The ceiling of the wat was painted of a rich vermillion, and “thickly inlaid with patines of bright gold.” The walls, and inside of the doors and window-shutters, were entirely covered with rural and aquatic scenes, birds, flowers, &c., &c.; all rich with gold and beautiful colours, highly varnished, displaying a cultivated taste. The doors, at the entrance, were most splendidly inlaid with mother-of-pearl, wrought into various and elegant devices. Surrounding the wall of the court-yard, was an extensive corridor, containing eighty Budhas, of about four feet high, in a sitting posture generally, while others were standing. At the feet of each were two smaller sized devotees, kneeling and facing them, with their hands spread out and united in the attitude of prayer. These, together with a group of eight in one corner, made, altogether, two hundred and forty-six images, being all highly burnished with gold. Other images, of women, are scattered about the court; and the two gigantic warriors, as usual, placed as guards at its common entrance. The Indian lotus was growing in handsome vases of granite, porcelain, and marble. There was also a large gilt image in a sitting posture, made of a composition of copper, tin, and zinc. The ceiling, walls, &c., were nearly similarly painted to the other, having a tessellated marble pavement; but the doors were painted black, with borders of richly gilded flowers. A devotee had taken up his lodging within the temple, near one of the doors, and was then praying at the feet of the image. He passed his days there, and at night watered his couch with his tears, in the vain expectation that, at his death, Budha would cause his soul to be transmigrated into a higher and holier state of existence.
There were about one hundred and fifty Talapoys generally at this monastery. Here, also, was a small deep bathing place, having in it a number of small alligators—they are common. We passed a great number of temples, and counted twenty-five on this route. The banks were thickly inhabited, having a low but rich country; and the various fruit and flowering forest trees, by which it was overshadowed, contributed greatly to its beautiful scenery. Boats were continually passing in great numbers, variously laden. The fronts of the cottages being open, all the domestic operations were fully seen. At the foot of the ladder, childhood and old age were seen, bathing in the turbid waters of this tributary of the Menam, all seemingly happy, although living under one of the most despotic governments in the world.
On our return, observing an artificial mound near a small wat with a gilded front, we were induced to stop and examine it; it was in height about twenty feet, built of brick and overlaid with rough pieces of rock. We entered by a flight of steps into some dark winding passages in imitation of caverns—on the step was a small temple court and a relic of gautama, which we were unable to see owing to the Talapoy who had charge of it being asleep. The thermometer being at ninety-five, with a dead oven-like heat, we were glad to retreat to some cooler place. Proceeding on by another route, we saw a number of Talapoys, collected near to a place for the burning of the dead, under a high pyramidal shed placed amid a grove of the religious fig-tree: we landed and proceeded to the spot. In the centre of the building, on a brick platform, was placed a bier of seven or eight feet in height—the sides which concealed the body were covered with white muslin and the top, &c., ornamented with yellow tinsel; the bier, I suppose, was of wood, but it was neatly covered with plantain stock, and being fresh cut resembled ivory with a slight tinge of yellow: fanciful devices were cut in the sides and red paper inserted, which gave it a very neat and finished appearance. In each corner were raised platforms, and on one of them sat fifteen or twenty Talapoys, having before them a feast of nice things, such as rice cooked in various ways, sweetmeats and fruits, and a pile of yellow cloth, all of which were presents, from the parents of a dead daughter, lying before these senseless worshippers of idols. They were talking aloud and laughing, apparently insensible to the solemn occasion for which they were assembled: being disgusted with their conduct, and finding that the ceremony would not take place until three in the afternoon, we left the place intending to return in due time.
FIRE-FEEDERS.
At the appointed hour, we were again there, but the burning had commenced half an hour previously: a part of the scull was remaining, the head having separated from the body: the back bone was nearly entire as well as part of the limbs; two grim looking fellows were replenishing and stirring the fire with three-pronged forks, smoking cigars, and laughing as though they were attending a baker’s oven. They were constantly employed in going from this funeral pile to another, situated in the open air, a short distance off, where was consuming the body of a dead slave.
Besides the “fire-feeders,” there was assembled a party of young females, acquaintances of the deceased girl, waiting to collect the unconsumed bones, that they might be conveyed to the mourning parents: they were decent in their behaviour, but there were no visible signs of grief on their countenances at this sad spectacle; they were seated on one of the raised platforms, chewing areca-nut, and talking with considerable earnestness—but the instant they saw us, they started on their feet, and exhibited very strong symptoms of curiosity; probably, many of them had never seen a white person before, and our dress, of course, appeared strange to those who were only accustomed to the sight of a waist-cloth. They inquired of a gentleman who spoke Siamese and English, if we came to see a body burnt, or what was the object of our visit: we told them it was to see a body burnt, and to view the temple near by. They asked us to look at the remains, on the funeral pile, and see if we could tell whether it was a male or female, (for the natives are under the impression that Europeans know every thing, and all the European race even if born in America, are called Europeans.) They were told after taking a view of them, that they were those of a female. At this answer, they held up their hands, and appeared to be exceedingly astonished, for they were not aware that we had ascertained this fact in the morning. We immediately left them, not wishing to be questioned further, and they are under the delusion without doubt, that we do, indeed, “know every thing.”
The poor slave who has just been mentioned, must have had a friend who was willing to pay the expenses of the burning to the Talapoys, or alias the phratais or phra-bo-coots as they are called in Siamese, otherwise he would have been thrown without ceremony into the Menam and become food for fish or alligators. A worthless priesthood, who daily spunge the most abject in society of their scanty pittance of rice, clothing, or fruit, refuse even a few sticks of wood to consume the dead bodies of their poor benefactors, and to recite a few heathenish prayers without being amply paid for their trouble; but the priests of Budha are not the only ones who exact payment for what is obviously their bounden duty. Some of the Christian churches, even in this vicinity, as well as those of other countries, will be paid for burying their dead, and saying mass for the repose of departed souls.
BURNING THE DEAD.
The ceremony of burning the dead may be witnessed almost daily, between noon and three o’clock, within the precincts of the temples. During the ceremony, music of a most discordant kind is frequently introduced. The instruments are noisy and consist of gongs, drums, &c., &c. Prayers, written in the Pah language on slips of palm-leaf, are first read by a priest from a pulpit; females and males set beneath it each holding a taper: the language is probably unintelligible to every one present, for most of the priests can barely read it, and few of them understand it.
These places are generally thronged with idle persons, who take no part in the ceremonies, and walk in and out talking and smoking cigars, &c., &c. At the head of the coffin is a piece of white cloth; a number of priests take hold of it on each side, reciting certain prayers—this being ended, the coffin and bier are dismantled, the body is washed by one of the servants of the pagoda, who is always paid a small fee for this most disgusting piece of service. Bodies are frequently kept for days in this sultry climate, and then the office is no sinecure—it is truly loathsome. The ablution being concluded, a layer of wet earth is laid on the bier and dry wood is piled upon it—the body is then replaced in the coffin, and carried three successive times around the altar by the nearest male relatives, and afterward deposited upon the pile; tapers and incense rods are distributed to all who will receive them; a priest delivers a final prayer, then sets fire to the funeral pile, and is followed by all who receive tapers and rods for that purpose. The scull is always broken with a heavy bar of iron, to prevent, as they say, an explosion and scattering of the bones and brains. Small pieces of money are now distributed to objects of charity, who are always in waiting at these places at the usual hours, and are disappointed if there are no rich victims ready for the funeral pile; sometimes the male relatives throw bundles of cloth over the pile—those on the opposite side carefully catch them, and in other cases it is dispensed with.