AYUTHIA
The former capital of Siam, which in its day was a city of great
magnificence and fame, has been for many years supplanted by Bangkok;
and probably a sight of the latter city as it now is gives to the
traveller the best impression of what the former used to be. So
completely does the interest of the kingdom centre at Bangkok that few
travellers go beyond the limits of the walls of that city except in
ascending or descending the river which leads to it from the sea. For a
description of Ayuthia in its glory we are obliged to turn back to the
old German traveller who visited Siam during the first half of the
seventeenth century. Sir John Bowring has connected this ancient
narrative with that of a recent observer who has visited the ruins of
the once famous city. We quote from Bowring's narrative:
"The ancient city of Ayuthia, whose pagodas and palaces were the object
of so much laudation from ancient travellers, and which was called the
Oriental Venice, from the abundance of its canals and the beauty of its
public buildings, is now almost wholly in ruins, its towers and temples
whelmed in the dust and covered with rank vegetation. The native name of
Ayuthia was Sijan Thijan, meaning 'Terrestrial Paradise.' The Siamese
are in the habit of giving very ostentatious names to their cities,
which, as La Loubère says: 'do signify great things.' Pallegoix speaks
of the ambitious titles given to Siamese towns, among which he mentions
'the City of Angels,' 'the City of Archangels,' and the 'Celestial
Spectacle.'
"The general outlines of the old city so closely resemble those of
Bangkok, that the map of the one might easily be mistaken for the
representation of the other.
"It may not be out of place here to introduce the description of Ayuthia
from the pen of Mandelsloe--one of those painstaking travellers whose
contributions to geographical science have been collected in the
ponderous folios of Dr. Harris (vol. i., p. 781)." Mandelsloe reports
that:
"The city of Judda is built upon an island in the river Meinam. It is
the ordinary residence of the king of Siam, having several very fair
streets, with spacious channels regularly cut. The suburbs are on both
sides of the river, which, as well as the city itself, are adorned with
many temples and palaces; of the first of which there are above three
hundred within the city, distinguished by their gilt steeples, or rather
pyramids, and afford a glorious prospect at a distance. The houses are,
as all over the Indies, but indifferently built and covered with tiles.
The royal palace is equal to a large city. Ferdinando Mendez Pinto makes
the number of inhabitants of this city amount, improbably, to four
hundred thousand families. It is looked upon as impregnable, by
reason of the overflowing of the river at six months' end. The king of
Siam, who takes amongst his other titles that of Paecan Salsu,
_i.e._--Sacred Member of God--has this to boast of, that, next to the
Mogul, he can deduce his descent from more kings than any other in the
Indies. He is absolute, his privy councillors, called mandarins, being
chosen and deposed barely at his pleasure. When he appears in public it
is done with so much pomp and magnificence as is scarce to be imagined,
which draws such a veneration to his person from the common people,
that, even in the streets as he passes by, they give him godlike titles
and worship. He marries no more than one wife at a time, but has an
infinite number of concubines. He feeds very high; but his drink is
water only, the use of strong liquors being severely prohibited by their
ecclesiastical law, to persons of quality in Siam. As the thirds of all
the estates of the kingdom fall to his exchequer, so his riches must be
very great; but what makes them almost immense is, that he is the chief
merchant in the kingdom, having his factors in all places of trade, to
sell rice, copper, lead, saltpetre, etc., to foreigners. Mendez Pinto
makes his yearly revenue rise to twelve millions of ducats, the greatest
part of which, being laid up in his treasury, must needs swell to an
infinity in process of time." Sir John Bowring adds:
[Illustration: REMOVAL OF THE TUFT OF A YOUNG SIAMESE.]
"I have received the following account of the present condition of
Ayuthia, the old capital of Siam, from a gentleman who visited it in
December, 1855:
"'Ayuthia is at this time the second city of the kingdom. Situated, as
the greater part is, on a creek or canal, connecting the main river with
a large branch which serves as the high road to Pakpriau, Korat, and
southern Laos, travellers are apt entirely to overlook it when visiting
the ruins of the various wats or temples on the island where stood the
ancient city.
"'The present number of inhabitants cannot be less than between twenty
and thirty thousand, among which are a large number of Chinese, a few
Birmese, and some natives of Laos. They are principally employed in
shopkeeping, agriculture, or fishing, for there are no manufactories of
importance. Floating houses are most commonly employed as dwellings, the
reason for which is that the Siamese very justly consider them more
healthy than houses on land.
"'The soil is wonderfully fertile. The principal product is rice, which,
although of excellent quality, is not so well adapted for the market as
that grown nearer the sea, on account of its being much lighter and
smaller. A large quantity of oil, also an astringent liquor called
toddy, and sugar, is manufactured from the palm (Elaeis), extensive
groves of which are to be found in the vicinity of the city. I was shown
some European turnips which had sprung up and attained a very large
size. Indigenous fruits and vegetables also flourish in great plenty.
The character of the vegetation is, however, different from that around
Bangkok. The cocoa and areca palms become rare, and give place to the
bamboo.
