Surin Elephant Round-up

Last updated
Surin Elephant Round-up
Surin round up.jpg
Elephant Parade at the Elephant Round-up
Observed by Kuy people
CelebrationsParade, Tug of war, Elephant buffet, Soccer, Mock battles
DateThird week of November each year
FrequencyAnnual

The Surin Elephant Round-up is a cultural festival held every year in Surin Province, Isan, Thailand. Usually the event is organized during the third week of November on the weekend. The festival has its origins in the royal hunts which were conducted in Surin Province during medieval times. The indigenous residents of Surin, the Kuy, have been traditional practitioners of corralling elephants and training them as working animals. When the Ayutthaya Kingdom came into power these hunts were converted into a public extravaganza and wild elephants were replaced with tame ones. The festival, in its contemporary form, was first organized in the 1960s when civil war in Cambodia and the steady decline in economic value of elephants forced the elephant handlers (mahouts) to seek occupations in the entertainment and tourism industry. [1] [2]

Contents

The modern two-day event includes a variety of shows displaying the physical prowess and skill of the animals, such as soccer games and tugs of war with the Royal Thai Army. Elephants painting pictures, playing polo, and whirling hula hoops on their trunks are also incorporated into the show. [3] Numerous floats are put on display. The venue for the event, Si Narong Stadium, has been dubbed the "world's largest domestic elephant village" by the Tourism Authority of Thailand. [4]

Ancient tradition

Since ancient times wild elephants, believed to number in the thousands, roamed freely in the forests around Thailand. In Surin these elephants were rounded up, corralled and captured in hunts which were highly ritualistic and involved many mythological aspects. These hunts also served an economic purpose, as the captured elephants were tamed and used as pack animals or sometimes as war animals. These ritual hunts were noted by historians as ancient as Strabo, Arrian, and Megasthenes. [1] The hunters, who mainly came from the tribe of Kuy people, performed several rituals before, during and after performing the actual hunt. These included divination from bones, wearing special clothes believed to possess protective powers, praying to the lassos for the strength to restrain the elephants and praying to ancestors. They also prayed to terrestrial and woodland spirits to grant success to the hunt. [5]

Emergence as a spectacle

14th to 18th century

While the Ayutthaya Kings were in power, the elephant hunts were converted into a public spectacle and lost much of their ritualistic element. The round-ups became a royally sponsored event where local dignitaries and overseas guests were invited to savour the spectacle. Among these notable foreign dignitaries, who attended the event through royal invitation was François-Timoléon de Choisy. He wrote in his diary that the king had arranged a special round-up for his foreign guests even though the real event date had not arrived. [6]

Late-19th century to 1960s

Tsesarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov in Siam with Crown Prince Maha Vajirunhis (left) and King Chulalongkorn (right), March 1891 Tsarevich in Siam (cropped).jpg
Tsesarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov in Siam with Crown Prince Maha Vajirunhis (left) and King Chulalongkorn (right), March 1891

As the post-war era neared its end, the elephant round-up became progressively more staged and less of a real hunt. It became common to use tame or even trained elephants during the event. The round-ups were enacted primarily for the entertainment of royal guests. For example, King Chulalongkorn, also called Rama V, had a round-up specially staged for the Russian Prince Nicholas II in 1891 during the latter's world tour as a crown prince. [7] Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore visited Thailand and its provinces during 1903 and was bestowed with a royal invitation to see the round-up as an envoy of the NGS. She wrote about her experience, titling the story "The Greatest Hunt in the World". [8] In her printed story she related that the monarch of Siam and his entourage came to stay at the summer palace for the roundup which they sponsored. Dignitaries came by cruiser or rail, and locals mostly arrived by boat. She said that hunters worked for many hours and used various tactics to herd elephants numbering in their hundreds towards the "kraal". The krall was an enclosure, the broadness of whose walls was about two meters and it had an inner enclosure made out of thick teak logs which measured up three and half meters in height. Iron bands buttressed the wooden walls. According to her account, more than 250 elephants were rounded up that year. Some were unintentionally hurt as they stomped and trumpeted during the round-up, but these received immediate care. [8]

