You have chosen Time for Art and Culture
Symbol
of Nation
Elephants
are an important
part of Thai culture and the Thai way of life. Elephants in
Thailand have always been a symbol of both power and peace. They
have performed the most exacting physical tasks. And they have
always been well loved.
During ancient time, elephants roamed freely throughout Burma,
Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Prior to the 18th century
they were the main machine of Southeast Asian war, a Thai king of
the late 17th century having had 20,000 war elephants trained for
battle. This feature of War Elephants was most renowned in the
300-year-war between Burma and Thailand which resulted in Burma's
sacking of Ayutthaya in 1767.
A white elephant is even on the flag of the Royal Thai navy, and
the "order of the white elephant" is one of the highest honors,
bestowed by the king.
Elephant trekking in the jungles of Thailand is a unforgettable
experience. Tamed and well-trained, big, gentle and graceful -
the Thai elephant. They can be your best friend.
Talent for a stately presence, for delicate foot movement and
agility, for intelligence on the field of sport, and at the same
time a particular gentleness that makes the elephant not only a
highly respected creature but also one that is appreciated and
loved.
Elephant Racing - Races were actually part of the elephant war
training in old Siam, where the elephants were lined up and on
command charged. Today, elephants are taught the delicate steps
and maneuvers of such tactics in order to recreate the battle
scenes of the " Kraal Paniad". These races and accompanying
tactics require the elephant to learn and respond to more than 60
separate commands. On the signal to take off, the elephants begin
a stampede, and this quickly turns into a rhythmic, flowing
ballet on the dust. The elephants are fast and as they gather
momentum the race becomes an elegant performance of step, turn
and curve.
Elephant Sports - Elephants have a special talent for sports.
They have their own games in the privacy of the forest and are
often very competitive, but they play sports they are taught too.
One of these is a competitive race on an obstacle course, where
each elephant is required to pick up various items along the way,
hold these with his trunk, and return them to the finish line .
In one of Thailand's elephant training centers, the objects are
Coke bottles . Another sport the elephants are taught to play is
elephant football. In this game the elephants toss around a
rather large ball, using their trunks and competing to see who
can score the highest. These are fun sports for the elephant and
require a little more thought than their traditional water games
of spraying themselves and others.
Elephant Dance - they love music. In Thailand, elephants are
trained to perform dance routines to various numbers in the rock,
jazz and folk categories. Their trainers line them up and when
the music begins they receive the command to start. They sway and
prance to the rhythm, trunks swinging, feet keeping time with the
beat, and heads swaying to and fro. When the music changes,
they're steps change with it, perhaps from a fast tempo to a
slow, melancholy waltz. The elephant's preference for music and
talent for dance are excellent.
Elephant Friendship - Elephants, like people, place a high value
on friendship. In any elephant group the elephants tend to pair
up and stay very close together with their friends. They have
their likes and dislikes, In a caravan or on a trek, the mahouts
have to take special care in lining up the elephants before
departure. They are placed one behind the other so that friends
are together. If an elephant is placed apart from his friend, he
will likely refuse to budge and the caravan will not move.
Elephant friendship becomes most obvious when the female is about
ready to give birth. She searches out her friend and solicits
help in delivery. This the friend does willingly, and even helps
separate the placenta from the newborn baby.
Endangered Species
As well known there are two major different species of elephant -
the African (Loxodonta africana) and the Asian variety (Elephas
maximus). The African Elephant is larger and its numbers are
estimated at about 500,000 whilst the Asian Elephant has fallen
to below 30,000 today.
There are a number of elephant races within the Asian species.
For instance the Indian elephant, is bigger, has longer front
legs and a thinner body than the Thai type. Of course the White
Elephant was an elegant Asian species It is notable that at the
start of the 20th century (1900 AD) over 100,000 elephants graced
the Siamese (Thai) countryside. Today only 3,000 - 4,000 Asian
Elephants left in Thailand. Around half of this number are
domesticated, the remainder living wild in National Parks
Reserves.
All about Elephant:
Thai Elephant Size: The Largest animal on today's Earth.
Male: 2.7m (9ft) in height ; Weight 3,200 - 4,500 kg.
