PLOUGHING A RICE-FIELD.PLOUGHING A RICE-FIELD.
PLOUGHING A RICE-FIELD.
The rice is winnowed by the wind as it is poured from one wide shallow basket to another, and as the chaff flies about in the sunlight its gilded hues mingle with the vivid green of the surrounding landscape, to form behind the well-proportioned forms of the girls and women, a background which is unique in its brilliant combinations of light and colour. The grain is stored in large baskets made of cane and plastered outside with mud. These stand on a raised platform, and are covered by a roof made of leaves. The eye of the farmer grows bright as he regards his well-filled rice-bins, for by their number and contents doeshe measure his wealth. The farmers live together in small villages for mutual protection; but in spite of all their precautions, those who inhabit the more remote portions of the country suffer severely from the depredations of bands of dacoits. During the night, too, the herds of cattle often break out and wander over the fields, doing irreparable damage as they wander from one plantation to another, the absence of all hedges or fences rendering their wanderings merely a matter of choice to themselves.
The rice-mills of Bangkok are constructed after European models, and contain modern machinery; but outside the capital, the primitive mill of earlier days still survives. This is simply a short, broad stump of a tree with a conical hollow inside, the apex of the cone being near the ground. A long lever carries at one end a heavy wooden hammer-head, which falls into the hollow of the stem. It is raised by placing the foot on the other end of the lever, and then jumping up so as to press upon the lever with the whole weight of the body. The women are generally employed in this work, and in any small village you can hear the steady thump, thump of the hammers from morning to night, and see the girls and young women jumping on and off the short end of the lever, with an almost painful regularity and precision.
A great deal of the rice grown in some of the northern provinces is sent to Luang Prabang, the local supply there being insufficient for the wants of the inhabitants. It is sent down the River Mekong on huge rice-rafts made of bamboo.It takes a fairly large crew to manage one of these rafts, and as several members of the party are sure to have a wife or child with them, the whole structure somewhat resembles a floating village. The most usual measurements of these rafts are one hundred and twenty feet long and about thirty feet beam. They are very difficult to manage, but so skilful are the native boatmen, that by means of a number of oars rigged fore and aft, they generally succeed in taking their cumbersome craft through the numerous rapids and eddies, with only occasional or trifling loss of their valuable cargo.
Two curious ceremonies take place each year in connection with the agricultural operations. One is held in connection with the opening of the field season, while the other is an Oriental form of "harvest-thanksgiving." The first ceremony is known as "Raakna" and is generally held about the middle of May. Until the "Ploughing Festival" is over, no one is supposed to plough or sow. On a certain day foretold by the Brahmin astrologers of the court, the Minister for Agriculture, who is always a prince, or a nobleman of high rank, goes in procession to a piece of ground some distance from the city walls. He is for the time being the King's proxy, and on that day many shopkeepers, and holders of stalls in the markets, pay their taxes to him as the representative of their sovereign. Formerly his followers were in the habit of seizing the goods of any shopkeeper which were exposed for sale along the route of the procession, but this arbitrarymanner of collecting dues has, like many other harmful customs, completely disappeared during the reign of the present enlightened monarch.
On reaching the scene of the festival ceremonies, the Minister finds there a new plough with a pair of exceptionally fine buffaloes yoked to it. Both plough and buffaloes are gaily decorated with flowers and leaves. The Minister takes the plough, and for about an hour he guides it over the field, closely watched by the assembled spectators. They do not, however, concentrate their attention upon his skill as a ploughman, but on the length of the piece of silk which forms his lower garment. If, in the course of his amateur agricultural operations, the Minister should pull this garment above his knee, it is believed that excessive and therefore disastrous rains will occur during the wet season. On the other hand, should he allow it to fall to the ankle a great scarcity of rain is anticipated. A prosperous season is foretold when the folds of the garment reach midway between knee and ankle.
When a certain portion of the field has been ploughed, several old women in the King's service, strew grain of different kinds over the recently ploughed land. The animals are unyoked and led up to the scattered grain and allowed to feed upon it. Once more the crowd are on the alert, as they seek for yet other omens. That kind of grain of which the buffaloes most freely partake, will, it is expected, be scarce at the next harvest; the kind they disdain will be reaped in abundance. The ceremony over, the ministerreturns in procession, accompanied by soldiers and military bands; while the brightly dressed, chattering crowds return to their homes to prepare for the ploughing and the sowing, hoping for abundant rain and sunshine, and looking for a fruitful harvest, that thereby they may escape the terrible and remorseless hand of famine.
