Introduction to the Giant Swing

It has been struck by lightning, set on fire, relocated, and twice threatened with demolition, but the Giant Swing still stands tall, and has for over 222 years. Yet still, even though the wooden monument is one of Bangkok’s oldest and most recognizable symbols, very few people know its history.

According to ancient Thai law, giant swings were to be built in every major city in the kingdom. Although there is no physical evidence of them, some scholars guess that there were giant swings in all important cities throughout Siam including Sukhothai, Ayutthaya, and Nakorn Si Thammarat. So naturally, when Rama 1 built a new capital here in Bangkok, Brahmin priests advised him to immediately build a Giant Swing. On April 8th, 1784 construction was completed on the Giant Swing.

The original swing was 42 meters tall, nearly twice the height of the present swing. And in those days it stood directly in front of the Brahmin Chapels. It was later moved to its present location by King Rama 5 to make room for a tank to hold the kerosene used to light the Grand Palace.

Giant Swing Ceremony

The Giant Swing ceremony originated in south India, but oddly enough, there are no swings found in India. According to the legend, following the creation of the earth, Brahma sent Shiva down to observe. Unsure that the earth would be solid enough to support his weight, he tied a giant sea serpent to the peaks of two mountains and, taking hold, swung down from the heavens. After testing with one foot whether the ground was firm enough to support his weight, Shiva descended from his giant swing, and took his first steps on the newly created world. The swing is a representation of the swing used by Shiva to descend to earth; the two pillars symbolize the mountain peaks while the circular base symbolizes earth and ocean.

According to Brahmin belief, every new year Shiva and Vishnu revisit the earth to bless the fields and the crops of Siam. And for at least four centuries Brahmin priests have been performing rites to greet them.

Since this is a ceremony to thank the gods for good crops, the King often asked the Minister of Agriculture to organize the event and represent Shiva as the Lord of the Swing. The ceremony would start early in the morning with the Lord of the Swing putting on a special ceremonial robe, white hat and white cloak. Hundreds of Brahmin court astrologers would then carry him on a wooden plank around the walls of the city to Wat Suthat. Should the master of the swing be a highly affluent person, the procession would be a great and elaborate event. While a parade under a lesser-known person would usually be less than spectacular.

When the parade reached the Giant Swing, the Lord of the Swing would take a seat on a piece of bamboo, keeping his right foot on his left knee. He was to maintain this posture throughout the entire ceremony. Should he fail, he would forfeit his 80 baht payment for conducting the ceremony.

During the ceremony, three teams of four men take turns on the swing. Three men in the middle would rock the swing back and forth. A fourth man, standing in the bow, would attempt to bite a bag of coins off a bamboo pole raised next to the swing. There were three different heights at which the pole was fixed — one for each of the three teams. Surprisingly, the money from the lowest position was the most difficult to get. After this, the second, medium-height pole is put into position, and lastly the highest one, from which it is said to be the easiest to seize the bag of money.

Many men lost their lives trying to snatch the bags which contained only 1 to 12 baht each. The swing ceremony was repeated in the morning and afternoon for two days every year. After the Lord of the Swing had seen the swing contest, he would move to another stage to watch actors dressed as gods, spirits and sea serpents dance and throw water in a celebration of Shiva’s descent.

The ritual was intended to instill confidence in the minds of the people and to assure them of the new capital’s strength and the country’s stable economy as sponsors spent large sums of money on the event and accompanying festivities. A related ceremony is still performed by the Brahmins on the 5th day of the waxing moon in the second lunar month with a miniature swing in the main building of the Temple of the Court Brahmins accompanied by the chanting of hymns.

Fate of the Giant Swing

Although the red swing is now one of the most famous landmarks in Bangkok, it has not always been so popular. During the reign of King Rama 5 there was a debate about whether the ceremony should be abolished and the swing knocked down to make room for development. One side argued that the swing ceremony was based on Brahmanism, not Buddhism, and should therefore be terminated. Others argued that the swing festival was an old and harmless tradition. Finally, King Rama 5 decided to maintain the festival, if only to give the people a chance to enjoy once a year. The council decided to move the swing to its present location.

The swing ceremony was held for several more decades until it was canceled in 1935. With the ceremony finally abolished, there were some in the city government that were determined to knock down the swing. But since it had already been registered as a historic site, only the Fine Arts Department could grant permission for its removal, which they refused to do. There were actually plans to revive the swinging ceremony itself in 1979, but nothing came of them. Today the Giant Swing is protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.