Princess of Chiang Mai
Dara Rasami
(
RTGS
:
Dara-ratsami
;
Thai
:
?????????
,
Thai pronunciation:
[d?ː.r?ː.rat.sa.m?ː]
,
Northern Thai pronunciation:
[d?ː.r?ː.ra?t.sa.m?ː]
, August 26, 1873 – December 9, 1933), was a princess of
Chiang Mai
and
Siam
(later
Thailand
) and the daughter of King
Inthawichayanon of Chiang Mai
and Queen
Thip Keson
of Chiang Mai descended from the
Chet Ton Dynasty
. She was one of the princess consorts of
Chulalongkorn, King Rama V of Siam
and gave birth to one daughter by King Chulalongkorn, Princess
Vimolnaka Nabisi
.
Early life
[
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]
Princess Dara Rasami of Chiang Mai was born on 26 August 1873 at
Khum Luang
in
Chiang Mai
, Lanna (now Northern Thailand). She was a daughter of
King Inthawichayanon
and
Thip Keson
of Chiang Mai. Her mother was a daughter of King
Kawilorot
and Queen
Usa
. Princess Dara Rasami had one elder sister, Princess
Chantra Sopha of Chiang Mai
, who died as a child.
[1]
As a young girl, Dara Rasami was educated in different languages and traditional royal customs. She was instructed in the traditional royal customs of both
Lanna
and Siam, and spoke
Thai
,
Tai Yuan
, and possibly
English
, as well.
[2]
She enjoyed horse riding, and was said to be a skilled horsewoman in her later in life.
[3]
To the royal palace
[
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]
As the British encroached further and further into
Burma
in the 1860s and '70s, Siam became concerned that England wanted to annex the Kingdom of Chiang Mai (later northern Thailand). In 1883 a rumor spread that
Queen Victoria
wanted to adopt Princess Dara Rasami of Chiang Mai, which the Siamese saw as a British attempt to take over
Lanna
. King
Chulalongkorn
then sent his brother
Prince Phicit Prichakorn
to Chiang Mai to propose an engagement to Dara Rasami to become the king's concubine. In 1886, she left Chiang Mai to enter the Grand Palace in
Bangkok
, where she was given the title
Chao Chom Dara Rasami
of the
Chakri Dynasty
.
[4]
Life in the Grand Palace
[
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]
When Dara Rasami arrived at the Grand Palace her father sent money from Chiang Mai to King Chulalongkorn to build a new house for her. While she lived in the Grand Palace, Dara Rasami and the ladies in her entourage were ribbed and called "Lao ladies," as well as teased that they "smelled of fermented fish." Despite these difficulties, Dara Rasami and her entourage always wore Chiang Mai style textiles for their skirts (known as
pha sin
) with their long hair pulled up into a bun on the back of the head, in contrast to the clothing and hairstyles of the Siamese women. After seeing stage plays in Bangkok, Dara Ratsami wrote a dramatic plot for a dance-drama in the northern style. Since then, many northern-style dances have been adapted for the stage.
[5]
Princess Dara Rasmi and King Chulalongkorn
Dara Lets her Hair Down before a Mirror
Dara Rasami and her entourage at Bang Pa-In Palace
Dara Rasami at Dusit Palace
She gave birth to King Chulalongkorn's daughter, Princess
Vimolnaka Nabisi
, on 2 October 1889, whereupon the king promoted her to the rank of
Chao Chom Manda
from
Chao Chom
. However, when her daughter was only two years, eight months old, she became ill and died on 21 February 1892. Her death brought sadness to the King, and the royal families of both the Siamese and Chiang Mai kingdoms. Princess Dara Rasami was so distraught after her only daughter's death, that she destroyed all photos and portraits of her as well as those of her husband and daughter together. The child's ashes were divided in half, with one part kept with her mother's ashes in the Chiang Mai Royal Cemetery at
Wat Suan Dok
, and the other in the
Royal Cemetery
,
Wat Ratchabophit
, Bangkok.
On 12 February 1908, King Chulalongkorn raised
Chao Chom
Manda Dara Rasami
to
Her Highness Princess Dara Rasami , The Princess consort
or
Chao Dara Rasami
Phra Racha Chaya
, in the only such promotion ever. Her title as fifth consort remained junior to those of the other four royal consorts,
Sunandha Kumariratana
,
Sukumalmarsri
,
Savang Vadhana
and
Saovabha Phongsri
.
Return to Chiang Mai
[
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]
From the time she became Princess Consort in 1886, Dara Rasami returned to Chiang Mai twice. In 1908,
King Intavarorot Suriyavongse of Chiang Mai
, who was her half brother, came to Bangkok and visited King Chulalongkorn. At that time, Princess Dara Rasami asked for permission from King Chulalongkorn to visit her relatives in Chiang Mai, which he granted.
The mausoleums of the Chet Ton Dynasty at
Wat Suan Dok
in
Chiang Mai
were built at the instigation of the Princess.
However, King Chulalongkorn was concerned for her safety on the long journey. On 2 February 1909, the King along with the royal family, officials of the department and senior government officials, came to send her off by train at Samsen train station. The King ordered his brother, Prince
Damrong Rajanubhab
and Prince
Dilok Noppharat
(son of King Chulalongkorn and Lady
Thipkesorn of Chiang Mai
) to meet Princess Dara Rasami at
Nakorn Sawan
from where she traveled to Chiang Mai by boat.
At that time, transportation was very slow and it took Dara Rasami two months and nine days to travel to Chiang Mai, where she arrived on 9 April 1909. Chao Phraya
Surasri Wisitsak
, the governor general of northwest territory, the royal family of Chiang Mai, soldiers and people from all over Lan Na came to celebrate her arrival.
