SIAM AND ITS PEOPLE by A. Bartholomew

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jul 16, 1894

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 20, No. 36.

SIAM AND ITS PEOPLE.

By A. Bartholomew

THE country of Siam, which has been brought before the public notice lately in connection with the French, lies to the southwest of China and the southeast of Burmah. Little has been known about this country or its people up to the present time, so perhaps a short description would interest your readers.

The country of Siam as a whole is very rich, both as regards agricultural and mineral wealth. Its principal exports are rice, timber, cattle, tin, and rubies. The country is worked by traders, most of whom are in the employ of the English or British subjects, three parts of the trade being in the hands of the English. Bangkok, the capital of Siam, lies on the right bank of the Menam River, a small stream rising in the northern part of the country. The native city of Bangkok is surrounded by a stone wall about fourteen feet in thickness, entrance being provided for through five large gates. The population is estimated at about 400,000, of whom about one-half are Chinese.

The king's palace, a large group of buildings about half a mile square, is situated on a small island in the river close to the city. It is surrounded by a high wall, which prevents the public from gazing into the palace grounds. Around the palace are well-kept roads. On one side is the river, and on the other the parade ground of the Siamese army, for they boast of both an army and a navy.

The mouth of the River Menam is well protected by forts. The banks are very low, trees growing down to the water's edge. Almost all the houses in Bangkok are built on piles and floating rafts, as the river is very liable to overflow its banks and wash away the houses if they were built on the level ground.

The Siamese as a race are very indolent, and, though they have the opportunity of adopting Western ideas and civilization, they are too indolent to do so. The king, who is favorable to the Western civilization, has tried to make the people exert themselves, but all to no purpose. A few of the noblemen have been to England, and have received an English education; but with the advancement of civilization they are afraid they will lose their power over the people.

The Siamese are a small race of people, being much like the Japanese in feature and stature. Formerly the whole of the lower classes were slaves owned by the noblemen. When slavery was abolished by the king, the majority would not leave their former masters. So used were they to being looked after and fed by others that many starved, being, in fact, like children deprived of their natural guardians. They have not yet recovered themselves and taken their place as men of action, and will not exert themselves to improve their understanding. All the improvement in the country has been made by Europeans.

The king is a despotic ruler; he has the improvement of his people and country at heart, but is prevented by the indolence of the people from doing much for them. The king has over seventy wives, and two queens, who are called first and second queen. These are really his own sisters, the first queen being heir to the throne. The first queen is greatly taken up with Western ideas, and has a large orphanage. She has also organized an ambulance corp among the ladies of the palace.

And now a word about the religion of the Siamese. Siam is one of the strongholds of Buddhism, and one of the most noticeable features in the scenery of the country is the vast number of temples—new temples, old temples, and temples in complete ruins; for they do not repair their temples, but when one falls to pieces they build a new one close to it.

One-tenth of the people are priests, and whichever way you turn you are sure to meet them. It is the custom for everyone to go through the priesthood. If one has a troublesome wife, he enters the priesthood for three years, at the end of which time he is allowed to take another wife. The priests are supported by voluntary contributions from the people, and every priest has to rise with the sun if he wishes to have any food. It is a common sight to see a line of priests, each with a large bowl, collecting food, the people coming to the doors of their houses, and giving each, as they pass, a large spoonful of cooked rice or other food, as the case may be. They give as they can afford, but all give something.

I have often thought, as I contemplated such scenes, what a lesson we, as Christians, could have from this, for these poor heathen give willingly of their substance, and they come to their doors to give it. The temple grounds are considered by the poorer class very holy, and beggars who feel the approach of death try if possible to crawl to one of the temples to die. In one large temple in Bangkok are a number of vultures, which are fed with the bodies of the dead, after which the bones are burned. I myself witnessed two bodies eaten by these horrid-looking birds. I also saw a beggar dying, who had crawled to this place to die, believing that, if eaten by vultures after death, he would go to paradise.

Missionary work has not advanced far in this country yet. In Bangkok there are a few American missionaries, but these I think are the only workers in Siam. They have a large mission house, also a small orphanage, kept by two of the lady workers. They have not seen much result of their labors, for there are many difficulties to contend with,—first, the language; then the dense superstition in which the masses are enveloped, and the indolence of the people. Here is a field for men wholly given to God, men who have been tested by God and found true, for only men full of the Holy Spirit of God, separate from all things worldly, can be used by him to disperse this dense darkness and superstition.

The Siamese, though rejecting the Western ideas of improvement, have, nevertheless, accepted the ways of Western merchants and traders, and are fast falling lower in the scale of humanity. Much could be said on the subject of missionaries for Siam, but I will conclude my letter with an appeal to the people of God to awaken to a sense of their responsibility in regard to this dark land. England, though enjoying almost all the trade of the country, has not a single missionary in the land. May God raise up many to preach the glad tidings of salvation to this people.

H. M. S. Linnet, China Station, May 29, 1894.