"'The only visible remains of the old city are a large number of wats,
in different stages of decay. They extend over an area of several miles
of country, and lie hidden in the trees and jungle which have sprung up
around them. As the beauty of a Siamese temple consists not in its
architecture, but in the quantity of arabesque work with which the brick
and stucco walls are covered, it soon yields to the power of time and
weather, and becomes, if neglected, an unsightly heap of bricks and
wood-work, overgrown with parasitical plants. It is thus at Ayuthia. A
vast pile of bricks and earth, with here and there a spire still rearing
itself to the skies, marks the spot where once stood a shrine before
which thousands were wont to prostrate themselves in superstitious
adoration. There stand also the formerly revered images of Gaudama, once
resplendent with gold and jewels, but now broken, mutilated, and without
a shadow of their previous splendor. There is one sacred spire of
immense height and size which is still kept in some kind of repair, and
which is sometimes visited by the king. It is situated about four miles
from the town, in the centre of a plain of paddy-fields. Boats and
elephants are the only means of reaching it, as there is no road
whatever, except such as the creeks and swampy paddy-fields afford. It
bears much celebrity among the Siamese, on account of its height, but
can boast of nothing attractive to foreigners but the fine view which is
obtained from the summit. This spire, like all others, is but a
succession of steps from the bottom to the top; a few ill-made images
affording the only relief from the monotony of the brickwork. It bears,
too, none of those ornaments, constructed of broken crockery, with
which the spires and temples of Bangkok are so plentifully bedecked.
"'This is all that repays the traveller for his visit,--a poor
remuneration though, were it the curiosity of an antiquarian that led
him to the place, for the ruins have not yet attained a sufficient age
to compensate for their uninteresting appearance.
"'As we were furnished with a letter from the Phya Kalahom to the
governor, instructing him to furnish us with everything requisite for
our convenience, we waited on that official, but were unfortunate enough
to find that he had gone to Bangkok. The letter was thus rendered
useless, for no one dared open it in his absence. Happily, however, we
were referred to a nobleman who had been sent from Bangkok to
superintend the catching of elephants, and he, without demur, gave us
every assistance in his power.
"'After visiting the ruins, therefore, we inspected the kraal or
stockade, in which the elephants are captured. This was a large
quadrangular piece of ground, enclosed by a wall about six feet in
thickness, having an entrance on one side, through which the elephants
are made to enter the enclosure. Inside the wall is a fence of strong
teak stakes driven into the ground a few inches apart. In the centre is
a small house erected on poles and strongly surrounded with stakes,
wherein some men are stationed for the purpose of securing the animals.
These abound in the neighborhood of the city, but cannot exactly be
called wild, as the majority of them have, at some time or other, been
subjected to servitude. They are all the property of the king, and it
is criminal to hurt or kill one of them. Once a year, a large number is
collected together in the enclosure, and as many as are wanted of those
possessing the points which the Siamese consider beautiful are captured.
The fine points in an elephant are: a color approaching to white or red,
black nails on the toes (the common color of these nails is black and
white), and intact tails (for, owing to their pugnacious disposition, it
is rarely that an elephant is caught which has not had its tail bitten
off). On this occasion the king and a large concourse of nobles assemble
together to witness the proceedings; they occupy a large platform on one
side of the enclosure. The wild elephants are then driven in by the aid
of tame males of a very large size and great strength, and the selection
takes place. If an animal which is wanted escapes from the kraal, chase
is immediately made after it by a tame elephant, the driver of which
throws a lasso to catch the feet of the fugitive. Having effected this,
the animal on which he rides leans itself with all its power the
opposite way, and thus brings the other violently to the ground. It is
then strongly bound, and conducted to the stables.
[Illustration: ELEPHANTS IN AN ENCLOSURE OR PARK AT AYUTHIA.]
"'Naturally enough, accidents are of common occurrence, men being
frequently killed by the infuriated animals, which are sometimes
confined two or three days in the enclosure without food.
"'When elephants are to be sent to Bangkok a floating house has to be
constructed for the purpose.
"'As elephants were placed at our disposal we enjoyed the opportunity of
judging of their capabilities in a long ride through places
inaccessible to a lesser quadruped. Their step is slow and cautious, and
the rider is subjected to a measured roll from side to side, which at
first is somewhat disagreeable. In traversing marshes and soft ground
they feel their way with their trunks. They are excessively timid;
horses are a great terror to them, and, unless they are well trained,
the report of a fowling-piece scares them terribly.'
"Above Ayuthia the navigation of the Meinam is often interrupted by
sand-banks, but the borders are still occupied by numerous and populous
villages; their number diminishes until the marks of human presence
gradually disappear--the river is crowded with crocodiles, the trees are
filled with monkeys, and the noise of the elephants is heard in the
impervious woods. After many days' passage up the river, one of the
oldest capitals of Siam, built fifteen hundred years ago, is approached.
Its present name is Phit Salok, and it contains about five thousand
inhabitants, whose principal occupation is cutting teak-wood, to be
floated down the stream to Bangkok.
"The account which Bishop Pallegoix gives of the interior of the country
above Ayuthia is not very flattering. He visited it in the rainy season,
and says it appeared little better than a desert--a few huts by the side
of the stream--neither towns, nor soldiers, nor custom-houses. Rice was
found cheap and abundant, everything else wanting. Some of the Bishop's
adventures are characteristic. In one place, where he heard pleasant
music, he found a mandarin surrounded by his dozen wives, who were
playing a family concert. The mandarin took the opportunity to seek
information about Christianity, and listened patiently and pleased
enough, until the missionary told him one wife must satisfy him if he
embraced the Catholic faith, which closed the controversy, as the
Siamese said _that_ was an impossible condition. In some places the
many-colored pagodas towered above the trees, and they generally
possessed a gilded Buddha twenty feet in height. The Bishop observes
that the influence of the Buddhist priests is everywhere paramount among
the Siamese, but that they have little hold upon the Chinese, Malays, or
Laos people. In one of the villages they offered a wife to one of the
missionaries, but finding the present unacceptable, they replaced the
lady by two youths, who continued in his service, and he speaks well of
their fidelity."
[Illustration: PAKNAM ON THE MEINAM.]