the Abbé Gervaise, observes of them, that “ they commonly despise other nations,
and are persuaded that the greatest injustice in the world is done to them when their
pre-eminence is disputed.** This delusion no doubt arises from their having imme-
morially domineered over the small and inferior nations surrounding them ; and their
having no political equal. The presence of a large body of Chinese living among them,
and superior to them in laboriousness,ingenuity—even in personal strength and stature
—has by no means contributed to disabuse them. In so far as security of life and person,
and to some degree, even of property is concerned, the Siamese are a safe people for
strangers to live among, but they are by no means an agreeable one. The chief instrument
for maintaining subordination and order, is the rod, administered very freely to
all ranks, and its infliction held to be no disgrace by any, a matter in which they
agree with the Burmese, Coehin-Chinese, and Chinese, but differ wholly from the
Malays, who are as impatient of a blow as the most sensitive Europeans.
Among the Siamese, the distinction of castes has no existence, and in so far as
religion is concerned, there is no hereditary privileged order. Except official rank,
which is entirely personal, the only civil distinctions among them are of freemen and
slaves. Slavery is an established institution, and it is thought that about one-third
part of the whole Siamese nation are bondsmen. These are of three descriptions, '
namely, prisoners of war, parties sold for a consideration by their parents under a
written contract, and parties who mortgage their services in liquidation of a debt.
The second class is the only one not redeemable, and the last the most numerous.
"Wb are assured by the bishop of Siam, that the Siamese treat their slaves with kindness
and humanity, exacting from them no severe labour, and treating them rather
as domestic servants than bondsmen.
Marriages are contracted by the Siamese at from 15 to 17 years of age, that is, after
the attainment of the age of puberty, rather a late period for an eastern people.
When the time is delayed by parents over-anxious for favourable matches for their
daughters, elopements are not unfrequent, the law afterwards enforcing a marriage if
the parents should not be voluntarily reconciled. The husband has a right to sell a
wife that he has purchased, but not otherwise. Generally, wives are well treated,
not immured even among the higher classes, but among the lower performing much
drudgery. In Siam the wages of labour are comparatively high, that is, high in
proportion to the labour performed. Hence, a large family is not a burthen but
an advantage, parents being even enabled to dispose of their children by sale to
advantage. This is a state of things that was to be expected in a fertile country
underpeopled, and it is what has led to the extensive immigration of the Chinese,
who find no difficulty in obtaining Siamese wives, or wives from the half-caste settlers
of their own country. I t is the paucity of inhabitants, too, that has no doubt led to
the existence of slavery, found in every underpeopled country of Asia, but hardly
perceptible in such populous countries as Bengal, China, and Java.
In the common and necessary arts, the Siamese have made but slender progress,
Immemorially they have been possessed of a knowledge of the useful and precious
metals. They have grown their own cotton, and manufactured their own clothing.
They manufacture coarse pottery, and they make bricks and tiles, but in no art have
they attained any marked eminence. The women are the spinners and the weavers
of their tissues, as among all the less civilised nations of Asia. The smelters and
workers in iron are the resident Chinese ; and the raw silk which their women weave
is imported from China, for they have none of their own; nor, indeed, do they
possess any native textile material except cotton. _ . j. .
The only remarkable exhibition of Siamese skill in the arts is shown in their
architecture, and this is almost wholly confined to their religious edifices, among
which may be included the royal palaces. One temple, or rather many temples with
one large central one, which I visited myself in 1821, was contained within a square,
the wall of which measured at each side 650 English feet. All the temples within
the inclosure contained 1500 images of Buddha, some of them of most gigantic size,
while the number of priests was 500, and of neophites 750. In one temple out of the
many within the inclosure, there was an inscription which stated that it was built in
the year of 2338 of the sacred era, corresponding with the year 1795 of our time, and
that it cost 465,440 ticals, or about 58,1802. _ _
The lower part or ground storey of a Siamese temple is of ordinary brick and
mortar, and all ornament is reserved for the upper portion and roof, which are composed
of solid teak-wood, richly and elaborately carved, arid richly gilt both inside
and out, or covered with a coat of bright vermilion. The statues are of brass, or of
mortar, but in either case richly gilt.