The harvest-festival ceremonies are of Brahminical origin and are known to the people under the name of "Lo Ching Cha". The first word "Lo" means "to pull"—"ching cha" is "a swing". The place where the "Swinging Festival" is held is inside the city walls. It is a small green lawn situated opposite to a very large temple, and on the edge of a very busy thoroughfare. For three hundred and sixty three days in each year, there is nothing, except the huge pillars of the swing, to draw one's attention to the spot. A few boys playing football or flying kites, a few old women squatting down for a little gossip, or a few Malay grooms with their masters' ponies are the usual everyday occupants of the spot. On the other two days of the year, when the harvest festival is held, every inch of available space is occupied. The native children, unable to see over the heads of the men and women when they are upon the ground, quickly mount the neighbouring walls, and perch themselves in the branches of the trees, or cling, like monkeys, to every lamp-post and telegraph pole within sight of the proceedings. The thoroughfares leading to the place are blocked with innumerable carriages and rickshaws. The crowd is an exceedingly good-tempered one, and brawlingof any kind is very unusual. The distant sound of a military band heralds the approach of another of those processions so dear to the heart of the Siamese. The procession passes through the dense crowd without any trouble, for the people willingly fall back so as not to impede its progress. Strangely coloured banners bearing quaint devices, flutter above the heads of the crowd. A modern military band plays "Marching through Georgia," while an ancient band in tattered vermilion garments with yellow trimmings, bangs curious drums, and pierces the air with the penetrating shrieks of long brass trumpets. The tom-tom and the gong join in the general uproar. The crowd sways to and fro, striving to catch a glimpse of the barefooted soldiers in their brilliant uniforms, or of the numerous articles borne in the procession to indicate the nature and meaning of the festivities. Decorated buffaloes dragging decorated carts, bundles of rice, offerings of fruit and flowers, are all evidences of the thankfulness of the people for the safe ingathering of their harvests.
BUFFALOES RETURNING FROM THE RICE-FIELDS.BUFFALOES RETURNING FROM THE RICE-FIELDS.
BUFFALOES RETURNING FROM THE RICE-FIELDS.
In the centre of the procession, carried in a chair of state on the shoulders of a number of strong well-built men, and shielded from the sun by a huge state umbrella, sits the Master of the Ceremonies resplendent in cloth of gold and jewelled ornaments. At one time the Minister for Agriculture officiated on these occasions, but now a different nobleman is selected each year, whose business it is to organise and superintend all the arrangements for the festival. All eyes turn towards the seated figure in his tall conical hat and jewelled robes. He is carried toa small brick platform, which is draped with the national flag and covered with flowers. He takes his seat, with two Brahmin priests on his right hand and two on his left. He places his right foot on his left knee, the left foot resting upon the ground. After having once seated himself in this position he is not allowed to remove his foot off his knee until the whole ceremony is finished. As this lasts about two hours, the presiding nobleman must be fairly uncomfortable by the time it is over. The penalty for moving the foot was, formerly, the confiscation of the culprit's property and the loss of his rank, in addition to any immediate ill-usage the attendant priests might think fit to bestow upon him; but this is now all done away with, and the only deterrent influence brought to bear upon the temporary sufferer is the opinion of the people, who would feel deeply hurt and disappointed should any detail of their well-beloved ceremony be omitted.
The attention of the crowd is next directed to the performance of the swinging games. The swing itself is like any ordinary child's swing except for its enormous size. The side pillars are about ninety feet high, and the seat of the swing is about half-way between the ornamented cross-bar and the ground. A few feet in front of the seat, on the side towards the Palace, a long bamboo-stem is fixed in the ground, and from the top is suspended a small bag of silver coins. The men who take part in the games are usually Brahmins. They are dressed in white, and wear conical hats. They swing towards the bag ofmoney and endeavour to catch it with their teeth. There are generally three competitors; the prizes for the first being worth about fifteen shillings, while for the second and third they are worth about ten and five shillings respectively. When the winners have received their rewards they pass amongst the crowd, sprinkling the spectators with consecrated water contained in bullocks' horns. Soon afterwards the Minister returns to his home, the crowd disperses, and thus this very ancient ceremony is brought to a close.
Recent years have witnessed great changes in the methods of governing and judging the people. In nothing is the distinction between Old and Young Siam so definitely marked. But it is the old order of things that will chiefly concern us in this chapter, for the new order, though indicative of great progress, has been carried out by Western minds in imitation of Western methods, and it therefore presents little which is of intrinsic interest to the student of foreign customs. But as any account of the country's laws and legislation would be incomplete without some mention of modern reforms, a brief account of some of the most important of them is here given.