While in Chiang Mai, Dara Rasami visited her relatives in Lamphun and Lampang as well as the people in Lan Na. She and King Chulalongkorn corresponded regularly via many affectionate letters throughout the time she was away from Bangkok.
[6]
Princess Dara Rasami returned to Bangkok after about six months. Upon her return, the King and the royal family, government officials and people came to receive her with 100 royal boats at Ang Thong. From there, she and the King went to
Bang Pa-In Royal Palace
, where they stayed for two days before returning to Bangkok on 26 November 1909.
Death of King Chulalongkorn
[
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]
After Dara Rasami came back to Bangkok, she moved into a new house, Suan Farang Kangsai, which the King had built for her next to
Vimanmek Palace
while she was away. Only a year later, however, her husband died on 23 October 1910 of kidney disease at Dusit Palace.
Following his death, Dara Rasami continued to live in Dusit Palace until 1914, when she asked for permission from King
Vajiravudh
to return to Chiang Mai to retire. The King granted her permission, and she returned Chiang Mai on 22 January 1914.
Later life and death
[
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]
Yearly on 9 December at the Daraphirom Palace is the Dara Rasami remembrance day.
Princess Dara Rasmi in her later life
Princess Dara Rasami continued with her royal duties for the people of Lanna. In later life, she lived in
Dara Phirom Palace
that King Vajiravudh built for her and her official attendants. On 30 June 1933, an old lung ailment recurred. Both western and Thai doctors tried to cure her, but no one succeeded. Her half brother, King
Kaew Nawarat
moved her into his palace at
Khum Rin Keaw
for treatment, but on 9 December 1933, she died there peacefully at the age of 60. Dararatsami Hospital, 101 Mae Rim, Chiang Mai, is named for her.
Titles and Styles
[
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]
- 26 August 1873 - 4 February 1886 : Princess Dara Rasmi of
Chiang Mai
- 4 February 1886 - 2 October 1889 : Consort Dara Rasmi
- 2 October 1889 - 12 February 1908 : Noble Consort Dara Rasmi
- Chao Chom Manda
Dara Rasmi
- 12 February 1908 - 9 December 1933 : Her Highness, Princess Dara Rasmi, the Royal consort
- Chao
Dara Rasmi
Phra Raja Chaya
Ancestry
[
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]
Literature
[
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]
- Castro-Woodhouse, Leslie Ann (2021).
Woman between Two Kingdoms: Dara Rasami and the Making of Modern Thailand
(book). Cornell University Press.
- ?????? ? ????????? [Saengdao na Chiang Mai]. ???????????????????? ????????????? 26 ??????? 2416-9 ??????? 2476 [Biography of Phra Rajajaya Jao Dara Rasami, 26 August 1873 ? 9 December 1933. Published in Conjunction With the 100-Days Ceremony for Jao Saengdao Na Chiang Mai, 18 August 1974]. Chiang Mai: ????????? [Central City], 2517.
- ????? ? ????? ??? [Wongsak na Chiang Mai], ed. ??????????????????????? - ??????????????????????????????? ??? ?? [Queen Dara Rasami - Printed to Commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Building of the Royal Crypts] [Chiang Mai]: Samnak Songserm Sinlapawatthanatham, Mahawitthayalai Chiang Mai, 1996.
- ?????? ???????? [Jirachat Santayot]. ??????????????????????? : ????????????????? "?????????" ??????? "????" ??? "?????????????" [Phraratchachaya Chao Dararatsami : Deconstructing Chapters in History, both "True" and "Constructed"]. Bangkok: Samnakphim Matichon, 2008.
- ???? ?????? [Nan Inpeng], ed. ??????????????????????? [Phra Rachaya Chao Dara Rasami]. Bangkok: Chatrapii, Blue Sapphire Limited, 1998.
- ??????? ????????? [Nongyao Kanchanachari]. ????????? ???????????????????? ????????????? ????????????????????? ??? ????????????????????????????????????????? [Dara Rasami: Royal Biography of Chao Dara Rasami, with Remarks By Somdet Prachao Phi Nang Ter (Royal Sister) Chaofa Kalyani Watthana.] [????????: ??????????????????????], 1990.
- ????????????? [Aroon Wetsuwan]. ?????????? ????????????? ??? ?????????????????????? [Phra Rachaya Chao Dara Rasami: Joining together with the Northern Rulers]. Bangkok: ???????????????????, 2000.
References
[
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]
- ^
Castro-Woodhouse,
Woman between Two Kingdoms,
p. 61.
- ^
Castro-Woodhouse,
Woman between Two Kingdoms,
p. 30.
- ^
??????? ??????????, [Thipawaan Wongtongsri] (1999). "?????????? : ??????????????????????????? [Phra Rachaya: Lady Ming Muang of Chiang Mai]".
??????? [Jam Juree]
.
2
(3): 49?56.
- ^
Castro-Woodhouse,
Woman between Two Kingdoms,
p. 48.
- ^
"Information about Thai Arts!"
.
information regarding Thai Arts
. Thailand.com. 20 August 2013. Archived from
the original
on 11 October 2008
. Retrieved
20 August
2013
.
It wasn't until the nineteenth century that the northern dances were developed as dramatic forms.
- ^
[Kaewkiriya], [Romaneeyachat] (1999).
????????? ?????????????????? [Dara Rasami: Tie of Love between Two Kingdoms]
. Bangkok, Thailand.: Chulalongkorn University. pp. 96?107.
ISBN
974-333-287-1
.
External links
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edit
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