Female: 2.3 m (7.5 ft) in height; Weight 2,300 - 4,500 kg.
Newly born baby elephants: 0.9m (3ft) in height; weight 90kg.
Elephant Brain: weighs about 5 kg (4 times the weight of a
human).
Elephant Life Cycle:
The life cycle of the elephant is remarkably similar to the human
being. The baby elephant suckles milk using the mouth, not trunk,
and weaned on milk between 2 - 4 years. Begin work at age 16 and
fully grown at 20 years Are in their working prime between 20-40;
on light duties only when they reach 50; live around 70 years.
They are secretive and shy, keeping their distance from other
animals. Only four hours are needed to rest each night and they
only lie down to sleep when they are sick.
All the females in the herd often take turns to look after the
baby elephants. If the mother dies then the other females look
after the orphaned baby.
An elephant will be able to tell if a corpse is from the same
herd. If so then the whole herd will avoid that area, apparently
out of respect.
Elephant Physiology:
Elephant Sight: Rather poor vision capable of seeing clearly only
at very short distances up to about 10 metres. The eye is small
in comparison with the head and there is only a vestigial tear
gland. Elephants do not have a tear duct and 'tears' simply
evaporate or run down the cheek.
Elephant Hearing: Excellent hearing superior to human standards.
Largest ear of any creature act as amplifiers and warn of
possible dangers. They communicate in extremely low ranges and
sounds can travel many kilometers. this ability is mainly used
when communicating between a female in heat looking for a
suitable male companion. The sound made is beyond the range of
the human hear but is said to contribute to the "rumble in the
jungle". The"knuckle" found at the back of the ear is amongst
the softest parts of the body and is used by professional
elephant riders (mahouts) to steer and direct the creature.
Elephant Smell: Highly developed sense of smell thought to be
superior to that of any other land mammal. The nostrils are at
the tip of the trunk. Elephants can detect scents from long
distances, up to several kilometres.
Elephant Touch: Acute deftness of balance achieved by high
tactile sense.
Elephant Taste: Comparable to all higher animals and can easily
distinguish between unsuitable, suitable and favored fodder.
Elephant Heartbeat: Elephant heart beat rate is about 28 beats
per minute, much slower than humans.
Elephant Trunk: The trunk is a wonderful organ. A boneless mass
of flesh and consists of up to 100,000 muscles. It is 2 meters
long and weighs around 140 kg. The trunk has a small finger like
lip at the end which can distinguish between size, shape,
texture, hot and cold.
It can be used for such diverse tasks as shifting a 600 kg log to
picking up a coin. The animal uses its trunk to feed and drink by
bringing food and water to the mouth, breathe, make noises,
caress it's young and sometimes even fight. When totally
submerged in water the trunk can also be used as a snorkel.
Trunks can hold six liters of water and are often used as a
flexible shower hose pipe. It is a superb organ of smell, and can
be directed easily toward the source. By beating the ground
violently with the trunk, the elephant signals its anger or
displeasure. When an elephant is on unsteady or unfamiliar
ground it will use the outside of the trunk to beat the earth,
determining if the ground is firm enough to walk on. Once safety
is substantiated the front foot is moved forward onto the tested
area. The rear foot follows and is carefully placed in exactly
the same footprint. Elephants love to touch each other. Explore
friends with their trunk or slide sniff at their mate. They are
an extremely sensitive creature. Friends enjoy touching each
other using the trunk as an arm.
Elephant Tusks & Teeth : Tusks are, in fact teeth (incisors) and
are classified as ivory. Males have larger tusks of up to 1.5
-1.8m in length whilst the females do not have tusks at all.
Milk tusks are fully grown at just 2 inches long and are shed
before the calf reaches it's second birthday. Permanent tusks
then begin to grow. The purpose of the tusk is to dig for food,
clear debris, fight and to carry heavy loads of up to 1 ton.
Tusks never stop growing.
Molars (grinding teeth) are at least 30 cm long and weigh about 4
kg. The animal has only four of these teeth at any one time. New
molars form in the back of the mouth and push the old ones
forward and out completely. An elephant usually grows six sets of
these molars in a life-time, the final set grows when it is about
40 years of age. When the last set decays, around 70 years, the
elephant finds it hard to eat and subsequently a great many are
likely to die of starvation.
