This particular statue has nothing to do with The Teachings of The Buddha however, you will see it at many Temples and other places within Thai society. Therefore, I will teach you what this is, so that you will know and understand what it is and can appreciate that understanding.
If your culture has the thought of “Mother Earth”, this is the Thai culture’s representation of “Mother Earth”.
Thai people refer to her as: Phra Mae Thorani.
Phra is a respectful prefix used for deities or sacred beings.
Mae is the Thai word for “Mother”.
Thorani means earth.
We can translate Phra Mae Thorani into “Mother Earth”.
She is regarded as a Mother who gives birth to and nurtures all living things on the planet. She symbolizes fertility, abundance, and the stability of nature.
What you see here is, she has dipped her hair into the water and she is now wringing it out.
While this statue represents “Mother Earth”, the statue itself is done in a Lanna style.
Lanna is the way to refer to the northern region of Thailand.
Each region of Thailand has different artistic representations of the various statues that are created. Here in the north, the Lanna style, is very decorative and ornate. You can see this here in the clothing of this statue, that it is decorative and ornate. It is done in the northern Lanna style.
When we enter into the main building of the Temple, there are representations of the various styles of artistic representations of Buddha statues. When we go inside, I will help you understand them all. But for now, understand that this statue is done in the Lanna style, which you can imagine, being here in the north, you will see many statues in the northern Lanna style. When you travel to other parts of Thailand, you will see other styles of statues, which are all represented inside the main building.
Again, this statue has nothing to do with The Teachings of The Buddha but, you will oftentimes see it within Thailand so it is helpful to know what it represents. And, Thai artist will produce different statues with different styles, which here, this is a great representation of the northern Lanna style of creating statues.
