Jesuits in Siam: 1687
For the benefit of my dissertation, I was once again working in the university library of Amsterdam, when my eye fell on a very intriguing title of a very old book for Thailanders:
VOYAGE DE SIAM DES PERES JESUITES, Envoyés par le Roy […] avec leurs observations astronomiques et leurs remarques de physique, de geographie, d'hydrographie et d'histoire. Amsterdam, 1687.
Of course I had to know for myself and I had the book dug up from the special collections and made available for my inspection. You are obviously not allowed to take such an old book home, if only to avoid being tempted to cut the engravings from the book, frame them and sell them individually in the Oudemanhuispoort!
The book was written by one of the wanderlust fathers, named Guy Tachart, and describes the journey the company makes on behalf of the Sun King from Brest via the Cape of Good Hope and Bantam (Java) to the then capital of Siam, which he says bears the name of Crung Si Aya Tha Ya. This brings us back to familiar territory. In this capital they meet at the Siamese court with the Portuguese Constantin Phaulkon, who had familiarized himself with the then king and had the position of prime minister, a very powerful man. The Fathers soon realized that they would be unable to achieve much, and it sufficed to keep their eyes and ears busy and learn as much as possible about the manners and customs and religious beliefs of the Siamese. Guy reports on this in detail and it is amusing to read what observations they came up with, especially in the field of religion. Here are a few noteworthy announcements.
According to Guy, their religion shows so many similarities with the Catholic faith (of course the only true faith for him and his fellow fathers) that it is almost inevitable that the gospel was also revealed to the Siamese a long time ago, but that it was in the changed and corrupted over time by ignorance and by their priests. A fine example of ancient Jesuit conversion and incorporation drift!
The Siamese believe in a God who is a perfect being, composed of body and spirit, who helps people by giving them a law, directing them how to live well, teaching them the true religion and teaching them the necessary sciences. Guy also notes that the Siamese are not really interested in any science whatsoever and that they are only curious about what the future will bring them: to this end they consult astrologers and practice all kinds of other superstitions.
Holy Rosary Church on the Bank of the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok (1887) – (Wild Alaska Ken / Shutterstock.com)
The happiness of their God is not perfect until he dies without being born again, for then he is no longer the object of misfortune and misery. Men can also become God, but only after a considerable time, for they must first have attained perfect virtue. It is now clear that Guy is talking about Buddha, but the curious thing is that this name is not to be found in the whole book! A puzzling omission, or is there a Jesuit prank behind it?
According to Guy they call their god Sommonokhodom, and he tells some more interesting things about this character but that would be going too far here. He explains why Christianity is very unlikely to gain a foothold in that country: the Siamese abhor the cross of Christ because if he had been a just man, his justice and goodness would have protected him from this horrible punishment that he had to endure and against the fury of his enemies.
The Siamese believe that heaven and earth were not created, but existed eternally and will have no end. The earth is flat and square, floats on the ocean and is surrounded by an extremely strong and wonderfully high wall. There are a heaven and a hell to serve as a temporary reward or punishment for deserving beings until they are reincarnated again. Their priests are regarded as true imitators of god, who have little to do with the world. They never greet a layman, not even the king himself. The main commandments for the laity are:
- worship God and his Word, besides his priests and monks;
- do not steal;
- not lie and cheat;
- not drink alcohol;
- not to kill living beings (people and animals);
- not commit adultery;
- fasting on the holidays;
- not work on those days.
If you compare this list with the ten commandments, you will surprisingly miss the commandment honor your father and your mother, which is a rock-solid fact in Thai culture. Other than that, it's pretty similar, except for the alcohol of course. That is also obvious, because the vast majority of those commandments stem from the fact that man is a social being, a herd animal with associated morality. You don't need a god at all to devise and prescribe it.
Even more fun than just looking at another culture through your own glasses is to view another culture through the eyes of someone from another culture and/or a completely different time (which amounts to about the same thing)!
