Khao Chakan ( th, เขาฉกรรจ์, ) is a district (''
amphoe
An amphoe (sometimes also ''amphur'', th, อำเภอ, )—usually translated as "district"—is the second level administrative subdivision of Thailand. Groups of ''amphoe'' or districts make up the provinces, and are analogous to countie ...
'') in the western part of
Sa Kaeo province, eastern
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
.
Toponymy
The district is named after the hills of Khao Chakan, a group of limestone hills rising out of the valley alluvium. In the hills are several caves (all 72 caves
[), including the cave temple Wat Tham Khao Chakan. The hills are habitat to about 2,000 ]crab-eating macaque
The crab-eating macaque (''Macaca fascicularis''), also known as the long-tailed macaque and referred to as the cynomolgus monkey in laboratories, is a cercopithecine primate native to Southeast Asia. A species of macaque, the crab-eating macaqu ...
s.[
Its name literally translates as "relentless hill". Legendarily ]Hanuman
Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and on ...
shot an arrow through this hills, hence the name "Khao Thotsakan" (เขาทศกัณฐ์, "hills of Ravana
Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' and its adaptations.
In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. He a ...
). Later, it became distorted to be Khao Chakan like today.[
Another story is King ]Taksin
King Taksin the Great ( th, สมเด็จพระเจ้าตากสินมหาราช, , ) or the King of Thonburi ( th, สมเด็จพระเจ้ากรุงธนบุรี, ; ; Teochew dialect, Teochew: Dên ...
brought his army through the area and performed a ceremony called "Cho-Kan" (ฉอ-กัณฑ์) to terrorize the enemy. Later, people called distortions to Khao Chakan.
History
The minor district ('' king amphoe'') Khao Chakan was established 30 April 1994 with four ''tambons'' split off from Mueang Sa Kaeo district. On 11 October 1997 it was upgraded to a full district.
Geography
Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) Mueang Sa Kaeo, Watthana Nakhon, Khlong Hat, and Wang Nam Yen of Sa Kaeo Province, and Tha Takiap of Chachoengsao province
Chachoengsao ( th, ฉะเชิงเทรา, ) is one of Thailand's seventy-six provinces (''changwat''), located in eastern Thailand.
History
''Chachoengsao'' or ''Paet Riu'' ('eight stripes') is a province in eastern Thailand. It has a ...
.
Administration
The district is divided into four sub-districts (''tambon
''Tambon'' ( th, ตำบล, ) is a local governmental unit in Thailand. Below district (''amphoe'') and province (''changwat''), they form the third administrative subdivision level. there were 7,255 tambons, not including the 180 ''khwaeng'' ...
s''), which are further subdivided into 62 villages (''muban
Muban ( th, หมู่บ้าน; , ) is the lowest administrative sub-division of Thailand. Usually translated as 'village' and sometimes as 'hamlet', they are a subdivision of a tambon (subdistrict). , there were 74,944 administrative mu ...
s''). There are no municipal (''thesaban
Thesaban ( th, เทศบาล, , ) are the municipalities of Thailand. There are three levels of municipalities: city, town, and sub-district. Bangkok and Pattaya are special municipal entities not included in the ''thesaban'' system.
The mu ...
'') areas. Each of the sub-districts is administered by a tambon administrative organization (TAO).
References
External links
amphoe.com
(Thai)
Khao Chakan
{{SaKaeo-geo-stub