals pertaining to the Buddhist sabbath days.

These occur on the days of the full and new moon, and eight days after each of these. The bot is sometimes called the ordination hall, since one of the most significant of these rituals is the ordination of new monks.

Answer: Laypeople have access to the wihan

Thai Buddhism does not have separate prayer areas for males and females, either for the laity or for the ordained monks and nuns. The wihan is a shrine, which may contain relics and will certainly contain multiple statues of Buddha, in which all members of the community may come together for prayer or other social purposes, such as guest speakers.

Answer: Pavilion

A sala is an open pavilion, with a roof that offers shelter from sun and/or rain. The sala kan parian literally means the pavilion where the monks study for their Parian exam, a formal multi-level examination of learning established in the 18th century.

The pavilion is used for study, but also for instruction of the laity in Buddhist doctrine, and for prayer and chanting. A wat may have multiple salas - the largest one will be called the sala kan parian.

Answer: Palm leaves

Because the scriptures are written on palm leaves, they are susceptible to attack, especially from termites. The ho trai is designed to deter them: it is ideally made of brick rather than wood, sits on columns to elevate it from the ground, and is sometimes built over a pond specifically built to provide an extra barrier.

The palm leaves were selected for uniformity (roughly 50 cm long and 5 cm wide) before being threaded together into stacks of 20-40 leaves which were enclosed in teak covers. Nowadays, they are usually printed on paper books. Each book is wrapped in cloth and stored on a special bookcase in the ho trai.

The texts fall into three main groups: the Vinaya describe the rules for monastic life, the Sutta are the collected sermons of Buddha, and the Abhidhamma are philosophical reflections on Buddhist doctrine.

Answer: Mondop

In Thailand, a mondop is a freestanding building, although in some other regions they are usually part of a larger building. The basic shape of the mondop is a square base, with walls of a height to make it roughly a cube. The roof is supported on pillars, either a row of pillars around the central building, or pillars on the top of the walls that elevate the pyramid above them.

There is often a spire on top of the roof. This structure is used for a range of buildings, including the libraries, shrines, and others.

Answer: Sleeping quarters

All of these functional buildings are likely to be found in the Sangkhawat, but only the kuti has specific architectural requirements. Each kuti is a small (roughly 3m x 4m) building on stilts, designed to provide sleeping space for a single monk. Each wat, therefore, has multiple kutis.

The individual buildings are grouped, either in a row or around the outside of a central courtyard area onto which they open. There may be a single cluster, or several of them. The small size of each kuti is designed to underline the monk's lack of need for material possessions - there isn't a lot of storage space!

Answer: Calling the monks to prayer

While the local citizens may keep track of the time from hearing the bells ring for morning and evening prayers, that is not their primary purpose. A ho rakhang can be made of almost any material (including wood, stone, brick, mixed materials) and in any shape (square, oblong, circular and octagonal being the most common shapes for the base), with the builder's choice of roof style.

It just has to be large enough to hold the bell or bells used for the call to prayer, with enough room for a free swing that will produce a good volume.

Answer: Garuda

For Hindus, Garuda is a giant eagle (which can assume human form) on which the god Vishnu commonly rides. Buddhists consider the garuda to be one of the eight non-human sentient races, the avowed enemies of the snake-like naga. A chofa is a sort of spiral shape, said to resemble a bird with its beak elevated.

They are commonly found on the ends of the top tier of the roof in wat buildings, while serpentine naga moldings appear on the lower parts of the panel on the end of the gable. These are not the only Hindu images that are commonly incorporated in Thai wat architecture and temple art: it is common to see figures of a four-armed Vishnu, eight-armed Shiva, and elephant-headed Ganesh.

The gates often feature a large figure of a Yaksha, guarding those within.

These have a green skin (ceramic since the 14th century or so) with bulging eyes and fearsome fangs, as well as a handy sword.