Breeding Patterns and Birth:
Males are highly individualistic and only join the herd for
mating seasons. Males duel each other with the winner claiming
steed rights for the whole herd. Deaths sometimes occur from
wounds inflicted in these duels.
The female runs away coyly for a short while, as part of a
ritual, before submitting to her victorious mate.
The male's penis is retractable, there is no scrotum and the
testicles are housed internally. Copulation takes around 20
seconds with very little movement or noise. Mating continues
promiscuously (with other herd males), for two days after which
the most powerful male drives off the others. He then remains
with the female for around three weeks.
The female carries out the pregnancy for 22 months and when
parturition (birth) occurs other herd females form a circle
around the pregnant one. She assumes a squatting position while
giving birth, and the birth takes around 2 hours. In regions
where large carnivores, such as big cats, prey upon newly born
animals the mother forms alliances with other herd members.
Mother and associated protectors then blow dust over the new-born
calf with their trunks in order to dry it. Just two hours after
birth the calf can stand up and begins to suckle milk from the
mother.
Elephant Food:
The elephants are purely vegetarian. Favored foods include:
Bananas, bamboo, berries, mangoes, coconuts, corn, jungle shrubs,
palm fruits, sugar cane, wood apples Feronia elephantorum and
wild rice.
Eat around 200-300 Kg food per day Drink about 150 liters of
water. The elephants digestion system is quite inefficient and
only around 50% of the food eaten is utilized.
In western Zoos they are often fed bread and have developed a
taste for this type of food. Salt is essential and the elephant
shows a distinct liking for it. Cold climates cause stomach
aches. Some elephants will even peel fruit before eating.
The Thai white elephant is very particular about eating and will
not consume any food that has fallen on the ground and will not
eat with the rest of the herd.
Related Animal Species :
Historically there were some 300 different species that belonged
to this category. These included mastodons, mammoths and pygmy
elephants believed to have died out in Southern Thailand in the
early 1920's. All other members of the proboscidea animal are
now extinct.
The nearest current relative to elephants are the dugong and
manatees, sometimes referred to as sea cows, which belong to the
sirenia order. Fossil and other scientific studies indicate that
in a geological time-frame that this is a fairly recent branching
off from a common ancestor.
The myth and legend of
the white elephant began in Southeast Asia
- The Land of the White Elephant..
In the story of the Buddha, the white elephant is connected to
fetility and to knowledge. On the eve of giving birth to the Lord
Buddha, his mother dreams that a white elephant comes to present
her with a lotus, symbol of purity and knowledge.
At the heart of the first great Southeast Asian Empire, at the
Angkor Wat in Cambodia, the might of the war elephants is
depicted on murals of the region's armies.
Over the next few hundred years, two states dominated the region
- the forerunners of modern Burma and Thailand (Siam). In both,
the elephant was a very important animal. It was key to military
success - both in mass battles, and in the elephant duels.
It was also key to royal pageantry - kings chose the biggest,
most magnificent elephants for royal ceremonies and processions.
Kings and courtiers spent a lot of time and energy hunting
elephants from the forests. And the most powerful kings kept
thousands in their stables.
The white elephant was something above an ordinary elephant. It
had sacred power. It was the mount of the war god. It brought
fertility. For the kings of Burma and Siam, the possession of
these sacred beasts became very important. A king who had many,
fine white elephants would be successful - his kingdom would
prosper and his reign be long. If his white elephants died, it
foretold disaster for king and kingdom.
This was set out in a Buddhist text, the "Three Worlds" says:
"The magnificent king has seven things: a perfect wife, and able
treasurer, a wise chief minister, a swift horse, a wheel of the
law and a precious gem to guide his actions: and the most noble
of white elephants."
The kings hunted eagerly for these fine and special beasts.
Occasionally they presented them to one another as marks of
diplomacy. Sometimes they fought over them. And always they
looked after them well - because their rule depended on it.
