CREMATION IN SIAM.—TRADE, TAXES, AND BIRDS.
SCENE ON A SMALL CANAL NEAR BANGKOK.
One morning, while they were taking a row on the river for the purpose of visiting one of the canals, our friends observed a dense smoke rising from the vicinity of one of the temples. Fred was the first to see it, and wondered what it was for. As they neared the temple, they saw that the smoke proceeded from a burning pile, where several persons were standing around.
"It is a cremation," said Doctor Bronson; "we will stop and see it."
He directed the boatmen to land in front of the temple, and the three strangers walked to the spot where the fire was burning.
On a low mound of earth there was a fire of logs and smaller sticks of wood, and in the midst of the fire lay a body half consumed. It was evidently that of a small person, as the fire was not more than five feet long, and the body was completely wrapped in the flames. A dozen or more Buddhist priests were standing near the fire, and about as many other persons who did not appear to belong to the holy order. No ceremony was observed; and the Doctor remarked that they had probably arrived too late to witness the funeral-service. Not far off were the ashes that remained from similar cremations; and on one heap the fire was still smouldering.
They returned to the boat, and continued their journey; and as they did so the Doctor explained to the boys the peculiarities of the spectacle they had just witnessed.
"Cremation, or the destruction of a human body by fire," said he, "is customary in several countries of the Eastern World, and there has recently been an effort to make it popular in Europe and America. It prevails in Siam, but not altogether to the exclusion of the ordinary mode of burial in the earth. Cremation is considered the most honorable funeral, and it has a religious significance; it is a ceremony necessary to assist the soul in its passage to a higher state of transmigration, and to its final condition of perfect rest. Criminals who are executed by law are not allowed to be burnt; and the same is the case with those dying of small-pox and certain other diseases.
BURIAL-MOUNDS.
"The ceremony of cremation is considered so important that, where it cannot be performed immediately after the death of the individual—from poverty or for other reasons—the body is first buried, and subsequently exhumed and burnt. When the person has any prominence or wealth, a few of the bones are preserved in the houses of the relatives, or they may be buried in the grounds near the temples. You saw some little monuments, like miniature pyramids, near the temple we just visited; did you not?"
"Yes," said Fred, "we saw them, and wondered what they were."
URN CONTAINING ASHES.
"Those were monuments where the ashes of the dead are preserved," was the reply. "You will find them near many of the temples."
Soon they came in sight of another temple, where a ceremony of some sort was just beginning. The Doctor told the boatmen to land there; and as soon as they were on shore they found that they had come upon another funeral-party, and evidently that of a person of distinction.
JESSAMINE FLOWERS.
The body was in a coffin, which rested on a bier; and the coffin and bier together were not less than six feet high. The bier was covered with white cloth—white is the symbol of mourning in Siam—and the coffin itself was of a red color, and with a great deal of gold tinsel laid over it. Above the coffin was a canopy of white cloth, and it was thickly ornamented with bunches of jessamine flowers, freshly gathered.
Just as our friends approached the spot, a band, consisting of a gong, two drums, and a sort of flageolet, played a very discordant air as a prelude to the ceremony. Then a young priest read a service of prayers from slips of palm-leaf, and, while reading, he occupied a pulpit under a small shed in the court yard of the temple. In front of the pulpit there was a platform occupied by several persons—the majority of them women. They were not at all attentive; and as the prayers were read in the Bali language, they were not likely to understand a word of them. The prayers occupied about thirty minutes.
A BUDDHIST PRIEST.
There was quite a crowd of priests in the yard of the service until near its close. When the reading ended, they came forward and took hold of a strip of white cloth, six or seven yards long, that was attached to the head of the coffin. In this position they repeated some short prayers; and as they finished them the coffin was stripped of its coverings, and the cloth that came from it was distributed among the priests.
The body was then taken from the coffin and washed; then it was replaced, and carried three times around the bier, which proved to be a pile of fuel ready prepared for the burning. The sons and daughters, and other relatives of the dead man, were standing near the bier; and though they were quiet and respectful, they did not display the least emotion, with the exception of one young woman, who was said to be a favorite daughter. She wept loudly, and resisted the efforts of the others to comfort her.