Over time, the round-ups grew progressively staged. The elephants utilized in the round-ups were often tame, who had to play the role of wild animals. This move from actual to artifice preceded the influx of tourism and therefore tourists never witnessed a real hunt. By 1938, the round-up had transitioned so far into a staged event that ladies in the audience were asked to choose which elephant ought to be captured next. [6] The round-ups were abandoned in 1938, although a special "last" round-up was officially sponsored by the monarchy in 1962. It was staged in honour of King Frederik IX of Denmark and his wife Ingrid, who visited Thailand in early-1962. [9]

Re-emergence as a contemporary cultural festival

Less than 34 years after the event lost royal patronage, it re-emerged as a prominent social festival with less ritual and more flair. According to some sources the first such round-up was organized and celebrated in 1955, [10] while according to others the first event was celebrated in the 1960s. [6] Either way, the first modern event was held on a modest scale in the Tha Tum subdistrict of Surin Province. [6] [10]

The festival was then moved to Surin proper. [11] Nowadays, elephants and their trainers travel 100 km to Surin to participate in the festival. The ritualistic elements and traits of the festival have all but disappeared and the festival has become a pure tourist festival.

Events held during the modern festival

The area dedicated to praying before the lasso and getting blessed with it before the hunt begins. According to myth the lasso is the spirit of the hunt. LassooPrayingArea.gif
The area dedicated to praying before the lasso and getting blessed with it before the hunt begins. According to myth the lasso is the spirit of the hunt.

Preparation

The Kuy hunters who are singled out to perform in the round-up perform a morning ritual called the "Pak Kum Luang" almost an entire week before the festival. This ritual includes praying at the Pakam shrine, which is sacred to the lasso, as their elders had done in ancient times and then offering pigs heads, chickens, wine, jos sticks and herbs. When the required sign is obtained, the elders blow the hunters horn which signals that the 60 km long trek to the festival can commence. The journey is usually undertaken using trucks. The elephants and their mahouts arrive with at least five days to spare and spend this time roaming the streets while offering rides and practicing for their performance. The wives of the mahouts travel alongside them. [6]

Festival

Surin Elephant Show 2009 DSC06213c.jpg
Elephant Parade
Surin Elephant Show 2009 DSC06256c.jpg
Soldiers prepare for tug of war
Elephant breakfast (usually held on the Friday morning) Surin elephant breakfast.jpg
Elephant breakfast (usually held on the Friday morning)
World Record for the largest serving of food to pachyderms Pachedermfestivalrecord.gif
World Record for the largest serving of food to pachyderms

On Friday morning, a marching procession of approximately 300 elephants starts moving through Surin city from the railway station toward the elephant roundabout on Prasat Road in the southernmost neighborhood of the city. [12]

The elephants carry dignitaries who dismount their steeds on arrival. Some elephants carry mahouts in authentic replicas of battle outfits from the Thai–Khmer–Laos battles. Intermingled with the elephant procession are students of local schools and their teachers in traditional dress, who are dancing and playing music. [13]

Once all the elephants have arrived, the banquet begins. The tables for the banquet measure 400 meters in length and are customarily decorated with traditional silk cloth. [14]

The food is presented before the elephants; leftovers are taken home by the local people. On 14 November 2003, the buffet set a Guinness World Record for "largest elephant buffet" when 269 Asian elephants came together to devour over 50 tonnes (50,000 kg; 110,000 lb) of fruit and vegetables. [15]

On Saturday, the entire company of elephants and their mahouts congregate at the Elephant Stadium just after daybreak. The ceremony at the stadium begins with a speech from the chairperson of the ceremony, after which baby elephants are paraded through the stadium. Then the processional march of bull elephants takes place. Next, the Kuy hunters pray to the lasso and showcase their skills at capturing elephants. They display how elephants were captured by hunters working alone, and how sometimes elephant riders were used to capture other elephants. Tame elephants which could be utilized to corral wild ones have been bred by the Kuy people since ancient times and are called Khonkies or Koomkies. [10] [16]

