DOMESTIC LIFE AND CUSTOMS (_continued_).
Slavery or serfdom is one of the most interesting features in the
social life of the Siamese. It is another of those customs which
they have borrowed from a neighbouring nation. The Shan ancestors of
the Siamese were "free" men, and the name "Thai", which was the name
they called themselves, signified that fact. It is, moreover, the
name of the nation to-day, though the condition of slavery is a very
wide-spread one. For many years the inhabitants of the plains were
tributary to Cambodia, whose princes and nobles treated all servants
and aliens as slaves. When the foreign yoke was thrown off, this
domestic custom was instituted amongst the "free" men, and all the
subjects of the king became theoretically his slaves. But as he was
unable to find employment for this large body of serfs, he delegated
a portion of his ownership to persons of lower rank. These in turn
handed on their powers to other people, and so arose a condition of
universal serfdom, which, however, was only strictly enforced in
the case of the poorer classes. The system thus organised divided
the whole nation into a series of social strata, but the limits
between the different grades of society have never been so rigid and
impassable as the adamantine boundaries that separate the castes of
India. In fact, the serf in Siam to-day may be a nobleman of high rank
in the future, should he possess ability of sufficient distinction
to warrant so great a promotion. Until the present reign there were
theoretically no "free" men in the kingdom at all, for everybody owed
homage to some one of higher degree; but one of the first acts of H.
M. King Chulalongkorn after he came to the throne, was to issue a
decree by which all children born of slaves were thereafter declared
free. As freedom could be purchased there were also many people in the
land who had obtained their independence. Though the king's decree
struck a very decisive blow at the condition of domestic slavery, a
system of state slavery still prevails inasmuch as the laws relating
to _corvée_ and conscription are still enforced. Chinese, priests,
and foreigners are all exempt from enforced labour of any kind, but
the first-named of these classes has to pay a triennial tax as the
price of its exemption. The people who are now in bondage are in that
condition chiefly as the result of financial indebtedness.
When a native borrows money he either promises to pay a certain amount
of interest for the loan, or he promises and actually allows the
lender to have his services for a specified time in lieu of interest.
Should the borrower under the first agreement here mentioned, fail to
pay the interest he has promised, he then offers his personal services
in payment of both interest and capital. If the total sum is large,
a lifetime may not be long enough to work off the debt at the native
rate of wages, and he so becomes a slave for life. Many people, too,
when heavily in debt, sell themselves bodily to someone who will
discharge their numerous debts for them. The man who has lost his
freedom as the result of financial misfortunes can always re-obtain
it if he can in any way obtain sufficient money to pay off his debts.
There is nothing cruel or revolting in the treatment of the serfs,
and many of them are sincerely attached to their masters, and have
been known voluntarily to afford them any assistance they could when
misfortunes have overtaken them. They are fed, clothed, and housed at
the expense of their owners, and rarely experience in their dependent
condition any real hardship. Away in the country the majority of the
people prefer to live as the bondservants of some powerful person, who
in return for their labour provides both them and their families with
protection and support.
The _corvée_ laws are also responsible for a certain number of those
who are in bondage. When the central authorities claim the services
of someone resident in a remote quarter of the country, the order is
made through the governor of the province in which the person whose
time and labour are required, resides. If this person desires to
avoid the requisition, he is often allowed by the local officials to
pay a certain sum of money sufficient for the hire or purchase of a
substitute. A mark is then tattooed on the wrist of the substitute,
and he becomes definitely the property of the government. Now if the
"marked" man should die at an early date, an illegal claim is often
made for the provision of another proxy, on his wife and children.
