Thread by @zenjournalist

A quick thread on mysticism, water and the Thai monarchy, on King Vajiralongkorn's birthday today. 1/13

Water has a very important role in Thai royal mythology. Thailand's monarchy still draws on primitive beliefs from hundreds of years ago, when kings claimed mystical power to control the weather and ensure a good rice harvest. 2/13

In the former Thai kingdom of Ayutthaya, and in the early Bangkok kingdom, some of the main royal ceremonies every year involved the king symbolically asking for rain, and then banishing the waters at the end of the rainy season. 3/13

Here is what British scholar HW Quaritch Wales wrote about the water-banishing ceremony in his 1931 book Siamese State Ceremonies. 4/13

During the reign of King Bhumibol, he continued the myth, with the reintroduction of the Royal Ploughing Ceremony, and his false claims to have pioneered cloud seeding to induce rain. In fact, the technique was invented elsewhere and is not particularly effective. 5/13

In his final years, when he was mostly unconscious, Bhumibol was sometimes wheeled out of Siriaj Hospital to the side of the Chao Phraya River, where he sat silently in his wheelchair. Palace officials claimed he was monitoring the water level. khaosodenglish.com/life/2015/04/2… 6/13

The article on King Vajiralongkorn in today's Bangkok Post also promotes the myth of mystical royal control of the rain.

It says that at the moment Vajiralongkorn was born in 1952, a long drought came to an end as it suddenly began to rain. 7/13

It quotes from a book by minor aristocrat Sumonchart Swasdikul: "At 5.45pm, the prince was born. At the very same time, the rain that has been absent throughout the season started to come down. It was as if the sky recognised his birth." bangkokpost.com/life/social-an… 8/13

Obviously, Thai monarchs can't really magically control the weather, and it's embarrassing to see this kind of nonsense in the Bangkok Post, which claims to be a serious newspaper. 9/13

But also, claiming royal power over water is a dangerous game to play, because it means that during times of severe drought or flooding, this could be seen as a sign that the monarch is not worthy and is unable to exercise his magical kingly powers. 10/13

The Thai junta was so sensitive about the issue that they even censored CNN weather reports in 2017, because they didn't want Thais to know how bad the flooding was in the country. 11/13

Earlier this month, the Bangkok Post reported that Thailand is facing its worst drought in more than 10 years.

"The country's overall rainfall is the lowest in a decade," said Kornrawee Sitthichiwapak, Meteorological Department deputy director bangkokpost.com/thailand/gener… 12/13

So if Vajiralongkorn could end a drought in 1952 just by being born, how come he can't do anything about the drought in 2019? 13/13