Mukdahan (มุกดาหาร)

Thai. ‘Divided pearl’. The name of a Thai jangwat or province (map), as well as of its capital city in Isaan. The town is located at 642 kms Northeast of Bangkok, on the Mae Khong (Mekhong) River and the border with Laos, and has a population of around 25,000. Around the first half of the 18th century AD, Chao Chandra Suriyawong, an Isaan local ruler, founded a settlement along the left banks of the Mae Khong River, in present-day Laos. In 1767 AD, after his death, his son Chanthakinnaree (จันทกินรี) moved the settlement to the other side of the river, near the mouth of a creek called Bang Muk (บังมุก), in present-day Thailand. This was in the vicinity of an abandoned monastery and several sugar palms. Upon clearing the woods to make place for the resettlement, two Buddha images were found underneath a bodhi tree, prompting the construction of new temple, to house the images. According to legend however, after a while, the smaller one of the two Buddha images, which was made from iron, appeared to mysteriously reestablish itself beneath the bodhi tree, where it had first been discovered and eventually, after this phenomenon had occurred repetitively, it began slowly sinking into the ground there, until only the crown of its head could be seen. As a result, a new sanctuary was built on that spot instead. The city of Mukdahan was officially established in 1770 and the administered area originally covered both sides of the Mae Khong River. Its name is a compound of mukdah (มุกดา), a kind of semi-precious gem that translates as ‘pearl’ and derives from the nearby creek Bang Muk, and han (หาร) which means ‘to divide’ or ‘split’ and most likely refers to the Mae Khong River that divided the initially administered area in two. In the Bangkok period, the city with the beauty of a mukdah was first administered as an amphur of Nakhon Phanom but in 1982 split and became a provincial capital itself. The province has seven amphur. Due to the closeness of the Laotian city Suwannakhet, on the other bank of the river, there is a lively trade with Laos. This is particularly noticeable at the local markets, including the famous Talaat Indojien, the Indochinese Market. Its places of interest include Phu Pha Thup National Park and the many panoramic views over the Mae Kohng River. The provincial tree and flower of Mukdahan is the Vietnamese Mickey Mouse Plant (fig.). Sometimes transliterated Mukdaharn yet pronunciation is Mukdahaan. See also Mukdahan data file. 回