Journal of the Siam Society [XII]

Citation preview

THE

JOURNAL OF THE

SIAM SOCIETY

Volume XII

BANGKOK

1918 KRAUS REPRJNT Nendeln/Liechtenstein

1969

' Reprinted by peimission of the Thailand Research Society, Bangkok KRAUS REPRINT A Division of KRAUS-THOMSON ORGANIZATION LIMITED Nendeln!Liechtenstein 1969 Printed in Switzerland

1 )

NOTES CRITIQUES SUR L'INSCRIPTION DE RAMA KHAMHENG.

PAtt

G. CCEDl£S.

GONSEHVA'l'EUR DE LA

BJBL!OTHEQUF: NATIONALE.

L'inscript.ion cle Hama Khrrmherrg est im document d'une si granife importance, qu'on

11 8

8a nrait neg\iger

fLUCUII

de l'Elssion toute faite signifiant "elephants." En laotien, pour pr·endre un nouvel exemple tire de ce dialect e qni est souvent si proche v

.!.

.!.

de Ia langue cle Rama Khamheng, Ia phm. v

6

UU L'.ll1 "les g reniers

a t·iz."

~

U!J qni s't'st pe t'clu en siamois s'est

conset·ve en luotien ( L~ !J) et en shan (ye) a\'ec le sens du siamois

~

I

!1.•

L'

1/f

LWT CJ1 'll1 LYl se mb le etre considen~ par M . Bt·adley comme m1 1/f

0

1).1

...,

synouyme de LWT CJ1 ~U1

1~ .

.Si l'on connaissait mieux !'organisation

sociale des Tha1s dE> Sukhodaya, on Herait sans doute capabl€' de faire

( 6 ) ~

tV

I

une distinction tr~s nette entre les L'Vl1 CJ1 "&l.l vis:)ge bl'ill&nt.'' et les 1Y

ltlt

LW! CJ1 "esclaves des

11

'l'hai:~."

ltlt

'-'11

La difficulte de traduire LW! CJ1 'll1 LYI -¥

par "esclaves" resitle dans le fait que c'est le mot 1J 'l qui, dans !'inscription, semble avoir ce sens. Mais "serviteur" ou "corveable" parait etre une traduction accept.able.

rnnn

lJ1 -

•I

diffic~Jlte.

lJ1 WC1 n'offr·e aucune ~

.

~

H.est.ent les mots l-J '1-l et Wtl L'JI t'J dont je n'ai pas f.'lncor·e rend u compte. j.j '1-l de.;igne le defunt, l\insi que l!i prouve sa presenoQ dans ]'expression

Cln ~._ll

l'l,, !Lrl

li

~

~

I

a'l-l

Quant

a Wfl L'Jitl, son sens propre de

"pere de famille" convient fort bien ici.

On nott>r·a en effet qui! apparait ,_,

.!!.

denx fois dans la phrase, la premiere fois a pres fl U1'l L1 flU, Ia seconde •I

•I

fois apre~• 1J1 rU.J1n 1J1 WC1: or, Ia maison et lesjardins ~ont precisement. li ~e

les biens immobiliers qui

depuis le chef de Ia famille

tmnsmettent de

" Yltl'

~ L'JftJ.

gerH~ration

en gener:}tion,

"

Voici done en definiti \'e comment je tmduis la phrase dont je viens de discuter le texte: "Si un homml':' du peuple, un prince ou un noble tombe malade et meurt: (ses biens, savoir) Ia maison de ses peres, ses vetl':'ments, ses elephants, ses enfant:3 et ses femm~s. ses grenieril r·iz, ses serviteur·s, les plantations d'ar·ec et de betel de ses per·es, ( le l'Oi ) les conserve en totalite aux enfants du det'nnt."

a

I (

'111~

d.

,_,

tJ 11 n l-JUU 1J l-l )

( U D).,_,.~

..!.

.!11

1

Ll. 28-31: f'l'\.l fl '11

'111~

l-l1 '1-11 Yl1 I

lJ

d.

,_,

).J

I

.!!.

L~tl~ d.

II

•I

I

l-l11J S.J lJ'l'l 1J

d.

I

~ U1~

Yltl~ 1l1!Lrl ~UU· '.Dtl-3 ~Y'\.ll71~~ L(tJ)u

.

.!!.1

l-l1 f'l 'lltlt.J Ll1Utlfl LWfl A

1J S.J

.!.

(

L~

)

tJ

mu Ll.IU ''\(l.Jt1)

(~ l) fl ( i)1 ''\( ~ )t1n .;; .!!. L~tltl ~'l'l ,W~ ~'l'l !lJ rl f1 U.;; lJIA PI 1

d.

7 ''Whoever comes riding his elephant to visit the city, comes to the moat and waiLs besine it fot· me Has he no elephants, no horses, no slaves, no damsels, no silver, 110 gold, I give to him. Has he wealth to found towns and cities to be foes and enemiPs, to be strongholds for war and fight.ing, I kill not nor smite him." Cette tt·aduction soul(we quelques object ions. D'abord, elle suppose !'usage de Ia premiere personne dans un t.exte qui depuis la ligne Ensuite le mot-a-mot : 1.11 fl "comes to the

18 cesse de !'employer.

ll

J,

A

I

moat" '.Dtltl LVI'\!tl "waits beside it" LWtl n "for me" est bien peu ll

satisfaisnnt.l En fait le texte ot·iginnl porte nett ement, 1.11 v

nll , et plus

bn.~,

au lieu de 'litl -l lJh!h! 111-l-l, il y a

'

,

Flll

~tli.l

""

AI

~ tH.l LVI hi tJ LW tJ

lJh!h! Vlf'J-l.

.Avec ces lectut·es rectifiees, lt>s difficulte,; disparaissPnt: '

rJll ecrit. actueJlement.

'

~

ll

a

a peu

pteS ]e llH~tne SellS que Vl1 de

'

sorte que l'expt·ession 1.11 'VI1 .... l,J1 ~ e:;t tout a fait dans le style de ll

l'inset·iption. II s'agit d'un in diviclu qui vient visiter Ia ville, ou, plus vraisemblemeut., qui vient y chercher l'hospitalite. ' ~ tli.l,

'

en siamois ~ f'Ji.l, mais en laot.ien ~tli.l, signifie "aider."

A AI LVI hi tJ LW tJ est probablement une autre forme ( archaique?) de .....

Ltl tJ LW tJ "s'inquieter de." masset·," mais

che~o~

nll

en siamois a aujourd'hui le sens de " ra-

les Thais du Si-kiaug le mot kn signifie "soigner, !....

s'occuper de," sens assez voisin du siamois

..8

~tli.l

"" AI ,_, L'VIh! tJ LW tJ n constituent une ex-

1 Au lieu de ]..11 1'1, on atteudmit lJ1

fl-l fl . Quant il. LWtl il a toujours

"sauvet· le pays."

Ainsi les mot s

,

ILJ

nll dans !'expression nll LlJ tl-l ll

~

..;. ll

dnus ce textc lc seus ccmjonetif de '' parce que."

ll

8 pt·elsion t·e.lon•lante, ayant pour su jet sou.s-entenuu le rui, et sign ifiant '' aider, pt·enrlre so i n dt>." 0

.I.

La suite de Ia phraee, de.puis 1J l.J

1~v un

v

'111~ jusqu'il.

l.J'H,

ne presente ancnne difficulte: le roi donne au visiteur tout ce dont il a o

v

~

A

besoin. Pui::, '11tH.J l.J'H "il l'aide" P'JI'J~ Lll'H 1J1'H Lll'H Ll.Jtl~.

r!i"J~,

a

anjourd'hui "mesmet·," devait avoit• l'origin e le se.ns plus general de de '; comptet·," cat· dans !'inscription cle Nagr~ra J um ( 2me face, 1.4) ....

il apparait dans l'expression 'HlJ

..!.

rli"J~.