When the third circuit around the pile was completed, the coffin was placed upon it. The fire was lighted by one of the priests, who uttered a short prayer as he touched the taper to the fuel. Meantime small wax-tapers had been distributed to all present, including our friends; and after the priest had kindled the flame, these tapers were placed upon the pile by the persons who held them. Doctor Bronson and the boys did like the others; and the Doctor told his young companions that they would give offence if they refused to comply with the custom. The body was speedily consumed, and the ceremony was over.
Our friends again returned to their boat, and the conversation about cremation was resumed.
"The man whose funeral you have just attended," the Doctor continued, "was in good circumstances, and the ceremony was made to conform to his rank and importance. This is the rule in Siam, as it is with funerals in pretty nearly all parts of the world; and while the cremation of a poor man will be over in a few hours after his death, that of a king does not take place for a year."
"Why do they wait so long?" Frank asked.
"The real reason is," was the reply, "to enable the surviving relatives to make the proper preparations for the funeral, and it has been so long the custom that it is now fixed as a social and religious observance.
"Immediately after the death of a king, his body is embalmed and laid in state, with a great deal of ceremony, in the Maha Prasaht. It is the duty of his successor to arrange the funeral ceremonies; and he immediately notifies the governors of four of the northern provinces, where the finest timber of Siam is found, that each of them may send a stick to form one of the four corners of the P'hra Mane, or funeral pile. The sticks must be perfectly straight, and not less than two hundred feet long; at the same time twelve smaller sticks are called for from as many of the other provinces; and there is also a demand for timber for the construction of halls and other buildings needed for the ceremony.
"All the timber must be new, as it would not be proper for royalty to have any wood about its funeral pile that had been used before in any way. Several months are required to procure the timber and erect the pile and its various annexes, as they cover at least half an acre of ground. The whole of the work, outside and in, is painted in green and yellow, and a good deal of gold and silver leaf is spread on in various places, so that it appears to be of great richness. A large open dome is in the centre of the edifice, and it contains a small temple, with a platform on which the body is to be placed. Around the great building there are sheds and houses to accommodate the priests, who come from all parts of the kingdom to participate in the ceremonies; and outside of these sheds there are twelve small pagodas, that are decorated to represent the large temple. The whole mass of edifices for the funeral costs a great deal of money, and it is evidently an expensive thing in Siam for a king to die.
CHARACTERS IN THE PROCESSION.
"On the appointed day there is a grand procession of soldiers and others dressed to represent various nationalities—not much unlike the procession at the ceremony of the royal hair-cutting. The entire royal family is out, and usually the procession takes not less than three hours to pass a given point. The festivals last ten days; various amusements are provided during the daytime in the shape of theatricals and other exhibitions, and in the evening they have fireworks, tumbling, rope-dancing, and the like. At certain intervals handfuls of money are thrown among the people, and a very lively scrambling is the result. Finally the body is burnt with a great deal of ceremony, the king being the first to apply the torch to the funeral pile of his predecessor.
"When the burning is completed, the ashes are thrown into the river, and the bones are placed in an urn and carried to one of the temples in the palace enclosure. Then the princes and governors who have come from the various parts of the kingdom, are at liberty to return home; and the same is the case with the priests who have visited the capital on the same mission. There is probably no royal display in any part of Europe that can surpass the cremation of a king in Siam."
"Do the widows of the king go on the funeral pile to be burnt?" Frank asked. "Is the custom in Siam the same that it used to be in India?"
"Not at all," was the reply. "Siam has never had that horrid custom of the suttee, or widow-burning, that so long disgraced India. It is not allowed there now, and probably there has not been a single case of it in the last ten or twenty years. None of the religious rites of the Siamese have ever been accompanied by physical torture."
"Who pays for all the expense of these ceremonies?" said Fred.
"Nominally the king pays for them," the Doctor responded; "but in reality the money comes, as all government expenses come in every part of the world, from the people. The princes and governors, and other high dignitaries who attend a funeral or a hair-cutting, make presents that go in part for defraying the cost of the performances, and, of course, the money for these presents comes from their subjects."
"Then it is no more than right," Frank remarked, "that the people should be amused when they go to these affairs, whether they are funerals or anything else."
"But where does the king get all his money?" queried Fred. "That is, how does he raise his taxes, and how are they collected?"
"Taxes in Siam," the Doctor explained, "are of various kinds. They are direct and indirect, just as they are in other countries; and the object is the same—the production of a revenue.
