On the eleventh, a large fire took place, in the Christian Portuguese company, of Santa Cruz, immediately in our neighbourhood, which stopped at our premises. It blazed with great fury, the houses being roofed with attap, and the bamboo-frames being covered with the same combustible material: it produced great distress among the poor people: their houses were probably all their property, their beds being only a mat, and their cooking utensils, small earthen pots and a water jar; a waist-cloth or two, and a few trifles, were easily saved; but plunderers, in great numbers, stole their few miserable trifles as fast as they were conveyed to the rear. About one hundred and fifty huts were burnt, and some fifty or sixty of the sufferers took shelter in and about our house, and some of the unoccupied rooms; and, for many days, we supplied most of them with food. The king and the praklang ordered them to be assisted with bamboo, &c., to rebuild their houses; and rice, and other small articles, were sent to them by their more fortunate neighbours. As soon as the fire commenced, every person who could use a long-handled scoop, made of closely woven basket-work, began throwing water on their houses, even on the opposite side of the river. The floating houses moored along the shore near the fire, were cast off, and it being the first of the ebb, they moved down the river in great numbers. As many of them were on fire, they exhibited a very novel but painful scene: four, unfortunately, were consumed, with all their goods, and two China-men were burnt to death. On the next flood, the river was filled with the floating houses returning. It was predicted, by a superstitious Siamese, some days previously, that a fire would take place, as a vulture was seen to alight on the house of the port-captain. This officer’s house, situated close to the Roman Catholic church, was burnt—the latter building receiving no injury, as the walls only are up; and, I suppose, from the great poverty of the Catholic Christians, it will take many years to finish it. The old Catholic church, in the rear, built of wood and attap, is in a very dilapidated condition. There are four other churches at Bangkok and the suburbs, and only one at Jutia—the rest have fallen into ruins.
We landed, on the thirteenth, near the walls of the city, at the point where one of the white elephants is confined: he was in a large, airy stable, and had a great number of attendants. His colour is dusky, or rather yellowish white, and he was far from being clean; his skin was scurfy, and his eye very small, and of a bluish or light-gray tinge. On account of his unruly temper, he is secured by a cable around his right fore leg; the two fore feet are also well secured. One tusk is entirely broken, and the other partly destroyed. He is annually confined, for about three months, during the rutting season. We entered the city, and saw part of the king’s elephants. In one place were six noble animals, males and females; two of the largest sized males had several massive silver rings on their tusks; they were kept clean, and were in fine order. There were many other elephant-stables, bordering on two streets, which we visited.
The streets, through which we passed, were from sixty to eighty feet in breadth; the houses, generally, ordinary in appearance, built of boards or brick, stuccoed, with tile roofs, or with bamboo with attap roofs. Most of them are raised on posts, and stand five or six feet from the ground. The streets are paved with very large-sized bricks. Stalls are kept in front of most of the buildings, where are sold fowls and pork, fruit and vegetables. The China, and Indian, and European goods, are sold mostly in the floating bazars. There were few people to be seen.
Our object in visiting the left bank of the river, was, to see an immense edifice, in the form of a temple, which was erecting for the purpose of burning the wang-na, generally called the second king, who died about six months since; and whose body has been embalmed, according to the imperfect knowledge of the Siamese in this art. The body is first washed, and then a large quantity of crude mercury or honey is poured into the mouth; it is then placed in a kneeling posture, and the hands are brought together before the face in the attitude of devotion; strips of cloth are then bound tightly round the extremities, and the body is compressed in a similar manner, for the purpose of squeezing out the moisture. It is then put into an air-tight vessel, more or less expensive, according to the rank of the deceased; (some of the vessels are even made of gold;) a hollow tube is inserted into the mouth, passes through the upper part of the box and the roof of the house, to convey away the effluvia; a similar tube is placed in the bottom, which communicates with a vessel, placed there to receive the draining from the body. The sordes thus collected, if they belong to a prince, are conveyed, with many ceremonies, below the city, and there emptied into the river. Should they belong to the king, they are boiled until an oil separates, and this is used on certain occasions, (as when his family or his descendants pay their devotions to his departed spirit,) to anoint the singular image, called Seina, which is generally placed in a temple, after his death. By the process, named above, the body, in a few weeks, becomes quite dry and shrivelled.
IMMENSE TEMPLE.
