INTERVIEW WITH THE PRA-KLANG.--MR. FINLAYSON CALLED UPON TO VISIT A
CASE OF CHOLERA IN THE PALACE.--MISSION NOT VISITED BY ANY PERSONS
OF RESPECTABILITY.--PARTIES AT THE COURT OF BANKOK.--NOTHING
GRANTED IN FAVOUR OF COMMERCE.--AGENT TO THE GOVERNOR GENERAL
LEAVES WITHOUT AN AUDIENCE.--BANKOK, THE DWELLINGS MOSTLY FLOATING
RAFTS. INHABITANTS MOSTLY CHINESE. MANUFACTURES OF TIN, LEATHER,
CAST-IRON VESSELS.--BALACHANG.--SIAMESE EAT FLESH, BUT DO NOT
KILL.--PALACES AND TEMPLES, OR PRACHADIS OF BANKOK.--IMAGES OF
BUDDHA EXCESSIVELY NUMEROUS.--ANALOGIES BETWEEN THE PYRAMID OF
EGYPT AND THE BAUDDHIC DAGOBA.
It has already been mentioned that the Agent to the Governor General
had visited the Prince Chroma-Chit, previously to his introduction to
the king. On that occasion, however, neither political nor commercial
matters were so much as touched upon, as will be seen by reference to
the account of the interview given by Lieutenant Rutherfurd, the prince
having merely observed, relative to such matters, that the Pra-klang
would, in ordinary matters, be the medium of communication between
them, but that he would at all times receive the Agent to the Governor
General.
Sometime after the audience of the king had taken place, the Agent had
a second interview with this prince; but neither on this occasion did
the objects of the mission enter into the subjects of conversation,
either directly or indirectly.
Mr. Rutherfurd and I accompanied Mr. Crawfurd on this occasion. The
interview took place at the particular request of the prince, who
also named the hour of audience. We reached his mansion, a dirty and
mean-looking building, though spacious within and tolerably well fitted
up, at the appointed hour. We were shewn into an open court, at one end
of the edifice, as a waiting-room; this place was neither decent nor
respectable. A crowd of noisy, dirty, and ill-bred slaves or attendants
crowded round the place, or were lolling on the floor, never taking
the least notice of us, unless to shew intentional insolence. One or
two small rushlights placed upon the floor cast a dim and gloomy light
around the room, by the aid of which we could discover in a niche, a
number of small wooden images, partly Chinese, and partly Siamese. In
this place the Agent to the Governor General was kept waiting upwards
of two hours. The chief Suri-Wong happening to come in, stated that the
prince was at prayers, and that this was the cause of delay. Yet the
hour had been named by the prince himself.
At length, however, it was intimated that the prince was ready to
receive the Agent according to the usual custom of the Siamese; we
found him extended upon his back, and rolling about upon a small piece
of carpet. He took no notice of us on our entrance; the attendants, who
were all prostrate, near to the threshold, directed us to sit down upon
a piece of handsome carpet, near to the door, and at a distance from
the prince; which might be deemed more than respectful. Mr. Crawfurd’s
interpreter was not permitted to enter with him, but by perseverance he
forced his way near to the door, where he had to undergo many a severe
pinch and other insults from the out-door attendants, who wished to
drive him away.
The conversation turned upon the government of our Indian possessions,
and particularly on that of Ceylon. The prince hearing that I had been
in that country, for which they entertain the highest respect, calling
it by the name of Lanka, and regarding it as the source from which
they have drawn their religion, put numerous questions respecting the
state of the Bauddhic religion, the number, size and condition of the
temples, pra-chadis and images, as compared with those of Siam.
He then inquired into the state of medicine amongst the people of
Europe, asked how many diseases the human body was subject to, whether
they all admitted of cure, and so forth. This sort of conversation
lasted for nearly two hours, at the end of which, conceiving probably
by our manner that we were heartily tired, both by his questions, as
well as by the constrained posture which we were obliged to assume
in sitting upon the floor, he told us that we might depart. The
conversation of the prince would lead us to infer that he is a man
of more curiosity than talent, though in respect to the latter, he
did not appear to be particularly defective. He seemed desirous that
vaccination should be introduced into the kingdom, and inquired, as it
were incidentally, if it were possible to procure a gentleman of the
medical profession from Bengal. On being told that such a person might
be procured by his writing to the Governor General on the subject, he
took no further notice of the matter.