This claim is in opposition to the law, but has often been made by
officials of cruel, arbitrary dispositions. In most cases he who so
breaks the law is also the administrator of the law for that district,
and if the woman and her children are unable to satisfy the demand for
money thus unjustly made, they must become themselves the slaves of
the official till they work off the amount required from them. When
the boys have grown to such a height that they too may be called upon
by the government for _corvée_ or conscription, their master also
marks them upon the wrist, and in this way the condition of serfdom
is perpetuated from generation to generation. When at a later date
the government does actually requisition their services, their owner
professes that they are really his own personal property, and he pays
to the central authorities a tax of ninety cents per annum for each
male, and so retains them as his dependants. In these cases also,
the bond-man becomes free when he is prepared to pay a certain fixed
sum, but it is rarely possible for a serf to obtain the necessary
funds, as he is daily employed in the service of his master and so
prevented from earning wages elsewhere. No slaves can be sold to
another person without their own consent. If a slave is sold, and if
he afterwards absconds, the seller is bound to repay to the buyer
the sum originally paid, less a reasonable amount reckoned for loss
of service during the time he has been absent from his old master,
unless it is directly specified to the contrary in the agreement made
at the time of purchase. Before the king's decree freed the children
of all slaves, they too became the property of the owners of their
parents, but they could be set at liberty by paying a sum of money
which was fixed by law. They could not be sold to anyone else without
the consent both of themselves and their parents.
Each slave has a paper on which is stated the amount to be paid for
his or her redemption. The paper is kept by the owner, but it must be
given up whenever the amount specified therein is forthcoming. The
slave who attempts to gain freedom by running away, and so avoiding
what is often a perfectly just and legal debt, is punished by being
put in chains, but the fetters are of no great weight and are simply
put on the ankles to prevent any further attempt at escape. In any
case they are preferable to an indefinite period of imprisonment in
the native goal.
If a man buys a new servant, and afterwards sees reason to regret
his bargain, he may demand the return of the purchase money, and
the cancelling of the agreement, provided he makes his claim before
the expiration of three months from the date of purchase. If any
bond-servant neglects the due performance of any of the duties
prescribed by the master, the losses that are thereby incurred are
added to the amount of the redemption money, and must be paid before
freedom can be claimed. If any female slave is married against her
will to any favourite of her owner, or maybe to the owner himself,
the price of her freedom must forthwith be reduced by one half. When
wars took place, the man who fought in lieu of his master, thereby
regained his freedom. Should any serf sustain injury in any way while
carrying out work demanded from him by his owner, he is entitled
to receive compensation according to the nature and extent of his
injuries. When a slave is killed in defending either his master or
his master's property, no claim can be made against the person who
was security for the slave. But if any slave absconds, then any money
spent in his apprehension is added to the price of his redemption. It
will be seen that the laws of the kingdom which govern the system of
domestic bondage, are on the whole of a just and equitable nature. And
it must not be forgotten that these laws were made long before Western
influence had in any way exercised any effect in the land. They are
sufficient in themselves to demonstrate the essentially broad-minded
and humanitarian character of the present and previous sovereigns. It
is true that they are often broken by powerful officials in remote
districts, but under the new system of administration now being
rapidly organised, there will perhaps arise a more rigorous and
judicial application of the principles of the legislative code.
The national etiquette is the logical result of the national condition
of society. Briefly put, it consists of a certain number of laws
relating to the amount of deference to be paid by persons of one
social grade to those of a higher one. Most of the old forms of
etiquette are strictly observed by all ranks, though of late years a
few have disappeared under the pressure of progressive social reforms
stimulated and often initiated by the king himself. As the head is
the most sacred part of the body, the chief rules that concern the
behaviour of an inferior person in the presence of his superior,
relate to the position of the body. Formerly no person dared raise his
head to the level of that of one of higher rank. He might not cross a
bridge while his superior passed beneath, nor could he walk in a room
situated above that in which his superior might be lying or sitting.
At the present time, bridges and floors are trodden indiscriminately.
Until the year 1874 A.D., all persons approached the sovereign
on hands and knees, crawling with the head upon a level with the
monarch's feet. The crawling in public has been abolished, but nearly
every person crouches in the streets when he speaks to, or passes,
one whom he knows to be of higher rank than himself. The abolition
of public crawling was made by the present king in the presence of
his assembled courtiers a few years after he ascended the throne.
The occasion will ever remain a memorable one in the annals of the
country. All the chief members of the different government services
were in their accustomed positions on hands and knees, with heads bent
to the ground, when a decree was read to them of which the following
paragraphs formed a portion.
