เจ้าแม่นิยม - The Goddess of Wat Bang Sakae Nok

 วัดบางสะแกนอก ศาลเจ้าแม่นิยม

Here is another first time presented in English.

I found no info on this temple or the goddess in English. Almost nothing in Chinese either.

I asked and was given permission to take these photos and make this article. 

Wat Bang Sakae Nok is an old temple in Talat Phlu. At some point it had fallen into disrepair until some monks settled there for a rains retreat.

The temple also serves as the home of the Goddess Niyom (Chao Mae Niyom/ นิยม)

Miss Niyom was a local girl whose life was tragically cut short at the age of 17 during an epidemic

sometime in around the early 1940s.

She was buried, along with several other people who had also succumbed to the epidemic in a wooded area near the temple.

In 1955, Wat Bang Sakae Nok conducted a ceremony (พิธีล้างป่าช้า) to purify or sanctify the area. These ceremonies are closely related to the merit-making practices of caring for the unclaimed dead which is a common buddhist practice in Thailand.

When Miss Niyom's body was exhumed her body was found intact, despite having been buried for a significant period of time.

It was speculated that she was not an ordinary girl, and so, the temple decided to enshrine her as a deity

                                         

Following these events, peculiar incidents ensued. Local residents reported sightings of a young woman adorned in traditional Thai attire wandering the temple premises during the late hours of the night. Furthermore when unfortunate events occurred in the community, witnesses recounted encounters with Mae Niyom, who appeared to caution them, ensuring their well-being and safety. Such incidents didn't happen just once but several times, making the villagers around the temple well aware of Mae Niyom's presence.    

                                    

Her shrine was renovated earlier this year.