The Night Before — Preparations for the 70th Birthday Merit-Making of Phra Samut Wachirasophon Wi., Wat Chulamanee, B.E. 2569
Date
31 July 2026
A photo record of the preparations on the eve of the 70th birthday (ayuwatthanamongkhon) merit-making ceremony for Phra Samut Wachirasophon Wi. (Itthi Bhaddacaro), abbot of Wat Chulamanee — setting up the propitiation altar, the ceremony pavilion and monks' seats, and assembling the offerings, on Friday 31 July B.E. 2569 (2026).
On the eve of the 70th birthday (ayuwatthanamongkhon) merit-making ceremony for Phra Samut Wachirasophon Wi. (Sompoch Itthi Bhaddacaro), adviser to the Ecclesiastical Regional Governor of Region 15 and abbot of Wat Chulamanee — Friday 31 July B.E. 2569 (2026) — the monastic community, disciples and villagers worked together through the night to prepare the grounds and ceremonial fittings ahead of the ceremony itself on Saturday 1 August.
On the terrace before the ordination hall, where the images of Thewasuwan Phrommasutithep and Tao Wessuwan are enshrined, a propitiation altar was set up: sacred thread was strung across the terrace, tables were laid with white cloth, and rows of candles and trays of red roses were arranged.
At the centre of the ceremony ground was enshrined a large-format powder tablet of the same mould as the rectangular “altar-table reverse” powder amulet commemorating the 70th birthday, in the special “rainbow” powder, raised onto its stand and bound with sacred thread. Its obverse bears the likeness of Luang Pho Itthi seated in meditation, backed by the altar-table set and finished in gold throughout; its reverse is inscribed “Lap Phon Phun Thawi” (fortune and fruits, abounding and increasing), with the Seal Yantra of Tao Wessuwan (379) — the “layered Buddha” yantra — at its centre: 3 for the Triple Gem, 7 for the Seven Factors of Enlightenment, 9 for the Nine Virtues of the Sangha, while the syllables ringing the seal signify protection by Indra, Brahmā and Kuvera. Below the yantra run his ecclesiastical title, his office, and the auspicious occasion of his 70th birthday, 1 Aug. B.E. 2569.
Inside the multipurpose hall, which houses the great Buddha image and the Asiti Mahasawok (Eighty Great Disciples), a ceremony pavilion was arranged beneath yellow-and-white draped ceilings, enshrining the presiding Buddha image and a portrait of His Majesty the King. A long row of monks' seats was set out with the commemorative ceremonial fans of the occasion, bolsters, and requisites placed at every seat, while the guest chairs throughout the pavilion each received a set of offerings, a box of sweets and a box of seasonings.
On another side stood a felicitation stage in the Chinese manner, decorated with red-and-gold drapery and flowers and presided over by the Chinese characters “天官賜福”, flanked by calligraphy panels with Thai renderings reading “a peaceful heart can heal three thousand ills” and “a still heart can settle every matter”.
The rest of the work was the preparation of the offerings. Luang Pho Itthi and his disciples sat in a circle assembling the requisites to be offered to the monks invited to receive alms and to take the meal the following day — wrapping sets of triple robes and tying them with gold ribbon, and packing offering sets into bags lined up in rows around the ceremony ground, while another group carried in red boxes of Chinese pastries, tins of biscuits and the red-covered commemorative books printed with the name of the occasion and the date 1 August B.E. 2569, setting them out at their places until all was finished that night.