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Wat Ket Karam |
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The
stupa
of
Wat Ket Karam
in
Chiang Mai,
which houses a hair relic of the
Buddha,
known as
Phrathat
Ket Kaew
Chulamanie. The temple is
dedicated to people who were born in the
Year of the
Dog,
according to the
Chinese zodiac. It is unknown when this temple was
built but records show that ordination ceremonies were already held here in the
reign of
Phaya
Meuang Ket Klao (AD 1526-1538
and 1543-1545), while the
stupa was renovated after it had
collapsed in 1578. |
Thus, at
the base of the
chedi
are some
statues of dogs and local
people born in this
zodiac
year
are expected to visit this temple at least once in their
lifetime
in order to make merit. In 2018, i.e. a Year of the Dog,
this temple was publicized on a set of Thai postage
stamps to celebrate
Visakha Bucha,
together with three other temples in northern Thailand
that house
Buddha
relics and relate to other years of
the
zodiac. |
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Wat Ket Karam |
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Wat Ket Karam |
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Besides this, the main stupa has four
staircases, one for each of the cardinal points and
flanked with a pair of
nagamakara (fig.), whose elongated
bodies meet at each of the main
corners of the stupa, where the end of their tails is held
by a
Garuda
(fig.).
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