"There is a tax on the sale of spirits, as I have already told you, and there is a tax on gambling. Both these taxes are farmed out, and the purchaser generally makes a good thing out of his venture. The purchasers are usually Chinese speculators, and they sub-let their privileges to smaller contractors for a round profit on their investments.
"There is a tax on fishing in the Menam River, and also in the other streams in which fish abound; the Buddhist religion forbids the destruction of animal life, but the requirement is rather considered as applying only to the priesthood, and the common people give little attention to it. But no one is allowed to fish within a certain distance of the palace, as all fish in that limit are held to be sacred, and under the protection of the king. On the canal that encloses the palace in the direction farthest from the river there are marks to indicate the limits; inside the line it would be dangerous to the neck of a native to be caught fishing, while outside of it he may do so with impunity.
"Then there are taxes on shops and on various branches of trade, just as there are in the countries of Europe; and there are taxes on fruit-trees and land, and there are customs-duties, and other things. There is a poll-tax on the Chinese inhabitants of Siam, which is collected by the authorities with the utmost care; and any Chinese who neglects to pay it is liable to be compelled to work it out under the eye of a public overseer. Every boat that is used as a shop pays a tax, and so do all the shops through the country. Then there are certain articles of export that are considered the monopoly of the king, and as he has no competition in buying, and no opposition in selling, he has a good thing of it. The rules about trade are changing every year; and so, if you make a note of what I have told you, it is well to remember that what you have written for the day may not be good for all time."
"The consul told us about the imports of Siam," said one of the boys, "when we were going up the river to Ayuthia. Please tell us about the exports. He mentioned rice and sugar as articles that the Siamese send to other countries, but did not say what other things they had to sell."
"The exports of Siam," said the Doctor, in answer to the above remark, "comprise a good many things. Besides the articles mentioned, the country produces and sends to foreign ports a considerable amount of tin, which is dug from its mines; and it also exports small quantities of other metals. Then it produces pepper, tobacco, cardamons, ivory, and various dye-stuffs. It also exports the skins of the rhinoceros, buffalo, ox, elephant, tiger, leopard, bear, snake, and deer; and some of these articles go out in the form of leather. How great are the quantities of these things I am unable to say, as I have not studied the tables of imports and exports very closely."
Frank was curious to know how the people caught the snakes whose skins they exported. He thought a snake was a disagreeable thing to associate with, and not at all easy to capture.
The Doctor explained that the matter was by no means as difficult as he imagined. The snakes are fond of chickens, and they come around the houses of the people, particularly those that are built on rafts, in search of their favorite prey. When a native discovers any indications that a snake has been around his premises, he arranges a coop made of strong sticks of bamboo, and, after putting a chicken inside, he leaves an opening in one end large enough for the snake to enter. He goes into the coop and kills the chicken, which he swallows whole, after the manner of snakes in general. He is so gorged that he cannot escape, and is found in his prison in the morning. Under these circumstances he is easily killed, and his skin is an ample compensation for the slaughtered fowl.
Fred had observed little cages on poles rising from the roofs of many of the houses, and naturally inquired their use.
"Those cages," said Doctor Bronson, "are intended as traps for birds. If you examine them closely you will perceive that they are double; one half is intended as a trap, and is left open for the wild bird to enter, while the other contains a captive bird who serves as a decoy."
Naturally the conversation turned upon the birds of Siam and their peculiarities.
HAUNTS OF SEA-BIRDS ON THE COAST.
"I cannot give you a very good account of the birds of Siam," said the genial Doctor, "for the reason that the ornithology of the country has not, as far as I am aware, been carefully and exhaustively studied. The birds of prey include the white eagle and also the common brown eagle; and they have, as you have observed, the vulture, which is the same species that is found in India. The kite is very common; and there are two or three varieties of the hawk. As for crows, they have enough in Siam to destroy all the corn in the States east of the Hudson River; and if the Siamese attempted to raise that article, they would doubtless have a hard time of it."
Frank thought they had seen crows enough around Bangkok to supply the wants of the whole of Massachusetts. Evidently the inhabitants did not molest them, or they would not be as bold as he had found them.
"Then, too," the Doctor continued, "they have the sparrow, the same as in Europe and America, and the ornithologists say that Siam is the most southerly limit of this bird. As you go south in Asia, you will not find the sparrow anywhere else except where he has been introduced by the European inhabitants.