En laotien

rli"J~

LlJ~

veut dire

v

Done, Ia phrase rli"J~ Lll'H 1J 1'H Lll'H

"examiner, consiclerer."

.l,

Ll.J tl~

pent se tmcluire mot-a-rnot '' Comptet• et t•e pays," en d'autres tet•mes "considerer com me sa patrie." En definitive, tout!• Ia phra, ni chevaux, ni esclaves, ni femllles, ni argent, ni 01', (le roi) lui en donne ; il !'aide et le considere comme dn pap." La phrase relative aux

geiH~t·osites

clu roi

a l'egard des etr::mg~r:3

.&

se termine a vee le mot Ll.J tl~.

La suite ne veut certainement pas dire

que Rama Khamheng ne fait pas de mal a ses ennemis: cette proposition serait contra ire a ce que nons savons de Ia psychologie de ce t·oi conquerant.

Le texte dit treJ clairement que si le t•oi entre e.n possession

(lPlv)

d' ennemis, il ne les tue ni ne les frappe ; en d'nutt-es termes, qn'il ne fait pa:> de mal a ses adversaires une fois qu'ils sont tombes en son pouvoir, comme prisonniers par ex.emplt>.

L. 41:

"In the midst of this city of Sukhothai there is a gushing rocl{spring of wat er. " Le mot r!:fW ~ n'est autre que le mot Khlller tmp~£tng " etang, mr\re, piece d'ean," ainsi d'ailleurs que l'a fait remarquer M. L. Finot

I

(B. E. F. E.-0., XVI, 0, p. 24 note J). Ce vocable existe encore dans Ia toponymie de Sukhodaya: denx grandes pieces d'eau situees dans l'enceinte de Ia ville portent l'nne Je nom de ~r~W.:] Ylfl.:J, I'autre .,!\ .d, ,!I, ' ceh,i fie m~W.:J l.:J'\J (Cf. lft:J.:] LYHJ!J l~HJ.:J Wf~:f!J.:J, ch. V ). C'est peut-etre a l'un de ces deux etanga que ]'inscription de Rama Khamheng fait allusion. ,!I, .!. .!. .c\..., .!. .!. 1..1. 4(}-53: Ll-Jt:Jt:J nn'IJ n rm l-.1 wu lJ m.J l-J w u V~l-J1fl l-.1 0

w'u

~t:Jn1i"'\.J V~l-Jt:J'Hru.:J.:J V~l-JtJu l'IJ'\J u.,!, rw1r

(iJ) Yl1'\J lL'C1..z.1J

n.!.nu lfl

lL'O'""''Q)lJtt't~'Hl1J ~~'QJ~~fl.!.fl'IJ,!I,Lfl.:J

t:J

~

(l)r'""''QJ(n)~iu ,!I, L~t:J ~nn L'll~ '""'bl)fl ( W)l-l ~

L~1

~

l-J1rJiJ.:JHJ.:Jfll-ll-llLaiflh

0

VI!J!J C11'H

l.J.:Jfl

"In these presentations (of Kathin) there are a ll sorts of money, all sort.s of fmits, all sorts of fiuwers; there are cushiotls fat· sitting and cushions fat· reclining to accompany the yellow robe3 offered year by year; and they take with them Ian leaves to designate the recipients of the Kathin, going even unto the forest-monastery yonder. When they would retum into the city, t.hey ;,tretch in line from the forestmonastery yonder unto Hun. L:-111 Dam, making the air resou nd .. . " Le mot W'H que M. Bradley tmclui t hypothetiquement pat· "all sorts of" est, com me l'avait dit S0!tmitt et com me l'a. recem ment repete M. Finot (Jo,). cit.), le mot J~!tm er phno1!t qui sign i!ie "montagne" et qui peut se traduire ici par "monceau." M. Bradley tt·aduit bl)lJ t'1 1'H "they take with them Jan lea.ves," iclentifiant apparement b!)lJ avec Je siam ois VIii 1.J "pincer, prendre avec trois doigts." Mais, autant que je sache, les fideles qui vont faire J'offrande du Kntltinn. n'ont pas J'l1abitud e de tenir a ln. main des feuilles de latanier. Le texte doit n.voir une autre signification. 1\tr bonheut·

'""' se trouve Clans une. autt·e inscr iptiou , celle de Nagara Jum ce mot bl)lJ ~

~

~

.G

(Ire face, 1.28): b!)lJL'VIl-J 1-l ~W'\J'\J 'VIfl~lJ. Cette expression numerale ne pouvant,

a cause du cont'3xte, l'ignifier autre chose que 24,060,

le tenne

'""' a su rement Ia valeur de" deux", et c'est consequemme nt Ia forme b!)lJ

( 10 ) ~

A

A

pleine du mot~ qui n'est plus employe aujonrd'hui que dans ~ 1(;11J ..:&

A'

et dans L~t:l'\.A ~.

v

Le mot suivant 'C11'\.A(aveclemaitho) :.tevidemment

le sens de "million." ""'

II faut done coupPr Ia phrase apres "'

'

perous reign, the splendor of his capital ::mel its su rroundings, Prince Khun Ram Khamheng turns to notn what he considers the three most impot·tn.nt event.s of his reign: (l) The preparation, consecmtion, a nd installation of four insct·ibed monuments of stone, of which we understand that out· own was one. (2) The exhuming of the sact·ed relic!:l of Buddha ........ (3) The inventi..on of the art of writing." Et encor·e ceci: "L. \:12. Tht:l reader will notice that the text nowhere distinctly says that the foUl' inscriptions so abruptly spoken of here were engraved on the " stoneslabs" mentioned in 1. 82. Yet unless we connect the writing with the slabs, there· seE'ms to be not the slightAst reason for saying anything about either. But absolutely convincing on this point seE'm to

.,

~

be the words in UJ6: 'Ml11' 'VI '\i '\i -which can mean nothing else than the vet')' stone and the very inscription we are now studying."

( 14 )

a

Cette argumentation m'avait semble pt·emiet·e vue assez seduisante pour que j'en accepte Ies conclusions, et, ayant en a citer incidem :nent !'inscription de Rama K hamheng, j'avais adopte 129~ A. D. comme sa date probable, a.joutaut en note que les objections de M. !'elliot ciU~es plus haut ne sont pas absolument decisives: "Rien dans l'illSCL'iption, disais-je, n'obJige a Cl'Oire que ces travaux furent consecutifs. Ils pouvent fot·t bien avoir ell~ simultanes." ( B. E. F. E.-0., XVII, 2, p. 32). M. Finot vient tout recemment de comhattre !'opinion que j'avais exprimee (B. E. F. E.-0., XVII, 5, p. 10, note 3): "Cette probabilite, dit-il, ne parait pas tres forte. D'abord rien n'indique que le roi ait fait graver sa stele immediatement aprea l'el'ection du ce~iya: elle n'a pas pour objet special de commemorer cette oeuvre; elle Ia rappelle seulement comme un des faits marquants du regne qu'elle se pt'Opose de glOL·ifiar. P.u consequent, mem~ en aclmettant l'interpt·etation de M. Oa:dea, Ie document pent etre de plusieur.3 annees postt~l'ieut· a 1292-1293. Mais de plus, il semble bien qu'en enumerant l'un e apre> !'autre avec leu t· dul'ee respective, Ia constt'Uction du ce~iya et celle de !'enceinte, le roi ait eu en vue deux pel'iodes consecutives; autrement il eut suffi de dil'e que !'ensemble des travaux avait dure six ans. Le temps consaCI·e l'ache\'ement de !'oeuvre est une donnee P''OJ)l'e ?Len rehausser Ia valeu l' et le merite; le temps exige par· les divers elements de !'edifice est un renseignenwnt technique qui n'avait., du point de VUe du re tacteur de l'in SCI'iption, qu'un faib]e interet. Je crois clone plus p1·obable que Ia stele ne fut gr:wee qu'en 1296 an plus tot, et peut-etre quelques annees ap t·es."

