ABSTRACT
King Rama V suggested, in view of its coming shortly before the Swinging Festival, that the lamps were lit outside the temples to welcome the gods who were about to come down to earth; but this quite obviously has the appearance of a very late attempt to explain the forgotten original meaning. There is evidence for supposing that the earlier significance of both the occasions of lamp-floating was Brahmanic. This Brahmanical ceremony was abolished in the early years of the present century. The ceremony took place within the precincts of the royal palace, where the posts were erected, and where the Brahmans in a special pavilion erected for the purpose prepared the candles each morning. If the King was away from the capital, the ceremony was performed in the palace in which he was staying. The resemblance between the ceremony and the Con Parianis striking, and they both occur about the same time.