The King is theoretically an absolute monarch with power to control the life and property of every one of his subjects. But he appointed a Cabinet to assist him in carrying on the government of his country, and it is very doubtful whether he would now care to exercise his despotic authority to the full, should he by so doing incur the combined opposition of the Cabinet he has created. There are twelve ministers in this Cabinet, who hold portfolios and seats. They are
The Cabinet holds its business meetings at night. They begin about eight o'clock and sit on through the cool dark hours of the night and early morning. The king may or may not be present.
Last year an additional legislative body was established, under the name of "The Legislative Council". The members of the Cabinet are all members of the Legislative Council, but many others have been added. They do not hold their meetings in secret, like the older body, and they also call in outsiders, both foreign and native, when they want professional advice on any matter. They have appointed a number of sub-committees, of each of which some European servant of the Government is a member. They are concerned with the reform of old laws and the devising of new ones. One article in the decree that appointed this Assembly is sufficient to show how the king has gradually but voluntarily resigned the position of a pure despot. Until the formation of this Council no law could pass into action, and no reform or new law could even be initiated without the express written sanction of the king. During recent years he has been at times seriously ill for many weeks together. Naturally everything came to a stand-still.
Now the new body of councillors has been specially requested to introduce and discuss new laws and regulations, and it has been further empowered to put into operation any law that it may pass, without the authority of the king, provided he is not at the time sufficiently well in health to attend to business. He, however, reserves to himself the right to amend the law should he afterwards think fit. Those who know anything of the present king will recognise the wisdom of this arrangement, for he can always be depended upon not to destroy but tostimulate everything which makes for the happiness of his people.
Each province has at its head a Royal Commissioner who has extensive powers, but who holds office at the pleasure of the king, though in the first instance his appointment is generally for some definite period. The Commissioners are not simply responsible for the good government, or for the collection of the taxes in the district under their charge, but they are intended to form connecting links between the central and the outlying portions of the kingdom. For in faraway provinces, powerful and enterprising chiefs occasionally find it convenient to forget the fact that they are not independent monarchs. The appointment of Royal Commissioners was very much resented by some of the chiefs, especially by those who had previously reigned with the title and dignity of sovereigns. Amongst these was the "King of Luang Prabang," who had for many years governed the province of Luang Prabang under the above title. It has been stated that this man is the only man in the country, except the king, who can boast a purely Siamese descent. Everyone else has some foreign blood in his veins. At any rate, this so-called king belonged to one of the oldest families in the land. When the new Commissioners were appointed, a very young man was sent to take over the government of this province. On nearing the scene of his new labours, he sent word to the old chief to tell him of his arrival, and to demand a formal and elaborate reception to be made for him, as a mark of respectto the sovereign whose orders he had come to execute. The old man went himself to meet the new arrival, indulging in a good deal of grumbling by the way, and wondering why there was any necessity to make such a fuss. When he found to what extent he was to be superseded in the government of his ancient domain, his grief and anger knew no bounds, but as he was powerless to resent he had to content himself with grumbling and moaning. He rather pertinently asked why the young king had sent a young man to control an old chief who had so long done his duty faithfully and well. One day the Commissioner heard the deposed governor addressed by the people, with the title of "king." He at once forbade the repetition of the word, saying, "There is but one king in Siam." The old man smarted not a little under what he considered was a new insult, but he restrained any outward expression of his feelings. Not long after this occurrence the Commissioner found that the chief had in his possession a state umbrella with the number of tiers used by royalty. He ordered two of these to be at once removed, and his order was obeyed. The insulted chief got his revenge at last, when the French took the province of Luang Prabang. M. Pavie, the French Commissioner, and formerly French Minister in Bangkok, sent the Siamese representative about his business, and invited the old chief to an interview. When the chief arrived, M. Pavie asked him if there was anything he wanted either for himself or his people. The old man related his loss of dignity and title, and begged that he might be allowed torepair his umbrella, and call himself "king" once more. "Certainly," said M. Pavie, with diplomatic condescension, "call yourself 'king' if you like, and as to the umbrella, add two tiers or twenty, just as you please." The remade king was delighted, and returned home exceedingly glad at heart at the complete restoration of his royal name and furniture. The majority of the Commissioners, as well as the chief members of the Cabinet and of the Legislative Council are relatives of the king.