– Reposted messaget -
Thanks for sharing your find, Pete. Very interesting! Has the text of a book like this not been digitized by the library to make it more widely available?
The book has indeed been digitized and is available for free at https://books.google.be/books?id=vZMOAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&hl=nl&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
A Dutch translation of the book can be found at: https://goo.gl/3X7CYJ
Interesting article! A few additions.
Constantin Phaulkon was a Greek, not a Portuguese. He was executed in June 1688 along with his followers and the Siamese Crown Prince as his patron King Narai lay dying. Successes to the throne in Siam were often bloody affairs.
This is what Abbé de Choisy, who was part of a diplomatic visit to Siam, said in 1685 about Phaulkon (from:Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire de Louis XIV, 1983:150)[
“He was one of those in the world who have the most wit, liberality, magnificence, intrepidity, and was full of great projects, but perhaps he only wanted to have French troops in order to try and make himself king after the death of his master, which he saw as imminent. He was proud, cruel, pitiless, and with inordinate ambition. He supported the Christian religion because it could support him; but I would never have trusted him in things in which his own advancement was not involved”
Sommonokhodom is most likely the corruption of Sramanan Gautama ('the Ascetic Gautama'). The Buddha has many names. In the seventeenth century the word 'Buddhism' had not yet reached Europe. In Thai, the Buddha is of course called phráphoéttáchâo.
European travelers of the time almost all believed the Buddha to be a god. Although you can imagine this on a superficial view, it does not speak for the insights, the thoroughness and the intellectual powers of these Jesuits. No doubt the Siamese found the Christian faith equally superstitious in which they were right.
A 'Jesuit prank' is a pejorative term used by their opponents for the dexterity that the fallen order had to display in order to be able to proclaim what they considered sincere truth that was not in keeping with the (then) Roman orthodox tyranny, just to avoid heavy censorship and repression. This term has also been used in the blog article for an unjustified suspicion because, as Tino Kuis already indicated:
In "Buddhism and Science: A Guide for the Perplexed," University of Chicago Press, 2009, author Donald S. Lopez Jr. it like this: “Father Tachard has this to say about the Buddha, whom he refers to as Sommonokhodom, his rendering of the Thai pronunciation of the Buddha's epithet, Śramaņa Gautama, the ascetic Gautama:” with the French online version of the discussed Jesuit account linked by 'Marc'.)
The transliteration 'Gautama' (in full Sanskrit: Siddhārtha Gautama, or Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) is more modern than 'khodom', but certainly for non-English speakers it leads to a less Thai-like pronunciation of that personal name. Since there would be several Buddhas in Buddhist teachings, it was natural for the Jesuit to refer to the most famous, glorified as a quasi-deity, by his personal name and (for the sake of courtesy or to distinguish him from any namesakes) one of his titles. Although the New Testament only knows 1 Savior, an objective and scrupulous Martian who never heard the term “Christianity” would describe not 'the Christ' but simply 'Lord Jesus'.
Thanks for the addition Tino. Constantine Phaulkon was indeed a Greek. His name in Greek is Κωσταντής Γεράκης or Konstantinos Gerakis. Gerakis means falcon in English and therefore falcon in Dutch. I never understood why his Greek name was translated into English in Siam.
My apologies for the incorrect translation of Constantine Phaulkon's Greek name, which should be Κωνσταντῖνος Γεράκης. Incidentally, King Narai had conferred on Constantine Phaulkon the title Chao Phraya Wichayen (เจ้าพระยาวิชาเยนทร์).
this article comes like fallen from heaven, to stay in style. I am collecting material about the place of Christianity in Nepal. I know that the Jesuits did a lot around the earthquake of 2015, but that some Protestant denominations are very pushy in proclaiming their vision Experience it yourself. All information welcome.
Thanks for sharing, always nice to have such a different view of a country. Also thanks to Tino for further comments.
