Phuket Guan Nabon Shrine
03.11.2019
Chinese style temples in Thailand are and can be called ;
Sanjao, San Chao, or ( ศาลเจ้า ).
They may belong to the community, perhaps donated by wealthy benefactors, or to private foundations of a pious and charitable character. Even when private property, they are normally open to the public on daytime. Their name is normally preceded by the title Sanjao ( ศาลเจ้า ), meaning shrine or spirit house. It is the same name given to miniature spirit houses Thai people love to keep in their gardens or homes.
They consist of at least one small building hosting the main shrine. Often they include also one external shrine in the form of a concrete table, and an external incinerator in the shape of a small tower. More rarely, one or more additional buildings with accessory shrines and votive objects, including holy rolls, and a votive pole. When located inside internal courts, they are marked by one or more decorated portals on the main street. All those additional parts are normally decorated following the same pattern for each temple.
For this particular shrine the History is as below, I would like to add that they have actually built an extension , a massive meeting and event hall, which appear in the last frames of this slide show.
Info
Around 1890 in the area that the shrine stands today was a inlet from the nearby sea. One day a Chinese man came ashore in a Junk bringing with him an image of the Emperor Guan Yu. The man built a small house and was seen to pay respects to the image of Emperor Guan Yu. After some time the Chinese man disappeared and the local villagers saw that he had left behind the image of Emperor Guan Yu. The villagers continued to worship the image and eventually gathered together enough money to build a better shrine.
Guan Yu or Kuan Yuis also known as Kuan Ti and is often referred to as the God of War due to his military successes however he is revered for his loyality and justice and is worshipped as a guardian deity.
Posted by TheJohnsons 17:35 Archived in Thailand Tagged sky sea architecture water boat view ocean coast nature park landscape beach culture temple religion history traditional travel vacation thailand green city china blue island san building famous sand summer beautiful pagoda bay road tropical scenic destination buddhist asian asia shrine ancient tourism chinese outdoor landmark khao oriental seascape chao udon thani background