Some time in the course of this month, I was requested to wait upon the
prince, about midnight, on account of a lady of rank in the palace, who
was said to be labouring under a severe attack of cholera morbus. He
expressed his thanks for the promptitude with which I had attended to
his request; stating that the person on whose account I had been called
was now considered to be somewhat better, and that she had fallen
asleep; that however in the course of a few minutes he should receive
another report, and begged that I would remain, in order to accompany
him to the palace of the king, if the report should be unfavourable.
In the meantime he ordered betel, _&c._, to be laid before me, and
commenced a conversation in which he seemed much interested, respecting
the sick lady, and our method of cure in this disease. A report
came that she was better and still asleep; he asked if the latter
circumstance were favourable, and seemed surprised when told that in
this disease, in particular, sleep was in general rather apparent than
real, and therefore a very fallacious symptom, and to be judged of
correctly by actual inspection only. He now shewed great eagerness to
obtain some portion of the medicines used in the cure of cholera. In
answer to his demands on this subject, I replied that it was necessary
I should see the sick person before I could say with accuracy what
would be proper for her; that he must necessarily be but imperfectly
acquainted with the manner of describing diseases, and that I myself
was but very imperfectly acquainted with the language through which we
communicated; and that therefore I could not be supposed to acquire
very correct information on the subject of the disease in question;
and that besides, it happened that medicines which were proper at one
period of the disease were hurtful at another.
He was by no means satisfied with these reasons; for after a few
minutes he returned to the same subject, saying that he should wish to
have some of my medicines by him, to give to his people in the event
of their being seized with the complaint. With this request I readily
complied, and gave the necessary instructions, which were carefully
written down by an attendant. He continued in conversation on this and
other subjects, for nearly three hours; when, becoming impatient at
this idle and unnecessary occupation of my time, I told him that it was
my wish to depart as it did not seem likely that my advice would be
required. With this request he complied, again stating his obligations
to me, and that he would request me to attend in the morning on the
lady, if she should not be better. The poor lady, however, was not
destined to see the light of another day. It had happened, as I had
forewarned the prince, that after the more violent symptoms of the
disease had subsided, she fell into a state of stupor, which the
attendants had mistaken for that of sleep, and she never awakened again.
At one period of her illness, they certainly appeared disposed to break
through all ceremony, and, for once at least, to admit an European into
the interior apartments of the women. The fallacious change which had
taken place some time previous to death, seems alone to have prevented
them from breaking through the rule.
But to return from this digression, to the objects of the mission. It
has been already mentioned that to Chroma-Chit[8], an illegitimate
son of the reigning king, the commercial affairs of the nation are
intrusted; besides which he is inspector of the eastern maritime
provinces of Chantibond and Bombasoi. He is but the fourth in point
of rank among the king’s ministers, though commonly, but erroneously,
considered to be the first and even heir to the throne, by the few
Europeans who visit Bankok. This notion has arisen from their being
unacquainted with the others, with whom, as they have no business
to transact, and being for the most part incurious respecting such
matters, they have but little chance of becoming acquainted. It was
only after repeated inquiry, that we were enabled to ascertain his
rank. Of the princes superior in rank to Chroma-Chit, we know nothing
but by report, as we have neither visited nor been invited to visit
or to meet them, the prince Chroma-Chit and his assistant Suri-Wong
being the only persons of any rank whom we obtained an opportunity of
visiting. Neither did any persons of respectability visit us, unless
we might by chance induce them in passing to step into our rooms, or
unless they wished to procure medicines, which was sometimes the case.
We had anticipated this circumstance, and were not therefore much
surprised at being left so much to ourselves.
It had been well for the success of the mission, if our acquaintance
had not extended to persons of meaner condition. But from what has been
already stated, it will be seen, that persons, destitute alike of rank,
of respectability, of authority, and above all of honesty and good
faith, were left to conduct the affairs of the mission with the British
Agent. This was but a sorry compliment to the government of Bengal,
which, with a degree of liberality equalled only by its disinterested
conduct, held forth to the Siamese far greater advantages than it asked
for its own subjects.
