250px, Courtyard of the shrine in February 2025 Chao Mae Thapthim Shrine (; zh, c=水尾聖娘廟, p=shuǐwěi shèng niáng miào) is a historic Chinese joss house located at 257 Chakkraphet Road,

Wang Burapha Phirom Subdistrict Wang Burapha Phirom is a ''khwaeng'' (subdistrict) of Phra Nakhon District, in Bangkok, Thailand. In 2017 it had a total population of 11,427 people. History Its name is after Wang Burapha Phirom, a former palace of Prince Bhanurangsi Savangw ...

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

near foot of

Phra Pok Klao Bridge Phra Pok Klao Bridge (, , ) is a bridge crossing the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, Thailand. It serves to connect the two sides of the Chao Phraya River in the Bangkok area, namely Phra Nakhon District's Wang Burapha Phirom and Samphanthawong Di ...

and

Phahurat Phahurat or Pahurat (, , lit. "gold upper arm bracelet"), sometimes described as Thailand's Little India, is an ethnic neighborhood surrounding Phahurat Road in Wang Burapha Phirom Subdistrict, Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok. The area that would ...

area, also known as Little India. It's the shrine of ''Chao Mae Thaptim'' (เจ้าแม่ทับทิม; literally: ''Ruby Godmother'') or

Mazu Mazu or Matsu is a sea goddess in Chinese folk religion, Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. She is also known by several other names and titles. Mazu is the deified form of Lin Moniang (), a shamaness from Fujian who is said to ...

, goddess of the sea and maritime according to the belief of the

Hainan people The Hainan people ( ''Hái-nâm nâng''), Hainam people or Hainanese people is a term referring to the residents of Hainan, the southernmost and smallest Chinese province. The term ''Hainanese'' can be used to refer to all residents of Hainan isl ...

since ancient times similar to

Shui Wei Sheng Niang Shui Wei Sheng Niang (; pinyin: ''Shuǐ wěi shèng niáng''; Thai language, Thai: ''เจ้าแม่ท้ายน้ำ'', ''จุ้ยบ้วยเนี้ย'') is a Hainan Shen (Chinese religion), goddess that is worshiped by the ...

, another goddess of the sea according to Chinese beliefs as well. Usually,

Thai people Thai people, historically known as Siamese people, are an ethnic group native to Thailand. In a narrower and ethnic sense, the Thais are also a Tai peoples, Tai ethnic group dominant in Central Thailand, Central and Southern Thailand (Siam prope ...

call these two goddesses "Chao Mae Thaptim" and understand that the same goddess. Because they both wear red robes as well. But really, they're different goddess. This shrine was registered as a

house of worship A place of worship is a specially designed structure or space where individuals or a group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study. A building constructed or used for this purpose is s ...

since 1917 under supervision of

Ministry of Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, th ...

. The interior enshrined wooden image of the goddess. It's said that the

sandalwood Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods. Sanda ...

floating to the mouth of

Pak Khlong Talat Pak Khlong Talat (, ) is a market in Wang Burapha Phirom Subdistrict, Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok, Thailand, that sells flowers, fruits, and vegetables. It is the primary flower market of Bangkok and has been cited as a "place of symbolic val ...

nearby. The building of shrine was damaged by bombing of Second World War and was rebuilt in 1955, as seen today. It has been registered as one of Bangkok's

archaeological sites An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...

since 1988.

References

Religious buildings and structures in Bangkok Phra Nakhon district category:Registered ancient monuments in Bangkok Chinese shrines in Thailand Mazu temples {{Thailand-geo-stub