Students become tour guides at old community museum
Story And Photo By Anchalee Kongrut
Daechachai Sirithanasup, a Mathayom 1 student at Chansen community, welcomes visitors during an inspection of the community museum at Wat Chansen in Takhli district. The 13-year-old boy, who is among 60 volunteer guides at the museum, never runs out of stories about his ancient community and the temple's museum to share with visitors.
All young guides attend a training course provided by the Fine Arts Department, which started when the museum opened in 1966 in the temple's compound.
Daechachai takes pride in his community which, according to archaeological evidence, dates back 2,000 years.
He said the name of the community, "Chansen", is still cause for debate. It may come from a plant or a type of monkey or even a Pimsen (borneol camphor) herb.
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| Daechachai Sirithanasup, a 13-year-old student and volunteer guide, points out things of interest as he leads a tour through the community museum at Wat Chansen in Nakhon Sawan. |
The Chansen community was an ancient settlement which was the first archaeological site to be excavated by the Fine Arts Department in 1966. Historical and archaeological evidence shows that Chansen had active ties with India. People were mainly Buddhists with good farming and artistic skills, judging from motifs on surviving pottery and beads, said the young guide.
Daechachai said ancient remains, including pottery, are "scattered underneath our homes", and beads sometimes turn up in the ground during floods.
Before the museum was built, Wat Chansen, which celebrated its 100th anniversary this year, was famous in its own right, thanks to the late abbot, Luang Por Ode or Phra Kru Nisai Jareyakun, who attached importance to community development and cultural conservation.
Before his death in 1989, the monk created sacred amulets which became much sought-after items and brought in millions of baht to the temple.
When he was alive, Luang Por Ode told his disciples that he wanted to have a new pagoda and a museum built at the temple.
The sale of amulets enabled the temple to fulfil the monk's wish.
The construction of a new pagoda and the museum, designed by Wanida Puengsoonthorn who is well-known for pagoda designs in India, started in 1996 under the guidance of the current abbot, Phra Niwit Dhammakhan or Luang Por Charoen.
After its completion in 1999, the pagoda became a tourist attraction in the province. The temple recruited youngsters as volunteer guides.
"Young people in this community are good at history. We are taught about the origins of our community and we think our parents are impressive because they managed to keep their cultural roots intact," he said.
More than 400 tourists visit the temple's museum each month. While there is no admission charge, the museum has boosted the local economy as residents are encouraged to make goods such as hand-made cloth, handicrafts and food for sale at the temple during weekends or festivals.
One business activity leads to another. Housewives started a traditional massage and sauna business which uses therapeutic herbs in a formula invented by the late abbot.
They agree to give 25% of their income to the museum.
The museum has become a community meeting place. The ties between the temple and the community are strong as most parents have their boys ordained as novices during the school break.
The volunteer guide project is also popular as many parents send their children for training, said Assoc Prof Srisakara Vallibodhama, a renowned anthropologist.
"This community museum is not only an exhibition space. It is a tool for community development. Community members have re-examined their past and that gives them a strong sense of identity. It can make youngsters proud of their community and it is likely people will come back and work here," he said.
Walailak Songsiri, an expert on community museums at the Lek-Praphai Viriyabhand Foundation, said Chansen is a rare successful case.
Over the years, many community museums founded by dedicated collectors have been forced to close after the founders died without anyone left to take over running them. Some also ran into financial problems, she said.
Phra Niwit Dhammakhan said he has talked to the community about creating a committee comprising community members and experts to oversee the museum administration. But the heart and soul of the temple's museum is its volunteer guides and the temple will make sure that the Fine Arts Department continues its training.
"We have created human resources that will ensure the museum's continuity We are confident these young people have a conscience and they love their hometown. They will help the community and the museum," he said.
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