Now that Phaulkon, ,had a wife of mixed Portuguese blood Maria Guyomar de Pinha after the death of her husband she became a slave in the royal kitchen. Her influence on Thai cuisine is enormous, because almost all traditional Thai desserts are Portuguese in origin and introduced by her.
didn't these missionaries also founded the krk in ayutthaya? Saint Joseph?
For people interested in the history of Siam, White Lotus publishing house, which is based in Hua Yai, has published many reprints of interesting books about Siam, often also translated into English.
The books in translation that White Lotus has published are, among others, by me.
To stay in the mood: another curious Christian point of view about the country can be found in one of those English translations: Description of the Thai Kingdom or Siam. Thailand under King Mongkut, by Monsignor Jean-Baptiste Pallegoix, published in 1854. It is the best description of manners and customs in Siam before the advent of the great modernization under HM King Chulalongkorn.
FH Turpin, A History of the Kingdom of Siam up to 1770, published in 1771, is another important account of early history — in our Western perception, of course.
GF de Marini and his A New and Interesting Description of the Lao Kingdom, another missionary, was published in 1663. It is also about the talapoi or monks and the language.
An exhaustive description of the Isan is from Etienne Aymonier, Isan Travels. Northeast Thailand's Economy in 1883-1884, first published in 1895 and 1872 with dozens of highly detailed maps and place names.
Fascinating and special. Christianity and Buddhism have many similarities. I have been visiting Thailand annually since 2003, the first ten years on behalf of a foundation. I mostly stayed in villages in Pai district. Troll a lot with English speaking monks and could therefore look into the kitchen of Thai Buddhism. The Jesuits will certainly have seen then that Buddhists will not accept any other faith. That is different with the tribes in the north of Thailand. The people there are animists and especially the Protestant church is active there. I wanted these churches and their publishers to stay at home. The Jesuits understood, Christians today did not. But it remains a nice contribution thanks to Piet.
The last few times I passed Pai (Chiang Mai province), I saw Muslim women dressed all black on a moped; there seems to be a nice community just to the west. At Chai Prakan there is a somewhat Chinese Shinto temple. In the province of Chiang Rai I visited a Chinese temple several times and there are also Catholic Christian churches in the North.
Animism is deeply characteristic of the whole of Thailand (except perhaps the provinces bordering Malaysia with predominantly Muslims): For many Thais, Theravada Buddhism is a status-rich sauce that is hardly put into practice outside of the treatment of monks. Also, for example, the future-predicting sticks shaking in the water, the house blessings by the monks, the ghost house and the 'lak muang' (urban penis pole) are animistic. As Christians reclaimed Christmas trees, Buddhists have taken in animism, but usually without attempting to frame it in Buddhist teachings or weaken it.
The last few times I passed through Pai (Chiang Mai province), I saw all-black veiled Muslim women on a moped; there seems to be a nice community just to the west. At Chai Prakan there is a Chinese Shinto temple. In the province of Chiang Rai I visited a temple at intervals of years, where I cannot determine whether the monastic training of poor boys of Chinese origin is mainly a social work or a disguised seminary. Long before a huge Buddha was erected on the temple grounds, I had noticed the eye-catching swastikas (spinning wheels symbolizing eternal change and recurrence) above entrances and on rooftops. There are also Catholic Christian churches in the North. The numerous animistic "hill tribes" were barely accepted by the major religions.
Animism is deeply characteristic of the whole of Thailand (except perhaps the provinces bordering Malaysia with predominantly Muslims): For many Thais, Theravada Buddhism is a status-rich sauce that is hardly practiced outside of support for the 'what' and treatment of monks . Also, for example, the future-predicting sticks shaking in the water, the house blessings by the monks, the ghost house and the 'lak muang' (urban penis pole) are animistic. As Christians reclaimed Christmas trees, Buddhists have taken in animism, but usually without attempting to frame it in Buddhist teachings or weaken it.