After the elephant capture technique displays, there are displays of acrobatics, matches of soccer and polo, and displays of tasks performed by tamed elephants, such as logging. Another event which displays the raw strength of Surin's elephants is the elephant vs. army tug of war contest. The contest starts with 50 army personnel against the biggest bull elephant. As the bull beats the soldiers, 15 more are added until there are 100 soldiers matched against a single bull, and even then the bull usually wins. [17] [18]

The finale of the show is re-enactment of a historical battle between Siamese and Burmese forces. The forces are dressed in traditional colours with red for Siam and blue for Burma. They take up positions according to traditional battle tactics, with a front row of foot soldiers, central portion of elephants protecting the "king" elephant in the middle and a rear guard. The battle ends with Siamese victory. [10]

Along with the elephant show the stadium hosts a mini-half marathon called "Mueang Chang". The Red Cross Society also holds a cultural performance with the elephant show. The elephant show is repeated on Sunday morning. [12] [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surin province</span> Province of Thailand

Surin is one of Thailand's seventy-seven provinces (changwat). It lies in lower northeastern Thailand, also called Isan. Neighboring provinces are Buriram, Maha Sarakham, Roi Et, and Sisaket. To the south it borders Oddar Meancheay of Cambodia. Surin covers a total area of 8,124 km2 (3,137 sq mi) from the Mun River in the north to the Dangrek Mountains in the south. The capital, Surin city, in the western central region province is 434 km from Bangkok.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Krabi–krabong</span> Weapon-based martial art from Thailand

Krabi-Krabong is a weapon-based martial art from Thailand. It is closely related to other Southeast Asian fighting styles such as Pencak Silat Indonesia, Burmese banshay and Cambodian kbach kun boran. The royal bodyguard corps of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej were said to be highly trained in krabi-krabong.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mahout</span> Elephant rider, trainer, or keeper

A mahout is an elephant rider, trainer, or keeper. Mahouts were used since antiquity for both civilian and military use. Traditionally, mahouts came from ethnic groups with generations of elephant keeping experience, with a mahout retaining his elephant throughout its working life or service years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elephants in Kerala culture</span> Overview of role of the elephants in culture of Kerala

Elephants found in Kerala, the Indian elephants, are one of three recognized subspecies of the Asian elephant. Since 1986, Asian elephants have been listed as endangered by IUCN as the population has declined by at least 50% over the last three generations, estimated to be between 25,600 to 32,750 in the wild. The species is pre-eminently threatened by habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation. Along with a large population of wild elephants, Kerala has more than seven hundred captive elephants. Most of them are owned by temples and individuals. They are used for religious ceremonies in and around the temples, and some churches, and a few elephants work at timber yards.

<i>Khan Kluay</i> 2006 Thai film

Khan Kluay is a 2006 Thai animated adventure film set in Ayutthaya-era Siam about a Thai elephant who wanders away from his mother and becomes the war elephant for King Naresuan. It is based on the story Chao Phraya Prap Hongsawadee by Ariya Jintapanichkarn. The film took three years to make, and was released on May 18, 2006, in Thailand. In 2007, the film was released as The Blue Elephant in the United States on September 2, and as Jumbo in India in December 25.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mysore Dasara</span> State-festival of Karnataka, India

Mysore Dasara is the state festival in the state of Karnataka in India. It is a 10-day festival, starting with nine nights called Navaratri and the last day being Vijayadashami. The festival is observed on the tenth day in the Hindu calendar month of Ashvina, which typically falls in the Gregorian months of September and October.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elephant Nature Park</span> Sanctuary in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Elephant Nature Park is a sanctuary and rescue centre for elephants in Mae Taeng District, Chiang Mai province, northern Thailand, approximately 60 kilometres (37 mi) from Chiang Mai city, co-founded by Sangduen "Lek" Chailert. In 2013, Erawan Elephant Retirement Park opened in western Thailand as an offshoot. By 2016, there were branch parks in Surin and in Cambodia, and there were plans to open a fifth park in Phuket. By then, the work was coordinated by the Save Elephant Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Architecture of Thailand</span>

The architecture of Thailand is a major part of the country's cultural legacy and reflects both the challenges of living in Thailand's sometimes extreme climate as well as, historically, the importance of architecture to the Thai people's sense of community and religious beliefs. Influenced by the architectural traditions of many of Thailand's cultures, it has also developed significant regional variation within its vernacular and religious buildings. Although Siam urged to identify themselves as a modernized state, Western culture and influence was undesirable and inevitable. In an attempt to become distinguished, Thailand's ruling elite gravitated toward selective Modernization to avoid the undesired Western influence.