"Since His Majesty ascended the throne, it has been the
Royal purpose to cherish the State and augment the
happiness of the greater and lesser princes, ministers and
nobles, the clergy, the Brahmins, and the masses of the
people all over the kingdom. Whatever is oppressive and
burdensome, it has been the Royal purpose to remove from
the people, and abolish from the State. His Majesty has
noticed that the great countries and powers in Eastern and
Western Asia, that is to say to the East of our country,
China, Cochin China and Japan, and to the West, India
and the regions where oppression existed, compelling the
inferiors to prostrate and worship their masters and
persons of rank, similar to the custom prevailing in Siam,
have at present ceased these customs and instituted new
ones.
"They have universally changed and ceased the custom of
prostration and worship, to make manifest the good purpose
that there shall be no more oppression in their countries.
The countries that have abolished these rigorous exactions,
have manifestly greatly increased in their prosperity.
"In this kingdom of Siam there are some national customs
that are rigorous, hostile to good usage, and ought to be
modified; but the changing and modifying of customs cannot
be effected at once; such changes must be the subject of
much thought and gradual modification, adapted to times and
circumstances. It is in this way that states will augment
their susceptible prosperity.
"The custom of prostration and human worship in Siam, is
manifestly an oppressive exaction which an inferior must
perform to a superior, causing him embarrassing fatigue in
order to honour a superior. These acts of showing honour
by such prostration and worship, His Majesty perceives are
of no benefit whatever to the country. Inferiors who are
obliged to perform them, to honour their superiors, must
endure and suffer much till the time when they leave the
presence of their superior and thus escape the requisition.
This custom His Majesty perceives is a primary cause of
many existing oppressive exactions, therefore, this ancient
national custom, which made prostration the prescribed
method of demonstrating respect in Siam, must be abolished;
for His Majesty is graciously disposed to confer happiness
upon all, and to this end, will relieve them from the
burden of prostration as practised heretofore. His Majesty
proposes to substitute in the place of crouching and
crawling, standing and walking; and instead of prostration
on all-fours and bowing with palm-joined hands to the
ground, a graceful bow of the head.
"Standing, walking, bowing the head, are equal
demonstrations of respect with crouching and crawling.
"Perhaps some persons of rank who may favour the custom of
crouching and crawling as heretofore, thinking it good, may
have their doubts as to the wisdom or advisability of the
new regulations, and may wish to know why the change from
prostration to standing will be advantageous to the State.
These may rest assured that the proposed change is ordered
to impress upon the people the intention to remove from
them all oppressive exactions. States that do not oppress
the inferior ranks will assuredly have great prosperity.
"Henceforth, the princes and nobles according to their
rank, when in solemn audience before the throne, or
wherever His Majesty may be present, will please observe
this Royal Edict, which is hereby promulgated to regulate
henceforth the conduct of noblemen in every particular in
in this matter."[D]
The decree proceeded to detail and explain the new social rules, after
which the whole crowd rose from the ground, and for the first time in
the history of the country, the subject stood upright in the presence
of the sovereign. The people to whom this wise edict was addressed are
of a conservative nature, and believe in precedent as an infallible
guide in all matters. They have no love for innovations, and have
been slow to follow their king in his forward march towards a pure
and enlightened form of government. There are many noblemen who still
insist upon their servants approaching them in the ancient way, in
spite of the proclamation and the king's own wishes. But on court days
no such demonstrations are now ever seen within the precincts of the
Audience Chamber.
The place of honour is on the right hand of the chief guest. Places
near the wall on the right hand are of greater honour than those on
the left, while the position of greatest distinction in any room is
opposite the door.
Civil and religious holidays follow each other in rapid succession
the whole year round. The King's birthday is celebrated for three
days by the entire nation. Ships are wreathed in flowers and bunting,
banquets are given, receptions are held, and salutes are fired. At
night, the palaces in the city, the vessels in the river, every house
by the side of a road or on the bank of a stream, are ablaze with
light. Night is turned to day, and earth becomes a fairy land.
[Illustration: A RICKSHAW.]
The New Year holidays also last three days. They commence on the First
of April, a day which is scarcely auspicious from the European point
of view. For the usual feasting that accompanies this and all other
holidays, a special kind of cake is made, which is as much in demand
as our own Shrove-Tuesday pancakes or our Good-Friday hot cross-buns.
The temples are thronged with women and children making offerings to
Buddha and his priests.