Siam possesses an excellent code of laws. They are, in the main, just and well suited to the people for whom they were intended. There are faulty laws amongst them, and there are a few that are barbarous or cruel, but these, be it said to the credit of the present government, are never enforced. The faults of Siam's legislative system do not lie in the laws themselves, but in the administration of them. Bribery has been the curse of every court throughout the country. Bribed judges and perjured witnesses have hindered the operations of laws that would have been powerful for good, and have converted what should have been halls of justice into houses of oppression. The venial judge could be publicly flogged, but when the other judges and the witnesses were all also venial, no righteous accuser could be found. The system has existed for so many years that the people have got accustomed to it, and look upon bribery as a necessary and natural part of any legal proceedings. The prolongation of the different lawsuits meant more and more profit to the judge, and so adjournmentswere indulged inad infinitum. In this way thousands of cases have accumulated; and up to a few months ago the condition of affairs was so bad that the most just of judges might have been forgiven for preferring to leave alone the legal dust and uncleanliness accumulated by his predecessors. One of the most beneficial results that has followed the appointment of the Legislative Council, has been an enquiry into the character and causes of the defective administration of justice. A party of Belgian lawyers, assisted by a few Siamese lawyers trained for their profession in foreign countries, set to work to overhaul the courts and cases. They cleared off the legal arrears at the rate of scores each week. They found men who had been lying in gaol for years, without trial, for some trivial offence. In many instances the plaintiff who had originally entered the case was dead, or could not be found. These unfortunate sufferers they released at once. They discovered numerous examples of cruel or excessive sentences, which they reduced or annulled. To prevent further accumulations they assisted the native judges in trying all new cases as they came up day by day, giving them in this way, many a valuable object lesson in the administration of justice, though not without occasional hindrances from the judges, and even from the litigants themselves. One day an old woman went to one of the new foreign judges, crouched at his feet, and sobbed out a bitter tale of cruel wrong. She was engaged in some trivial lawsuit with a relative, and she alleged that shecould not get her rights because the judge was receiving bribes. "My cousin," said she, "sends the judge presents of flowers and fruit, and I know what is hidden in the basket." She dwelt on the enormity of the offence and the suffering she endured thereby, and the foreigner listened with great interest. At last he remarked, "Well, what do you want me to do for you?" The woman, her eyes bright with hope, answered him, "Next week the case is coming before you, and if you will only pronounce a verdict in my favour, I too will make you a present of fruit and flowers."
The laws of the country do not admit of being catalogued or described in any brief manner, as they occupy seventy volumes of closely printed Siamese, a mass of legal literature which it is obviously impossible to condense for the purposes of this chapter.
There are two courts for the trial of criminal cases, and a number of minor courts for the trial of civil cases in Bangkok. There is also an International Court where the subjects of different nations attempt to settle their differences with the natives. As far as Englishmen are concerned, this court is practically useless; for owing to the lackadaisical manner in which the affairs of Englishmen are dealt with by the members of the British consulate, the native judges know full well that they can always give their own countrymen every possible benefit of the slightest doubt. A remark once made by a Siamese to an English resident is only too true—"What good are your Consuls and Ministersto you? If I bring a case against you in your court, I shall win it, and if you bring a case against me in my court, I am equally certain you will lose it."
There are provincial courts for dealing with minor offences in the outlying districts, but the judges in these courts have no power to sentence a man to death unless such power is directly given them by the king himself.
The course of procedure in any court is simple but slow. The plaintiff presents his case in writing. This is neatly copied by the clerks, and then read to the complainant in order to see that no inaccuracy occurs. If he signifies that the document so read, is a faithful reproduction of the original, it is folded up and fastened with a bit of wax or soft mud, on which he impresses his private seal, that is, the mark of his thumb-nail. A synopsis of the plaint is sent to the defendant, who makes his answer in writing, which is similarly copied and sealed. A day for hearing the case is appointed, but the litigants are called together before the day of trial, with a view to settling the matter privately. If these efforts at conciliation prove unfruitful, the depositions are read before subordinate judges, who, after considering the case, make their award in writing. Their written judgment is forwarded to the chief judge and he pronounces the sentence. The chief judge has full powers, but an appeal to the king is allowable. This privilege is more or less a dead letter, as it would be practically impossible for a poor man to get his appeal brought before the notice of his sovereign.
Very few of the courts have a legal aspect. The judge reclines at one end of the room, on a mat placed on the floor. Under his arm is a three-cornered pillow. He smokes, drinks tea, chews betel-nut, and spits during the whole course of the trial, and his example is followed by the policemen, witnesses, lawyers and spectators.
A long and terrible oath is administered to each witness. It runs as follows: "I, ——, who have been brought here as an evidence in this matter, do now in presence of the divine Buddha declare that I am wholly unprejudiced against either party, and uninfluenced in any way by the opinions or advice of others, and that no prospects of pecuniary advantages or of advancement to office have been held out to me. I also declare that I have not received any bribes on this occasion. If what I have now spoken be false, or if in my further averments I should colour or pervert the truth so as to lead the judgment of others astray, may the three holy existences before whom I now stand, together with the glorious Devattas of the twenty-two firmaments, punish me.