Attached to the temples are the monasteries, and always near to them certain
pyramidal spn-es, usually containing a single image of Buddha. These are of solid
brick. The most remarkable of these is to be found still standing within a league of
the old capital. This is computed to be 400 feet in height, and is said to havfbeen
built in the year 1387 of our era. Like many other ancient buildings of the Buddhists
it is utterly neglected, and its gigantic gilt bronze statue of Buddha has, according to
M. raliegoix, for its sole worshippers, some thousands of bats.
The agriculture of Siam owes more to peculiarity of situation, rich alluvial land
and periodical inundation than to the skill of the people. The country contains no
nWim? lrrigatl0“ t® thos® of Southern India, nor does the practice of trans-
planting nca prevail as in Java. In the month of May the land for rice is carefully
weeded by means of a rude harrow, and with the first fall of rain in June, the seed
is sown, after a ploughing with a very simple one-handed implement. The crop keeps
S“®6 J? grow!,h Wlth the rl®e ?f the mundation, and as this abates and the land becomes
W Wr, ^ram npen?; an4 ,1s ire^Pe,d ln January. As in other countries where rice
has been immemorially cultivated, the varieties are very numerous, but the principal
culivated withm the tract of inundation is a large and fruitful oLe, as k sh oX by
its taking seven months to come to maturity. Of this, forty seeds are considered an
o f t h ? \T v i? h0rfcl®ultT °J and especially of that portion of the valley
f T , ab°Ut 1° or 11 lea&ues of ^ sea, and flooded, is distinguished for successful culture, producing most tronpoitc pale rfiorudiitcsa lilny
perfection, and some of the most distinguished of the Malay fruits which refuse to
been made ^ “ E tu d e s , in any other part of the world in which the trial has
The Siamese language is peculiar, differing materially from those of the neighbouring
nations, except the Lao, which is said to be fundamentally the same tongue
The Siamese call it phasa-thai, that is, “ the language of freemen.” The first wordin'
P, * The Siamese con1s8i srts lyorfa tiCwOor r^diale°cts, ftthhee v ulgar andb athhaes ac.o urtot nguTeh,A
Satniosns1 TwhicI^h haivSe aedmtbtriallc0etd5 tt0huIelg BUue’d dthhaistt *rel igthioen ,P aanldi b°rro uPgahKt aolomngm wiothn tthTe ma l lf rot tme
theparf nt °fb 0 tb - Tb? alphabetin which
are written is peculiar m the form of its letters, which, however, are arranged according
to the organic classification of the Hindus. I t forms a complex, but for its own rn r
pose, a complete system. Thus it has no fewer than 12 vowels 3 diphthongS and 5
semi-vowel characters or liquids united to vowels. Its whole vowel characters’ there
fore, amount to no fewer than 20,-som e long and some short. and some verv lopt
and some very short. The consonants amount to no fewer than 43 divided into
ooff lhimqudidds’s,P isibb iil1ant+s , agUnd! a* sdpeirnattaelss.* anAds lianb itahlse; wSainths car imt iaslcpehllaabneeto uisn cltahses cfoirmstp osed f o u r
o^n peculiar nasal tC T ‘ ha3 a corresponding aspirated one, with its whiTi"is! SX £ “K SXTSJ :ri,?S.!LohJTi17
T ? the language as ingenious and comprehensive; adding that
T h riV eClted ln alJ its combinations, it forms a complete dictionary of the language
language of t • moldaJs1 or adjectives, and the last by auxiliaries. In fact it is a
by a silk cord, make a volume and a lihLrvLf ! P.aI“ shPs> loosely connected
Books on religion ;t ™ “ ’ , a bbrary of such books belongs to every monastery.
in 'tTheh P. iawli a,s™ w t hf’ thQe CCiwngTalwes e a’n Pd SBu rmesWe,r iibtuetn in“ t heth c«h aSriaacmteers eo f cKhaamrabcoteiar., nor
The literature of Siam is m the form of both prose and verse, and is S d into
o o 2