Читать книгу Siam and Laos, as Seen by Our American Missionaries - Various - Страница 9

To give you some idea of Bangkok, the capital city of Siam, I will imagine myself once more a resident there, with you for a visitor, and will invite you this fine morning to take a seat in our family boat, which is at the landing, and we will go out upon the river.

It is a strange city, unlike any in the Western World, and if we cannot “see the lions,” we may perhaps “see the elephants” and many novel and interesting things. You have already become somewhat familiar with the copper-colored complexion, the black eyes, black hair and black teeth, the scanty clothing and shaven heads of the people.

We will confine our excursion to-day to the Menam River, the Broadway of Bangkok, while the hundreds of canals that intersect it at every angle may be considered the less-important streets. You find the river a busy scene, but need have no fears of a collision with any of the innumerable boats of every size and description that pass, for the Siamese are very skillful boatmen.

Your attention is already attracted by the beautiful wat, or temple, with its surroundings, on our right. Is it not a beautiful spot, so prettily laid out with fine shade trees, flowering plants and well-swept walks? There are about two hundred wats in Bangkok consecrated to the worship of Buddha. Some of them have groves several acres in extent, containing pagodas, image-houses, priests’ dwellings and salas, or lounging-places. They occupy the pleasantest parts of the city, and the deluded people spend vast sums on these temples and their idols, expecting in this way to make merit for themselves. You will not wonder that they are anxious to make all the merit they can when their religion teaches them that at death their soul enters the body of some animal—​a bird, it may be, or a snake, an elephant or a buffalo—​unless they have made enough merit to be born something better and higher.

BANGKOK ON THE MENAM.

Observe the exterior of this temple. What a gay appearance the neat-colored tiles give the roof! The front, how laboriously carved and how richly gilded! The doors and windows too are more or less carved and gilded. Now we will go inside. The scenes with which these inner walls are so gayly painted are chiefly from the life of Buddha, and see, in the farther end, on an ornamental throne, is an immense gilt image of this deity in a sitting posture. This is made of brick and mortar, but idols are sometimes of gold, silver, brass, ivory, wood and stone. All have the same self-complacent, sleepy look. Look! a worshiper has followed us in. Watch his movements. See him prostrate himself before the idol, touching his forehead three times to the floor, and now he lays his simple offering of flowers upon the altar. Mark the complacency of his countenance as he leaves, no doubt feeling that he has added not a little to his stock of merit.

HOUSE-SPARROW.

But we must return to our boat and move on up the river, for I hope to have time to visit the royal temple and perhaps some others.

Ah! there are some priests. I feared we should not meet any of these yellow-robed gentry. How strange they look with shaven heads and eyebrows! Such as these are the religious teachers of the country. A few years ago there were ten thousand in Bangkok alone and some thirty thousand in the kingdom—​a perfect army (with few exceptions) of self-conceited idlers; but I am happy to tell you that their number has now greatly diminished. They live on the charity of the people, going about every morning from house to house among their parishioners, with their alms-bowl, and with a fruit-bag slung over one shoulder. The old mother or grandmother is up at an early hour to have rice cooked and ready for them. She puts a ladleful of hot rice into the bowl of each as he passes, and a handful of fruit into his fruit-bag. Do they thank her? By no means. She ought rather to thank them, for they have given her an opportunity to make merit. They collect sufficient for their morning and noonday meal. Their religion forbids them to take food after midday.

Notice the boats. Some, used for trading, are loaded with rice, sugar, salt, cotton, oil, dried fish, or dye-woods, as the case may be. Some are at once boat, shop and dwelling. In the distance is a nobleman’s boat, propelled by a dozen or two paddlers. What an odd little house in the centre! Do you see how much at his ease His Lordship is reclining, with two or three attendants down on their elbows and knees before him? Look yonder at that small boat paddled by a little child five or six years old. How unconcerned the little fellow seems as he moves about entirely alone, his boat hardly larger than himself, the edge scarcely two inches above the water! Men, women and children in this country can swim; should this child upset he would look out for himself and think very little of the matter.

Many smaller craft are market-boats, with fruits and vegetables for sale. Notice some of the fruits as they pass. That one nearly as large as a child’s head and resembling a huge orange is the shaddock or pomelow. This large one, which smells so very disagreeably, and which is so completely encased in spines as if to say, “Touch me not!” is the far-famed durian, which the natives consider the king of fruits. It weighs from five to ten pounds. This small round mahogany-colored fruit is the delicious mangosteen—​that golden one, the luscious mango. Then there are the rich custard-apple, the refreshing orange, the blushing rhambutan, the pineapple, the banana, etc.

