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THAILAND

Thai - Kites

Known history of Thai Kites goes back until 800 years ago.
( town SUKHOTAI central thailand )
The shape of the kites was influenced with peoples migration from
"india" or "china" and also from the south, over the sea.

"Kite flying has long been a popular Thai sport for centuries. In the reign of King Rama V, kite flying was promoted as one of the national annual events which the king would preside over. King Rama VI continued to develop this traditional sport, and it has been carried on right up to this day. "

left:
a kitemaker from Satun (south thailand),
bamboo-works

 

below:
WAU QUAI

Buffalo Kites from South-thailand.

the buffalo kite with its "sound-bow"
called EK.

the word is very similar to the cambodian one ("eik")

traditionally the sound strings were made from rattan, nowadays its often from plastic tape.

model of a traditional thai leaf-kite.
WAU-BAI MA'I


the original leaves are about 40..50cm length.

WAU MALAY
a "halfmoon-kite" from southern thailand.

this kite is very similar to the malaysian "wau bulan"
(bulan = halfmoon)

 

SUKHOTAI - kite historics

a) info 2003 "~800 years ago"
no documentation yet / ...?

b) "Kites are flown mostly during the breezy hot season. Popular in Thailand since at least the founding of Sukhotai, kites have been used effectively in warfare: an Ayutthaya governor quelled a northeast city-state's rebellion in 1690 by flying huge kites, called chulas, over the beseiged city and bombing it into submission with jars of explosives."
by www.mahidol.ac.th
[- thai or european calendar? -]

c) "the first ever recorded kite-flying contest was held under the auspices of King Chulalongkorn whose "King's Cup" was awarded to the winner of the contest."
{[ Rama V ] 1868 -1910. Also known as Phra Chula
Chomklao Chaoyuhua
}

d) "In Tailandia il volo dell'aquilone è esercitato come sport da più di 700 anni. Nell'anno 1358 venne imposto il divieto di far volare gli aquiloni nel palazzo reale e nei dintorni. La decisione fu presa perché i re del Periodo Sukhotai apprezzavano così tanto questo passatempo da dimenticare le loro mansioni. Questa attività non ebbe solo un'impronta sportiva, infatti i tailandesi cominciarono già nel XVIII secolo a inviare sulle loro città dorate aquiloni carichi di merce. II re Petraja utilizzò poi gli aquiloni per il trasporto di bombe e in generale per operazioni militari. Egli vi fece fissare botti riempite di polvere da sparo e le fece esplodere sulle roccaforti dei ribelli insorti. In questo modo furono bloccate proprio al loro nascere molte rivolte popolari. II re Rama II diffuse, all'inizio del XIX secolo, in tutto il paese il volo dell'aquilone come sport. Ancora oggi, ogni anno nel periodo del monsone sud-occidentale, vengono condotte competizioni di aquiloni davanti al palazzo reale. Durante queste gare diversi aquiloni maschili (Chula) tentano di tranciare la fune di un grande aquilone femminile di forma pentagonale (Pakpao). In Tailandia questo sport viene praticato anche e soprattutto da sovrani, principi e principesse. Un'altra tradizione vuole il volo dell'aquilone legato all'inizio del periodo del monsone nord-orientale. Esso dovrebbe scongiurare il vento in arrivo, scacciare le nuvole piovose e garantire un tempo sereno ed un ricco raccolto."
a cura dell'Associazione Settimo Cielo Aquilonisti

e) "Kite flying as a sport has been popular since the reign of King Ramkamhaeng of the Sukhothai period, some seven hundred years ago. The kings of Sukhothai loved kite flying so much that the sport played an important role in Thai literature of that period. The craze for kite flying reached such heights in the new Thai capital of Ayutthaya that in 1358 a Palace Decree was issued stipulating that kites were not to be flown in the vicinity of the palace."
from bhc.com / spaulding

 

more about thai kites :

thai chula-pakpao fighting kite competition

 

related Links:

OSOWww One Sky One World Online

Subvision.net/sky kites + kitefestivals

worldkite old linklist archives 2002

kite-technical linklist on kitec-net