WHITE ELEPHANTS
Siam has been called the "Land of the White Elephant," and no account of
the country would be complete which failed to take notice of these
peculiar animals. The national flag is a white elephant on a scarlet
ground; the mercantile flag is a white elephant on a blue ground; and on
every temple and official building this wonderful creature is fashioned
in stone, wood, and plaster.
In former days the King did not feel himself fully a king unless he
possessed a white elephant, and he never hesitated about undertaking a
war in order to obtain one of these rare animals. There is a story that
Gautama was once a white elephant, and that his mother, in a dream, met
him in heaven in that shape. Another legend says that now and again in
the world's history a monarch appears who conquers and rules every
nation under the sun. This monarch is known by certain signs, and by the
possession of certain objects. Of seven particular things that he owns,
a white elephant is one, and without a white elephant he could not
become king of the world. Then many of the Siamese believe that the
animal is inhabited by the soul of some great man of the past, or by
that of someone yet unborn, who will in due time be a person of great
distinction.
In former years no subject was allowed to keep a white elephant. If by
chance he found one, he hastened to present it to the King. If he dared
to try to keep it for himself, the King made war upon him and took it
away by force.
Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as a white elephant. The
animal is not really white, but only a little lighter in colour than the
ordinary elephant. Occasionally it is of the colour of dirty bath brick,
and it may have a few white hairs on its tail or its head.
The news of the discovery of a white elephant always produced great joy
in the people and the King. The King sent a body of nobles and princes
to the place where the animal had been found, and where he was tethered
by silken cords. The ambassadors guarded the quadruped while
professional elephant-tamers taught it how to behave in the presence of
men and in the streets of a town. People went from all parts of the
country to visit it and take it presents.
Meanwhile, in the capital, a palace was rapidly erected for the sublime
animal. When the palace was finished and the taming of the elephant
completed, a stately procession set out to meet it and bring it home.
The King headed the procession, and when he met the elephant he knelt
before it and gave it presents, after which he turned round and led the
way back to the capital. In the elephant's new residence there was a
wardrobe for his clothes, and covers of velvet and silk embroidered with
gold and jewels. On his head was fastened a gold plate bearing his name
and titles. He had a troupe of slaves and a party of priests, an
orchestra of musicians, and a number of dancing-girls, all specially set
apart for his instruction and amusement. When the elephant wanted to
sleep, the priests chanted slumber-songs; when he looked lively and
wakeful, the dancing-girls sang and danced to him. When he was hungry,
he was fed with the finest fruits and vegetables. As a rule this life of
laziness and luxury soon brought about his death.
Only about thirty years ago, a party of hunters who were looking for
white elephants saw in the distance an elephant of excellent shape and
size, but of no particular colour. On examining it a little closer, they
fancied that it might be one of that rare kind for which they were
seeking. They took him away and washed the mud off him, and them to
their intense joy, they found that not only was he light in colour, but
that on his back there were a few hairs that were positively white. The
country went wild with joy. Bangkok was decorated with flags, and
illuminated at night. All the place was gay with banners, lights, and
music. The King went to meet the animal, and the priests read a long and
flattering address to it.
The priests then baptized the animal and gave him his new name and
titles, which were very numerous, and which were written on a piece of
sugar-cane; this the elephant promptly swallowed. It was probably the
only part of the ceremony that gave him any pleasure. He was taken to
his new apartment, and there fed by kneeling servants, who offered him
food on dishes made of silver.
Things are much changed now. When the last white elephant was
discovered, he was sent to Bangkok on a railway-truck. There was no
guard of honour, no procession, and the King only went to visit him when
he was lodged in the stables. On the way to the palace the new-comer
behaved himself very badly by walking up to a fruit-seller's stall--the
first it had ever seen--and eating up everything that was on it, almost
before the attendants had had time to notice what he was doing.
Nowadays, the white elephants are badly fed by miserable grooms. They no
longer have either priests or dancing-girls. The walls of their stables
are half in ruins, and the roofs are covered with dirt of great age and
thickness. Their food is only hay, leaves, and young bamboos. By the
side of each elephant is a cage; this is intended for a white monkey,
the fit and proper companion for the white elephant. But as white
monkeys are more rare than white elephants, all these cages are empty.
Once a year each elephant is sprinkled with holy water by the priests,
and is made to listen to a number of long prayers. This is done to keep
away evil spirits, and so successful is the operation that it only needs
repeating once in twelve months. When one of the elephants dies, they
bring a white monkey, a few doctors, and a few priests, to visit the
deceased. By his side they dig a hole in the ground, in which incense is
burned. The body is covered with a white cloth, and then taken out of
the town and left to rot in a field. Later on the bones and tusks are
collected and preserved. For three days after the death of the quadruped
a number of priests remain praying in the stable, requesting the spirit
of the animal not to come back again and do any damage.