The people inaugurate their New Year with numerous charitable and
religious deeds. The rich entertain the monks, who recite appropriate
prayers and chants. Every departed soul returns to the bosom of his
family during these three days, freed from any fetters that may have
bound him in regions of indefinable locality. On the third day the
religious observances terminate, and the remaining hours are devoted
to "the world, the flesh, and the devil." Gambling is not confined
to the licensed houses, but may be indulged in anywhere. Games of
chance hold powerful sway in every house as long as the license to
participate in them lasts.
Priests in small companies occupy posts at regular intervals round the
city wall, and spend their time in chanting away the evil spirits. On
the evening of the second day, the ghostly visitors from the lower
realms lose the luxury of being exorcised with psalms. Every person
who has a gun may fire it as often as he pleases, and the noise thus
made is undoubtedly fearful enough in its intensity to cause any
wandering traveller from the far-off fiery land to retrace his steps
with speed. The bang and rattle of pistols, muskets, shot-guns, and
rifles cease not till the break of day, by which time the city is
effectually cleared of all its infernal visitors.
Twice each year another important holiday occurs, in connection with
the taking of the oath of allegiance. Every person who is a prince,
a nobleman, or a paid servant of the Government, is required to
present himself at the temple in the grounds of the Royal Palace, or
at other places appointed in other parts of the country, to swear
his allegiance to the king. Each person signifies his acceptance of
the oath read to him, by drinking, and sprinkling upon his forehead,
a few drops of specially prepared water. Some ordinary rain-water is
first placed in a bowl, and then stirred with swords, pistols, spears
and other weapons such as are likely to be used in the punishment of
those who are guilty of treasonable practices. Priests are excused,
as it is considered that their professions of holiness are sufficient
guarantees of their loyalty.
Portions of the symbolical water are afterwards sent to the distant
provinces. The local governors then assemble those people who are in
any way connected with the local administration, and require them also
to take the oath and drink the water of allegiance. The formula of the
oath is somewhat lengthy, but the following translation of a portion
of it will serve to show its general character.
"We beseech the powers of the deities to plague with
poisonous boils that will rapidly prove fatal, and with all
manner of terrible diseases, the dishonourable, perverse,
and treacherous. May we be visited with untimely wretched
and appalling deaths that our disloyalty may be made
manifest in the eyes of the whole world. When we shall have
departed from this life upon earth, cause us to be sent
to, and all to be born again in, that great hell where
we shall burn with unquenchable fire through limitless
transmigrations. And when we have expiated our penalties
there, and are born again into any other world, we pray
that we may fail to find the least happiness in any
pleasurable enjoyments that may there abound. Let us not
meet the god Buddha; let us not hear the sacred teachings;
let us not come into contact with the sacred priests whose
mission it is to be gracious to men and animals, and to
help them to escape from misery, to attain a progressive
succession of births and deaths, and finally to reach
heaven itself. Should we by any chance meet with holy men
or priests, let us receive therefrom no gracious helpful
assistance."[E]
Although the oath is rather a terrible one to take, very very little
solemnity prevails on these occasions, and every one performs his part
of the ceremony in a most casual manner.
Those natives who have had little or no communication with Europeans
are the best exemplars of the true character of the nation. They are
very gentle in their manners; timid, especially in the dark or with
strangers; gay and cheerful, and fond of cheerful persons. They rarely
quarrel amongst themselves, as they dislike worry and trouble of
every description. They are lazy when ordinary work has to be done,
but busy enough when preparations have to be made for amusements or
holiday processions. Their idea of the millenium is that the tide will
flow up one side of the river and down the other, so that everyone
may go whithersoever he pleases without the trouble of rowing. There
will be no work of any description, and men will lie in the sunshine,
as happy as birds. The country people never beg, and even in the
capital it is only the leprous and the blind who ask for alms. There
is no clamouring for backsheesh as in other Oriental countries. The
people are sharp and witty, and delight in jokes and sharp sayings.
