CHAPTER VII.
CEREMONIES FOR THE DYING AND DEAD.
The Siamese dispose of their dead by cremation. When a prince of rank is found to be near death, the relatives suspend every other care, and assist in giving the departing spirit as good a passport as possible into the spirit land. Every effort is made to fix the thoughts of the dying man on Budha. They take their turns in calling out as loudly, and distinctly as possible, "Pra Arahang," one of the names of Budha. It is uttered as much as eight times in a minute, so that it is impossible to hear anything else. This seems to be the "Extreme Unction" of the Budhist. When all evidence of the dying man's hearing is past, the attendant friends will raise their voices to a stunning pitch, hoping that the departing spirit may still hear Pra Arahang. After it is thought Pra Arahang can be no longer heard, the most uncontrollable wailing is commenced, which can be heard to a great distance. The friends of the deceased, household slaves, and all, engage in this outburst of grief.
When a prince of high rank has died, the King visits the house of mourning and bathes the corpse with water, with his own hands. After him other princes present come forward, and pour a dipper of water upon the corpse. Next comes the nobles who are present, according to their rank, and do the same. When all the princes and nobles present have performed this office, certain officials present proceed to dress the corpse. They put on it a pair of tight-fitting pantaloons, and a tight jacket. Over these they apply a winding-sheet, wrapping it as tightly as possible. Quicksilver is also poured down the throat. The corpse is then placed in a copper urn, in a sitting posture. This copper urn is then placed inside of a golden urn. The inner urn has a grating at the bottom, and the outer one has a stop-cock, by which the juices flowing from the body are daily drawn off, until it becomes perfectly dry. The King usually remains until the corpse has been placed in the urn, and that placed on an elevated platform, ascending by three gradations to the height of about five feet. Whilst the corpse is being thus elevated, conch-shell blowers and trumpeters are performing lustily upon their instruments, with all the harmony possible. This trumpeting is called the inviting of the corpse to be seated on the platform.
When thus seated, all the insignia of royalty to which the prince has been accustomed during life are brought and arranged in order at the foot of the urn. These consist of his golden areca nut box, his golden cigar case, his golden spittoon, his writing apparatus—in short, all the utensils which he was accustomed to use in daily life. The band of trumpeters come at early dawn, at noon, and at dusk, every day, to perform the funeral dirge. They come in concert with some wailing women, who chant the virtues and excellences of the deceased. These women spend an hour each day in that service, and in the intervals a company of priests, seated upon a platform near by the urn, chant incantations, and recite moral lessons in the Pali language. These services are kept up daily until the time appointed for burning has arrived, which is six, and sometimes even eight months after death. The remains of a king generally lie in state about twelve months, before burning.
Upon the death of a king his successor commences at once to make arrangements for erecting the temporary building for his cremation, which is called a Pra mane. The building is generally in size and grandeur proportionate to the estimation in which the deceased has been held. Royal orders are sent to all the provinces, and even to the tributary States, where large timber grows, requiring them to furnish posts for the Pra mane, and especially four enormous sticks, which are to form the central pillars of the building. These central pillars must be of the finest timber that can be found, very straight, and from two hundred to two hundred and fifty feet long. Besides the large ones, twelve other pillars of smaller size are needed. Timbers which have been used on a former occasion cannot be used again, but all must be new. The large pillars are cut in the forest, dragged to the river by elephants, and floated down at high water to the capital. When they arrive at the city, a general levy is made all over the country for workmen, and those huge logs are dragged up to the place mainly by force, as it would be contrary to custom to employ any labor-saving machine in getting them up. They are first dressed off, and then planted with great difficulty in the ground about thirty feet deep. The four large pillars are planted in a square, about one hundred and sixty feet in circumference. When planted, the tops incline a little toward each other, forming a kind of truncated pyramid, having four sides, and is about two hundred feet high. On the top of these pillars is erected a pagoda-shaped spire, adding about fifty feet more to the height. The spire is covered with gilded and tinselled paper, so as to give it a neat and grand appearance, especially from a distance. At each side of this central pyramid is erected a wing, by means of other smaller posts, and extending about forty feet, and facing the four cardinal points of the compass; and each wing is also capped with a pagoda spire. The whole is covered with a basket-work made of bamboo splits, which is covered again with gilt and tinselled paper. The building is surrounded by a bamboo fence, enclosing, perhaps, two acres of ground, and entered by two large gates. Inside of the fence are numerous temporary buildings, made of bamboo, for the accommodation of priests, theatrical performances, and other exhibitions. On the west side of the Pra mane is the building for the accommodation of the King and his family. The roof of this building is made of crimson cloth, with gilt edges, and the sides are covered with curtains, which in front are tucked in neatly to the posts. At each end, at the comb of the roof, is a peculiar shaped horn extending out, which is peculiar to royal buildings and temples.
The whole area of the enclosure is covered with a floor made of split bamboos neatly woven together. Immediately at the base of the Pra mane are small artificial mountains, and artificial lakes, and ponds, upon which small boats and miniature floating houses are moored. Also flowers, shrubbery, and every other thing imaginable, which is considered at all ornamental. On the outside of the enclosure are houses built for the accommodation of princes, nobles, and all foreigners who may wish to attend, and who are all entertained at the royal expense. Rope dancing, juggling, and every other imaginable feat are also carried on outside. At night, too, those brilliant fireworks, in which the Siamese so much excel, are touched off by the King himself, and are kept up to a late hour every night.
