Top

The Four Red Ponds (Sacred Ponds)

The Four Red Ponds (Sacred Ponds)

Many might have heard tales about the four sacred ponds. Children probably think the sacred pond can revive youth for elders or can cure all wound and every disease. Sacred ponds of Suphan Buri are on Don Chedi-Suphan Buri road in Srakaeo sub district, Mueang, Suphan Buri. There’s a nearby neighborhood named Tha Sadet which its name derived from the King Rama V trip to visit the sacred ponds. “….Why these ponds are so sacred is unknown. There must be significant spirit in there. Neither the water in the ponds is being used nor are the fish being eaten. Grasses are dense around the ponds and there are crocodiles living in all four ponds. Water in Ka pond and Yom Ma Na pond are not clean but rather red while in Ket pond and Kaeo pond, the water is crystal clear.”The sacred ponds or The for red ponds are 14 kilometers away from the center of Suphan Buri. The water in all four ponds is believed to be sacred since in the old time as it was used in consecrated water ritual and the purification bath for the king. At first, only 4 sacred ponds were found: Kaeo pond, Ka pond, Yom Ma Na pond and Ket pond. However, later two more were found and named Ummarit 1 and Ummarit 2. Fine Arts department of Thailand has already registered all the ponds as historical site.There’s a legend of the four ponds orally told from the elders. Once upon a time, there was a king who had 4 daughters. The princesses were named Kaeo, Ka, Yom Ma Na and Ket. Each of them was married but the youngest princess, Ket, was married to a white monkey. One day, the king said to his daughters and sons in law that “whoever digs the deepest and widest pond shall receive his sacred dagger and will be crowned as the next king.” So everyone started to work but the poor princess Ket dug alone. When it was midnight, her sisters and brothers in law came to bullied her by filling her pond up. However, on the last day, the white monkey with his men came to help Ket and the pond was quickly widened and deepened until it was the deepest and widest one. They also planted a milky tree, which its Thai name is Ket rhyming with the princess’s name, in the middle of the pond as a mark. On the next morning, the winner was to be awarded but the king was dead so a committee was formed to check on the four ponds. Princess’s Ket was the deepest and widest so she got the sacred dagger. Her sisters and their husbands were very upset so they stole the dagger and fled. The white monkey was chasing them until they were at Ket’s pond. As they were cornered they couldn’t think of something else but throw the dagger into Ket’s pond. The dagger accidentally cut the milky tree into half and then the dagger disappeared. Since then, water in the pond turned sacred.