Buddhist Banner, Lanna Tung Jai and Pha Chet (“the versatile cloth”): Development of Style and Continuity

Abstract

A kind of Buddhist banner, called Tung Jai in Lanna, has historically been used as an offering object and for the purposes of celebration and decoration among Tai Yuan and Lue. This banner usually appeared in plain fabric with no figure. Some scholars noticed that this kind of banner is very close to Pha Chet (‘versatile cloth’) of Tai Lue and has also been used as an offering object in front of the Buddha Image in the Vihara, much like the type of banner known as Tung. This article examines the style, structure of the textiles and the techniques of both types to explain the development of styles and provide a guideline for dating these textiles. The result of the examination of the construction and motifs shows similarities between Pha Chet and Tung. However, these similarities don’t emerge until the late 20th century, which suggests that Pha Chet might have been used later than Tung, with its use restricted to the Tai Lue people.