The Siamese are too low in the scale of nations to be able to form
a just estimate of the advantages of friendly intercourse with such
a government. It is to be suspected too that the mean-spirited and
grovelling persons who conduct the commerce of the kingdom, have
greatly thwarted the objects of the mission, by misrepresenting
its real views. What else was to be expected of such men as the
Malay Kochai, and a tribe of exiled and emigrant natives of the
coasts of Malabar and Coromandel, whose interests depend solely upon
the exclusion of Europeans from the country; or at least upon the
prevention of a free trade.
Yet it was with such persons chiefly, I might almost say exclusively,
that the negotiations had been carried on; with the exception of a few
interviews with the Pra-Klang. Even the Prince Chroma-Chit, much less
the other ministers of the government or the king, obtained nothing
directly from the British Agent, but always through the medium of
others, and generally through Kochai Sahac. Mr. Crawfurd at length
discovered that this man was totally unworthy of his confidence, and
that his conduct was altogether worthless, but it was now unfortunately
too late. The cunning and duplicity of Kochai were calculated to
deceive. He is in fact an agent employed only for mean purposes, and
to agitate affairs which his principals might consider discreditable
to themselves. It might, doubtless, have been foreseen that nothing
liberal or honest could come from such a quarter. It had been well,
too, to have rejected all communication with agents of such inferior
rank and worthless conduct. They are apt to injure national as well as
individual character.
It must be confessed, however, that it is no easy task to conduct
affairs to a favourable termination with such people as the Siamese;
and that it is much more easy to detect difficulties than to surmount
them; to discover errors than to obviate or to remedy them. We arrived
in the country ignorant of the manners of the people, and of the state
of political opinion; for even in this despotic government the spirit
of party is not unknown. That knowledge which we subsequently acquired
would, doubtless, have been of the first importance to the British
Agent, had he possessed it on landing in Siam.
The history of past negotiations is sufficient to prove that
neither privileges, nor immunities, nor advantages of any kind, are
to be gained from the Ultra-Gangetic nations, by submission, by
condescension, or even by conciliation, or by flattery. They despise
the former as a proof of weakness; the latter, as arguing a mean
spirit. Threats and aggression are neither justifiable nor necessary. A
dignified, yet unassuming conduct, jealous of its own honour, open and
disinterested, seeking its own advantage, but willing to promote that
of others, will doubtless effect much with nations of this stamp of
character, and must in the end be able to accomplish the object desired.
It deserves to be mentioned that the king’s ministers are divided
into two parties. The Prince Chroma-Chit, enriched by the commerce
of the nation, and supported by the influence which the management
of the treasury has thrown into his hands, stands at the head of one
party, and exerts a degree of influence in the councils of the king,
to which his rank alone does not appear to entitle him. He is more
feared than beloved or respected by the people. He and his party are
more remarkable for their wealth, than for respectability. They are
well disposed to extend the limits of foreign commerce, as bringing
the means of increasing their own power and influence, but they are
either too ignorant or too weak to effect this on sound principles.
The other and more respectable party, consisting of the princes
Chroma-Lecong, chief judge, Chroma Khun, minister of the interior, and
Chau-Chroma-Sac, commander of the forces, entertain no very exalted
opinions of the advantages of commerce in general, oppose the plans of
the others, and are unwilling to lay aside their ancient prejudices.
The business of the mission, as has been already observed, was agitated
in detail with the Malay Kochai. It is stated that Mr. Crawfurd drew
up a treaty consisting of thirty-nine articles. These were listened
to with great attention, and it seemed as if matters were going on
very successfully for the mission. After they had all been agitated,
however, they were successively thrown aside, till nothing whatever
remained of the treaty which could be interpreted into a concession in
favour of commerce, unless we consider the reduction of the duties,
one or two per cent., as deserving of that appellation; and even this
paltry matter they refused flatly on the very first occasion, by
telling Mr. Storm, when concluding some commercial transactions with
them, that they would not reduce the duties until five English ships
should visit the port annually, or until after the lapse of a specified
number of years.
This was in fact the _coup-de-grace_.
Nothing whatever had been granted in favour of commerce. The business
of the mission had now come to an end.