The Royal White Elephants were not taken to war, and not ridden
in procession, Rather they were kept within the confines of the
palace, entrusted to the care of senior officials, fed well,
washed regularly, and worried over constantly.
When the British envoy came to Amarapura in 1855, Mr. C. Grant,
the artist, drew beautiful pictures of the royal white elephant
Nibbana. Grant also made an eyewitness account of the noble beast
as follow: "The colour of the animal was a cream very slight dun,
his magnificent tusks nearly touch the ground. He was in bands of
crimson cloth or velvet and gold, studded with large bosses of
gold, margined with innumerable rubies,..."
By the nineteenth century, the white elephant was firmly
established as one of the special wonder of Siam. The American
Frank Vincent titled his book on Southeast Asia, The Land of the
White Elephant,
The Norwegian traveler, Carl Bock, starts his book of Siam with a
description of the king's white elephant. He also made a painting
of the animal. But the attendants were dismayed that in the
painting the elephant didn't look fair enough. So they washed the
animal with tamarind-water for serveral days and asked Bock back
to redo the painting. Bock admitted that the color had changed:
"So I made a second watercolor drawing... so that my readers can
form a correct idea of a real "white elephant", for this was
acknowledged to be the fairest ever caught at least within living
memory."
From Burma too, came reports of the kings' extravagant care for
white elephants. Though his favorite white elephant was clearly
dying, the last Burmese king, Thibaw, loaded him with treasures,
making him the wealthiest individual in the country. His forehead
was decked with a spray of diamonds to ward off evil spirits.
Diamonds were set into each tusk. A golden plaque, inscribed with
his titles, Jung from his head. From his ears hung golden
pendants. Four golden umbrellas protected him from the heat of
the sun. Above his gold feeding trough, a mirror specially
ordered from France was installed to reflect his splendor. Yet
the white elephant died. The pundits predicted plagues, floods,
earthquakes. But the real disaster was more prosaic. The British
took over Burma and deposed the king.
In neighboring Siam, the kings still revered the white elephant.
Indeed, they put the white elephant on their new flag.
But with elephants no longer so vital for warfare, elephant hunts
had become less common, and fewer of the rare white elephants
were found. The Siamese king passed a law demanding that any
white elephant found in the kingdom had to be presented to the
king. He sent out scouting parties and offered rewards.
The discovery of a white elephant became a special event, a time
for national celebration. The surgeon Finlayson arrived in
Bangkok just after one discovery in the 1820s. With a scientist's
eye, he noted they were not "snow white" oddities, but a kind of
albino. And rather than spinning stories of gold mats, he noted
they were well kept, in gold condition and clean surroundings
Thirty years later, Sir John Bowring also arrived in Bangkok a
few days after a newly found white elephant had been welcomed to
the capital in a glorious procession down the river. He was
escorted to the corrals and shown the prized animal. Praya Chang
( King's greatest white elephant) at Amarin Vinichai Palace Pra
Savej Vachirabhaha of King Rama 6
After Sir John had negotiated the main trade treaty between
Britain and Siam, the Siamese king sent to Queen Victoria a tuft
of the white elephant's hairs; and to Sir John himself, a few
hairs from the tail. Unfortunately the elephant died soon after,
and Sir John received another gift, described by the king as "a
portion of her white skin with beautiful body hairs preserved in
spirit. I trust it will be an article of curiosity." Sir John
passed it on to the Museum of the Zoological Society.
Both the king with whom Sir John negotiated (King Mongkut), and
his son King Chualongkorn, were great modernizers. They welcomed
foreigners. They pushed forward reforms which helped Siam to
escape colonialism and emerge as a modern nation. But being
modern reformers did not mean abandoning the white elephant.
After all, both King Mongkut's father and grandfather had died
only shortly after their own treasured white elephants had passed
away. When King Mongkut's white elephant was sick, he nursed it
back to health, and himself lived for another 14 years.
King Mongkut also wrote a manual describing the mnay points of a
perfect white elephant - including yellow eyes, white nails,
pinkish skin, white hairs, and a beautiful snore. The beauty of a
woman can not be catalogued like this, he noted, because men have
differing tastes. But the beauty of white elephant is more
definite.