I am fully sensible that any description I can give of the building to which I have alluded, will fall far short of the reality; in fact no language can convey an adequate description of it. The “tout ensemble,” when viewed at a distance, glittering in gold and flowers, recalls to our recollection the brilliant and splendid castles of fairy-land, so bewitchingly set forth in many an idle work of former days. Many hundreds of people have been employed in its erection ever since his death; the centre building is a large open dome, and probably reaches to the height of eighty or ninety feet; it is supported by immense wooden pillars of teak all in one piece—the roof is of various indescribable forms, and differs from any I have ever seen—the parts rise one above another till it comes to a point; from the centre rises a high slender spire, and from the base to its apex cannot be less than one hundred and fifty feet; the roof is covered with brass leaf, which gives it a splendid appearance at a distance: it has a great number of projections with various singular ornaments on their edges and the inside of the roof is dome-shaped: beneath it was erected a small temple, in the same form, having in the centre a high platform, to which we ascended by a flight of steps, over which was a small spire: it is supported upon four pillars and cannot be less than thirty-five feet high—the roof is ornamented with neat carved work and richly gilt—on the platform the body is to be burnt. The whole inside of the building was painted to resemble flowers, profusely gilded, and otherwise richly decorated with gold and silver leaf—the walls were made of matting covered with paper and secured to bamboo-frames, as well as the outer covering, which was painted brown, decorated with large flowers made of brass or copper leaf and pasted on, which gave it a brilliant appearance. Eight temples, one fourth of the size of the great temple, stand about one hundred feet from it, so that the whole forms a complete square, of rather less than five hundred feet on each side; these are similarly gilt and painted, and are connected with each other by a corridor inside; the covering outside is similar to the great centre temple, being painted brown and overlaid with flowers. Around the base of all these buildings are projections of about three feet, like the base of a column, having imitation mouldings: these are overlaid again with sheets of brass leaf, as well as the cornices and architraves. The entrances to all the doors have a profusion of gilt and painted ornaments as well as the base, shaft, capital, and architrave of all the columns. The great building was surrounded at proper intervals (so as not to appear crowded) with small temples or sheds standing on four columns, and neatly gilt and ornamented. A wide space on the east side was left open, on which were erected very high narrow stages, neatly built, for the use of musicians, for the exhibition of rope dancers, tumblers, and gladiators, or sword fighters, pugilists, &c. At regular intervals were raised conical umbrellas or a series of canopies, the lower one being about six feet in diameter and each covering gradually lessening to the top, which terminated in a point—they were about thirty feet in height and alternately were of silver-leaf and brass-leaf, gilt, and ornamented with flowers. The whole ground and passages were covered in with bamboo framework, as well as the passage leading to the king’s palace; the latter had a covered walk or roof of the same material extending the whole distance to the entrance within the enclosure. There were four entrances through long passages to the temple-altar or place of burning, and the whole building was surrounded with hideous images of men about a foot high, low dwarf-trees being interspersed between them, protected again by a low neat network railing of iron.
VISIT TO THE PRAKLANG.
On the fourteenth, we went to partake of a feast at the praklang’s, in company with Mr. Silveiro, the Portuguese consul, and Captain Geisinger and the officers. This invitation was given about ten days since, and renewed from time to time. It was conveniently arranged by the praklang, as this day was set apart for shaving the heads of two of his sons and a nephew. The feast could not have taken place without our assistance, for they borrowed one of our cooks, the tables, tumblers, wine-glasses, tureens, ladle, spoons, &c. We were informed they had no wine, and, therefore, requested me to furnish the requisite quantity. At three, covered barges were in waiting for us, and in a few minutes, we found ourselves seated in the hall of audience; the praklang was sitting in all his majesty, on a raised seat. The dinner was already on the table. As soon as the usual compliments were over, and we had sat down to dinner, music struck up within the house, accompanied by female voices, which were good and natural, and the songs were not unmusical, being rather of a plaintive cast. The court-yard, during the feast, was thronged with people, who came, I suppose, “to see us eat,” and to see the officers in their uniforms; they were very orderly and quiet, crouching to the ground. I have seen no instance, thus far, of the slightest degree of rudeness, which was much and justly complained of by Mr. Crawford and others, but quite the contrary: every mark of respect has been shown.
The dinner was dressed “à la Siamese and Portuguese.” A stage was erected in the court-yard for vaulters and tumblers; when the dessert was produced, which consisted of some thirty dishes of confectionary and fruit, they commenced their surprising feats. They consisted of about a dozen, belong to the step-brother of the king, the prince Cha-fa-Nooi, or Mum-fa-Nooi, and are the same that were exhibited at the praklang’s brother’s, a few nights since. After the cloth was removed, the king of Siam was given, as a toast by me, all standing; and in return, the praklang proposed the President of the United States, which was drunk likewise, all standing up. Two or three complimentary toasts then followed. The tumblers continued their sports for two hours, until sunset; then twelve young actors and actresses, very richly clad, made their appearance, and performed pantomimes and posture-dances, till past nine, when our party, being heartily tired of the performances, begged leave to retire. Their sports, we understood, were continued till after midnight; the music was the same we had before. The three curtains, which conceal the entrances into the interior of the house, were raised; when the players began, each door appeared to be full of the minister’s numerous wives, and in front some dozens of his children, all bedecked with necklaces, bangles, &c.; their skins being coloured with saffron or turmeric, for it is considered here a great desideratum to have the skin of a light yellow. The women were not generally so masculine in appearance as those we saw abroad, and were of a lighter complexion, being less exposed. Some of them appeared but a shade or two less than white. They were clad in sombre-coloured silk waist and breast cloths, but wore no jewels; the teeth of even the youngest were black as jet, and their lips and gums of a livid hue.
On the cutting of the hair from the crown of the male children, a display is made by every person, however humble, from the firing of two or three muskets to feasting, fireworks, dancing, music, and acting, in all their varieties; presents are expected from all relatives, acquaintances, and friends, which constitute a fund for the boy. A similar amount of gifts is expected in return, upon a like occasion; but a man high in office always has the best of the bargain.