_CHILD-LIFE IN SIAM._
When the Siamese young folks get up in the morning they do not go to
the washstand to wash their faces, for the simple reason that Siamese
houses can boast no such article of furniture. The cooking utensils
and the mats which serve for beds, with the pillows of gayly-painted
bamboo or of tightly-stuffed cotton, make up the entire furnishing of
a Siamese home. The houses of the poor people are simple bamboo huts
of one or two rooms, while their richer neighbors have teak-wood
houses, with an extra room perhaps; but all are alike simple in their
furniture.
Our little Siamese friend just runs down to the foot of the
ladder――for the house is built on posts――to a large jar of water with
a cocoanut-shell dipper. There she washes her face――not in the dipper,
but by throwing the water over her hands and rubbing them over her
face. She needs no towel, for the water is left to dry. She does not
brush her teeth, for they are stained black by chewing the betel-nut
and seri-leaf. Her hair does not require combing either, for it is all
shaved except a little tuft on the top of the head, and that is tied
in a little knot and not often combed; and after a girl is twelve
years old it is shaved and kept very short.
After breakfast is over――and a very simple meal it is in Siam――the
children go off and find some pleasant place in which to play. The
baby goes with them, and is carried by the older sister on her right
hip, and, with her arm to support the child’s back, she walks along as
if she had no load to carry.
The girls play at keeping house, and make dishes of clay dried in the
sun, and from seeds, grasses and weeds they make all sorts of
imaginary delicacies. Little images of clay washed with lime are their
only dolls; these are sometimes laid in tiny cradles and covered with
a few pieces of cloth. The Siamese cradles are made on oblong wooden
frames, something like a picture-frame, from which hangs a network bag
made of cord, which forms the cradle, and a board is put in the bottom
to keep the netted cord in shape. The large cradle of the same sort in
which the live baby sleeps is fastened by ropes to the rafters of the
house, and forms a cooler and safer cradle than those in which
American babies rest. If any one will make a little frame and net some
cord for the basket part, she can have a real Siamese cradle.
The boys in Siam are very fond of pitching coins, and spend much of
their time in this game. They play leap-frog, and very often jump the
rope. Now that so many foreigners come to this country they have
learned to play marbles too. Foot-ball is also a very popular game,
but instead of a ball they use a little square piece of thick leather
with feathers fastened into one side. The men, as well as the boys,
enjoy this game, and it is really the most active exercise the Siamese
ever take. Fishing is a favorite pastime; and as crabs and prawns are
not always in season, they are a greater luxury than fish, and it is
considered great fun to catch them. The time for this is when the tide
in the river is very low and great mud-banks are left on either side.
The little fishermen carry with them a coarse sieve and an earthen
jar. The sieve is pushed along under the surface of the mud, and the
crabs, when caught, are put into the jars, which the children drag
along after them. After they have caught enough crabs they pelt each
other with mud, just as American boys do with snowballs. When they are
tired and dirty enough they plunge into the water, have a good swim,
and come out of the water as clean and happy as boys can be. In the
month of March, though usually dry and hot, winds are blowing. At this
time the Siamese, young and old, are much engaged in playing games
with kites, which are fitted with whistles, and the air resounds with
the noise produced by the toys and the shouts of the multitudes of
people engaged in the sport. Very frequently, too, mimic battles are
fought in the air by means of these kites, skillfully directed by
strings held in the hands of the owners.
Siamese children do not have many pets, and those that they do have
are used for fighting. Just at sunset the boys will often be seen
searching very earnestly for crickets. These little creatures are put
into small clay cages, closed at the top by bars of little sticks
which let in the light and air. Then the boys gather some evening, put
all their crickets into a large box, and watch them fight, as they are
sure to do when put together. Small fish, called needle-fish from
their long sharp mouths, are also used for this cruel purpose. Two
fish are put into separate bottles placed close to each other. The
moment they catch sight of each other they begin snapping, but of
course can never reach each other. Sometimes a looking-glass is held
before one, and it is amusing as well as painful to see how angry it
will become. This passion for mimic fights grows in the boys, and when
they become men they spend most of their time at cockpits, where
nearly all their gambling is done. In spite of all this, animals are
well cared for by most persons, for they “make merit” in this way.
They also believe that at some future time a fish, a monkey, a dog, a
cat, or it may be a snake, a bird or a pig, will be the possible home
of their own soul.
The Siamese are fond of flowers, and use them for personal adornment.
The children wear wreaths of tiny white flowers on their topknots, and
very often men and women put flowers behind their ears and fasten them
in their hair. Children are often named for flowers and different
colors. The name that almost all babies bear for the first few years
of their life is “_Dang_,” which means red. When they get a little
older they have another name given them, though sometimes this first
name clings to them all their lives. When a stranger meets a young
girl and wishes to speak to her she calls her “_Rat_,” for this is the
most polite way of addressing young ladies whose name one does not
know.
[Illustration: A YOUNG SIAMESE PRINCE.]
There are no story-books printed for the children of Siam. Their
stories are told to them, and are so uninteresting that American
children would wonder how any one could listen to them; but they have
never heard better ones, and the sweetest story of all, that of Jesus
and his love, has never been heard by millions there. Some of the
missionaries have translated into Siamese a number of story-books
which are familiar to American children. A number of the familiar
Sabbath-school hymns have also been translated, and are used in the
Sabbath-school and church services.
The Siamese know nothing of music. Their songs are a monotonous chant.
They have but few musical instruments, and it does not take many to
make a full band. These bands play at weddings, funerals and other
grand affairs, but they do not vary their programme in the least,
playing the same tune on any of these occasions.
The Siamese children are not taught to keep Sunday, for there is no
Sabbath in that heathen land; and even their occasional holy days are
mere gala-days, when, dressed in their best and gayest garments, they
go to the temples with their mothers to make offerings to the image of
their dead god Buddha. From the temples they are often taken to some
theatrical show to spend the remainder of the day. During the national
holiday season these theatrical performances are going on all the
time, besides Chinese street-shows very much like our Punch and Judy;
and fathers, mothers and children all gamble.
As the streets in Siam are almost all rivers and canals, the Siamese
boys and girls early learn to row, and paddle their little boats
almost as soon as they learn to swim, which they do when they are only
four or five years old. Their canoes are sometimes so small that it is
a puzzle to know how they can manage them so safely.
[Illustration: A CHINESE STREET SHOW.]
We have seen that in their plays the Siamese and American children
have much in common, but in their home-life it is different. Siamese
parents love their children as truly, if not as wisely, as American
fathers and mothers love theirs. Generally the children are allowed to
do just as they please until the parents become angry; then they are
sometimes very cruelly punished. The hand of a little one is sometimes
bent back until the child writhes in agony. They are whipped very
severely too, although it must be confessed that the children
sometimes scream and cry very loudly before they are hurt. But these
punishments are not often administered for what we would consider
sinful. The parents lie, swear and gamble, so that they cannot well
punish their children for following their example. They often curse
their children for a very little thing, and so the children learn to
curse each other. But there is one thing that the Siamese children
could teach young folks in America――reverence for their parents and
for old age and respect for those in authority over them.