When King Mongkut heard that America had no elephants, he offered
to send some over. "If on the continent there should be several
pairs of young male and female elephants turned loose in the
forest where there was an abundance of water and ... if the
climate there should prove favorable to an elephant, we are of
opinion that after a while they will increase till the
inhabitants of America will be able to catch them and tame and
use them as beasts of burden making them of benefit of the
country"
President Lincoln replied that the American climate was probably
unsuitable, and that they preferred to use steam power. But he
thanked the Siamese king for the gift of two magnificent elephant
tusks.
King Mongkut's son, King Chulalongkorn traveled to Europe in
1907. One of his German hosts had heard about the Siamese love
for the white elephant. He hired a local artists to make a flag
with a white elephant and hang it all around the house where the
king was lodged. The King thanked him very much for the thought.
It had made him feel very much at home. But it was a pity the
artist had probably never seen an elephant. The animal on the
flag looked more like a cow. He would send them a proper
elephant. What he meant by this was the Order of the White
Elepahnt - a decoration granted by the king for service to the
state.
When Siamese envoys traveled to England and had audience with
Queen Victoria. They were most impressed with her appearance: "
One can not but be struck with the aspect of the august Queen of
England, or fail to observe that she must be from a race of godly
and warlike kings and rulers of the earth, in that her eyes,
complexion, and above all her bearing , are those of a beautiful
and majestic white elephant." In the Brahman text, The seven
specific good attributes which the white elephants must have
are:
1. A white or pinkish color around the cornea of the eyes.
2. The roof of the mouth white or pink and unridged.
3. White or pink toenails.
4. White or light brown hair that is transparent when held up to
light. Two or more body hairs growing out of one follicle.
5. The sking must be white, pink ,light brown, or light grey.
6. The tale's hair must be long.
7. White or pink genitals.
There are many more details about the attributes of white
elephant
In Laos, after the new form of government came into power, the
king was put into the working commune and died a few years after
that. One of the king's white elephant was kept in the zoo near
Vientiane. This one the royal officer from Thailand got a chance
to see it and he said that it does not meet all the major
characteristics of a royal white elephant, mentioned in the
ancient text:
Another white elephant of a better attributes is kept somewhere
close to the house of the government's leader. This one seem to
meet all the major characteristics of the royal white elephant as
you may see in the above pictures. This elephant will lead the
parade every year during Songkran festival (Thailand and Loas'
New Year, on the 13th of April) in Vientiane. It would be dressed
up in the old traditional maner.
In Cambodia, the last white elephant was seen and taken picture
in the royal palace during the1960's. After that, the civil war
in Cambodia took place for many years, and nobody have seen or
heard any thing about white elephant ever since. In Vietnam,
white elephants were mentioned in the history on and off, but
there are no records of the white elephant being found.
The white elephants are very rare today, due to the change in
politic of the countries in Southeast Asia. In Burma or Myanmar,
white elephant do not exist anymore. The last white elephant in
Burma was found in 1961 in Intawgyi District of Kachin State,
Norther Burma. It was a male elephant. The white elephant spent
first few months in its homeland and was moved to Yangon Zoo for
public interest. It's complexion was not actually white but
pinkish like a Scandinavian's. And the hairs growing thinly all
over the body were all white and shiny. It was reported that the
elephant had all the major characteristics of a royal white
elephant, mentioned the ancient scriptures: Despite its
regality, the elephant didn't receive a VIP treatment later.
Besides, the mother elephant was left in the timber production
site in the northern Myanmar. The young white elephant therefore
was looked after by a nurse elephant of ordinary colour. To make
matters worse, he didn't enjoy the publicity he received every
day in the zoo and the food quality didn't seem to be in
accordance with the needs of the royal elephant either. Finally,
he died an ordinary death in 1971 and has been put into oblivion
since then.
White elephants' sculptures, paintings, wood craves, murals and
archives can be found just about any places you can imagine in
Southeast Asia, especially in Thailand. You can find it in the
temples, palaces, tourist souvenirs, and many other products.
Some of the paintings which you will see in the following pages
are among the oldest and the most famous collection.
02. December 2004