EDIBLE SWALLOWS NESTS.
"Some of the trade of Siam consists in shipping to China the edible portion of a bird's-nest, and this is the material from which the Chinese make their famous 'birds'-nest soup.' In Canton and Hong-kong it sells for its weight in silver, and sometimes is even dearer than that. It is found on the western coast of the Gulf of Siam, and also on the east coast of the Bay of Bengal; the bird makes his nest in caves among the rocks, and the work of collecting the nests is both difficult and dangerous."
"What kind of a bird is it?" Fred asked.
"It is a species of swallow," was the reply; "it is about as large as the common swallow with which you are familiar, and its movements through the air are much like those of the American bird; and in the same way that our swallows like to build in barns and chimneys, and other dark places, the Siamese one constructs his dwelling among the rocky caves along the coast."
"What is the peculiarity of the bird's-nest that the Chinese like so much?" one of the boys inquired.
"The peculiarity is in the material of which it is constructed," the Doctor answered. "The bird gathers a glutinous weed from the coral rocks, and carries it in its mouth and stomach to the cave where it lives. There the plastic substance is shaped into a nest about the size of a common teacup. There are three qualities, and they are prized accordingly: the first is when the nest is freshly made, and the material is snowy white; the second, when the bird has laid her eggs; and the third, when she has hatched her brood and gone. The bird is known as the lawit in Java, and the salangane in the Philippine Islands, while its scientific name is Hirundo esculenta.
SIAMESE WATER BIRDS.
"Among the birds inhabiting the Siamese forests there is the common peacock, which is shot for the sake of its feathers; and there are several kinds of pigeons. Then they have the quail and the pheasant, the latter in several varieties; and they have the common cock, or barn-yard fowl, running wild in great numbers. The chickens that are sold in the markets of Siam are these same wild birds domesticated, and those that we have in America are descended from Asiatic ancestors that went to Europe centuries and centuries ago. They have wild chickens in Siam, just as we have wild turkeys in our own country.
PHEASANT AND YOUNG.
"They have in Siam a goodly number of evading birds, and not many swimmers. Ducks are bred by the Chinese residents, but not generally by the Siamese, and I am told that they do not exist in a wild state. The goose is rarely seen; but there are plenty of pelicans and kingfishers, and several birds of the crane and stork families."
"What was the bird we saw at the consul's house the day we called there?" queried Frank.
"You mean the one that kept up such an incessant talking?"
"Yes," Frank answered; "he rattled away in Siamese, and he called out 'Boy!' two or three times; and it sounded so much like a human voice that I thought, at first, it was some one calling a servant."
"That was a mineur, or minor," the Doctor explained; "and it is said to surpass the parrot in its ability to talk. He learns very easily, and is as great an imitator as the American mocking-bird. The one at the consulate can say a great many things in Siamese, but he does not yet know much English. A friend of mine had one of these birds that was the source of great amusement; he would whistle, in exact imitation of his master, and he could sing certain bits of music without making a mistake. When my friend first obtained him, the bird could only speak the native language; but in a little while he picked up several phrases in English, and pronounced them perfectly.
"One thing he did was to call the servant, as he had heard his owner. As you have seen, the way of summoning servants is by shouting 'Boy!' and on hearing this word the servant comes. My friend's bird had caught up the word, and every little while he would shout it so as to deceive the servant, and bring him to his master. Naturally the servant was annoyed at being disturbed, and so my friend told him that when he wanted him he would call 'Boy! boy!' and he need not come when he heard the word only once. In three days the bird was doing the same thing, and deceiving the servant. Then it was arranged that my friend would strike on the table or clap his hands, as they do in Turkey and Syria. This was too much for the mineur; he found that he could not amuse himself as before. The one at the consulate is learning the same trick, and amusing himself by imitating what he hears spoken around him."
Frank wished he could take one of these birds home with him; but the Doctor said it would be too much trouble to do so. The mineur is of tropical origin, and the climate of the Northern States of America is not suited to him. "The chances are," said he, "that if you took a dozen mineurs to carry to America, you would lose three-fourths of them on the way, and the others would not live more than a few months after getting there."
As the Doctor closed his remark about the mineur, the boat touched the landing in front of the hotel, and their morning's excursion came to an end.