You see the flags of many different nations flying from the ships, of which none are more beautiful than the “star-spangled banner” of our native land. There are also scores of steam-yachts on the rivers of Siam now, owned by the natives, but when I first came here there was not one to be seen. You ask what these strange-looking craft, moored by immense ratan cables, are? They are Chinese junks, and it would be hard to tell where the Chinese obtained their model. The wonder is that such clumsy, unshapely, unsightly things can be made to traverse the sea. And the glowing colors in which they are painted, red always predominating! And don’t overlook the large eye painted on each bow. The Chinese say, “No got eye, how can see?”

But you must not get so much interested in the boats and the fruits as not to notice the homes of this people. Many of the princes and nobles now have fine houses handsomely furnished. The missionaries, foreign consuls, merchants and wealthy Chinese have good, substantial dwellings. The homes of the common people, you see, are small, of one story, and thatched with the leaves of the attap palm. Most of them are neither painted nor whitewashed. Those upon the land are placed on posts six feet high, and the sides of many of them are made of bamboos split and woven together, forming a kind of basket-work.

But thousands of the people live in floating houses, which you have observed lining both banks of the river. Notice them particularly now, for they are one of the peculiarities of this Eastern city. They are but one story high, you see, and built of boards and placed on rafts of large bamboos, which rise and fall with the tide, and hence are called floating houses. These rafts must be renewed every two or three years. The houses are kept in their place by large posts on each side driven deep into the muddy bed of the river. They do sometimes, however, get detached from their moorings, though fastened to them by rings of ratan, and float up or down the river with the tide. These houses have some advantages over all others, for if neighbors are disagreeable or a fire breaks out the occupants have only to move off with the tide, house, furniture and all, to some other spot.

FLOATING STORES AT BANGKOK.

You will observe that many of them are open in front with a veranda, and are shops. This one seems to have a variety, and we will stop a few moments. You perceive there are no showcases, but the smaller and more fanciful articles are displayed on these shelves, arranged one above another, like a flower-stand, to the height of some three feet. Are you waiting for the shopkeeper? The personage seated on the floor by the side of his goods is none other than he. He seems quite indifferent about selling, but look about and see what of all this mixed medley you will purchase. There, in the way of dry goods, are bleached and unbleached and turkey-red muslins, Siamese waist-cloths and some fading calicoes. Here are a few boxes of tea, some native umbrellas, a bunch of peacock-feathers, tigers’ skins and tigers’ bones, piles of coarse crockery, pieces of matting, etc. There are also pretty little brown teapots and tiny cups, all of which at home would be considered toys for children, but, I assure you, they are as large as any used by the tea-drinkers of this country. There is a set now on a little tray behind you that are in daily use. Ah! you want to purchase a set with the tray, do you? Well, you have made a very good selection, but the shopman may not fancy your flat silver coins, though they are fast being introduced. Make your selection and I will pay your bills. I have yet to show you the money of the country. See! a stamped silver bullet, with a small notch cut out of one side. What does it remind you of? I do not wonder you smile. This largest piece is a tical, and is worth sixty cents; this next size is a salung, or fifteen cents; this smallest a fuang, or seven and a half cents. If I had come shopping with you a few years ago, and you had wanted any smaller change, I should have used cowrie-shells, of which it took one thousand to equal a dime. The shopman is paid, and now with the Siamese good-bye, Chah! lah! pi kaun, we must move on. Do not think these are the only shopping-places in the city, for besides several fine foreign stores we might, if we had time, go up into the Chinese bazaar, which is about a mile long. We should find there tailors, blacksmiths, druggists, goldsmiths, idol-makers, dyers, etc.

We are just passing a floating-house restaurant. We will move slowly and see what they have—​pork steaks, ducks, fowls, hot rice and curry, dried fish and vegetables. Shall we call? No? Well, then, we will take our own lunch that we have brought with us, and, refreshed by it, be ready to visit a royal temple which we shall soon reach.

Notice this large canal on our right, for it extends entirely around the city proper, following the line of the city-wall, which is five miles in circumference, till it meets the river again.

