The Royal Thai Navy on Monday held a ceremony to mae ya nang -- the guardian goddess of boats -- to bless the Suphannahong Royal Barge, which will be used as part of His Majesty the King's coronation.
Navy commander Adm Luechai Ruddit presided over the ceremony, which was held at the National Museum of the Royal Barges in Bangkok's Bangkok Noi district.
The Suphannahong Royal Barge will be moored at the royal pier, just outside the Grand Palace on the banks of the Chao Phraya River to honour His Majesty the King during the coronation ceremony on May 4.
The principal royal barge will also be used in the royal procession along the Chao Phraya River during the krathin ceremony -- the presenting of a Buddhist monk robe to the King -- planned for later this year.
The coronation procession will consist of 52 barges and involve 2,200 oarsmen, and will proceed along the Chao Phraya river for 4.5 kilometres.
Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry said yesterday that it had received the first batch of 67 vases that will be used to collect the sacred water which will be used in the King's coronation ceremony.
Rattanakosin Ceramic 4, a Ratchaburi-based company owned by 62-year-old Sukchart Kosabodi, has been contracted to make a total of 125 vases to collect water from 77 provinces on April 6.
The ministry chose Ratchaburi because it has an excellent reputation for making high-quality pottery.
The rest of the vases will be handed to the ministry by the end of this month, before they are distributed across the country to collect water from 77 sources on April 6.
The collected water will then be sent to Wat Suthat Thepphawararam to be blessed on April 18.
The water will then be used for the Royal Purification Ceremony that precedes the King's coronation, known in Thai as Song Phra Muratha Bhisek.