a

M. Finot semble croire qu e j'ai ailopte 1292 A.D. comme elate pr·obable de !'inscription, parce que je pense que ce lle-c i a ete gravee a !'issue des tr::w::m x commences en 1287 et ayant, suivant mon comput, dtue six ans. En realite, c'est pour nne tout aut re raison (que j'ai eu tort de ne pas indiquer plus explicitement): c'est parce que .i'ai adopte !'interpretation de M. Bradley reproduite plus haut. II est bien evident en effet que si !'in scr iption est une cles pierres qui furent taillees, inscrites et inau gnrees en 1292, ceLte date est necessairement celle du document lui-meme. Et alOL·s il fant aclmt>ttre que les travaux commences en 128';' n'ont pas dure pins de six ans, c'est .a dire que la construction du cetiya et celle de !'enceint e ont ete simultanees

( 15 ) Tonte Ia qestion est don e de sn.vo ir si !'op inion de M. Bradley est bien fondee: je l'avais ern, mai s je dois avo uet· qu'apres un exa men plus attentif du texte j e ue .Je c rois plus. L e passage auqu el l\1. Ba1dley attache le plus d' imp ortauce et qu'il consiclere com me "absolnm ent convaincant," est !'exp ression de "" ~ Ia 1.96 'llmr 'VI \i \i "which can mean nothing else than the very stone and the very in scription we are now studying." ll faut notet· d'ab01·d que !'expression e mployee ordinairement pour rlesigner une pierre inscrite n'est pas

'llmr

'VIti mais l'illrfl, le m ::J t me me qui ap~

para it a Ia l. 92. D'autre part, b presence du de mon st.rn.tif \i u e prou ve pas forcement qu e h pierre ainsi designetl so it cell e sur laque lle ce mot est gr;n-e . Le t.Axte cl e !' inscription affcctionne l'emploi du demonstratif:

~,l '.lilY! ~. hi Pll\i ~.

pout· ne citer que deux exem-

pies empruntes an pflssage nH~ m e que je rli ~c ut e en ce moment. 'l'oute pierre remarquable ( trone, ban e on au t re) situee a proximite de Ia ~t el e clevait tout naturellem ent etre de sig nee pat· !'expression "" ~ '.llfl l j l-1\i \i . On voit ainsi que ces mots ne sont pas "absolument convaincants" et qu'ils peuvent designer a utre chose que !'inscription de Hama Khamheng.

"" rl e la lignE> 92, qui sont cer:M. Brad ley admet que Jes f'illj!l tainement des in sct·iptions, sont iden tiques aux 'llmr l-1 U tai lles en 1292 et nommes a. Ia 1.80, parce que " unl ess we connect the writing with the slabs, there see ms not to be the sli g hteat reason for saying anything about either." Cet arg um ent n'est pas plus convaincant que le precedent: le decou~u est une des caracteristiques les plus frappantes de !'inscription de Rama Khamheng, et si toutle passage en question depnis la ligne 80 jnsqu'a Ia lign e 97 est ree ll ement consacre a l'histoire de Ia stele, il n 'y a ancune raison non plus poUt' nous dire que le roi va rl eux foiR par mo is faire a dos d'elephant ses devotions au mo~ nastere des Arafinika, ni pour nou s apprendre qu'il y a deux Salas dans le Bois des Palmiers. Voyons d'ailleurs ce que le texte dit de ces 'Mll:i' 'VI \i de Ia ligne

eo

et s'i l est legitime d'.v YOir des inscripLions.

D'abord il n 'est pas

( 16 ) ..:;,

"

!.,.1

4-

f

sur qu'il y en ait plusieut·s. Le texte rlit, simplernent "i.:J l'V! ~1.:] illll ""

!:;:

'.Dmr r1'\J

~.:J

~

'

~

._,

WJ1.:J nm.:J Ll-J 1111\.i '\J sans ancune marque de pluriel.

Ensnite, en quoi consistent cette "consecration " et ces " imposantes ce t·emonies religieuses et civiles" qne M. Brad ley trouve mentionnees dans co passnge? Les jonrs d'upomtlw., les thems viennent s'asseoir sur la (ou les) piet·res pout· recitet· ll~ Dharma, et les autt·es jours le roi vient s'asseoir a Ia. meme pla.c~ p::llll' tl'aitet• des affairas du gouvernement. Ce n'est pas la une ceremouie patticuli!m,~ ayant eu lieu une date determim\e, mais une routine jonrnaW'lt'e. ]!]t d'aillem·s une consec t·at.ion Ct 111auifeste, e n effet, que lc text c ~ · arre tait; .;1. ..., !;:: '1/f"' primitivement apres les mots LYHJ "11 'H tJ 'H '\.l ~ Lf'J, et que tout. . When King Sinbyushin knew of what had happenE-d to his force s in Zinme and JY16ttama, he got a fr,rC c1 of 6116 regiments, consisting of 2,500 horse and 35,000 men anrl, putting Wungyi Maha

J·!

VH~Ull~-:1 ~iiJJ'~rljfiiJ.:JEhr:Jmr

vo'l-.1

~

0....,.

~

~

mr jj1r:Jfl.:!r:!~'U1J1J'Wl-.l'W 15

w.

~1

'Qgy IJ.'O 'od IJ.('l fl11rl

M. lmtinguished himself in many an encount.er with the Siamest> forces. At the same time the geneml submitted a report to the King at Ava to the effect that., on the receipt of information that the Siamese wet·e massed at Tayaik to dispute the advance of the Burmese, he ordered Min-ye Zeyakyaw to march to Tayaik, but the latter refused to obey orders. Min-ye Zeyakyaw became awar':l of the report submitteil by the Wungyi, and, having already heat·d rumom·s of the illness of the King, withdrew his troops and returned to Mottama, saying he preferred cleath in the capital to service under a W ungyi who was trying to get him into trouble. The Bo of Satpyagon and the 3,000 men undet· him came m contact with the Siamese at Tayaik, who, according to pre-concerted plan, gradually fell back, dmwing the Burmese behind them. The Bo of Satpyagon, who was present at the capture of Ayudhya and whose experience it had been to rout the Siamese at every encountet·, was over-confident of success and under-estimated the strengt-h . of the enemy and the genemlship of their leader. Failing to take the necessat·y precautions, he pressed hard on the gradually retreating Siamese till he got to Sakadan,20 when he and his 3,000 men were completely hemmed in by two forces concealed thereabouts, at a place devoid of water. \Vungyi Maha Thihathura became aware of the plight of the Bo, the result of his own want of foresight and th,e Bo's rashness born of over-confidence. He sent Min-ye Yannaung with only 4,000 men to rescue the entrapped troops, but this handful of n1en was of no avail against a force of 20,000 Siamese. The Bo and his men dug hard

. 11-1 mr 'jf f) tJ ~f): this

20 According to t'11 in Rajburi district.

!,..I

......

0

Vide pages 15 and 16 of t'11 V

v

.....

I

"Sakadan" is ('.111 \!11Ln f)

1l-1n11'1f1f)fl~f): u '-' I

~r:r1'11Vl~H1f)fl11'tllJ1JYn:n~lf'IHlflL~'.li1LO~ en \!1 d.-c

et seq.

