According to the legend, the creature was thought to be the
incarnation of the father of a boy called Ai Thuk Khata (อ้ายทุกคตะ),
who had caught the animal and later married Simah (สีมา)
the royal daughter of
Phaya
Phanthumatiraat (พันธุมะติราช).
Wat Phrathat Doi
Khao Kwai Kaew
Wat Phrathat Doi
Khao Kwai Kaew
When
the latter died, his ashes were enshrined in this temple, that was
reportedly specially built for this event, and as his
son-in-law, Ai Thuk Khata became the king's successor.
On the western flank of the
hill is a platform with a balcony that can be reached by a
flower-tunnel and that gives access to a small cave that contains
charcoaled wood that is used to feed this local mythological
creature, and which is offered to the animal in small braziers
called
tao tahn,
i.e. ‘charcoal stoves’ (fig.).