Nice find indeed and thanks for sharing the content. While looking for another book I also came across this one:
http://www.dcothai.com/product_info.php?cPath=46&products_id=1152
Could that be the translation of the same book?
grtz Will
Good story, congratulations. In addition: the order of the Jesuits was certainly not poor, as witnessed by the described journey to Siam. In the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church and especially the Jesuits used the Letters IHS as their monogram and you can still find it on church facades, prayer cards and altars. The founder of the Jesuit Order, Ignatius Loyola, chose the letters IHS as his seal mark. The explanations now used for these letters are Isem Habemus Socium (We have Jesus as a companion) It was a rich, not to say very rich, order and therefore the letters IHS were also translated as Iesuitae Habent Satis (the Jesuits have enough) or as Iesuitae Hominum Seductorres (The Jesuits are the seducers of men)
IHS is an abbreviation in Latin letters of the Greek spelling for Jesus, just that name without further ado. Due to inflection, IHM (accusative) and IHV (genitive, dative) also occur in texts. The Greco-Latin conversion is rather complex because due to a only partially 'modernized' transliteration in the course of the Middle Ages, the origin of IHS was no longer clearly recognizable, so that all kinds of nonsensical “explanations” arose among the half- and ignorant, for example 'Iesus Hominum Salvator (Jesus Savior of Man).
The Franciscan Bernardinus of Siena (1380-1444) had already widely spread the spelling 'IHS'. The Jesuit order, which was only founded in 1534, was mainly inspired by the model Jesus, hence their name. Their co-founder Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556) undoubtedly knew the true origins of IHS. So that symbolism was obvious to him and his followers. As a result, IHS became typical of the Jesuits.
The Jesuit order wrote 'poverty' in its rule (the list of duties) and is thus a so-called 'poor order'. Not the members but the order could have possessions. There were many so-called 'wealthy orders' whose members could have personal possessions. However, all Jesuits were fully fledged priests, who were thus much more highly educated than the monks of most other orders. This in itself entails more intensive contacts in the higher classes. Moreover, since the Jesuits also provided sound education in their own region, their most important activity next to missionary work (and in the earliest days caring for the sick), many of the well-to-do had themselves studied at a Jesuit college. Those 'better circles' regularly provided the order with considerable support, so it is not surprising that it became richer than the other orders of the poor. But the wealth in relation to the number of members was often much higher in the wealthy orders.
It became a highly controversial order because a long-standing power struggle was fought around the Catholic Church: The Western European Catholic secular rulers versus the Pope, who could count on the Jesuits. Evil speakers then deliberately misused the aforementioned unrecognizable origin of IHS to discredit and mock the order as Joseph Jongen above. In 1773 the pope was forced to withdraw his main support, but outside Western Europe that papal order was ignored and order continued to exist; after the French Revolution it was officially re-founded by the pope (1814).
Due to the Jesuits/IHS association, IHS had barely been used outside of them, but the current pope, Francis, does have IHS in his coat of arms. I suspect that he harks back to Bernardinus of Siena.
Correction: My last phrase was based on his chosen pope name, which might be expected of a Franciscan. However, he had joined the Jesuit order in 1958, making him the very first Jesuit to become pope.
Dear Jef, “Slanderers then deliberately abused the former unrecognizable origin of IHS, to discredit and mock the order like Joseph Jongen above” you literally write. Even an atheist does not mock, nor does he want to offend anyone, which you do to me.
The current Pope is a Jesuit
I don't know any better than that IHS is an abbreviation of In Hoc Signo (in this sign).
I once learned at scholl that IHS does indeed stand for IeHSus but also for ichthus, fish in ancient greek and the symbol of christ in the first centuries
For those interested, you should read what is written in the oath that Jesuits take before becoming a member and joining.
On the Internet is the Oath of the Jesuits. Enjoy reading.