It was stated by Mr. Crawfurd, that the king was to grant an interview
to the Agent of the Governor General on his taking leave. We have heard
nothing further of this matter. It is the acknowledged custom of the
court to grant such interview[9]. The ambassador from Cochin China had
obtained his audience of leave, and dropped down the river this day,
(11th June,) on his return home.
The king of Siam did not condescend to return a written answer to the
Governor-General of British India. It was stated that the Pra-klang
would write to him, on which Mr. Crawfurd represented that in this case
the letter must be addressed to the secretary of government.
It now appeared, however, that this office was delegated to a person
of still inferior rank, the Pra-klang’s assistant, Pya-pee-pat Ko-sa.
This letter was written in the Siamese and Portuguese languages. That
in the latter was shewn to me by the writer. It went merely to specify,
that Mr. Crawfurd had brought presents and a letter from the Governor
General. That the tenor of this letter stated that England had enjoyed
profound peace for some years past,--that Bengal did so also,--that
the Governor General was desirous to contract friendship with the king
of Siam,--that all British ports were as free to the Siamese as to
our own subjects. In reply, the letter from Pya-pee-pat stated that
British vessels may at all times visit Bankok; but nothing was said of
privileges, or freedom of commerce, or even of the reduction of duties.
The Chuliahs and Portuguese, or rather the descendants of the latter,
were assembled at the house of the Pra-klang, to deliver this letter
to the Agent of the Governor General, but neither the Pra-klang
himself, nor even his assistant, attended. It would appear that there
was something informal in the letter, or that they would not give the
letter written in the Siamese language. It had not, therefore, been as
yet delivered over to the British agent.
_June 11th._--The Cochin Chinese ambassador and suite passed down the
river, in two praus, adorned with numerous standards, on their return
to their country.
_June 12th._--It had been reported for several days back, and
occasionally stated by Mr. Crawfurd, that the delay which has occurred
in the delivery of the letters to the British mission, had led the
Siamese government to consider further of the matter, and that they now
intended to grant documents, in the form of a commercial treaty. In
the course of the evening of this day, the documents alluded to were
produced, and delivered to the Agent in our presence. They consisted
of the Siamese and Portuguese letters formerly alluded to, the former
wrapped up in silk, and sealed, intended to be delivered to Mr.
Prinsep; the other, said to be an exact translation of the former, was
open, and intended for the inspection of the Agent of the Governor
General. To these were now added a brief letter, also in Siamese and
Portuguese, from the Pia-chulah, the head chuliah or moorman of the
place, inferior in rank to Pya-pee-pat, and an under-collector of the
customs. This was addressed to Mr. Crawfurd, and a sealed copy was sent
for Mr. Prinsep. This states merely that English ships will be received
into the port, on their complying with the usual rules, landing their
guns and small arms at Bankok, paying the usual export and import
duties, and port charges. That the Pia-chulah will assist them in
disposing of their cargoes; and that no more than the usual duties will
be exacted.
_June 17th._--Sufficient time had elapsed since we arrived in this
place, to have enabled us to gain a tolerable acquaintance with the
city and its environs. Unfortunately, however, for my pursuits, it had
so happened, that I was able to turn this tedious and irksome delay
to little advantage; for having been seized with a slight bilious
fever on the passage from the coast of Borneo to that of Cambodia,
which was soon after followed by an attack of pneumonia, attended
with several relapses, I have been reduced to the necessity of keeping
much at home. A few visits to the city have been all that we have yet
accomplished. The country affords but little facility for walking, or
travelling in any way, so that we have been able to penetrate but a
mile or two in any direction, except by water. All attempts to proceed
into the interior, and even to Yuthia, have been jealously watched,
and our requests have been carefully evaded, though not directly
refused. Thus situated, we are but ill qualified as yet to speak of the
agriculture of the country, or the condition of the peasantry. Frequent
conversations with respectable individuals among the natives, together
with what we have ourselves occasionally seen, have given us some
insight into the habits of the people, their manners, their laws, their
religion, &c.
Bankok, as being the capital of the kingdom, deserves to be more
particularly mentioned. Though but of modern date, it has become the
chief city in the kingdom, a distinction which it owes chiefly to
its having been rendered the seat of government, by the Chinese king
Pia-tac. Previous to his time, the place was of little importance, and
noted chiefly for the excellence of its fruits, which were sent in
great abundance to Yuthia, at that time the capital.