See also

for water, but as they were located on a parched, barren ridge of' a strip of high ground, their energy was wasted, and water could not be obtained. Thirst rendered them quite weak and helpless and they fell into the hands of the Siamese. After this disaster to the Burmese troops, Wungyi Maha Thihathura, whom the Hmannan history began to call Athi Wungyi, 21 submitted a rPpOit to his soverE>ign to the pffect that Min-ye Zeyakyaw refused to obey orders and retumed with his tt·oops to Mottama, saying that His Majesty had died and t hat the Prince of Amyin had ascended the throne ; he also mentioned the total loss of Satpyagon Bo and 3,000 men in an encounter with the enemy at Salmdan. On receipt of the . repot·t, King Sinbyushin ordered that Min-ye Zeyakyaw and all the officers serving with him should retum to the capital. and a fast despatch boat was sent do\\ n to convey His Majesty's orders to the commander, who had been guilty of a serious military offence. He was still at M6ttama when he received the orders and he o.nd his officers returned marching overland. \. l77i. in grand state down the Ir~wadi. The deposed king 'l'he king goes to Rangoon.

of Pegu and his nephew,_ who had remained prisoners for fourteen yeat·s, were led in the royal train. Hsengbyusheng, delaying on the way while he worshipped pagodas at Pugan and Prome, only reached Rangoon after a progress of three mont.hs. He adorned the gt·eat pagoda with a magnificent golden jewelled ct·own, and afte1· this display of religious zeal, the captive king of Pegn was with a mockery bf justice

(

35

)

put on his trial bP.fore a special tribunal: He was declared guilty of having excited the Talaing people to rebellion and was publicly executed. Hsengbyusheng April, A.D. 1775. after t,his cruel deed set out to retm·n to his capital. Maha Thihathnra, having many difficulties to Unsuccessful inovercome in preparations for the campaign, did not vnsion of Siam. commence his march from Martaban until the close of the rainy season. The route he selected lay P.astward, so a~ to gain the upper waters of the Menam. He rE'ached Rahaing with little opposition from the S iamese. Dissensions among officers of high rank, now the cmse of the Burmese armies in the field, soon broke out. Tho second in th e ccmmand, Zeya Kyo, protestP.cl against the plan of operations, and returned to Martaban with a portion of the tt·oops . MaM. Thi~ hathlll'a pet·severed in his march. H13 was successful in occupying Pitsalauk and Thaukkntai, but suffered a severe defeat from the Siamese, ann was compelled to make an ignominious rett·eat towards the fl'ontier. In t.he midst of these clisast et·s Hsengbyusheng Denth of Hsengat h1nsheng- .. Sncce~clied at Ava and was succeeded by his son Singo·usa 0 ' ston of Smggnsn, the age of ninP.teen year~. He was determined to put .Jnne, A.D f776. an end to the Siamese war. But Zeya Kyo by court favout· was allowed to return to th e army, and having succeeded in a skit·mish with the Siamese, was considen•d to havA atoned for his mutinous conduct. The armies in the Upper Menam and in the Zimme tE'l'l'itory were ordered to withclt·aw ft·om the Siamese territory, where they no longer could remain with safety. Several officers suffered death for alleged misconduct before the enemy, and Maha 'rhihathura was disgraced and deprived of his office of Wungyi.

(

36

)

II. INTRODUCTION.

Oont.rary to the wishes of Alaung Mintn.yagyi that those of his sons who survived him should succeed to the throne in order of their seniority, King SinbyushiH was succeeded by his son, Prince of Singu,l although at the time there were four sons of Alaung Mintayagyi still alive, namely, Amyin Min, Badon Min, Paka.n Min, and Pindale Min. The Burmese history does not say that King Sinhyushin openly expressed the wish that his son should succeed him, in preference to any of his brothers, but most probably he did make the ministet·s in attendance upon him understand that such was his wi sh. In this case paternal love must have outweighed filial duty, and in the absence of a well recognized rule of the right of primogeniture, succession to th~ throne according to the wishes of the ln.st deceased king has, more often than not, resulted in bloodshed; at least such had been the case in the histot·y of the kings of Burma.

THE TRANSLATION.

Only six days aft er the accession of Singu Mi11 to the throne, he ordered the exl::'cut.ion of his half-brothet· the Prince of 8alin or Salinza,2 in a manner customary in the case of persor.s of the royal blood, for conspimcy against him, or for entertaining improper schemes, as it is euphoni•)nsly expressed in the usual style of th~ Burmese historian. '!'his unfortunate young prince was a son of the daughter of the King known as Hanthawadi-yauk-min.* Several high officials also suffered death as being accomplices of the pr·ince. The first thing t.hat the new King did in matt et·s militaJ'Y was to order the recall of all the forces unflet· Wnngyi Maha 'l'hihathura operating against Y odaya and those under :Myin W un Nemyo Thihu""

refore, he was always on the move, ei thet· to perform his devotions at some snored shrine ur to celebmte the dedication ceremony of a new monastery or a new pagoda, either to attend the catching of wild elephants or to amuse himself \\'ith a pleasure trip to some place outside the t:ity. On his return from such journeys, he vet·y seld om rctumed to the palace within the city, but passed his time in a floating palace outside the city gate, called 1\fan-aung gate, on the north side of the city. On Saturday the 5th of waning Tabodwe 1143 (February, A. D. 1782) he went on a pilgrimage to the Thihadaw pagoda, some distance up the river to the n01·th of the capita l, accompanied by his mother, sisters, and queens. Maung Maung, son of King Naungdawgyi, a youth still in his teens, being just over eighteen, who had been kept at Paungga village, took advantage of his cousin'~ absence from the ca,pital to usurp the throne. 'l:he Burmese history says that he had been scheming to cany uut this usurpation for som e time previously ; but considering his tender nge and his total lack of capacity to gmsp and realize the new situation created by the attempt to overthrow the reigning sovereign, it is m0l"t3 likely that he was made a tool in the hands of those whose ambition it was to be in powet· and whose intention it was to benefit themselves by the inexperience of a young prince, who had just as good a claim to the t ht·one as th ei t' king de facto. Having collected his adherents, he came to Ava on the night of Tuesday the 8th of waning Tabodwe, t.ltat is, three days after Singu Min had left the capital. About midnight they approached the city and told the guards at Man-anng gate, that the King had retumed in advance of his entourage in a fast boat. Since the time he took to clt·ink, Singu Min hat;} been in the habit of J:.We~enting himself at the gates of the city at all unreasonable hours and demanding immediate entrance. The head guard, therefore, thought that it was one of those drunken whims of the King to return to the palace at snch time of the night. He had the gates opened, and Maung Maung and his men thus gained entrance into the city. The chosen guards of the "red gate" which was the principal gate of the palace enclosure were deceived similarly and for the same reason. When the party gained the throne room,

( 4.2 ) messengers were sent to all the ministers, nobles and officials who were 011 duty at the tim e, at various places within the palacE:~ enclosure, such as the supreme com·t., council chamber, the inner gates of the palace, &c., to attend on the King immediately. 'l'hese men thought it was one of those many occasions on which His Majesty had imbibecl too free ly, and not knowing the reason for which they were summon ed, hastened to the throne room with all despatch. Ouly when they had all assembled in the court-yard in front. of the throne room, they found out they had been deceived, but then it was too late. Th ey wet·e overawed and compelled to remain th ere till dawn, when th ey all had to take t,he oath of allegiance to Maung :r.hung. According to arrangements previously made, sevet·al of Maung ·rvraung ':; men who wet·e in the city a day before Maung Maung arrived took char·ge of all the city gates that very night. All the gates were closed, and preparations made to defend the city in case of attack. People Ii vin g t'Otllld about the city were taken into it; all the houses on tlw approaches of the cit.y were pulled down; and all kinds of obstacles fot· elephants, horses, and men, such as hurdl es, bar:;, spikes, thoms, &c, were laid down on the ground cleared of the houses . .Maung Maung probably fe~Lre d that his uncl es would give tt·ouble; more probably he was advised by thooe who carried out this revolt to make his position secure by confining them. He seut messengers to where th ey had been made to reside by Singu Miu, and requested them to co.rn e and liv e in their old resideuces in Ava. Some of the uobles and ministers who were degraded aud disgraced by hi s cousin wet·e recalled and reinstated; of these, W uugyi Maha Thihathura was one. One of the officials on duty in the palace on the night that Maung nhung entered it 1 disCOVbred that the indi vidut.J who had entered the palace was not the King himself, hut he had no time to find aut who he was. B.e managed to slip out of the palace and fortunately succeeded in passing one of the gates, where there was great confusion caused by the usurper's adherents trying to get insiile in large numbers. He went straight to Singu Min and informed him of what had taken place in the palace. But it was only a few flays aftenrnrfls that full information of what had occmred in th e capital was obtained from an adherent of one of the ministers in the King's entourage, who had hunied to his mastet· to convey th e news.