"If I have not seen, yet shall say that I have seen—if I shall say that I know that which I do not know, then may I be thus punished. Should innumerable descents of the Deity happen for the salvation and regeneration of mankind, may my erring and migrating soul be found beyond the pale of their mercy. Wherever I go, may I be encompassed by dangers and not escape from them, whether arising from murderers, spirits of the ground, robbers,spirits of the forest, of the water, of the air, or from all the angels, or from the gods of the four elements and all other spirits. May blood flow out of every pore of my body, that my crime may be made manifest to the world. May all or any of these evils overtake me three days hence. Or may I never stir from the place on which I now stand; or may the 'lash of the sky'[F]cut me in twain, so that I may be exposed to the derision of the people; or if I should be walking abroad, may I be torn in pieces by either of the four preternaturally endowed lions, or destroyed by poisonous herbs or venomous snakes. When in the waters of the river or ocean may alligators and large fishes devour me; or may the winds or waves overwhelm me; or may the dread of such evils keep me during my life a prisoner at home, estranged from every pleasure; or may I be afflicted by the intolerable oppressions of my superiors; or may cholera cause my death, after which may I be precipitated into hell, there to go through innumerable stages of torture; amongst which, may I be condemned to carry water over the flaming regions, in open wicker baskets, to assuage the heat felt by the judge of hell when he enters the infernal courts of justice, and thereafter may I fall into the lowest pit of hell. Or if these miseries should not ensue, may I after death migrate into the body of a slave, and suffer all the hardships and pain attending the worst state of such a being, during a period of years measured by the sands of the four seas; or may I animate the body of ananimal or beast during five hundred generations; or endure in the body of a deaf, blind, dumb, homeless beggar, every species of loathsome disease during the same number of generations, and then may I be hurried to the bottomless pit, there to be crucified by the king of hell."[G]
The old code contains a list of persons who are not to be allowed to give evidence. So many people must have been excluded from the witness-box by the old regulations, that one wonders how they ever could have obtained any evidence at all had they obeyed the regulations completely. For instance, none of the following persons could be called to give evidence:—Drunkards, opium-smokers, gamblers, notorious vagabonds, goldsmiths, braziers, blacksmiths, shoe-makers, executioners, beggars, potters, dancing women, women who had been married three times, adulterers, clerks, orphans, players, jugglers, acrobats, undutiful children, atheists, slaves, friends of either party, enemies of either party, quacks, liars, and sorcerers. Physical defects excluded unmarried or pregnant women, the blind, halt, deaf, people above seventy years old and children under seven, dying people, and persons suffering from any loathsome disease. Intellectual defects prohibited the giving of evidence by those who could not read, could not count up to ten, and who did not know the names of the eight cardinal sins. On the other hand, this curious old code directed that special attention should be given to the testimony of men of good learning and of known good character.
It was sometimes considered necessary to make a supposed criminal confess. To that end, provided he could not be persuaded by gentler means, the prisoner received ninety lashes on his bare back, with a rattan rod. Time was given for the cuts to heal, and then the experiment was repeated. A time for healing again intervened and then a third flogging settled the matter, for if the man did not confess under the third application of the rod, he was considered innocent. The fear of the punishment that awaited those who did not confess, must often have caused many innocent persons to declare themselves guilty. Flogging was not the only aid to confession. A modification of the thumb-screw in the form of a split bamboo, was held to possess a strong persuasive influence.
One or two very ancient customs still linger. Thus both plaintiff and defendant are expected to provide bail when bail is demanded. And in serious cases where bail is not given, the plaintiff has to go to prison with the defendant until the case is tried. This regulation doubtless often prevents false accusations being made, but it has its severe side, as shown by the fact that a woman who had been plaintiff in a case, was recently released from prison by the new judges, after lying in confinement for over three years. The defendant, moreover, had been allowed to go scot-free many months before.
Again, the relatives of a man are held security for his good behaviour, and the inhabitants of any neighbourhood are liable to fines and taxes if murders or suicides takeplace amongst them. These laws if strictly enforced in a country where people rarely leave their own neighbourhood, would render the detection of criminals a fairly easy matter. They are sometimes enforced when it suits the authorities to carry them out.
