Bang Khun Thien Museum – the legacy of Bangkok's coastal community

Bang Khun Thien Museum
the legacy of Bangkok's coastal community

Bang Khun Thien Museum is a community museum in the district of Bang Khun Thien on the Thonburi bank of the Chao Phraya River in southern Bangkok. The district is a narrow strip of land of about 5 – 7 km between the provinces of Samut Prakan and Samut Sakhon and leads to the only seafront in Bangkok!

This short 5 km stretch of sea in the Gulf of Thailand doesn't have a beach to boast of, which may be a blessing in disguise. Instead the coast has mangrove preserving the ecological system in a low-lying area of about 1 – 1.5m above sea level, 15 km to the west of the Chao Phraya estuary.

The residents who used to live here engaged in rice, vegetable and fruit farming as well as fish, shrimp, crabs and cockle farming using methods that has maintained the ecological balance.

Bang Khun Thien Museum records the history and lifestyles of these old communities who have lived here for several hundred years. It's one of the several community museums set up by the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority to preserve the cultural heritage of old communities in the city.

Located in the premises of the Klong Phitayalongkorn School, this museum is housed in a modest wooden building. Photographs and displays of the implements and products of these communities trace the origins of these communities, their lifestyles and their commercial role in the area.

Some of these old communities are:

The Mons, originally from the Irrawaddy basin in Myanmar, who sought refuge here in the 16th century after they were conquered.

The ubiquitous Chinese immigrants, who have settled here since 1810, engaged in fruit and poultry farming.

The Khmers from Cambodia related to the Mons.

These diverse communities settled in the area and engaged in their own form of farming. A network of canals was dug for irrigation and flood control. With land that's rich and fertile, the area was reputed to be Bangkok's fruit garden.

Today, these farming methods still evident from the numerous shrimp farms on either side of the long road to Bang Khun Thien Museum. Seafood restaurants popular with the Bangkok city residents have cropped up to complement these farms.

Unfortunately the environment is at risk from the industrial waste discharged from the factories in the surrounding areas and the constant coastal erosion. Large areas have been cleared of vegetation and the road leading in is ruined by the heavy flow of earth-moving trucks.

Bang Khun Thien Museum captures the historical and ecological significance of the area and its old communities. It's located in the heart of the community whose heritage it now preserves and some of these practices are still evident today.

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