43 Singu Min made arrangements to regain aflmission into the city and dispossess the usurper of the throne. But unfortunately all his arrangements miscarried. As a last resource he decided to go into Chinese tel'l'itory and ask the assistance of the Chinese Emperor; accordingly, he proceeded up t he river Eyawadi together with his mother, sistet·s, and queens, accompanied by such adherents as were with him then. Even in this last hope he was to be disappointed, as the officers and men of the sm all force he still had gradually deserted him on the way up. When he reached a place called Sanpenago, still a long way ft·om the Chinese frontier, there were not sufficient men left to tow !tis barge. .A.t this stage stich of his ministers as had remained with him, adv ised him 1o retum to .A.va and trmt to his luck To tltis he readily agt·eecl, and proceeded down the !'iver, to t·etmn to the capital where he cou ld scarcely hope to receive any other treatment than that usual in the annals of Burma. A.lthough Maung Ma ung had gained possession of the throne, hts position was far from secure. H is per,;onal attendants, mostly men ·ft·om the village where he had been vit·tually a state prisoner, were too eager to take advantage of th eir sudden rise to power and temporary good fortune, by dispossessing all and sundt·y residing in the capital, of their valuables and possessions.13 Th e discontent cansed by the rapacious and ovet·bearing conduct of these unscrupulous attendants must have been very considerable, as a few wise and fat· seeing ministers and officials toolt the liberty to wal'll the new King of the danget· that would at·ise from such abuses and advised him to stop them . They also warned him of another :;ource of danger, namely that his three uncles wet·e sti ll alive, and that every one of them was entitled to become King; and moreovet· th ey were all men of great ability and expt>rience. To make .Maung Maung';; hold of the throne secure, his advisers r;:aw no other way than that of putting them all to death. B•1t it was not an easy matter to cat·t·y it out., as there were people who would willingly support th eir claims to sovereignty. The first step these ad \'isers took to atbi n theit· end was to get hold of all the pt·incipal men who were assigned as retainers of the three surviving sons of Alaungpaya, during t.he tim e of their father and of their two brothers who had ascended tlte throne. These retainers were called up

( 44 i to the capital, on the pretence that they were to be attached to theit• respective masters, whereas in reality they were to be kept in close confinement. 'l'his artifice was not sufficient to hoodwink the tht·ee sons of Badon Min, the eldest of the three surviving sons of Alaungpaya. These young princes who were in close attendance on their cousin found out the real intention in calling up the principal retainers of their father and unclt>s. They gave timely warning of the impending danger to their father, who consulted his brothers as to what steps they should take, pointing out that their lives were in danget·. Bad()n Min's eldest son recommended immediate action to forestall the plana of those who were trying to bring about their destruction; he said the time was opportune as the attention and energies of t.he court party were still directed towards capturing Singu Min. This recommendation was supported by Pindale Min as well as by the othet·s, and it was resolved to take a counter stroke and seize the throne. A priest whom Badon Min had been supporting was asked to examine the prince's horoscope, make thorough astrological calculations, and find out the auspicious moment for the execution of this counter stroke. The calculations showed that the afternoon of that very day, Mo11day the 14th of waning of Tabodwe 1143 (February, A. D. 1782) coinciding with the birth-day of Badon Min, was most auspicious, and it was therefore decided to put the scheme into execution at once. The struggle that ensued between the usurping part.y and the palace guards could not have been a serious one, as Maung Maung was captured t.hat very evening and forthwith put to death. Maung Maung, also known as Paunggaza, was born on Thursday the 6th of waxing Thadingyut 1125 (October, A. D. 1763 ) ; he seized the throne from his cousin at the age of eighteen years and fout· months, and before he could have really known what sovereignty meant, bt>i ng probably a mt>re puppet in the hands of scheming courtiers, was dethroned on the 7th day of his Kingship, fot· which short-lived honon r he paid very dearly with his head. Three days after the deposition and death of Maung :hfaung, those who were engaged in the pursuit of Singu Min ' arrived with him, his mother, sistet·s, queene, and personal attendants. Singu Min, his four queens, and several of his attendants and adherents were executed at once. This unfortunate King, whose regal title was Maim Damayazadiyaza (Mahf~ Dhammarajadhiraja), WAS bom on Monda~' the

(

45

12th of waxing Kas0n 1118 (May, A. D. 1756), became King in succession to his father, on Mon day the lOth of waning Nayon 1138 (June, A. D. 1776), at the age of 20 yea.r:l and 1 month, reigned for about 5 years and 8 months, and met an untimely death at the hands of hia uncle. 'rhe Burmese historian says th'lt King Maha Damayazadiyaza was very liberal in making donations for religious put·poses, and gifts or rewards to his attendants, that the commencement of his reign was prosperous and qniet, and that he went wrong only when he took to dt·ink.

46 SIR A HTH UR P. 'PH A. YHE'S' ACCO UNT OF

'fHE SAME NARRATIVE.

Denth of HsengIn the midst of thE's~ disasters Hsengbyusheng bynsheng. Snc- died at Ava, and was succeeded by his son SinggusA cssion of Sin.ggnsa, June, A.D. at the age of nin eteen years . He was determined to 1776. put an en d to the Siamese war. But Zeya Kyo by court favour was allowed to return to the arm}', and

havin g succet>ded in a skirmi sh with th e SiamPse, was considered to have atoned for his mutin ous conduct. 'Ihe armies in t he Upper Me nam and in the Zimme ter ritory were ~ rd erecl to withdraw from the Siamese territory, wh ere th ey no longe r could re main with safe ty. Several office rs oufft! t·ed death for alleged misconduct before the enP my, a nd 11IahA. Thihathura was disgraced and deprivecl of his office of Wungyi. Plots ngninst

SinggnoA., suspicious of plots, put to death a younger broth er of hi s own, and a lso hi s uncle, the Palace seir.ed by conspirato rs . fourth son of Alau nghprtL The fif th so n, then lmowi1 as Badu n 'Meng, an astute prince, was sent to live at Saga in g, wh ere he was close ly wat ched. Th e son of Na un gdoagyt remain ed . Ma un g .Maung, who \\as a child at the time of hi s father's d eath, became an object of anxiet.y to the court pm·t.y as a probable tool in the hanfl s of consp ira tors. He had been brought up in a monastery, and was now placed in the village of P haungH, where it was supposecl he wo uld b e less dangerous t ha n elsewhere. The kin g seemed to be sat isfied with the precautions taken agai n st conEpiracy, and wearied with t he mon oton ous life in the palace, all warlike exped iti ons b eing sus pend ed , made frequ~nt pjlgrimages to d istan t pagodas. H e was accustomed to leave t he palace, and return sud den ly aft er an interval without warnin g. A. couspiracy, which " :as join ed by several influential men, was form ed against him , and was supposed to be sec retl y support ed by Badun Meng. This plot was fm·n1ed on the plausible Sing-gu~a.

