The White Elephant

We're in Southeast Asia again this week, this time for the story of the royal symbol of Thailand.

In Thailand, as well as Siam, Thailand's predecessor, the White Elephant is a symbol of the royal line. All White Elephants belong to the king and are ceremonially presented to him.

White Elephants, also sometimes called Pink Elephants or Auspicious Elephants, are not actually white. They are generally a light reddish-brown, sometimes turning pink when wet. The elephants are not actually albino and the determination of a White Elephant is made by palace experts.

A White Elephant at Naypyidaw's Uppatasanti Pagoda (Wikimedia)

White Elephants are found almost entirely among Indian Elephants and are extremely rare or nonexistent in African Elephants. 

Despite the English use of the phrase White Elephant, there is no evidence to support the idea that the King would give a White Elephant to someone in order to bankrupt them. In fact, all White Elephants belong to the King, so one would never have been given away.

To the people of Thailand, these White Elephants are priceless. A White Elephant even appeared on the flag of Thailand from 1855 to 1916, over 60 years.

The Flag of Thailand, 1855-1916 (Wikimedia)

In Buddhism, the dominant religion in Thailand, the Buddha's mother dreamed of a White Elephant on the night before the Buddha's birth. The White Elehphant is a symbol of wisdom and purity in Buddhism and of prosperity and good fortune throughout Southeast Asia.

The current King of Thailand owns 10 White Elephants, six males and four females. The male and female elephants are kept in separate facilities, since they are not allowed to breed.

There is currently only one confirmed White Elephant living in the wild. Called Sudu Aliya, which means white elephant, she lives in Sri Lanka. She is currently being monitored by the Center for Conservation and Research of Sri Lanka and was last seen in 2012.

I found the website of the Thai Elephant Conservation Center very helpful in writing this article. The Conservation Center cares for all of the royal White Elephants.

Share Spotlight: China's Foot Binding Tradition

This week's Share Spotlight comes from the podcast Stuff You Missed in History Class.
China's Food Binding Tradition

Another pretty cool podcast this week, this time from the girls at Stuff You Missed in History Class.
Foot Binding occurred in China for around a thousand years. That, as Holly and Tracey mention, is far too long to consider something a "fad."Although painful and debilitating, foot binding proved difficult to stop and there may still be women alive today with bound feet, since the process survived into the 1950s. The practice was eventually stopped largely due to the response of Christian missionaries, who found the process horrifying.

How do we as outsiders look at this and other cultural practices with an objective lens? As Holly and Tracey ask, where do we draw the line between what we find distasteful and what is actually harmful?
(Though no argument here, this was definitely a harmful practice.)

Christmas Time in Scandinavia

So, Tuesday you got a Share Spotlight about Las Posadas. Today, you get post about Christmas in another part of the world!

Ever since reading about it in the American Girl book Kirsten's Surprise (yes, that was a long time ago and yes, I do want to read it again every Christmas) I've loved the celebrations of Saint Lucia that happens in Scandinavia.

Saint Lucia of Syracuse (St. Lucy to most of the rest of the world) was an early Christian martyr. Her name means light and, with her feast day the 13th of December, she came to be associated with midwinter celebrations of the return of longer days.

In many Scandinavian countries, a girl dresses in a white robe with a red sash and wears a wreath of candles on her head (though these days the candles are most likely to be electric, thank goodness). She often distributes "St. Lucia buns" or other baked goods. Usually, a traditional song is sung, with lyrics about how St. Lucia overcame the darkness.

St. Lucia celebration, from Wikipedia Commons.

In Sweden, it is common for the eldest girl in the family to play this role while other Scandinavian countries tend to have a single girl play St. Lucia for the town or region. To be picked to be St. Lucia is considered a great honor.

In Italy, she is celebrated as the patron saint of Syracuse in Sicily, and her day is National Day on the island of St. Lucia in the Caribbean. Italian and Scandinavian immigrants also brought the tradition to the United States and celebrations can be found particularly in the Midwest.

Wherever her day is celebrated, she stands for the triumph of light over darkness.


"But you know happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, when one only remembers to turn on the light." --Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban