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Page:Phra Ratcha Lanchakon 2493.djvu/6 Page:Phra Ratcha Lanchakon 2493.djvu/7 Page:Phra Ratcha Lanchakon 2493.djvu/8 Page:Phra Ratcha Lanchakon 2493.djvu/9
HRH Prince Kromphrayā Naritsarānuwattiwong
Contents
As regards the personal seals and official seals, there used to be a practice in which the monarch conferred a royal seal upon someone in the latter’s honour. The royal seals thus given away could be ones which the monarch previously used or ones which he ordered to be newly created. Once given away, they would no longer be called royal seals, Page:Phra Ratcha Lanchakon 2493.djvu/39 Page:Phra Ratcha Lanchakon 2493.djvu/40 Page:Phra Ratcha Lanchakon 2493.djvu/41 Page:Phra Ratcha Lanchakon 2493.djvu/42 Page:Phra Ratcha Lanchakon 2493.djvu/43 Page:Phra Ratcha Lanchakon 2493.djvu/44
As previously said, the Seal of Royal Lion serves as the emblem of the Ministry of Interior. The ministries usually had one main seal and one minor seal. Some of them had one more seal, being a medium seal.
The main seal was used on sealed missives issued by Čhāophrayā Čhakkrī[b 1] for transmitting the king’s commands and major matters relating or referring to those commands.
The medium seal was used for sealing envelopes and used on letters issued to outer towns by a ministerial representative during the absence of the Secretary of State for Interior. Later, its use on envelopes was discontinued as coloured papers were used for sealing instead.
The minor seal was used on letters issued by a Deputy Secretary of State for Interior to outer towns without reference to a king’s command and was for the Secretary to carry with him during official expeditions to outer towns. It was also used on public documents which required to be specifically ordered, done, or notified by the Secretary. HRH Prince Kromphrayā Naritsarānuwattiwong told me: “The minor seal was created by a Secretary of State for Interior for use on his personal letters. The main seal was used on sealed missives for transmitting His Majesty’s commands. Later, whoever came to power would own a minor seal, despite having no duty to issue personal letters.”
As seen from the impressions on the Three Seals Code, the Seal of Royal Lion from the reign of King Rama I is different from the Seal of Royal Lion in use now. This is possibly because the old seal had been used to the point of being worn out or narrowed up and required recarving, but repeated recarving might then result in the seal needing to be made anew. (Recarving is carving on the existing lines to deepen them in order that they would be more distinct. Recarving a seal requires the same rite as carving a seal, that is, it would be done on an auspicious date amongst Buddhist priests chanting mantras and the seal would then be consecrated in the midst of a ritual congregation in the same manner as the rite for engraving a golden card,[b 2] with the only difference being that the recarving rite does not require the presence of a scrivener.) The technician who created the new seal might refrain from copying the old seal or he might even have not seen the old seal at all, for which reason the two seals are of different designs (said by HRH Prince Kromphrayā Naritsarānuwattiwong). After the change of the administrative regime to a constitutional one,[b 3] this Seal of Royal Lion is still in use as an emblem of the Ministry of Interior (see figure 26).
According to the Charter on the Use of Seals[b 4] under the old statute, in addition to the Seal of Royal Lion for Čhāophrayā Čhakkrīsīʿongkharak, the Civil Chancellor and Grand Chancellor,[b 5] there was another Seal of Royal Lion for Lūang ʿAmmāttayāthibǭdī, the interior officer in charge of the northern region. It is not known where this seal is now. But, in the Royal Museum, there are two Seals of Royal Lion which depict a running lion. Perhaps, either could be the mentioned Seal of Royal Lion.
The Seal of Elephant-Headed Lion serves as the emblem of the Ministry of Defence (see figure 27). The Charter on the Use of Seals[b 4] states that the seal belongs to Čhāophrayā Mahāsēnābǭdī the Military Chancellor.[b 6] This seal has remained in use until now and consists of a new version, a medium version, and a minor version. The Royal Museum has a set of three versions of a Seal of Elephant-Headed Lion with designs resembling those kept at the Ministry of Defence, which must have been created anew. HRH Prince Naritsarānuwattiwong once said:
The Charter on the Use of Seals states: “Čhāophrayā Sīthammarāchā Kōsāthibǭdī uses the Seal of Crystal Lotus”, which now belongs to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, The Charter on the Use of Seals states that the Seal of Wind-Eating Bird is for Phrayā Rātchaphakdī, Chief of the Department of Numbers whose duties deal with taxation. (Regarding this seal, only an impression has been obtained from an old sealed missive [see figure 30]. It is not known where the seal itself is being kept. It might have been lost a long time ago.) After the Ministry of Exchequers was founded and the Seal of Solar Sphere was adopted, the Seal of Wind-Eating Bird has since been abolished and used as the logo of the Ministry of Finance. But the redesigned image of the wind-eating bird is different from the one on the official seal of Phrayā Rātchaphakdī (see figure 31). As regards the wind-eating bird, HRH Prince Kromphrayā Naritsarānuwattiwong gave the following explanation:
Nok wāyuphak, if translated literally, means wind-eating bird. A difficulty arose when the Cabinet charged HRH Prince Kromphrayā Naritsarānuwattiwong with adapting the seals of the ministries into patterns on uniform cuffs, stating that for old ministries which already had official seals, those old seals should be used if usable, and for new ministries without existing seals, the seals should be created anew. Having been thus ordered, the prince found that no ministry gave rise to such a difficulty as that from the Ministry of Finance. Phrayā Rātchaphakdī who acted as Secretary of State for Finance originally carried a Seal of Wind-Eating Bird and the wind-eating bird portrayed thereon was a bird from the Himmaphān Forest[b 7] which resembled an eagle. Believing that this was not correct, the prince pondered upon it and remembered that a regal headgear embroidered with feathers of a wind-eating bird had been mentioned somewhere. He then made a search and found it in a writ at the end of the book Royal Comments on the Records of Events According to the Memory of Krommalūang Narinthēwī. According to the passage thus found, wind-eating bird would denote kārawēk bird[b 8] because, in general, bird feathers used on every regal headgear could only be feathers of kārawēk birds. Upon comparing wind-eating birds with kārawēk birds, he found them to be compatible with each other. The kārawēk birds in our belief live normally amongst clouds in the heavens and consume wind as Page:Phra Ratcha Lanchakon 2493.djvu/50 The seal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the Seal of Crystal Lotus (see figure 32), which originally was the official seal of Čhāophrayā Phra-khlang who held the post of kōsāthibǭdī.[b 9] After the Ratsadākǭnphiphat Hall[b 10] was established in the year 2417 BE[b 11] during the reign of King Rama V and the Department of Grand Exchequers was split from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and elevated to a Ministry of Grand Exchequers in the year 2418 BE, the Seal of Crystal Lotus has since become the official seal of the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, respectively. It consists of a greater version and a minor version.
In addition to the Seal of Crystal Lotus, there used to be a Seal of Blooming Lotus for the office of undersecretary, a Seal of Budding Lotus for the office of chief accountant, a Seal of Blue Lotus for use with a lac wax, and an embossed Seal of Crystal Lotus on coloured papers for sealing envelopes. Except the embossed Seal of Crystal Lotus, all these seals are no longer in use. They were created during the time Čhāophrayā Phānuwongsamahākōsāthibǭdī (Thūam Bunnāk)[b 12] was the secretary of state in charge of the ministry when it was still known as Department of Foreign Affairs.
The official seal of the Ministry of Agricultural Affairs is the Seal of Varuṇa Upon Serpent (see figure 33). The Charter on the Use of Seals states that Čhāophrayā Phonlathēp Sēnābǭdīsīchainoppharat Kasēttrāthikān[b 13] uses nine seals, namely—
- Seal of Vidyādhara Holding Čhongkonlanī;[b 14]
- Seal of the Bull King[b 15] in Full Attire Standing Upon a Platform;
- Seal of Varuṇa Riding Upon a Serpent;
- Seal of a Deity in Full Attire Standing Upon a Platform With a Rope in His Hand;
- Seal of Plough, depicting a brāhmaṇa priest in full attire holding a plough;
- Seal of a Deity in Full Attire Standing Upon a Platform With a Goad in His Hand;
- Seal of a Deity in Full Attire Seated Within a Flying Castle on the Back of a Swan;
- Seal of Phra Kān[b 16] in Full Attire Riding Upon a Serpent;
- Seal of Čhongkonlanī.
How these seals are used are already stated in the Charter on the Use of Seals. In schedules of ceremonies for consecrating royal and official seals, these nine seals are collectively referred to as the Nine Seals. Regarding why Čhāophrayā Phonlathēp, the holder of the post of kasēttrāthikān, has as many as nine seals, HRH Prince Kromphrayā Naritsarānuwattiwong has expressed a suggestion as previously mentioned. HM King Čhunlačhǭmklāo Čhāoyūhūa wrote in his rescript dated 9 September 108 RE:[b 17] “In later time, having a lot of seals is merely for observing an ancient norm. It has been agreed since Čhāophrayā Rattanāthibēt was a secretary of state that the Seal of Varuṇa shall serve as the main seal and the Seal of Vidyādhara shall be a minor seal. It has been ruled that only those should remain, whilst the other seven should be kept within the ministry in order to be in line with the practice under the old tradition.” Later in the year 111 RE,[b 18] a report to the king from the Office of the Royal Private Secretary dated 28 May 111 RE, the twenty-fifth year of his reign, stated: “The Ministry of Paddies has discontinued using the nine seals. It is using the Seal of Phonlathēp Holding a Plough as the main seal and the Seal of Varuṇa Upon a Serpent as a secondary seal.”
The nine seals of the Ministry of Agricultural Affairs have been kept in the ministry until now. As regards the Seal of Phonlathēp Holding a Plough, I once saw the real one and I believe that it is still in that ministry.
The seal of the Ministry of Education is the Seal of a Boundary Marker With a Wheel of Law (see figure 37). Back when the Ministry of Education was still known as the Ministry of Public Instruction, an old royal seal, the Seal of Illuminated Flying Castle (see figure 34), was used by the royal permission as the official seal of the Secretary of State for Public Instruction. This seal was originally the official or personal seal of Kromsomdet Phra Paramānuchitchinōrot.[b 19] But HRH Prince Kromphraya Naritsarānuwattiwong expressed an opinion that the impression which was accompanied by a note stating it was the Seal of Illuminated Flying Castle is not likely the Seal of Illuminated Flying Castle of Kromsomdet Phra Paramānuchitchinōrot because only a lamp was seen in the castle without any light. The Seal of Illuminated Flying Castle is now at the Royal Museum and was once redesigned on the basis of traditional sources for use as the official seal of the National Council of Culture.
Later in the year 2436 BE,[b 20] the king[b 21] transferred the Seal of Illuminated Flying Castle to the Director General of the Department of Education as his official seal and granted an old seal, the Seal of the God of Fire Riding Upon a Rhino (see figure 35), to the Secretary of State for Public Instruction as his official seal for him to use in transmitting the king’s commands to various recipients together with the Seal of Boundary Markers With a Wheel of Law which was used for transmitting the king’s commands to Buddhist priests. (The Seal of the God of Fire Riding Upon a Rhino is now at the Royal Museum.)[b 22]
In the reign of King Rama VI, the Seal of the God of Fire Riding Upon a Rhino was abolished and replaced by a newly created Seal of a Boundary Marker With a Wheel of Law for the reason that, after furnishing the Secretary of State for Public Instruction with the traditional title attached to his position (that is, the title of Čhāophrayā Phrasadetsurēnthrāthibǭdī, the holder of which is said by the Charter on the Use of Seals to carry the Seal of Boundary Markers With a Wheel of Law), HM King Mongkutklāo Čhāoyūhūa found that his seal depicted a discus on a flying castle flanked by a boundary stone on each side (see figure 36), with which the king was not pleased, he then ordered the Seal of Boundary Markers With a Wheel of Law to be created anew. The newly created Seal of a Boundary Marker With a Wheel of Law is round in shape, containing a picture of a wheel of law, which is a chariot wheel, in the middle of a boundary marker, with du sa ni ma, the heart of the Four Noble Truths,[b 23] written in the Khǭm script,[b 24] floating upon the boundary stone (Announcement on the Official Seals of the Secretary of State for the Royal Household and the Secretary of State for Public Instruction, dated 2456 BE).[b 25]
The seal of the Ministry of Transport is the Seal of Rāma Upon Chariot (see figure 38). This seal was originally the great seal of the Ministry of Public Works. This ministry formerly used the Seal of Indra Upon Elephant, but due to it being too large, the seal was changed to the Seal of Rāma Upon Chariot in order to match the work of road inspection or city planning. Once the Ministry of Public Works was dissolved and merged with other public services to form a Ministry of Commerce and Transport in the year 2468 BE[b 26] during the reign of King Rama VI, this seal devolved upon the Secretary of State for Commerce and Transport as his official seal. After this ministry was reorganised and renamed to Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Seal of Rāma Upon Chariot remained in use as the official seal of the Minister of Economic Affairs until 2484 BE[b 27] when the Ministry of Economic Affairs was dissolved and split into a Ministry of Commerce and a Ministry of Transport. Since then, the Seal of Rāma Upon Chariot has become the seal of the Ministry of Transport. (There is another version of the Seal of Rāma Upon Chariot at the Royal Museum.[b 22] This is probably the old version that was sent back when the Ministry of Public Works was dissolved and the one currently in use must have been newly created.)
