are paid, not only by the priests themselves,
but by the people. No Talapoin is qualified to
ordain without a license from him, but otherwise
he has no temporal or spiritual authority.
Indeed it may be remarked, that there exists
no organized system of subordination and discipline
among the priests of Gautama in Siam;
the King being as much the unlimited head of
the Church as he is of the State.
A stranger immediately recognizes the Tala-
poins by the singularity of their dress and appearance.
Instead of being more than half-
naked, like the people of every rank and degree,
they are always decently and respectably clothed.
The dress of a Siamese Talapoin is the same
with that of the priests of Buddha in Ava and
Ceylon. The colour must always be yellow;
the fabric may be either silk or cotton, and the
form or fashion is upon one uniform model, not
to be deviated from. I t consists of four distinct
parts, the principal of which flows in an easy
drapery over the body. The scrip to receive alms
is suspended over the left shoulder by a band of
yellow cloth, and must consist of an iron basket
covered over with cotton, silk, or woollen
stuff, usually of a red colour, and as rich in texture
and embroidery as the taste and means of
the owner can supply; always, however, to the
exclusion of the precious metals. The naked and
close-shaved head of the Talapoin has no protection
against the inclemency of the weather, except
what is afforded by a small fan held over
it with the hand. This article, which is an inseparable
part of the dress of a Talapoin, is very
commonly made of the leaf of the Palmyra, and
hence denominated by the Sanscrit word Talpat,
from which it may be conjectured that the name
Talapoin itself has been borrowed by Europeans.
Twice a-month, about the new and full moon,
the priests of Gautama shave their heads and
eyebrows in token of mortification, and also, according
to their own modest statement, lest they
might prove too agreeable to the fair sex !
Every Talapoin is considered as the representative
of Buddha, or Gautama, on e a rth ; and
hence the colour and form of his dress, the moral
and religious functions he is expected to perform,
the reverence due to him from the laity,
and the immunities to which he is entitled from
the State. The very name by which they are
recognized shows the veneration with which they
are considered. This name is Phra, a word of
the Pali language, which means Lord. As a
generic word, and indefinitely, it is applied to
them, and to the idols of Buddha in the temples
; and definitely, to Gautama, or Buddha, to
the King, to the White Elephant, &c.
Secular persons, whatever be their rank, must
make an obeisance to a Talapoin in passing or
meeting h im ; and the latter must not return the