Directly under the tall spire in the centre of the building is erected what may be termed the Pra mane proper. A floor is laid over the whole building about twenty feet from the ground, and upon that floor, directly under the tall spire, is erected an octagonal pyramid, about sixty feet in circumference. It diminishes by right angled gradations, to the height of about thirty feet, and terminates in a truncated top, and upon this top is placed the urn containing the royal remains. On an appointed day the royal remains are brought out and placed upon the Pra mane. This is done in a procession. The governors of the different provinces, and the kings of the different tributary states have all been ordered to be present at the cremation. Early in the morning of the day of the procession, the chief princes, nobles, and rulers, assemble at the palace. The golden urn, richly decked with diamonds, containing the remains, is placed on an elevated seat, upon a huge and unwieldy car, drawn by two horses, assisted by hundreds of men. The funeral car is preceded in the procession by two others. The first is occupied by the high-priest of the kingdom alone, reading as he goes moral lessons from the sacred books, in the Pali language. The second car is occupied by a few of the favorite children of the deceased. A strip of silver cloth, about six inches wide, extends from the thighs of the high-priest to the seat occupied by the children in the next car, and thence to the funeral car, and is attached to the urn. This forms the mystical union between the deceased, the sacred book, and his children. The car next behind the funeral car contains a few sticks of sandal wood, with ends gilded, for the purpose of burning the corpse. These cars are all drawn by horses, assisted by scores of men. There are also in the procession numbers of other cars, containing figures of lions, tigers, elephants, rhinoceroses, and numbers of indescribable fabulous animals, and upon the backs of all these animals are placed piles of yellow cloths, to be presented to the priests. There are also numbers of boats placed on small wheels and drawn along, which are also to be presented to the priests. In front and rear of the cars are hundreds of men, dressed in white, and having white turbans, terminating in a pagoda point, and who represent the Tewedas, or Budhist angels. When the procession arrives at the place, the urn is drawn up an inclined plane, and placed upon the top of the truncated platform already described. The piece of narrow silver cloth, already mentioned, is attached to the top of the urn, and extends to the floor, and then out the east and west wings of the building to the steps. High above the urn is suspended a neat golden canopy, of that indescribable form for which the Siamese are so celebrated. Around and under the canopy are hung beautiful white scented flowers, arranged in the form of a chandelier; splendid chandeliers are also suspended all around for the purpose of brilliantly lighting up the Pra mane. Nearly all the priests in the kingdom are called into requisition on these occasions, who chant prayers and recite moral lessons.
All the chief princes and nobles, the family and family servants of the deceased, are all dressed in white, and have their heads shaven, the badge of mourning. When the time has come for igniting the fire the outer golden urn is removed, leaving only the inner copper urn. The grating at the bottom of the copper urn is covered over with spices and fragrant powders. All valuable or precious articles are removed from the platform. The platform is also lowered some feet, to make it more convenient. The sandal wood is arranged under the grate of the urn, and precious spices and fragrant articles are placed amongst the wood. A gunpowder train is arranged, extending to the place where the king is. All being ready, the king takes electrical fire, which has been preserved in the palace for a long time for such purposes, and ignites the fuse, and soon the wood is in a blaze. The family of the deceased, and the chief princes and nobles are all standing near, with lighted wax candles in their hands, and each in turn steps up and places the candle amongst the wood. Tubs of water are standing near, and men with dippers ready to prevent the flames from rising too high, and consuming the whole building. Many persons from reading descriptions of these cremations, have got the idea that the whole building is burned, but nothing is burned but the sandal wood and the corpse which is in the urn. When the wood is fired the band strikes a funeral dirge, and the women commence wailing, which generally lasts only a few minutes. When the ceremonies are all over the Pra mane is taken down, never to be used again.
The corpse is generally burned on the third day of the ceremonies, and they are kept up in the same manner for three days after the burning proper, making about six days in all. After the burning, the charred bones still remaining are collected, put into a small golden urn, and kept by the family. The present king has the remains of his ancestors for many generations back, preserved in this manner. The ashes are also collected, when a procession of boats is formed, and they are scattered upon the river.
During these ceremonies much is given away in presents, for the purpose of making merit. Small gold and silver coins, and gold rings, are put into limes, and other small fruit, and these are scattered amongst the crowd, and they scramble for them. The king amuses himself at this kind of sport very frequently during the ceremonies. Other small fruits contain lottery tickets, which always draw a small article of some kind. These are also given away. Outside the enclosure are artificial trees, full of limes, in every one of which is a small coin. A person frequently during the ceremonies ascends a platform, pulls off the limes and scatters them amongst the crowd, and then such a scramble as there will be. Persons frequently get hurt in the scramble, and it is frequently muddy, and I have seen the scramblers all covered over with mud. The royal funerals are very expensive. The funeral of the late king must have cost at least $150,000.
The common people, on account of the expense, do not keep their dead long, but burn them as soon as possible, but in substantially the same manner. They do not erect a Pra mane, but most of the temple grounds have a permanent Pra mane. I have also frequently seen them burning, out in the open space, without any covering. The corpse is placed in a board coffin, covered over with figured paper, and is then taken to the temple and burned. There is a very disgusting practice more or less common amongst them. Sometimes the person dying orders it to be done in order to make merit, and sometimes the friends do it of their own accord. When the corpse is taken to the place of burning, they take knives, cut the flesh from the bones, and feed it to the vultures. These filthy birds will be perched near by, and will come down into the crowd to receive the coveted morsel, which they either carry off, or swallow upon the spot. After the flesh is thus taken off, the bones are burned.
Persons dying of cholera, small-pox, in childbirth, or any sudden disease, and by suicide, are not burned immediately, but are buried for a few months, and are then taken up and burned. Criminals executed, and paupers, are given to the vultures wholesale. Medical students would have no difficulty in getting subjects there.