Page 136 - The International Journal of the Royal Society of Thailand Vol.XIII-2021

The International Journal of the Royal Society of Thailand
Volume XIII – 2021

From the reign of King Rama III to King Rama V, Burma was colonized by

the British Empire. The Mons on the upper Mae Klong River did not have to keep
the Burmese army under surveillance anymore and their neighborhood was not
suitable for cultivation, so they moved to the present Photharam. This was a new

Mon community established from Wat Pa Phai to Wat Khong Kha to the east of the
Mae Klong River. The Ban Muang Mon community in Ban Pong District migrated
from Burma during the reign of King Narai the Great (1590 - 1605). They named

their community ‘Ban Muang’ and Wat Ban Muang was their spirit of place
(Suphaphorn, 2011).

Plus, the Mons settled down in the lower Mae Klong Basin in Samut
Songkhram. The Queen of King Rama I was from a rich Mon family which was in
charge of Amphawa floating market. It is told in Muang Mai, Amphawa District

that before the fall of Ayutthaya, a group of Thai people moved along the Mae
Klong River to escape from the Burmese army and when they cleared the land for
cultivation, they found a broken Mon sanctuary and stupa indicating that Mon

communities were there earlier. There are Mon communities on both sides of the
Chu Chi canal. A post with a Mon-style swan figure on top is found in Wat Sattha

Tham.

3) The Laotian

Their first settlement in Ratchaburi was found during the Thonburi
Period. They were brought to Siam as prisoners of war and some groups of them

were brought here. Most of them lived on the terrace along the Mae Klong River
because they were used to living in this kind of topography when they were in

Laos. And when they came to Ratchaburi, the Mons were living in the basin area.
Later the Laotian from Phetchaburi and Suphanburi moved to Ratchaburi; as a
result, there were many of subgroups of Laotian living there – Lao Phuan, Lao

Wiang, Lao Song, Lao Yuan and Lao Krang (Suphaphorn, 2011).

The Laotian communities along the Mae Klong River in Ratchaburi are
located in Wat Soi Fah, Ban Luek, Ban Bang Lan, Ban Don Sai, Ban Nong Hu Chang,

Ban Nong Ya Plong, Ban Wat Bot, Ban Khong, Ban Nong Or. Moving from
Phetchaburi, the Lao Song Dam settled in Ban Don Manora in Samut Songkhram.

126 Urban Settlements, Religion and Spirit of Places along the Mae Klong River, Thailand