An incident that came under the personal knowledge of the writer will perhaps illustrate in a general way some of the merits and demerits of the native method of apprehending offenders. During the Franco-Siamese trouble, the natives naturally felt rather unfriendly towards their enemies, and not being able to distinguish between the subjects of one foreign nation and another, they exhibited their displeasure towards all white men alike. An Englishman who was in the Siamese Government Service, was one afternoon taking a walk in the outskirts of the city, accompanied by two ladies. Suddenly he felt a hard blow on the ear, and at the same instant a brick went whizzing past with great velocity. He turned round to see from where the missile came, only to find a barefooted, half-naked native going down the road as fast as he could run. He mentioned the matter the next day to the Minister in charge of the department in which he was employed. His chief very kindly reported the matter to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, who promised that some attempt should be made to arrest the offender. A policeman was sent to the place where the offence occurred, to make enquiries. He promptly arrested the first loafer he saw, and accused him of the offence. The man denied the charge, but saidhe could give information as to the name and residence of the man who was wanted. He then took the policeman to the house where the culprit lived. The official went into the place and asked for the man. His relatives professed complete ignorance as to his whereabouts. The policeman then gave them a week in which to find him, and reminded them that if the man were not found by that time he should be compelled to arrest the whole family. Within a week they handed over the culprit. He was taken before the judge and charged with assault. He confessed, and was sentenced to imprisonment for a definite time. All this time the complainant was not summoned to appear; he was not asked to identify the man, or to prosecute in any way. In fact, he knew nothing at all about it until he received a letter from the officials telling him that his assailant was in jail, and that if he wanted to interview the prisoner he would be permitted to do so.
Many minor offences are punished with flogging. The man's hands and feet are loosely fastened to a bamboo framework, and he is then thrashed on the bare back, with a rattan rod. Deserters from the army are thus punished. But in all cases a timely bribe will lighten the weight of the descending rod, the guilty man meanwhile not forgetting to howl and groan his loudest, so that the official who superintends the execution of the punishment may not discover the fraud. The late king is reported to have been very fond of this method of punishment, and to have ordered frequent chastisement of his chief officials in hisown presence whenever he had cause, or thought he had cause, to be seriously offended with them.
The punishment for murder is death by decapitation. Those who are reprieved through the mercy of the king, lose their titles, rank and property, and are branded on the arm. They are then condemned to the degrading office of cutting grass for the king's elephants. They are not allowed to hire anyone to perform their duties for them, but are obliged to do the work set them until death puts an end to their tasks.
The execution of the death penalty is an impressive if barbarous ceremony. Such occasions are very rare, and constitute about the only events that are not attended with merry-making. The laughing, joking, merry-hearted native forgets for once to chatter and be glad. The interior of a court, a palace, a gaol, or a temple exercises no restraining influence upon the voluble tongues of the people. But in the presence of the executioners a deathly silence falls upon the whole of the spectators, which is all the more intense and real by reason of its rare occurrence. At the break of day, near a lonely temple on the banks of a lonely canal, some distance from the city walls, the prisoner is led to the spot where he must pay for life with life. His feet and wrists are firmly manacled, and the clink-clank, clink-clank of the chains in the still morning air is the only sound heard as the vermilion-robed executioners bring their victim forth. Presently the sound of chanting arises, and the brethren of the yellow robe intonethe prayers for the dead. The man's neck is fastened to a bundle of bamboos, but he realises very little of what is taking place, for the executioners, with a merciful consideration worthy of much imitation in other walks of life, have thrown their victim into a state of stupor by means of a powerful drug. Into his ears they have rammed plugs of soft clay or mud, so that in case the drug should fail, the wretched creature shall not hear their steps when they come behind him to deliver the fatal blow. The executioners next plead to Buddha for forgiveness, for they are about to break the well-observed law, "Thou shalt not kill." They plead the command of the king and the requirements of justice, and prostrate themselves on the ground. Their prayers over, a silent signal is given, the red-robed figure comes silently and slowly along with a quaint dancing gait; he raises his keen-edged blade on high, and with one sweep of the weapon severs the head from the trunk. The head is set up on a pole as a warning to those present; the feet and hands of the victim are hacked off; the fetters collected, and the crowd disperses silently, with the ominous croaking of many birds of prey impressing the meaning of the lesson upon their mournful hearts.
Death is essentially awe-inspiring and mysterious, and in the case of a people whose lives, from the cradle upwards, are lived in an atmosphere of superstition, it is only to be expected that the ceremonies for the dead should be duly and respectfully performed.
A ROYAL FUNERAL PROCESSION.A ROYAL FUNERAL PROCESSION.Page245.
A ROYAL FUNERAL PROCESSION.Page245.