Parbati Barua is an Indian animal conservation activist and a mahout, She was one of nine children to late Prakritish Chandra Barua of the Royal Family Of Gauripur. Prakritish was the last member of the Rajahs of Gauripur to hold power. She came to the limelight after the BBC created the documentary "Queen of the Elephants" based on her life, along with the companion book by Mark Shand. She resided in Guwahati and was also a member of the Asian Elephant Specialist Group, IUCN. She was the sister of Pratima Barua Pandey and niece of filmmaker Pramathesh Barua of Devdas fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khedda</span>

A khedda or the Khedda system was a stockade trap for the capture of a full herd of elephants that was used in India; other methods were also used to capture single elephants. The elephants were driven into the stockade by skilled mahouts mounted on domesticated elephants. This method was practiced widely in North-east India, particularly in the state of Assam, mostly in South India, and in particular in the erstwhile Mysore State state.

Worawongsathirat was a usurper in the Ayutthaya Kingdom, ruling for only 42 days in 1548 before being assassinated. Siamese chronicles relate that Worawongsathirat attainted the crown — his kingship is not accepted by most traditional historians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elephantstay</span> Thai non-profit enterprise

Elephantstay is a non profit enterprise under the Prakochabaan Foundation in Ayutthaya, Thailand. The mission of the enterprise is educate people about the importance of elephants in Thai history and culture as well as caring for elephants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mela shikar</span>

Mela shikar is a traditional method of capturing wild elephants for captive use. These methods get employed in Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia and in Assam in India. The process involves lassoing a wild elephant from the back of a trained one, called a koonki. This practice is prevalent in the northeastern part of India, especially in Assam, and is one of the methods seen in ancient India. Other traditional elephant capture methods include: khedda, byle shikar, snaring, pit method, and decoying by using a female koonki to lure a male elephant. Mela shikar used to be organized twice a year – after Durga Puja and during Bihu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ekkathat</span> King of Ayutthaya

Ekkathat or Borommoracha III or King of Suriyamarin Throne Hall was the 6th monarch of the Ban Phlu Luang dynasty, the 33rd and the last monarch of Ayutthaya Kingdom, ruling from 1758 to 7 April 1767, prior to the fall of Ayutthaya. Moreover, he was called by the people in his time as "King Khiruean", which meant "the king with skin disease", due to his chloasma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Khmer people</span> Ethnic group

Northern Khmer people or colloquially as Thais of Khmer origin ; mostly referred to as Khmer Surin is the designation used to refer to ethnic Khmers native to the Isan region of Northeast Thailand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kuy people</span> Ethnic group in Southeast Asia

The Kuy are an indigenous ethnic group of mainland Southeast Asia. The native lands of the Kuy range from the southern Khorat Plateau in northeast Thailand east to the banks of the Mekong River in southern Laos and south to north central Cambodia. The Kuy are an ethnic minority in all three countries, where they live as "hill tribes" or Montagnards. Their language is classified as a Katuic language of the Mon-Khmer language family. The Thais, Lao, and Khmer traditionally recognize the Kuy as the aboriginal inhabitants of the region. The word kuy in the Kuy language means "people" or "human being"; alternate English spellings include Kui, Kuoy and Kuay, while forms similar to "Suay" or "Suei" are derived from the Thai/Lao exonyms meaning "those who pay tribute". The Kuy are known as skilled mahouts, or elephant trainers, and many Kuy villages are employed in finding, taming, and selling elephants.

