Elephants in Thai Culture

By Shanaz Mohamed

Have you ever wondered why you keep seeing elephants everywhere in Thailand? They are in souvenir shops, statues, and other forms of decorations.

Elephant Souvenir Bags. 

“Chang” or elephant is an important part of Thai culture and beliefs. In Thai culture they symbolise the king’s divine right to rule and good luck. They are often featured in Buddhist art and architecture, a spiritual mentor for people of all walks of life. Here, people claim that elephants saved their kingdom.  Back when Thailand was still known as Siam, Thai Kings used elephants as battlewagons and tanks, in warfare against their neighbouring Burma. The flag of Siam for had a white elephant as its symbol until Rama VI removed it. To this day, white elephants are considered to be sacred and auspicious.

What further illustrates the cultural significance of elephants in Thailand is Chaang Thai. It is the National Thai Elephant Day and it’s celebrated on the 13th March. In 2002 the celebrations were hosted at the Maesa Elephant Camp, where a kantoke feast was held for the elephants, along with traditional blessing ceremonies.

National Thai Kantoke feast. (http://www.worldhum.com)

Due to various reasons the elephant population in Thailand dropped from a 100,000 to 5000. However, almost half of the elephants left are domestic. These domesticated elephants are often used in tourism. However, what the tourists aren’t aware of is, in order to domesticate them, they are put through training. The belief is to control them they must be made to feel fear and pain. So the rituals are performed at varying forms and degrees of cruelty. In northern Thailand, young elephants are tied up and put in to a tiny wooden cage, also known as a “training crush”. Nails are stabbed in to their ears and feet. Elephants that have gone through this ritual are taught to raise their feet on command so mobilising them are easier. The orders are enforced by stabbing their legs with sticks that have nails on the end. And mistakes are punished with beatings.

The crushing ritual. Taken from:http://preciousjules1985.wordpress.com

While many people feel that these traditions should be stopped in favour of more humane training strategies, there is the question of whether any other alternatives exist. Moreover, the law remains uncertain about this situation. It states that “Domestic elephants are considered livestock”, so according to Thai law, they are really not any different from cattle. Unfortunately this also means that penalties enforced for abuse is little to none.

Nevertheless, projects to preserve them have been set up in various parts of the country. For instance, there is a Thai Elephant Conservation in Lampung; the Surin elephant gathering at the “ISAN” area, the Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai and the Khao Yai National Park. These places allow people to interact with elephants and view them up close.

Surprisingly, elephants are still being used for ceremonial and religious purposes. For example for festival and rituals like marriages, they are dressed in elaborate jewelled robes. Even though the younger generations find elephants less relevant to their lives than their parents and grandparents do, it would still remain important, but in the form of cultural icons.

Wedding Elephant. Taken from: Google Images

To conclude here’s some elephant related Thai legends. Thais believe that a pregnant woman who walks three times under an elephant's belly is ensured of an easy delivery. And many compare marriage to an elephant; the husband is the front legs, choosing directions, and the wife is the back legs, providing the  power!

Shanaz Mohamed, 19, is a Psychology and International Studies major, a dedicated doodler, collector of quotes, and a comic book geek, among other things.