The capture and plunder of the ancient city by the Barmans, together
with the disastrous events which followed, induced many of the
inhabitants to abandon the place. Pia-tac collecting the scattered
remains of the dispirited inhabitants around him, was soon in a
condition to establish a new city. The site of Bankok offered several
advantages over that of Yuthia. He constructed a fort on the right bank
of the river, the walls of which, as well as his palace, if a building
of such wretched appearance deserve that name, are still to be seen.
The successes of Pia-tac, in his wars against the Barmans, enabled him
to realize his views with regard to Bankok. Since this time it has
constantly been on the increase. The successors of Pia-tac have had
it equally in view to aggrandize the place. They have built several
new palaces, and other public buildings; but the edifices on which
the greatest care, labour, and expense, have been bestowed, are the
temples, including the usual ornamental building, called Pra-cha-di,
of a spiral form, probably the sepulchral monument of Buddha. The
palace of the present king is situated on the left bank of the river,
nearly opposite to the old palace of Pia-tac, upon an island from
two to three miles in length, though of inconsiderable breadth. The
palace, and indeed almost the whole of this island is surrounded by a
wall, in some parts of considerable height, here and there furnished
with indifferent-looking bastions, and provided with numerous gates
both towards the river and on each side. Both the king and several of
his ministers reside within this space. The persons attached to the
court are very numerous, and also reside here, in wretched huts made
of palm-leaves. There is, in fact, but little distinction between this
place, and other parts of the town, except it be that you see few
Chinese there, and that the shops are of inferior quality. The greater
part, however, of the space included by the wall, consists of waste
ground, swamps, and fruit-gardens.
The city is continuous with the palace, extending on both sides of the
river to the distance of three or four miles; it lies principally on
the left bank, and the most populous as well as the wealthiest part
lies nearly opposite to the house of the Pra-klang, but a little lower
down. The town is built entirely of wood, the palaces of the king,
the temples and the houses of a few chiefs being alone constructed of
brick or mud walls. The mildness of the climate, the cheapness of the
materials used in building, and the few effects of which the natives
are possessed, render them indifferent to the destructive ravages of
fire. The ruin occasioned by this element they regard with perfect
indifference. From the great length which the city occupies along the
banks of the river, it might be supposed to be a place of vast extent:
this, however, is not the case. The Siamese may be said to be aquatic
in their disposition. The houses rarely extend more than one or two
hundred yards from the river, and by far the greater number of them are
floating on bamboo rafts secured close to the bank. The houses that are
not so floated are built on posts driven into the mud, and raised above
the bank, a precaution rendered necessary both by the diurnal flow of
the tides, and the annual inundations to which the country is subject.
It has been said that there are but few, I had almost said, no roads
or even pathways. To every house, floating or not, there is attached a
boat, generally very small, for the use of the family. There is little
travelling but what is performed by water, and hence the arms both
of the women and men acquire a large size from the constant habit of
rowing.
The few streets that Bankok boasts are passable on foot only in
dry weather: the principal shops, however, and the most valuable
merchandise, are found along the river in the floating-houses. These
floating-houses are occupied almost exclusively by Chinese. In the
most populous parts of the town the latter would appear to constitute
at least three-fourths of the whole population; and if we were to
form an estimate of those that are to be seen at all hours moving up
and down the river in boats of various kinds, often forming a very
animated scene, the proportion would be still greater on the side of
the Chinese. There are but very few parts of Bankok where the Chinese
do not appear to exceed the natives in number. The greatest uniformity
prevails in the appearance of the houses--a handsome spire here and
there serves to enliven the view, and these are the only ornaments
which can be said to produce this effect, for the singular architecture
displayed in the construction of the temples and palaces can hardly be
considered in this light.
A more particular account of the floating-houses has been given above:
like every other building in the place, they consist of one floor
only. The houses generally have a neat appearance; they are, for the
most part, thatched with palm-leaves, but sometimes with tiles. They
are divided into several small apartments, of which the Chinese always
allot the central one for the reception of their household gods. The
shops, forming one side of the house, being shut up at night, are
converted into sleeping apartments. The whole is disposed with the
greatest economy of space: even the narrow virandas in front, on
which are usually disposed jars of water, pots with herbs and plants,
bundles of firewood, _&c._ They have become so habituated to this
sort of aquatic life, as scarcely to experience any inconvenience
from it. The walls and floors of the houses are formed of boards, and
considering the nature of the climate, such buildings afford very
comfortable shelter. The houses of the common people are equally
wretched in appearance with those of a common bazar in India. Those
occupied by the Chinese are in general neater and more comfortable.