Mingyi Swa was heir apparent of Burma from 1581 to 1593. The eldest son of King Nanda of the Toungoo Dynasty led three out of the five Burmese invasions of Siam between 1584 and 1593, all of which ended in complete failure. He died in action during the fifth invasion in 1593. In prevailing Thai history, he was killed in single combat by King Naresuan. However no other accounts, including the earliest Siamese records and European accounts, mention a formal elephant duel between the two. The Burmese chronicles say Swa was felled by a Siamese mortar round.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mrenh kongveal</span> Legendary Khmer elves

Mrenh kongveal are beings in Cambodian folk mythology resembling elves of western folklore; they are particularly associated with guarding animals. By anecdotal accounts the roots of Mrenh kongveal appear to be uniquely Khmer. The mrenh kongveal are small in stature with bodies comparable in size to human children, and are fond of mischief. Offerings are often left to them when seeking their help.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elephants in Thailand</span>

The elephant has been a contributor to Thai society and its icon for many centuries. The elephant has had a considerable impact on Thai culture. The Thai elephant is the official national animal of Thailand. The elephant found in Thailand is the Indian elephant, a subspecies of the Asian elephant. In the early-20th century there were an estimated 100,000 captive elephants in Thailand. In mid-2007 there were an estimated 3,456 captive elephants left in Thailand and roughly a thousand wild elephants. By 2017 the number of captive elephants had risen to an estimated 3,783. The elephant became an endangered species in Thailand in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elephant Kraal, Ayutthaya</span> Elephant paddock

Elephant Kraal of Ayutthaya, or Elephant Corral of Ayutthaya is a historic place in Ayutthaya Province, Thailand. It is considered part of the Ayutthaya Historical Park.

References

  1. 1 2 Watt, Sir George (1908). The Commercial Products of India: Being an Abridgement of "The Dictionary of the Economic Products of India. J. Murray. p.  696. megasthenes elephant hunt in thailand siam.
  2. ↑ "Surin Elephant Round-up: an unforgettable sight in Thailand". Lonely Planet. Archived from the original on 8 March 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  3. ↑ Murdoch, Gillian (24 December 2007). "Fun is serious business as Asian elephants struggle to survive". Reuters. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  4. ↑ "Amazing Surin Elephant round-up 2014". tatnews.org. Retrieved 15 April 2015.[ permanent dead link ]
  5. ↑ Srichandrakumara; Giles, Francis (1930). "Adversaria of Elephant Hunting, (together with an account of all the rites, observances and acts of worship to be performed in connection therewith, as well as notes on vocabularies of spirit language, fake or taboo language and elephant command words)" (PDF). Journal of the Siam Society (23). Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Cohen, Erik (2008). Explorations in Thai Tourism: Collected Case Studies. Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Limited. pp. 147–149. ISBN   978-0-08-046736-8.
  7. ↑ Warren, William (1999). Thailand, the Golden Kingdom. Portland OR: Periplus Editions. p. 79. ISBN   9625934650.
  8. 1 2 Scidmore, Eliza (1906). "The Greatest Hunt in the World". National Geographic. The National Geographic Society. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  9. ↑ Patterson, Mary Alice (1968). The Ancient Elephant Kraal at Ayutthaya. p. 22.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Schliesinger, Joachim (11 January 2015). Elephants in Thailand Vol 1: Mahouts and Their Cultures Today. Booksmango. p. 48. ISBN   9781633232334.
  11. ↑ Gerson, Ruth (1996). Traditional Festivals in Thailand . Oxford University Press. p.  53.
  12. 1 2 Ngamsangchaikit, Wanwisa (9 October 2013). "Surin readies for elephant festival". TTR Weekly. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  13. ↑ "Thai Elephant Festival (6 Days)". travels with teri. Retrieved 2015-04-15.
  14. ↑ "World's biggest elephant buffet on 14 Nov in Surin". thainews. Archived from the original on 2015-04-15. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  15. ↑ "Largest elephant buffet". Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  16. ↑ Shoberl, Frederic (1834). Natural History of Quadrupeds, Volume 1. John Harris. p. 213.
  17. ↑ mike. "The Annual Surin Thailand Elephant Festival". thailandstories. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  18. ↑ "Surin Elephant round-up". pilotguides. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  19. ↑ TTRweekly Staff (10 October 2014). "Surin hosts mega elephant show". TTR Weekly. Archived from the original on 9 April 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2015.

14°52′22″N103°29′42″E / 14.872693°N 103.494928°E / 14.872693; 103.494928

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.