47 gr·ound that if th!l rule of succession 111 favour of th e so11s of AlaunghprA. were clE•parted from, then t.he son of t.he eldest, Naungdoagyi, had the best cbim. .As possession of the palace is the chief manifestation of right to the throne in Burma, the frequent absences of Singgma soon offered a favoura ble opportunity to the conspirators. The young king had gone with his chief About 8th ueen , his mother, aud sisters t o worship at a pagoda FebruarY, A. [). q 1781. about fifty miles up the IrAwadi. The yo nng prince, ~Iaung Maung, came suddenly at midni ght to the palace gate, and his followers demanded admission for the king. The gnard at the outer gate admitterl th e party without dPlay. .At on e of the inn er· gates th e guar·d resisted, but was overpowered. Th e prince at the head of his followers gained possession of th e palace, and forced the high officia ls in charge therein, to swear allegiance to him as king. In the mol'lling several men of rank, old servants under forme r kings, being summoned, arrived at th e cit.y and were appointed to office. Mahil. Thihathura took command of troops to defend the palace. The Badun Meng and oth er member·s of the r·oyal family came to the capital, and remained apparently passive. Singgusa was at this time at a village about fifty miles distant. The next day he h eard of the event.. He at once, with all his retiime, crossed the river to Singgumyu, intending to march down to the city. H earing later that the whole of t he capital had turned against him, he retired farther north to Sanpenago. There his retinue gradually left him, and a.t last the crews of the royal boats deserting, he was left with only a few fol lowers and his own relations. In the palace, the A twen W uns, ministers for Sueeestiion of Bodonhpra. personal affairs, quickly came to the conclusion that th e boy Maung Maung was utterly unfit to rule. All who had abetted the conspiracy looked to the Badun .M:eng as the fittest to occupy the throne, He, prepared for the occasion, a.t once referred to the declara-

48

:Mnrch. A. D. 1782.

tion of .A.launghpra on his death-bed, that his sons should succeed him according to their seniority. Already he had collected a body of armed men, and found no difficulty in entering the palac~. ]l.faung Maung, after a six days' reign, was seized and put to death. He was only Pighteen ypars of age. Badun Meng was forthwith pt·oclaimed king. He assumed various titles afterwards, especially that of Hsengbyu Mya Sheng, but is now usually known as Bodoahprd.. The unfortunate Singgusa, and those who remained with him, were sent to the city as prisoners. and all, including children and attendants, were ruthlessly burnt to death.

CONTENTS.

Page. NotcR ahout tht• Chanbnn, by l\fajo1· E. Seidenfaden RninR at Muang Sing, Kanburi, by K. G. Gairdn cr

1 la

Note on nature and origin of Laturit.e, by R. r,e]homme

17

Meteorological Fignt'('S for 191 H

25

Contents and pri('.es of .lonma l

29

SOME NOTES ABOUT THE CHAUBUN. A DISAPPEARING TRIBE IN THE KORAT PROVINCE. BY MAJOR

E.

SEIDENFADE!S OF THE PROVINCIAL GENDAHl\IERIE.

When on n tout· of in spection to t.he Am ph eu disLt·ict of Paktung-

(u-~'n1l~l~~)

chai in t he month of Marc h this year (191 8) I had the opportunity of mee ting so me members of the above na med tt·ibe and from long conversations with two of their villnge elder"' I gathered the following information which might be of interest both to ethn ologists and philologists : The Chaubun, ot· as t hey call themselves ~Via-lmol, li ved un t.il some 60 yeat·s ago mostly as hunters and nomad::; roa min g in t he big vit·gin forests on the northern slopes of the Dungrek hills, which form the bou:ndary between the Korat and the Pachin proviuces. The limits of theit· t·oaming;; \\'e t·e to the west t he ill-famed Dung Phya Fai, and to the e:Lst the sunrces of the Lam P lai .Mat, a tributary to the Miin riv e t·. 'l'his pat·t of the Du ng rek chain, genet·ally called Pu Khao t(ampeng Miiang, t•epre sents the highest and wild est part of the whole chain a nd is clothed in lu xuriant virgin fot·est s. Some mountain passes, only pmcticab!e for pedest.rians aml pack animals, lead down to the Pachin plain::; from the Karat plateau, the best kno\\'n of these passes being Cltung Sakaemt, due south of Paktun g-chai. In fonner days before th e construction of the Komt railway, heavy traffic passed through this last pass, untold numbers of pack bullocks bringing down produce ft·om Korat and returning ll'ith merchandise from Muangs Krabiu or Pachin, th e nearest ti\•er ports to Bangkok. Nowadays all this has been altet·ed, the passes are rat·ely visited by man with the exception of some few cattle th ieves or gendannerie patt·ols. I n the big mysterious forest all sorts of game abound. The tiger and the wild elephant are common, sambur, buck and barking deer abound, even the terrible lmting ox is met with here, and sometimes if you are lucky, as I was once, you may have a glimpse of t,hat rare animal the rhinoceros,

(

2

)

Among the trees you will Hnd the valuable

ro~ewood

(hJ'-' Y-H.J,.:1) ,

and others producing the Mai Luk Put., Mai 'l'om and Mai J-um Nii.m used for the fabrication of the fragrant t 6bs and joss-sticks. Among the clinging lianas the rattan and rubber-liana. anrl then all sorts of beautiful orchids, ahonud too. Down the mountain slopes between towering moss-clal' than 30 feet : -

It is in layers: because the process of laterizatiou can only proceed in the zone of " VADOSE " waters ; It is of fairly regular thicknesses (about 20 feet): because, as Laterite beds· thicken, their rate of formation diminishes rapidly owing to the obstacle the formation itself presents to the acceHs of oxygen. Returning once more to our imaginary Stream: sooner or later, the stream would be hemmed in by t.he newly formed Laterite escarpments and the resistance of the latter would prevent rapid widening of the stream . As soon as the stream has dug down into its hed, widening· would become much more rapid owing to undermining. The Laterite would break away, first on one bank and then on the othe1·. The channel across the bed would gradually be widened and deepened, the zone of Intermittent Saturation would be lowered and the process of Laterization would start again at a deeper level. The reader should remember that the process here so shortly described takes hundreds of years in its evolution and that th e movements of our imaginary stream bed are much fp1ieker t-han tlw phenomen~n of laterization.

~L

Water that leaches rocks and transports and deposits their contents into other rocks, such as shales and clays, in such a manner as to alter tho .>c latter into Laterite must b e aetive fo r centuries. A remark which is of importance and which will now be easily understood is that :-only porous rocks are eapa ble of being laterized. Clay is a substance recepti ve of water and so we eorne to conciliate the two definitions of Laterite given at the outset. Many varieties of Lat erit e lmYe been r ecognised :-the useful building material known in I ndia as '' kunka r '' is a ealcareom; laterite a~d serves as a hydrau lic cement ; in Ceylon a kind of clay locally known as "cabook " is also a vari ety of laterite; m some districts of the West-Indies the name of "pm:zolana" is wrongly given to a variety of calcareous hterite. In Siam, the stone, although of frequ ent ocemTeuce m the Northern valleys, does not appear to be used to any extent to-day ; bricks seem to be more in fa vour and it is quite interesting t o notice, when visiting the ruins of PHIMAI , t he erection, now going on, of a 'remple in brickwork and on modern lines by the side of the gorgeous old monuments. Doubtl ess, labonr rost s, th e lack of roads and other economical questi ons, supply the ex planation for th(} preference now enioyed in the country by bricks. The travell er that loiters tthout the magnifi ce nt t·ums of Siam and Cambodia is struck by the almost nniversal preseuee of large basins dug, in symmetrical positions, aronnd t he monument, and popular tradition has it t hat t hese baRins ( now pond s ) wert\ the quarries from which the Laterite was obtained. Four such basins are to be found a.t the four eomers of the ruins at PHIMAI and no stone what ever ean be seen for many miles around these wonderful monuments. In the light of the explanations given u.bov e, th e belief that the Laterite was obtained from t hese excavations is a most plausible one and the presence at Phima"i of the r ive1· bed ( Sentoun river ) close to the ruins adds weight t o th e a.sscwt.imt.