Do you notice that smoke rising in yonder temple-ground? It is from a funeral pile, for in this country the dead are burned, unless they committed suicide, were struck by lightning or died of cholera or some other disease causing sudden death, in which case they are considered as deficient in merit and undeserving of burning. You will be surprised when I tell you that two armsful of wood are sufficient to reduce a body to ashes.

Look at that lofty tower on the left, rising full two hundred feet, with such exquisite proportions. It is considered the finest pagoda in Bangkok, but I think the four tall, gracefully-tapered spires in the wat-ground directly opposite are not much behind in beauty. Under the long, tiled roof near them reclines an image of Buddha which is perhaps the largest idol in the world. There is a huge one on this side that towers up seventy feet as it sits cross-legged, but we will cross over and visit the larger one, the “Sleeping Idol.” Let us land and look about a while before we enter the principal temple. You see there are other temple-buildings and small pagodas, besides the usual houses for the hundreds of priests. In one of these temples are to be seen four hundred images of Buddha, life-size and each seated on a gilded throne. Now we will go in and see the immense image. The temple itself is two hundred feet long, and the idol at least one hundred and sixty feet long. You see it lies on its side, as if asleep. It is made of brick and heavily gilded. I suppose the gold-leaf is of many thicknesses in some places, for worshipers generally stick on a fresh piece. As we have our yard-measure, let us see how long the feet are. Five yards and more! and each toe is one yard long! Buddha’s toes and fingers are supposed to have been all of one length, and look at the soles of the great feet, so beautifully inlaid with figures in mother-of-pearl!

But come, we must not linger longer here. The palace of His Majesty is near, and we must get a glimpse of this, though I fear its exterior will not be as imposing as you thought. The palace-grounds are enclosed by a wall about a mile in circumference. Here are the audience-halls, the mint, arsenal, halls of justice, museum, royal chapel, and separated from them by an inner wall is the royal harem, which is in itself a compact little town, with several streets, a bazaar, a temple, pleasure-gardens and the homes of the numerous wives, sisters and other relatives of the king.

This gate in the city-wall will give us access to the stables of the elephants. Were it early in the morning we should see them coming down to the river to bathe and drink.

Our walk takes us through a market, but you must not look for neatness or order, only a confused display of vegetables and fruits, betel-nuts, cigars, odd-looking cakes, eggs, salted and fresh fish, dried meats. But why this commotion? Ah! the reason is plain, for there, with his train of attendants, comes a prince borne rapidly along in an open palanquin on the shoulders of men, and the traders and customers must make way for him. Ten years ago all, as if impelled by one impulse, would have respectfully dropped down on elbows and knees, but the present young king has done away with this servile custom. Ten years ago hat or cap, stockings or shoes, would not have been needed to denote his greatness, the number of his retinue showing that. Notice his attendants. One carries an immense state umbrella over the head of His Lordship; then there is the sword-bearer and the pipe-bearer; one carries his gold betel-box and tray, another his spittoon; one has his lighted match-rope, another his fan, and another his golden vessel of drinking-water. Now the prince has passed, and we may go on our way to the elephant-stables, which are very neat. Let us venture in. You need not fear that they are not securely fastened by those large ropes to the posts. How incessantly they sway their great trunks, as if weary of confinement! The burnished metal rings which encircle the white tusks of the larger ones look like gold, but their small peculiar eyes forbid close examination. These bundles of fresh grass by the door are cut by state criminals, whose lifelong business it is each morning to furnish sufficient for the day. There are several other stables, each having three or more elephants, but we will not prolong our walk, for I think you must be satisfied with sight-seeing for one day. The tide will be with us, and we will return at once to the mission premises, some miles below us, leaving other objects of interest till another day. I should like you to visit the royal mint, the spacious, elegant building where the curious money is made, and you ought not to return to America without attending the centennial exhibition, for Bangkok is now (in 1882) one hundred years old. It is said that the royal jewelry there on exhibition is valued at about five million dollars. There is a pyramid of untold wealth which from base to summit is brilliant with rings, crowns, rich chains, bracelets and anklets, and boxes with diamonds and precious stones of every description. Light is thrown on it by reflectors, so that the beautiful things are seen to the best possible advantage.

As we came up the river I did not point out to you our upper Presbyterian mission-station. It is just here on our right. The fine building is the girls’ boarding-school, the first in the kingdom of Siam. The pretty chapel connected with the school was built by gifts from American women.

We are just passing on our left the Baptist mission to the Chinese, and the little English chapel, where there is English service every Sabbath afternoon, conducted by the missionaries. And now here we are at our own landing again.