FUNERAL OF A SIAMESE GOD.
- ? The Times of India announces the death of one of the l ! *-in$ idol 9of Siam. The oldest of the white elephant*, which was born in 1770, died in its temple at Bangkok, in November last. Every one !cnows that this famous white elephant, beforo whom a whole people bow the knee, is the emblem of the King of Siam. It is honored with the most beautiful of presents, for the Indians, full of the idea of metamorphosis, still believe that so majestic an animal could only be animated by the spirit of a god or of an Emperor. Each white elephant possesses its palace, a vessel of gold, snd harness resplendent with jewels. Several mandarins are attached to its service, and feed it with cakes and sugarcane. The King of Siam is the only personage before whom it bows the knee, and a similar salutation is rendered it by the monarch. The deceased idol has been accorded a magnificent funeral. A hundred Buddhist priests officiated at the ceremony, preceded by trumpets and followed by an immense concourse of people, accompanied the funeral car to the bank of Menam, where the King and his noble lords received the mortal remains, which were transported to the opposite bank for burial. A procession of 30 vessels figured at that carious ceremony. All the floating houses, ranged in double file on the Menam to the tuue of 60,000, were adorned with flags of all colors and symbolical attributes
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP18780420.2.44
Bibliographic details
Evening Post, Volume XVI, 20 April 1878, Page 2 (Supplement)
Word Count
260FUNERAL OF A SIAMESE GOD. Evening Post, Volume XVI, 20 April 1878, Page 2 (Supplement)
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