18 FEBRUARY 1928, Page 13

Correspondence

A LETTER FROM SIAM.

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sra,—The recent entry of a white elephant into Bangkok was of more than ceremonial interest, for it gave a unique glimpse into the ancient and picturesque life of Siam. In the past, the Siamese and their neighbours the Burmese and the Cam- bodians venerated white animals, believing, according to the Buddhist doctrine of transmigration, that these were inhabited by the souls of superior beings. The idea arose that a white elephant, the greatest of them all, sheltered the soul of a Buddha ; and consequently white elephants were held in the highest reverence, and kings were eager to possess them as most desirable omens of prosperity. Elaborate Brahmanic and Buddhist ceremonials were devised to celebrate their capture and entry into the capital, and on occasion they were the cause of fierce war.

Burma and Cambodia are now no longer independent and Siam remains the last stronghold of the cult. The last white elephant before this one was found eleven years ago in the reign of King Vajiravudh and brought to Bangkok very quietly. But the present ruler, King Prajadipok, decreed that the new elephant, which was born in captivity about a year ago on a teak estate of the Borneo Company, should be received with the ancient ceremonial. And it was obvious from the enormous crowds that watched the processions that the populace still considers a white elephant to be a very happy omen for the prosperity of the country.

In the past Siam relied entirely on waterways for communi- cation, and when a white elephant was captured a path was cut for it through the forest to the nearest point of the River Menam, the great artery of Siam, and it was floated down to Ayut'ia, the ancient capital, or to Bangkok, the modern capital, on a decorated raft. But as the present elephant was born near Chiengmai, in the far north, to float him down would have been tedious and difficult. So he came, in very modern style, by railway. The occasion of his departure was a great one in Chiengmai, and coincided with the birthday celebrations of the King and with the old Brahmin ceremony of loi kratong, in which at full moon and flood water little lighted boats are floated off to appease the river spirits. The baby, who as yet is under five feet high, left Chiengmai on November 9th, with his mother, in a specially built compart- ment, complete with electric fans and shower bath. After various stops at towns on the way, he arrived in Bangkok on November 15th, and was received at the royal station by the King.

Of course, a white elephant is not actually white, and the correct translation of the Siamese is " albino elephant " : the best specimens known have been a pink-grey colour. The present one is copper-coloured, and it is predicted that he will become lighter as he grows up. His mother is an ordinary grey elephant who has passed most of her life hauling teak logs. He passed under an archway decorated with branches of trees called. the " good-bye to the forest," and took his place in a procession in which he was preceded by three tusker white

elephants and native bands in traditional costumes. The ptq- cession passed to the Dusit Palace of the King, where the white elephant and his mother were received in a richly decorated pavilion which is to be his future home. Here., in the presence of the King and Queen, Brahmin priests chanted a long incantation extolling his grace and beauty.

Part of the palace grounds was thrown open to the general public, where performances of Siamese plays, dancing, and shadow plays were given, now rarely seen since the cinema invaded Siam. When darkness fell, the King, sitting alone upon a dais, watched an old lantern dance of Annamite-Cfiinese origin. There were a hundred or more men dancers, each holdhig lotus-shaped lamps, who swayed and gyrated and formed patterns of light to the quick chromatic music of a native orchestra. Near them two huge and brightly lit serpents, supported on poles by other dancers, writhed and circled pursuing elusive balls of light. The combined effect was one of extraordinary charm.

The next day, at twenty-six minutes and twenty-four seconds past nine in the morning, an auspicious time calculated by the Court Astrologer, the King anointed the baby with lustre' waters to a triumphant discord of reed pipes, conch shells, and drums, and then conferred on him his formal title—P'ra Sawate Kojadej Dilok (Most Magnificent White Lord), by giving him sugar-cane to eat on which this name was inscribed.

After the King and Queen took their seats in a high pavilion surrounded by officials in uniform brilliant with orders and decorations, and watched the march-past of an historic pro- cession of a kind not seen for many years, in which the Siamese genius for pageantry found full expression. The King, the Queen, the Queen Mothers of the two previous reigns, and the Royal Princesses all took part, each section of the pageant being headed by a girl carrying a harb, the double basket slung on a shoulder pole and containing gifts for the priests in honour of the elephant. The twenty-two Queens and Prin- cesses each had a troupe of twenty-six girls dressed as Indians, Malays, Chinese, Persians, as flowers and feacocks, as soldiers and courtiers, and most lavishly and magnificently equipped. The general effect was a thing to remain long in the memory, a moving stream of colour in the bright sunshine passing between green trees and white pavilions.

When evening came the Brahmin priests once more chanted their lullaby to the elephant, and then the baby was left, after he had distributed gifts to the priests through an inter- mediary, to contemplate the years ahead.—I am, Sir, &c., YOUR SIAM CORRESPONDENT.