The Ancients apparently knew of old th'tt if, within certain

di~tances from their streams, they were to dig a hole into the ground, they would soon meet the zone (present or past) of Intermittent Saturation of their valley, anJ. therein find the coveted Laterite for the erection of their Magnificent Monuments. They wouJd, in the process of digging, probably first find a hard bed ( old Laterite ) and, after digging through it, fi 1d, low er down, a softer bed (Laterite in formation) which would harden in air. Tradition among the neighbouring inhabitants also asserts that the Laterite was soft when obtained hence the possibility of hewing it easily when building the 'l'ernples. Here again, Science tells us that the old tradition is within the limits of possibility. LATERITE OR LIMONITE ? Monsieur Cornmaille, in his fine work on Angkor Wat (Guidl' aux Ruines d'Angkor, Paris 1912) states that only three materia]:-; entered into the construction of these Stupendous monuments, viz : Limonite, Sandstone and Wood. His statement is supplemented by the following details (translated):"The limonite and th e sa,ndstone which compose the edifice:o; "of the two Angkors (i.e. Angkor Wat and Angkor 'l'hom) "and of the neighbouring temples came from the mountains " of Koulen, some 30 kilometres E N. E. of the ruins. " ON THE SUMMIT and on THE SIDES of the mountains " are to be seen the quarries ( PUITS D'EXTRACTION ) " about three-quarters full of water, especially dming th e "rainy season, and forming regular cisterns". This statement. contains the fact that the limonite wn.s tracted from the summit and the sides of the mountain.

ex~

If the reader would kindly remember thP statements madf: above, when describing the Section across our imaginary Va.lley, h e would find that Laterit e was stated to " Cap " our diff's -UI' :!:i.li : Kti.;) H:!. 7; :!H. I \)I) .li .. . H-U : :!!l.~ \I::. I ... •K-U j :!M.\1 \I 1.4... K-IA [ :!!U !l:!.:l x:. .:! l :!\l.ii i !l:!.(i x :L:I t :!X .Ii I H\1.1 .,,.,·· ~ :!H.Ii XH.Ii ... x·• X:! .li :!H. I XH.;) K:!.-l-1 :!M.I i\H.Ii I ... I HI. ill :21 .:2 XtUl

.. . .. . .. . ...

:2ti. 7 · ti I .!I I ., II " t' X·''I ' :::!.;) . 7-1- . 71 ......( 1 I I I .X :::1. I : 77. Li .,., ·• I -r H ,

•••

•)•)

l

)

--

''"·" i I

>.

:::11.~ : ~~·;; "' . I . :n A i ,,;_:,· :n.+ ! 7ti.o :n.+ ! F •. o :\1.1 : 1:! .ll

Jti .li :!tl.:l

Mti !HI \17 !17 !lli

:! ;\.(; :!i"t.li :!;).0 :!ii.l) :! ~,. :~ :!i"t.ll :!-l- . 7 :! -U -

:!:L ~l :!:U

]

I ::o.o . ;)ti

t)~ I::::u ; ::ti.1 71 : ::ti.l 7:1 • :::-. _ti : 7" Ill) · ::7.K 7.J. 7;) !IIi : ~ ;) . ll H:~ ! : ~:L~) 7-l\II ! :::! .H 7-lq·> , .lo),ol .•. , •> 7:, o-

!II ~IH

i

!

:

:l:!.~

7:!

:·~:L ~l

t) :;

I

.'ll•,:~ .•'i.I 7.0 ~- ' ' l .!. hl 7 .:. :1.n 1 11.1 l' .H

11

i

1.:.0 :. .

Rainfall and Atmospheric Humidity during the year 1918.

II l\Ionth

I

----,

I

- - -

Inche::;

o.n

:::I! ...

0.1\l 2.85 1.29

...

:1.72

... ...

,!

I !

Ha infn ll dlll'ing month

'---·- ·-_ _

i J:tnU>try .•• Februrtry . .• :March April May June July August 8eptembel' October No,·ember December ..•

Grentest Rainfall in :my 24 honrs

li .84 3.00 9.62 9.93 8.2H 1.08 0 .03

____,

nat:\

I Millimetres

' Numher of Amount ; d~~,y;; on \Yhieh ! , " .. . f II i 1------~----- \ I:-tlll e i Jnches

252 .2 209.0 27.4 0 .76

I

M:illimetres \

.

"44.~

Ea~

ReltttJYe Humidity

!______ _ _____ i______ i_ ______

I

0.0 4.8 72.4 33.0 94.5 174.0 76.2

PercentaPe !II· 1 "'

I

! o.o o.1~

l:Jth 12th 23rd lOth 10th 28th 22nd 13th Rth !lth 20th

o .o . 4.8 ;3 l. 7 17.8 33.7 40.6 14.7

1.2.1

0.71 U33 1.60 0.58 l.5tl 2.:14 4.37 0.40 0 .02

I

3!).(i G9 .7 lll.O l 0 .2 0.5

1 1

I I

·o

~ ., 10 18 16 17 2li 23 10 G il

: 1

H4.o (~: . 2

I

hi>.8

i

62 .3 71.0 (}3 .0 (i5.0 72.2 74.0 75,0 7 4.0 66 .8

i

I

Total R:dnf:tll during t he yea r 1918 = 4U .7B inches (1188.26 mm.)

H.

CAMl'BJst Maximmn

~[inirnurn

1

!

.