When a person is at the point of death, those by the bedside endeavour to fix the thoughts of the dying one upon the "Great Teacher," whose words are their hope and guide at such a time. Loudly and rapidly, at least eight or ten times a minute, the watchers exclaim, "Pra Arahang, Pra Arahang," this being one of the many names of the last Buddha. With the mind dwelling upon the precepts of the ancient sage, the sick one passes from this world of men, and the body lies stiff in death. Still the cry goes forth, louder and more rapidly than before, "Pra Arahang, Pra Arahang," so that the departed soul may not forget the teacher as it takes its flight into another world. The cry ceases not until the spirit has passed so far away that all hope of it hearing the voices of earthly relatives must be abandoned. Then loud wailing, thenatural world-wide expression of uncontrollable grief, is heard all over the house. Even the visitors, the domestics, the slaves and others who might not be supposed to be so deeply affected by the loss of the one who has passed away, join in the mournful chorus, as a fitting way of showing their respect for the dead. If the person is of high rank the body is bathed with great ceremony. The king himself comes to the bedside to pour water over the corpse. Other princes follow his example, after whom come the nobles present, according to their rank. The corpse is dressed in pantaloons and a tight-fitting jacket, wrapped in a winding-sheet and placed in a sitting posture in a copper urn. A tube is placed in the mouth, and a mixture of quicksilver and honey poured into the body. The copper urn, which has a grating at the bottom, is next placed inside a golden urn richly studded with precious stones. At the bottom of this urn there is a stop-cock through which the products of decomposition are drained away day by day, in the interval that elapses between the death and the cremation of the body. As the urn is placed on a high pedestal a loud blast is blown upon the trumpets, the ancient conch shell is sounded, the wailing of relatives and friends bursts out afresh, and the band plays sorrowfully a weird funeral dirge. This noisy demonstration is known as "the invitation to the corpse to sit upon the platform." All the insignia of office belonging to the deceased are arranged at the foot of the urn, together with those articles he has continually usedin his daily life, such as his cigar case, his golden betel-nut box, his spittoon, his jewellery, and his writing materials. At dawn, at noon, and again at early evening, the women relatives and domestics gather round the base of the pedestal to indulge in loud and tearful moans. In the intervals between these demonstrations of sorrow, the priests occupy the room, chanting the prayers for the dead and other stanzas from their religious texts appropriate to the occasion. The remains are kept for a long time, sometimes for several years before they are burned.
All people are not cremated. If a man has committed suicide, or died a sudden death, as by lightning, cholera, or small-pox, he is held to be deficient in "merit" and not worth burning. Such people are buried. It may here be noticed how little wood is really required to burn a body. About two armfuls of fuel will reduce a corpse to ashes.
Upon the death of a king, it is the duty of his successor to make preparations for the cremation. The royal burnings take place on an open piece of ground in front of the Royal Palace in Bangkok, called the "Pramane Ground." The word "Pramane" is the name of the structure erected for the ceremony. A square is marked out on the ground, with its sides about forty feet long. At the angles of the square are placed four huge pillars of teak about two hundred feet long. These pillars must be straight, of the finest timber to be found in the kingdom, and must never have been used in any previous ceremony. They leantowards each other at the top, forming a truncated pyramid, and support a pyramidal structure which ends in a tall tapering spire and is profusely decorated with gold-leaf and tinsel. A large fence of newly cut bamboo is erected to enclose the central erection—the pramane. In three sides of the fence, gates are placed midway. Inside the fence there are a number of temporary buildings, one for the priests, one for the king and royal family, and another for specially invited visitors. The king's pavilion is easily distinguishable from the rest by its wealth of crimson drapery and cloth of gold. The floor of the enclosure is covered with a carpet of split bamboos, which has been specially made for the occasion and may never again be used for a similar purpose. At many points in the fence, royal seven-tiered umbrellas of cloth of gold reflect the powerful sunlight with dazzling brilliancy. Outside the enclosure another set of buildings is provided for the use of the officials, while over the rest of the ground are scattered theatres, puppet-shows, shadow plays and other forms of amusement. Under the central pagoda is a royal throne richly draped, and an eight-sided pyramid which rests upon a firm platform. From the centre of the roof hangs a circular awning, from which long strips of crape, white silk, and cloth of gold are carried to the four corners of the pramane. The eight-sided pyramid is the resting-place of the urn, and has a special canopy of cloth of gold. Floral wreaths and other decorations, made with marvellous skill and taste, are displayed in every available spot, whilebits of glass and porcelain adorn the pillars and reflect the light of the sun by day, and of the torches and lamps by night. After sunset a general illumination of the whole place occurs. It is produced by thousands of torches, oil lamps and Chinese lanterns.
