Ceremony to mark assembly of Thai pavilion

A traditional ceremony known as “Yok Sao Eak,” which means “stand up the first pillar,” will be held Thursday, Sept. 13, at 9 a.m. as Thai artisans begin construction of the Thai Pavilion at Olbrich Botanical Gardens.

Thai artisans began uncrating and organizing the pavilion components today, Sept. 12, in preparation for the construction.

The pavilion, known as a sala in Thailand, is a gift to UW–Madison from the Thai chapter of the Wisconsin Alumni Association and the government of Thailand. It was created in Thailand, then carefully taken apart and put into three very large containers for shipment to its new home in Madison. Over the last seven weeks, it traveled by sea to the port of Tacoma, Wash., then by rail to Chicago and by motor carrier to Madison.

The ornate and colorful pavilion made of teak is 30 feet high, 40 feet long and 22 feet wide. It features a high lacquer finish and gold leaf etchings and bears the royal seal of the Thai Crown. Its craftsmanship follows the principles and design of traditional Thai construction. There are no nails holding it together, only joinery. The pavilion will be surrounded by a Thai garden.

Robert Bickner, UW–Madison professor of languages and cultures of Asia, says the Yok Sao Eak ceremony is a very common way to begin building any important Thai structure.

“The first item of business is always to pay respect to one’s teachers, and that is what the artisans will do as they begin their work,” says Bickner.

The ceremony also establishes the connection between the building and the earth on which it stands. Bickner says the ceremony is meant to ensure that the pavilion will be a place of benevolence and prosperity, and does so by addressing the spirits that are thought to reside in the area, asking that they accept the spirit that inhabits the new building and welcome the new addition.

“A ritual of this type rests on animist beliefs that are far older than Buddhism and coexist with it in Thailand in all spheres of life,” Bickner says. “No significant building would be erected without it, and the connection with His Majesty, the King of Thailand, dictates that all of these considerations be attended to with even more care than normal.”

Nine of the artisans who crafted the pavilion in Thailand have arrived in Madison. They include: chief craftsman Damrongrit Boonkampra; traditional craftsmen Somchai Satsuphap, Nikhom Phoempoon, Thaksin Ruayngoen, Thongkon Yimpradit and Thonglor Chatri; chief gold leaf painter Iang Phinyosunan; and gold leaf painters Thiwa Bungsri and Sema Sukkasemsamran.

Accompanying the artisans will be Pongsak Payakvichien, president of the WAA’s Thai chapter and owner of the largest newspaper publishing company in Thailand; Kokiat Thongphud, a Fine Arts Department officer with the Thai government; and Niphon Intra-aksorn, an engineer who will assist Payakvichien in guiding the project to completion, which is expected to take about three weeks.

The public will be able to watch the work via a Web camera that has been installed at the site. The Web cam is a joint effort by the university’s Division of Information Technology, College of Engineering, University Communications and Olbrich Botanical Gardens.

The best location from which to view the pavilion assembly is Olbrich’s perennial garden, which is directly across Starkweather Creek from the site. There will be no public access to the site of the Thai Pavilion and Garden until mid-June, when the official opening is scheduled.