The latter people are not only the principal merchants, but the only
artificers in the place. The most common trades are those of tin-smith,
blacksmith, and currier. The manufacture of tin vessels is very
considerable, and the utensils being polished bright, and often of very
handsome forms, give an air of extreme neatness to the shops in which
they are displayed. Were it not for the very extraordinary junction
of the trade of currier, such places might readily be mistaken for
silversmiths’ shops. The occupations just mentioned are carried on in
the same shop conjointly, and by the same individuals. The preparation
of leather is carried on to a great extent, not for the purpose of
making shoes, which are scarcely used, but for covering mattresses and
pillows, and for exportation to China. After tanning, the leather is
dyed red with the bark, I believe, of a species of Mimosa. The hides
used are principally those of the deer, which are to be had in the
greatest abundance. Besides these, they use that of the ox and buffalo.
Leopards’, tigers’ skins, _&c._, are preserved with the fur on, and
exported to China. There are, in the place, one or two manufactories
of shallow cast-iron pots, also conducted by Chinese: the process is
extremely simple, and the articles are sold remarkably cheap. From the
practice of these and other trades, the Chinese derive a very handsome
livelihood; they are consequently enabled to procure more generous food
than the natives. It is even a common boast with the labourers of this
class, that they live better than the first chiefs of the country.
Their food, however, is gross and rich to excess; pork is their
principal and favourite diet, oil is reckoned scarce less savoury, and
their vegetables are invariably brought to table floating in a sea of
fat. A Chinese thus expends more money on eating, in one week, than a
Siamese in two or three months, and his superior industry will enable
him to do so.
The food of the Siamese consists chiefly of rice, which is eaten with
a substance called Balachang, a strange compound of things savoury
and loathsome; but in such general use, that no one thinks of eating
without some portion of it. Religion offers but a feeble barrier
against the desire to eat animal food, and the Siamese easily satisfy
their conscience on this score. They conceive that they have obeyed
the injunction of the law, when they themselves have not killed the
animals. They do not hesitate to purchase fish, fowls, _&c._, alive in
the market, desiring the seller to slay them before he delivers them
over, well contented that the crime must remain attached to the latter.
Their devotion, at times, goes the length of inducing them to purchase
numbers of living fish for the purpose of turning them loose again,
and the king has often in this manner given liberty to all the fish
caught on a particular day. Yet the privilege of fishing is sold by
the king to the highest bidder, and from this source he derives a very
considerable annual revenue. The Siamese, however, are more choice in
their food, and less indulgent of their appetites than the Chinese.
The town derives but little architectural ornament from the state
of its public buildings, if we except the sacred edifice called
Pra-cha-di. The palaces are buildings of inconsiderable size
individually, in the Chinese style, covered with a diminishing series
of three or four tiled roofs, sometimes terminated by a small spire,
and more remarkable for singularity than for beauty. The palace of the
king is covered with tin tiles.
Many of the temples cover a large extent of ground; they are placed
in the most elevated and best situations, surrounded by brick walls or
bamboo hedges, and the enclosure contains numerous rows of buildings,
disposed in straight lines. They consist of one spacious, and in
general lofty hall, with narrow but numerous doors and windows. Both
the exterior and interior are studded over with a profusion of minute
and singular ornaments of the most varied description. It is on the
ends, and not on the sides of the exterior of the building, that the
greatest care has been bestowed in the disposition of the ornaments. A
profusion of gilding, bits of looking glass, China basins of various
colours, stuck into the plaster, are amongst the most common materials.
The floor of the temple is elevated several feet above the ground, and
generally boarded or paved, and covered with coarse mats.
The fabulous stories of Hindu theology figure in all the absurdity
that gave them birth, upon the interior walls. The wildest imagination
would seem to have guided the artist’s hand; yet here and there he has
portrayed, by accident, perhaps, more than by design, human passions
with a degree of spirit and of truth worthy of better subjects.