At dawn, on the first day of the celebration of the funeral rites, the corpse is taken in a car to the scene of the ceremonies. The first carriage in the sad procession is occupied by the high priest. As it moves slowly along, he reads from the Buddhist scriptures the passages on death, and fixes his thoughts upon the fleeting nature of this earthly life. The second carriage contains the favourite children of the deceased monarch, while the third is the funeral car. The high priest holds in his hands, pressed closely against the sacred book, one end of a long strip of silver ribbon. The ribbon is carried backwards, passes through the hands of the children, and is fastened at the other end to the golden urn which contains the remains. As the priest reads, holy influences pass from the sacred words through the ribbon to the living bodies of the children and the dead body of their royal father. Other carriages follow the funeral car, one of which contains sticks of fragrant wood, with gilded ends—the fuel for the burning. Another is filled with representations of fabulous animals made in bamboo and covered with tinsel. The head and tail of the funeral procession are formed by the white-robed Brahmins in their usual conical hats. The throbbing of the death-drums falls upon the ear with a dull regular boom, boom, boom.
On arriving at the Pramane, the urn is placed upon the pagoda, there to remain for seven days. The silver ribbon is fastened in the middle to the urn, and at the ends to the east and west sides of the room, thus indicating the path traversed by the sun in his daily round, and symbolising the life of man in its passage from the cradle to the grave. The priests assemble in great numbers to recite stanzas bearing upon life and death, and upon the mysteries of Nirvana and the hereafter. When their recitations are finished, they sit for a little while, with bent heads, in silent meditation upon the things they have spoken. They retire for a time, but return a few hours later to repeat their solemn chants.
The mourning colour is white, and every subject must wear it when the sovereign dies. Unfortunately black is being gradually substituted for white. It is a very hot and ugly colour to wear in a tropical land. Every subject must also shave completely the hair of his head, and keep his head in this condition of baldness as long as the Court may command.
Thousands of priests are on such occasions fed, and presented with new robes, and books, and a crowd of miscellaneous articles, such as clocks, boxes of cigars, trays of betel-nut, and umbrellas.
Here and there on the Pramane Ground are placed the "trees that gratify the desires of men." They have no likeness to any tree at all, but are hollow wicker baskets on the ends of long poles. Tied to the "branches" are anumber of fresh limes, each of which contains either a small silver coin or a lottery ticket. They are supposed to represent the four trees that will blossom at the four corners of the city in which the next Buddha will be born. They will then produce all kinds of delicious fruit in fabulous quantities. In the evening men go up the wicker 'tree,' pluck off the limes and throw them to the crowd. The greatest excitement prevails, and the people shriek and shout, and tumble over each other in their endeavours to obtain one of the coveted souvenirs.
A display of fireworks follows the distribution of limes. Birds, water-spouts, "bellowing elephants," and many other fantastic forms blaze, fizz, and explode. When the last spark has disappeared the first sound of orchestral music is heard, and free open-air theatres, puppet-shows, and shadow plays offer their several attractions for the amusement of the people.
On the seventh day the urn of gold is taken from under the canopy, and the copper one removed from it. All the inflammable drapery, and all articles of any value are carried away to be beyond reach of flame. A pile of fragrant wood and spices is neatly arranged, and then the urn is placed thereon. A quick-burning fuse or train of gunpowder is laid from the funeral pyre to the king's pavilion. At the proper time, about sunset usually, he ignites the fuse with sacred fire from the royal temple. Everyone who is permitted, goes at once to the pramane, lights a candle, and lays it in the fire, thereby increasing the brilliancy and intensityof the fire. Great care has to be taken to prevent the whole structure and the surrounding buildings being consumed in a general conflagration. Many people are engaged in extinguishing the fire at places where it threatens to exceed its proper limits. In about an hour the cremation of the body is complete, and the fire is everywhere carefully extinguished. The charred bones are placed in the golden urn once more, the original pyramid rebuilt, and the draperies replaced as before. The ashes of the fire are collected, wrapped up in muslin, placed on a golden dish, taken in a procession of state barges some distance down the river, and there thrown into the waters. For three days after the burning the festivities are kept up, and general rejoicing prevails amongst the crowd. The charred remains are kept in a room in the palace, specially set aside for the reception of the royal remains. The timber used in the construction of the pramane or of any of the attendant buildings, can never be used again for funeral purposes. It is distributed to the priests to be used by them in the erection or repairing of their dwellings.
Such then is the ceremony that attends the death of a king. Other members of the royal family and all princes and nobles of high rank are also cremated with great pomp and with a lavish expenditure of money. As the king's household is a very large one, and as a few deaths occur every year, it would involve a fearful waste of time and money if a separate funeral service were held for each of them in turn. One by one as deaths occur, the deadbodies are placed in the copper urn, and this again in the golden one, until a fairly large number await their cremation. In 1895 a royal funeral ceremony was held that lasted for a week, several bodies being burnt every day. The illustration, "A Royal Funeral Procession", was made in connection with this particular ceremony. The boxes seen passing through one of the city gates were the coffins of the least honoured or distinguished of the dead. Such a cremation, though performed with great state, is not nearly so imposing as that connected with the death of a king.