Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1874-07-02
CREMATION IN SIAM.

AMONG the Siamese, Burmese, Camboj
ians, Peguans, people of Laos, and all the
surrounding nations, the dead are not
buried, unless the survivors are too poor
or too parsimonious to pay the priests
fees for burning; and such cases very
rarely occur Hence arises the strange
anomaly so often noted by foreign tour
lists, that in lands teeming with a popula-
ton more dense than any other portion
of our globe SO very few cemeteries are
to be seen. But tor the few burial places
of the Chinese, the small, unpretending
Enclosures that mark the last resting
place of a European traveller or mission
airy, and the occasional pritstly pagoda or
Gorgeous mausoleum of some Mussulman
rajah, one might suppose that the tyran:
Death had been exercised FROM those
sunny lands, instead of lurking unseen
amid the perennial verduro and among
the petals Of every fragrant flower.
During a residence of several years in
Siam neither saw nor heard of single
burial in that country, nor did l meet
with more than three Siamese tombs.
They were the "Tombs OF Three Kings"
said to be centuries old, and all that l
could learn of their history was that be-
meath those gorgeous monuments OF black
granite, exqulsitely chiseled and adorned
with mosalcs in gold, silver, copper,
ebony and ivory, reposed the ashes OF the
three famous warrior. kings, who had
ordered their bodies to be buried instead OF
burned, in order that the singularity of
the circumstance might keep the memory
of their virtues and bravery ever fresh in
the hearts of their subjects. Burning IS
now, and has been for centuries, the uni.
in al iS
supposed, because of the facility it at
fords for removing the precious dust of
the loved and lost In old, arlstocralic
houses | have seen arranged in the family
receptacle massive golden urns, contain
ing the ashes of eight, ten, or twelve
generations of ancestors and these are
cherished as precious helrooms to de-
scend through the eldest male branch.
The time, expense, and character OF
burning depend mainly on the rank and
wealth of the parties, though the cerc-
mony is always performed by the priests,
and always within the precincts OF tenn
pie. The only exception is in seasons OF
epidemics or when the land is laid waste
by famine. Among the better classes the
dead body is laid unmutilated, save by
the removal OF the intestines, in coffin,
and it is more or less carefully embalmed,
according to the time 1t is to be kept. Ii
the deceased belonged to a private family
of moderate means, the burning takes
place from four to six days after death;
if he was wealthy, but not high. born, the
body may be kept month, but never
longer; while the remains OF noble lie
in state from two TO six months, accord
ing to his rank; and for members Of the
royal family still longer period inter
venes between the death and the burning.
But whatever the interval, the body must
lie in state, and the relatives make daily
prostratlOns, prayers, and offerings dur
ing the whole time, beseechlng the de-
parted spirit to return to its discOnsOlate
friends. When the time tor the funeral
has arrived, the body is laid in recepta-
Gle on the summit of a stately pyramid,
the form and material Of which indicate
the wealth and position of the deceased
II is thickly gilded, and the receptacle
lined with plates of solid gold when
the body has belonged to one of royal
lineage and well-hiled Golfers The last
is quite as essential as the first to COR
geous Oriental funeral, since for rank
without money an East Indian has ever
the most profound contempt Both requi-
sites were fortunately united in the per-
son OF the Queen-mother of King Pra-
Nang klau, the old usurper who occupied
the Siamese throne previous to the acces-
sion OF the royal brothers who died in 1868.
AT the funeral of this aged Queen there
was such a display of Oriental magnlti-
cence as rarely falls to the lot of Western
eyes to witness. The embalmed body lay
IN state under golden canopy for eight
months; the myrrh, frankincense and ar
omatic oils used in its preparation cost
upward Of $4,000, and the golden pyre
about $4,000. The hangings were of
the richest silks and velvets, trimmed
with bullion fringe and costly lace, and
the wrappings OF the body of pure white
silk embroidered with pearls and pre-
cious stones. Incredible quantities OF
massive jewelry decked the shrunken
corpse and diadem OF glttering gems
cast its prismatic radiance over the with
cred features. Tiny golden lamps, fed