Bangkok's New Giant Swing

This photo won the Amazing Giant Swing Photo Contest

Because the giant swing is a tourist icon of Bangkok, it is hard to remember that it is a religious structure. Thailand is about 95% Buddhist, so one would naturally expect that as important a symbol as the giant swing ("Sao Ching Cha" in Thai) is a Buddhist structure, but such is not the case. Instead, it was formerly used in an old Brahmin (Hindu) new year's ceremony dating back to 1784, which lasted for 10 days. Although I find the mythology a little confusing, it goes something like this:

According to an ancient Hindu epic, after Brahma created the world, he sent Shiva to look after it. When Shiva descended to the earth, Naga serpents wrapped around the mountains in order to keep the earth in place. When Shiva found the earth solid, the Nagas moved to the seas in celebration. The Swing Ceremony is a re-enactment of this story. The pillars of the Giant Swing represent the mountains, while the circular base of the swing represents the earth and the seas.

The ceremony itself had to be exciting. During it, four Brahmins rode on a board suspended from the giant poles, swinging back and forth in arcs as high as 80 feet, as they attempted to grab, with their teeth, a bag of silver coins attached to a pole. The ceremony was last performed in 1935, when it was discontinued after several fatal accidents. These two vintage photo gives some idea of what the ceremony was like:

In 2003, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) determined that the giant swing had deteriorated beyond repair and it was taken down. A new swing was built from six giant gold teak trees, each about 82 feet long, and each nearly 200 years old. On September 12, 2007, the king and queen of Thailand presided over a Brahmin/Buddhist inauguration ceremony, which was the highlight of a three-day celebration for the new giant swing. I watched the impressive unveiling ceremony on Thai TV and I then visited the giant swing the next evening.

The giant swing is located in front of the main entrance to Wat Suthat, which Somerset Maugham deemed the most beautiful temple in Bangkok.

Because I visited Wat Suthat at night, I didn't experience the full extent of its magnificence, but I will return.


Thanks to DNA technology, one million Thais will each be given a golden-teak tree cloned from the 99-year old tree used to make the new Giant Swing. The BMA said the new Giant Swing, if well-maintained, should last 100 years.

The Giant Swing Fully Restored and Ready for the Next 100 Years