Notwithstanding the great demand there is for painting in this way,
the circumstance is singular and remarkable, that this divine art
should not only continue in its infancy among them, but that their
performances should not even indicate a capacity of attaining to
greater flights. If, as some believe, Asia has given birth to the
arts, the experience of ages has proved that she is quite incapable of
carrying them to perfection.
Here, for the first time, did I observe obscene paintings in a temple
dedicated to Buddha. In Ceylon they would have been deemed altogether
profane. We were amused to find suspended in a very handsome temple,
two coarse paintings of French ladies, in rural costume.
At one end of the temple a sort of altar is raised, on which is placed
the principal figure of Buddha, surrounded by innumerable lesser ones,
and by those of priests; and here and there is disposed the figure
of a deceased king, distinguished by his tall conical cap, peculiar
physiognomy, and rich costume. The figures of Buddha have a cast of
the Tartar countenance, particularly the eye of that race. They are
very commonly disfigured by having tattered umbrellas of cloth or paper
suspended over the head, or tied to it, and by having rags of dirty
cloth wrapped round them, it being reckoned devout to deck the statues
in this way; though as the images are all gilt, and in general well
cast, this gives them a very sorry appearance. It will scarcely be
credited how numerous the images of Buddha are in the temples. They
are disposed with unsparing profusion on the altar, of all sizes, from
one inch to thirty feet in height. In the outer courts of the temple
they are disposed in still greater number. The arrangement observed in
the temple called Wāāt-thay-cham-ponn, may be given as an instance of
what occurs in the rest.
This consists of a number of temples, Pra-cha-dis[10], and buildings
allotted for the accommodation of priests, enclosed in an ample square,
rather more than a quarter of a mile on each side. The principal
temples are further surrounded by a piazza open only towards the
temple, and about twelve or fifteen feet in breadth, and well paved.
Against the back wall, a stout platform of masonry extends round the
temple, on which are placed gilded figures of Buddha, for the most
part considerably larger than the human size, and so close to each
other as to leave no vacant place on the platform. Of these statues the
greater number are made of cast iron, others are made of brass, others
of wood or of clay, and all with careful uniformity. Several hundreds
of such images are thus seen at one glance of the eye. In other and
less spacious passages, minor figures, chiefly of clay or wood, are
heaped together in endless numbers. They would appear to accumulate so
fast, that it seems probable the priests are at times reduced to the
necessity of demolishing hosts of them.
From what has been said, it will be seen that images are here
manufactured in vast numbers. The expense in gilding alone, for every
image is gilt, must be great. Some are of enormous size; in this
temple there is one about thirty feet high. The attendants attempted
to persuade us that it was made of copper, but the application of the
knife proved it to be of hard wood in different pieces. This statue is
erect, and stands alone in a building apparently erected as a covering
for it. The more common posture in which Buddha is represented is that
of sitting cross-legged, in a contemplative attitude, the soles of the
feet turned up. In other instances he is reclining on a pillow, the
attitude also contemplative. These three are the only postures in which
the natives of Ceylon represent him. Here he is to be seen asleep, and,
as I have been told, there are even some figures that represent him as
dead.
The minor arrangements of the temples are hardly deserving of notice.
The apartments allotted for the accommodation of the priests are clean,
neat, substantial, and comfortable, without ornament or superfluity.
The Pra-cha-di of the temple called Wāāt-thay-cham-ponn, is the
handsomest of the kind in Bankok, and indeed deserving of notice on
account of its architectural beauty.
The Pra-cha-di, called, by the Bauddhists of Ceylon, Dagoba, is a solid
building of masonry, without aperture or inlet of any sort, however
large it may be. It is generally built in the neighbourhood of some
temple, but is not itself an object or a place of worship, being always
distinct from the temple itself[11]. In its origin, it would appear to
have been sepulchral, and destined to commemorate either the death of
Buddha, or his translation into heaven. Even at the present time, these
ornamental buildings are thought to contain some relic of Buddha. This
one in particular makes a light and handsome appearance: the lower part
consists of a series of dodecahedral terraces, diminishing gradually
to nearly one half of the whole height, where they are succeeded by a
handsome spire, fluted longitudinally, and ornamented with numerous
circular mouldings. The minor ornaments are numerous, and towards the
summit there is a small globe of glass. The total height would appear
to be about two hundred and fifty feet from the ground.
