Nai Chan Nuad Khiao (นายจันหนวดเขี้ยว)

Thai. ‘Mr. Chan Fanged Mustache’. Name of one of the eleven heroic leaders who in 1767, at the end of the Ayutthaya period, fought the invading Burmese in defence of the Bang Rajan camp in Singburi (fig.). He was originally from Bang Rajan and initially his name was just Chan, but he liked wearing a mustache of which he curled up the ends so they looked like fangs, giving him the nickname Nuad Khiao, i.e. ‘Fanged Mustache’. His peers described him as brave and skilled in fighting, and he was like a village teacher for young people. When the Burmese soldiers invaded the village, he went out to help the villagers and fought the Burmese. One day, when large troop movements were reported, he sent out a reconnaissance team into the enemy camp to find out their numbers. When he realized that they had been exposed and being chased, he took control of 100 men, divided them into 2 groups and attacked the camp of the Burmese general Akha Bankhayih (อาคา บัญคญี), who was killed in the ensuing battle. Nai Chan Nuad Khiao was eventually also killed on the battlefield. In iconography, he is usually depicted holding two swords. 回