D

Degree~

1

Y en.1·

- ------

--

Year

egrees

---

- -------

~~~ ~~~-~~ ~ c. / ~I~ ~~I ~ I _::J~II~ !~ I. _ __ ~II~---~~I~ I ' I I I I ' I I I .J:muary ... 78.0 ·2ii .6 !89.4 31.9 !Hl.O 23.iJ 12.n 40 ;22 .2 !i 2.6 ~ HlOG -07 1001:17.8 Hl07-14 !>4 12.2 February ... [81.4 127.4 J92 .0 :1:1.3 70 7 21.5 21.3 11.8 , 4-1 22.6 ::: 1.6 I 190(; lOG 41.1 1 H02 13 3 I

I

I

I

iI

(i(j,;J

I

i

I

I

I

'

I

'

1

I!

1

1

:!\[ar~h

... 184.(i 29.2 194 .0 . ~~.4 Apnl ... 87.0 30.6 196 . 1 j·)u.6 May ... 85.9/3o.o 94.4 [il~. 7 ,June ... 84.6 2!).2 92.0 ~ ~; - 3 July . ... 84.1,~8.9 91.5 3~.1 August ... 83.7 28.7 91.0 , 3~.8 He.·ptemLel' ... 83.0 28.3 90.0 ,32.2 Occtober ..... 82 .2 27 .8 89.3 31.8 ::\ovarnl>et ... 7!:!.9 26.7 87.4 .30.8 December ... 77.6 25 .3 87.0 ;30.6

1

1

I

~ ~~-2 ~ 2~.4 1?.2 1~-~ ~7 j2C~-~

l.~ .

1

:' ' .0 .2;J.0 1.':1.2 /.v ~~G·;~ 1~4.7 1!.8 , 9.~ '~·; IA.5 1~-~ I tl.i. ~ ~~ . 9 l 24.~ 1~.:) 8.b 1t ,J.8 ,24.d l.1.l ; R.tl 75.5 :!4.:! 14 .4 · 8.0 1 ~~5. 0 2~ . 9 14.3 7.~ 11. 7 22.0 16.1 8 ..1 167.4 19.7 19.5 10.8

I

1

I

2 8

:.12 .16.6

~~ [ 1~.6

il::·!:l l

~

;~ ~

2,1 ;5 ! 1~.9 _4 J.,.:J ,

h

24 1' 1;~ .:'1

(j

27 1~·? 31 11.2 1 33 118 .:3 I

i l 1

I

1

ii 4 6

!)(i

l$108 l~2 !6.7 4.6 1 190(, Hl04 h8 20.0 ~ - ~ 1 ~9o.o 1910 ~J ;1.7 2.ti 11902-03-18 < 1909 . :o ~I.~ 3.3 1?08 1~1 :Js ... l.J08;11 -I G '~ 21.~ '1 .'1 1 .JO(i .l9 .~7.2 l.ll1 7 ~ 22. _ :.l.il HHIG U8j i1G.7 1D02 70 j21.7 2.(i 190(i 10? ~~~·~ 1!J0(~ ~~ 17 .~ 2.2 1 !)07 99 3t.~ 190h I a6 13." 3.3 1906 100 37.8 l!l07 i 112 111.1 1 ! '

1\JO::

10:1 39.4 1 Ou 41.1 106 ~ 1.1 100 ~7 - ~

1\Ieau 8lutde Temperatnre of the Soeiety : Vo l. I.- (Aims of the Sueiety, Ly Frankfurter ; Fouuuat.ion ol' Ayttthia , by Priuee Damroug: SialJlexe Pro\'erhs, by Geriui; Notes Laotieunes, by Pierre Morin; '.L'Ite 1\'lt.mant Muu, l,y Phya Hajakich ; King Mongkut., by Fmukfnrter; Meteorological records for I !)02, I !)Q:l aml 1 D04 ; Su bjeet;; on which eontributions are im·ited).- 21 copie:-; left; Pric", 'l'cs. 20 per eopy. Vol. 11., l'art 1.-(A Propos des 0rigines et de l'Hixtoire Auciell l ll~ du Siam, by Petithugnenin ; Researehes into indigeuow; Law of Siam, by }lasao ; ~ote sur les Populatim1::> Uel\ Moutagues des Ca rdamon es, by Breugues; Archaeological Notes on Muutlwu Puket, by Bourke; ~mppo;;ed Duteh Translation of a Siamese State Paper in Hi88 ; In Memoriam, Ueheilllmt Bastiau , Dr. Braudes, and Dr. BreHgnes).- - 40 copies left ; Priee 'l'e:-;. 10 per copy. \'ol. 11., Part 2.- (Historieal Hetru::;puct uf Junkcey lon Island, [,y

Gerini.)-1 :Hl copie::; left ; Price 'res. 10 per copy. Vol. iii., Part 1.-(Gliumte and Health iu Bangkok, by Highet; Montone Puket, by Carringtou; Puket, a reprint from .Bradley's Calendar for Hi 71 ; Diunet to Colonel Gerini.) -14 copies left ; Price, Tex. 10. Vol. Ill, Part 2.--(Romanizing Siame!:ie, hy Frankfurter; S1\t:rct Writing, by Frankfurter: Ecunomieal Development of Siam, by Hotnau nm ller Heide).- 24 copies left; Price, 1'cs. 10. VtJl. .1 V., Part I.- ( Siamese Mediciue, by Beyer; Notes on sarue ::;uLject, by Bellwmtne ; Sia.ute::;e Mi::;sions to Ceylon, by Fruukfurtet' ; Homauiziug u[ Situue::;e, by Fraukfnrter). -tiO eopies kit ; Price, Tcs. 5.

::o ) Vol. IV., Part 2-(N ote sur le reguue legal de la Uochinchine, by Pech; Siamese Ghost-lore and Demonology, by Irwin; Rainfall Records of Siam, 3 years; Societt-\ d'Angkor). 12 copies left ; not for sale to non-members. Vol. IV., Part 3,-(Edible Bird N el:lt Islands, by Dunlap; Meteorlogical Data for 1907)-33 copies left; Price, Tcs. 5. Vol. V., Part 1.-(Intercourse between Burma and Siam, translated from the Hmannan Yazawin, by Nai 'l'hien [Luang Phraison] )-25 copies left; Price Tcs. G. Vol. V., Part 2.-(Now Penal Code of Siam, by Masao),-145 copies left ; Price, Tcs. 2. Vol. V., Part 3.-(Historical Sketch of Lopburi, by Prince Damroug;

Lopburi, Past and Present, by Giblin)-52 copies left ; Price, 'l'cs. 6. Vol. V., !'art 4.-(Siam in 1688, translation by Frankfurter of an early narrative, probably Dutch; Meteorological Abstract, 1908).-70 copies left ; Price, Tcs. 6. Vol. VI., Part 1.-(0ldest Known Writing in Siamcl:le, by Bradley with plates)-57 copie~; left ; Price Tcs. 10. Vol. VI., Part 2.-(Early Astronomical and Magnetic Obl:lervations in Siam, by Giblin)-73 copies left; Price, Tcs. 2. Vol. VI., Part 3.-(Translation of " E vents in Ayuddhya, 686-966,' Hluang Prasot MS., by Frankfurter, with Introduction by Frankfurter, and Preface by Prince Damrong; translation of a stone inscription found in Phitsnulok; Remarks on Kaempfer's Description of Siam, by Frankfurter)-34 copies left; Price, Tcs. 8. Vol. VII., Part 1.-(Translation of van Vliet's Description of Siam, by van Ravenswaay ; F3ishop Vey's Life, by Oolombet; Dinner to Mr. Homan van der Heide ; Meteorological Averages for 1909).-31 copies left; Price, Tcs. 10. Vol. VII., Part 2.-(The late King Ohulalongkorn, by Frankfurter; Tram;latiou of "The Book of the Birds". by Crosby)11 6 copic::; loft; Prioo, Tc::;. iJ.

Vol. VII., Part 3.-(Letten; du Hoi d(· Siam a sa Fille, translated by Notton)-120 copies left ; Price, Tcs. 5. Vol. VIII., Part 1.-(Dipterocarpaceae of Northern Siam, ry Ryan and Kerr, with plates).-72 copies left; Price Tcs. 8. Vol. VIII., Part 2.-(Intercourse between Burma and Siam, translation continued, by Nai Thien [Luang Phraison])-68 copies left ; Price, Tcs. 6. Vol. VIII, Part 3.-(L'Imprimerie au Siam, by Petithuguenin; Abbe de Choisy by Giblin; Brooke's Mission to Siam, by Frankfurter).-62 copies left; Price, Tcs. 6. Vol. IX., Part 1.-(List of Commoner Birds found in Siam, with Siamese names, by Gairdner)-100 copies left; Price, 'l'cs. 6. Vol. IX., Part 2.-('l'he Climate of Bangkok, by Highet, with plates and meteorological L'ecords)-121 copies left ; Price 'l'cs. 6. Vol. IX., Part 3.-(Method of Romani:1.ing Siamese, by Petithuguenin, with table and samples of transliteration; Meteorological figures for 1912 and Abstract for 11 years 1902-1912).-126 copies left; Price, Tcs 4. Vol. IX., Part 4.-(The Romanization of Siamese Words, by His Majesty the King)-124 copies left ; Price, Tcs. 4. Vol. X., Part 1.- (Proximate Source of the Siamese Alphabet, by Bradley, with plate; Recent Advances in our knowledge of the Flora of Siam, by Kerr)-72 copies left Price, Tcs. 5. Vol. X., Part 2.-(The Attitudes of the Buddha, by Frankfurter, with 37 plates)-84 copies left; Price, Tcs. 8. Vol. X., Part 3.-(Immigration of the Mons into Siam, by Halliday)-81 copies left; Price, Tcs. 4.

Vol. X., Part 4.-(Proposed System of Transliteration; Note on same by His Ma:jesty the King; Index to Journal)-72 copies left ; Price Tcs. ::!. ~L'he

Prcrt .If!,

p1·ice to },Jemhm·8 for each 1Ja.rt is ha.lj that

Tr.~.

/i.

()omplcfP. Sf'ts ro.~t Tr:.~.

mn.

!l~:ven

abrn:e. Vol. 1 V.,

Vol. XI., Part. 1.-(Uno:f:lieial Mi~Rion of .Toh11 Mm·g-aM, hy Fmnkfurter ; A Hyhrirl Dipt.erocarpns, 'hy Kon, with plat.e: SrnalJ Pox, Vaceination, and the m•w Vnceinat,ion Law in Siam, hy Highet, with plates). Vol. XL, Part 2.-('1'ranRlation of Prince Damrong's Prefaee t.o t.luHiHtory, hy Frankfnrter; An E~trly L1·itiRh Merc·hant. in Bangkok, by Adey Moore). Vol. XI., Part 3.-(InterconrHe hetween Burma :tnd Siam, translation continued, hy Lnang Phraison). Vol. XII., Pa•·t 1.-(Note~ Critiqne:-; Khamheng, by CceflrR).

1!111'

!'Inscription

rle

Vol. XII., P:.trt 2.-(Int.crconrse between Emma and Siam, tion C'nnt.inuerl , hy Lnang Phrai:-;ou ).

......--'-Q--

Riima

trn.m~la­

.....

-

•

•

•