They are not nearly so imitative as the Chinese, but they absorb new
ideas, and adapt themselves to changes of custom with great rapidity,
when they have once overcome their initial prejudice against the
innovation. When the electric tramway was first opened in Bangkok, the
absence of any visible locomotive machinery caused them the greatest
bewilderment, and for several days they half worshipped the cars as
they passed them in the streets, murmuring to themselves the while,
"It is the Devil's carriage." In less than a week, the cars were
packed on every journey with a crowd who distinctly appreciated the
speed and ease with which they were being carried along.
They are not greater liars than other men, except when they have come
into close contact with civilisation. There are old residents living
in Bangkok who remember the day when the word of a native was as good
as his bond. Today the dwellers in the city are never to be trusted.
Some of them carefully avoid speaking the truth on all occasions, even
when it would be quite as serviceable as an untruth.
The money formerly used consisted of sea-shells of small value,
eight hundred to a thousand being equal to about two pence. It was
easy in those days for a man however poor to get something to eat,
for there was always something on sale that could be bought for the
thousandth part of two-pence. In imitation of foreign ways, a flat
coin was introduced made of lead, and the old sea-shell was abolished
as legal currency. The Government made a huge profit out of the
transaction, for they refused to buy up any of the worthless little
cowries, and they sold the leaden coins for more than they were worth.
Counterfeiting naturally followed, and the coins were re-called, but
as soon as the treasury-boxes were filled with a mixture of good and
false money the Government refused to receive any more. All those who
still had any of the leaden money in their possession experienced a
serious loss. An alloy of lead and copper was issued at a reduced
value; but the profit to be made by coining was still so great that
counterfeit coins speedily found their way into circulation. Small
bullets of gold and silver next came into use, and one of them still
remains in circulation. None of these coins were stamped with the
image of the king, for at that time there was a strong prejudice
against the making of portraits in any medium. Europeans who travel
into the jungle, have even at the present time, only to point a camera
at a crowd in order to procure its instant dispersion. When a copy of
the face of a person is made and taken away from him, a portion of
his life goes with the picture. Unless the sovereign had been blessed
with the years of a Methuselah he could scarcely have permitted his
life to be distributed in small pieces together with the coins of the
realm. But not many years ago the present king ordered a new issue of
the coinage. Flat, round copper and silver pieces were made at the
mint in the palace, and on every disc appeared the shapely profile of
the reigning monarch. Postage stamps followed, with the same profile
printed on them; then the king was painted and photographed; and so
the old superstition has lost its power; while modern fashion requires
that all who can afford it shall be photographed. It is perhaps
scarcely necessary to add here, that with the exception of two or
three Europeans, all the professional photographers are Chinamen.
The flat, gold coins were hoarded by the people, turned into ornaments
or used in the making of jewelry. They are no longer used as money,
but are bought as curios for four times their original value.
Weights and scales have not as yet displaced the old methods of
measurement. The table of Siamese Dry Measure is a good illustration
of the devices adopted by uncivilised people to facilitate their
buying and selling in the absence of any fixed legal standard.
880 Tamarind seeds make one cocoa-nut shell (kanahn)
25 Cocoa-nut shells make one bamboo basket (sat)
80 Bamboo baskets make one cart (kwien)
or
830 Tamarind seeds make one cocoa-nut shell
20 Cocoa-nut shells make one bucket (tung)
100 buckets make one cart.
In calculating time two calendars are used. One is a religious one
and is only used for ecclesiastical purposes. It commences with the
death of Buddha, about 543 B.C. The civil calendar is the one in
general use. It dates from the founding of Bangkok in 1784 A.D.
The idea of eternity is expressed in concrete form in the following
manner. Eternity is divided into long periods of time, called "kops".
Each "kop" is represented by a stone measuring ten miles each way.
Once in every hundred years, an angel descends to one of these stones
and wipes its surface with a gossamer web. When by these successive
century wipings, one stone shall have been thoroughly worn away, one
"kop" will have been completed, and a second period of eternity will
begin.
The human race is gradually dwindling away. In the misty ages of
the past all men were giants. The present race of Siamese is well
proportioned, but small. Their descendants will be smaller. Some of
them will diminish till they are as small as dogs; a few centuries
later, all will be no bigger than rats; the stature of a butterfly and
then of a flea will measure the height of men, and ultimately they
will disappear altogether from the face of the earth.