Minor edifices of this sort are common in every temple. They are in
general raised upon a base of twelve sides, but sometimes of eighteen.
We have no accurate data to enable us to estimate the population
of Bankok. It has been stated that the Chinese constitute at least
one-half of the whole. The remainder is composed of Siamese, native
christians of this place and of Cambodia, Barmans, Peguers, and natives
of the Malay islands and of Laos[12]. These occupy distinct portions of
the town, and associate only with each other.
FOOTNOTES:
[8] This prince, it is understood, has since succeeded to the throne,
and commenced his reign by allowing a general freedom of commerce to
his subjects and foreigners, except in the articles of fire-arms,
opium, and some few royal monopolies, which are still retained.
[9] For an account of the embassy in 1685, from Louis XIV. to the court
of Siam, the reader may consult the work of the jesuit Tachard; Des
Farges’ relation of the revolutions in Siam in 1688; Extracts from a
voyage with the armament of M. du Quesne, in 1690; and also the Memoirs
of Count Forbin, and the Universal History. The French interest was
chiefly indebted for the favourable reception and lofty honours with
which the monarch of Siam was pleased to honour his good friends and
faithful allies, the Chevalier de Chaumont and suite, to the good
offices of Constantine Phaulkon, prime minister of Siam, a native of
Cephalonia, who had commenced his career in the service of the English
company. Can we imagine that the events of those days are forgotten by
the statesmen of Siam?
[10] Literally the roof of the Pra or Lord.
[11] The design of the small chambers in the Pyramids of Egypt has been
variously explained; some considering them as sepulchral depositories,
and others as the adyta of the more sacred and retired mysteries. The
truth possibly may be that each conjecture is correct, and that in the
office of a sepulchral shrine, as well as in form, the Pyramid and the
Dagoba exactly coincide.
Among the Mackenzie collection in the Library of the Honourable East
India Company, is a volume of drawings representing the ruins of
Amarawati, an ancient city on the Kishna river, in which the form of
the interior of the Dagoba, or sepulchre of Buddha is amply illustrated.
Several circumstances and ceremonies in the religion of Buddha would
seem to identify its origin, in a great measure, with that of ancient
Egypt. The physiognomy, the form, and the stature of Buddha are as
distinctly Ethiopic as they are different from those which characterize
the various tribes which inhabit either the western or eastern parts
of the Asiatic continent. That it is a religion foreign to Asia, the
uncertainty which still exists with regard to the country or district
which gave it birth would seem to render probable. The proofs which
have been brought forward in favour of Ceylon, and of Magadha, would
seem to rest upon very slender foundations. Several festivals in this
religion bear a strong resemblance to the ceremonies performed by the
ancient Egyptians on the rising of the Nile. That called Periharah is
of this nature. The Pyramids of Egypt, are they not the prototype of
the Dagobah, or Pra-cha-di? Instead of considering these stupendous
monuments of human labour as the tombs of earthly kings, ought we not
rather to regard them as owing their origin to religious motives? It
is scarcely possible to believe that any other motive could induce men
to undertake or to execute works of such magnitude. The small chambers
found in the interior of some of them might have contained, or at least
had been intended to contain relics, such as bones of their deity.
This conjecture receives confirmation from Sir Everard Home’s account
of those bones which he examined at the desire of Lieutenant-Colonel
Fitzclarence, and which, when compared with the skeletons in the
Hunterian Museum, were decidedly those of the Bos genus. These bones
were found in the sarcophagus of the pyramid of Cephrenes. See
_Fitzclarence’s Route through India and Egypt to England_, page 499.
In addition it may be remarked, that Mnevis and Apis, the sacred
bulls, were considered as emblems of the God of Justice, and that
Dharma Rajah, or the King of Justice, is a very common appellative of
Buddha.--_Editor._
[12] Laou or Laos is the country north of Siam Proper, and immediately
adjoining the southern border of the Chinese province of Yunnan; from
this circumstance, from the reported difference of language, and from
the boundary of Siam not including the Northern Laos, the people of
Laos are, in all probability, nationally distinct from the Siamese.