The emblem of the Ministry of Commerce is the Seal of Viśvakarmā[b 28] (see figure 39). This seal was originally a minor seal of the Ministry of Public Works. Created in the year 117 RE,[b 29] it depicted a crownless deity carrying peacock tails, standing one-legged upon a base. Once the Ministry of Economic Affairs was dissolved and split into a Ministry of Commerce and a Ministry of Transport, this seal was transferred to the Ministry of Commerce as its official seal, but it was designed and created anew to be distinguished from the design of the old seal, before it was given the name of Seal of Viśvakarmā.
The Ministry of Justice formerly used the Seal of Lunar Sphere, a seal royally granted[b 30] to Somdetčhāophrayā Bǭrommahāphichaiyāt[b 31] as his personal seal and later allowed[b 32] to be used as the official seal of the Secretary of State for Justice. It consists of a greater version and a minor version. The greater version depicts a flying canopied chariot with an ūrṇā[b 33] in the middle and carrying a rabbit on the rear (see figure 40), for which reason it is sometimes called incorrectly as the Seal of Ūrṇā Chariot. It is believed that this version was later redone by removing the ūrṇā from the chariot because the ūrṇā was too much,[b 34] resulting in the minor version which depicts the moon coming through clouds (see figure 41). The old greater and minor versions are now at the Royal Museum.[b 22]
Later in the year 2456 BE,[b 25] during the reign of King Rama VI, the official seal of the Secretary of State for Justice was changed to a Seal of the Scales of Justice, of which the greater version consists of a sword and a balance or a set of scales of justice enshrined upon a two-tiered tray (see figure 42) and the minor version merely consists of the sword and the balance without the tray.
The seal of the Ministry of Industrial Affairs is the Seal of Nārāyaṇa Churning the Ocean (see figure 43). This seal was newly created when the Ministry of Industrial Affairs was founded. It is not the same one as the old Seal of Nārāyaṇa Churning the Ocean, which is the official seal of the Department of Warfare, Royal Thai Army.
The seal of the Ministry of Public Health Affairs differs from the seals of the other ministries: it depicts a winged torch with snakes coiling around it (see figure 44), which is the staff of the Roman deity Mercury known as caduceus, used by farangs as a symbol of peace and later as both a symbol of medicine and a symbol of commerce. This seal originally belonged to the Department of Public Health. After the Department of Public Health and the medical services were incorporated into a Ministry of Public Health Affairs, the seal of the caduceus staff became the emblem of the ministry.
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Figure 1
Royal Seal of Great Oṃkāra (medium version)
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Figure 2
Royal Seal of Garuḍa the Carrier (old version)
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Royal Seal of Garuḍa the Carrier (medium version)
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Royal Seal of Garuḍa the Carrier
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Royal Seal of Thunderbolt
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Royal Seal of Swan Castle
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Royal Seal of Brahmā on Swans (greater version)
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Figure 8
Royal Seal of Brahmā on Swan (minor version)
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Figure 9
Royal Seal of Airāvata (old version) with Indra
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Figure 10
Royal Seal of Airāvata (old version) without Indra
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Royal Seal of Airāvata (greater version)
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Figure 12
Royal Seal of Airāvata (medium version)
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Figure 13
Royal Seal of Airāvata (minor version)
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Figure 14
Royal Seal of Airāvata (old version)
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Figure 15
Royal Seal of Three White Elephants
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Figure 16
Royal Seal of the Great Royal Command (greater version)
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Figure 17
Royal Seal of Siamese Ruler of the World
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Royal Seal of the Name of the Kingdom (greater version)
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Royal Seal of the Name of the Kingdom (minor version)
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Figure 22
Seal of the Great Deity Upon Nandi
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Seal of Yama Riding Upon Lion
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Seal of Discus
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Seal of Royal Lion and Elephant-Headed Lion Protecting the Constitution
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Figure 28
Seal of Solar Sphere (greater version)
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Seal of Solar Sphere (minor version)
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Figure 34
Seal of Illuminated Flying Castle
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Seal of the God of Fire Riding Upon a Rhino
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Figure 40
Seal of Lunar Sphere (greater version)
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Figure 41
Seal of Lunar Sphere (minor version)
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Figure 44
Seal of Winged Torch With Snakes
Printed at Phračhan Printing House, Moon Pier,[b 35] Phra Nakhǭn.[b 36]
Nāi[b 37] Sanan Tanbunyư̄n: Owner, Printer, Publisher.
2493.[b 38]
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