The Siamese speak a language of their own. It possesses its own
nouns, verbs and other parts of speech, a sprinkling of slang, and
practically no "swear" words. These are only used by those whose
knowledge of English is colloquial. There is a special language
devoted to the sacred person and attributes of the king, which must be
used by all who speak to or of him. The special vocabulary required is
a difficult one to learn even to the natives themselves. The hairs of
the monarch's head, the soles of his feet, the breath of his body--in
fact every single detail of his person both internal and external, has
a particular name. When he eats or drinks, sleeps or walks, a special
word indicates that these acts are being performed by the sovereign
himself, and such words cannot possibly be applied to any other person
whatever. There is no word in the language by which any creature of
higher rank or greater dignity than a monarch can be described; and
the missionaries in speaking of "God" are forced to use the native
word for "king". Each person in speaking to another uses a pronoun
which at once expresses whether the speaker is of superior, equal,
or inferior rank to the person spoken to. In this way superiority of
social position is asserted, or corresponding inferiority confessed,
in every conversation between two persons.
The language spoken by the pure Siamese is monosyllabic and toned. The
apparently longer words are really a collection of monosyllables. For
instance:
"mi-keet-fi" "a match" is made up of three words,
"mi" ... "wood"
"keet" ... "a line"
"fi" ... "a fire"
The word for "ice" is a combination of two words meaning "hard water",
and that for "cheese" a combination of two words meaning "hard butter".
The toned words are a great trouble to foreigners who are not
accustomed to a "sing-song" form of speech. Some syllables have three
different sounds, others as many as five, and each different tone
expresses a different meaning. In many cases the mistakes that are
made by the foreigner cause little difficulty, as his meaning is
clear, though his speech is mysterious. The word for "horse" is a
differently sounded form of the word for "dog," but any such mistake
in speech, as "Chain that horse to his kennel," or "Order me a two-dog
carriage," would be readily understood by a servant, who would
merely receive the order with a smile and then proceed to execute it
according to the wish of his master. There are many words between
which the difference in sound is important, as the smallest mistake
would make all the difference between an ordinary and an obscene word.
There are others too where it behoves the white man to be careful of
his inflections, or he may, when intending to say to some village
farmer, "I am going to dance upon your _field_," unfortunately remark,
"I am going to dance upon your _aunt_," or even "I am going to dance
upon your _face_," either of which errors might be productive of
results not foreseen by the imperfect linguist.
Names in Siam often indicate precise relationships. On pointing out
one person to another and asking "Who is that?"--the person spoken to
may reply, if any such relationship exist, "That is my elder brother,"
or "That is my younger brother" as the case may be, never simply "That
is my brother." Nearly all such words as "grandfather," "grandmother,"
"uncle," and "aunt" when spoken by anyone indicate whether the
relationship is on the paternal or maternal side. Names of children
often relate to their appearance, or circumstances connected with
their birth. One is "little," another "large," while even a particular
deformity may be perpetually called attention to by such a name as
"hunch-back." There are no names specially set aside as belonging to
male and female, so that both a boy or girl may be called "lotus," or
"black," or any other name fancied by the parents. There are also no
surnames.
"Nai" is a general term comparable to "Mr." and applied to males of
all ages who possess no higher title. "Maa" is similarly used in
the case of females. The absence of surnames, and also of numbered
houses in most of the streets, causes some difficulty when it becomes
necessary to send letters through the post. An envelope has often to
be addressed something like the following:
TO MR. LEK,
Student of the Normal College,
Son of Mr. Yai, Soldier,
Near the foot of the Black Bridge
at the back of the Lotus Temple,
New Road, Bangkok.
The alphabet is derived from Pali. There is no distinction between the
written and printed characters, nor are there any capital letters.
Letters and books are written from left to right as in the European
languages, but no spaces are left between the words. Printing has
only been in use in the country for about forty years, and all the
old religious texts are written with a style, on long thin strips of
palm leaf about eighteen inches long and two inches broad. The edges
of the leaves are covered with gold leaf, and the "pages" of any book
are fastened together with silk cords. Every monastery possesses
a good collection of these leafy documents. They are kept in the
temples in cases which are often elaborately gilded or inlaid with
mother-of-pearl.