A Dutchman travels to 'Buddha's Footprint'

How did the Dutch and Thais interact 270 years ago? I was amazed at the daring openness and curiosity of both sides, while at the same time understanding each other's opinions and customs were also of paramount importance.

Background

In 1737, the pious King Borommakot ordered the chief of the VOC factory in Ayutthaya, Theodorus Jacobus van den Heuvel, to accompany him on his annual pilgrimage to the 'Footprint of the Buddha' (พระพุทธบาท, Phra Poetthabaat).

These were difficult times for the factory. Losses were suffered, there were serious frictions with the court (which had a large debt to the VOC), the monopoly of the VOC came under pressure and the factory was therefore closed by Batavia in 1740. It is certain that the court, with all its pomp and circumstance, wanted to display its power and benevolence in order to impress Van den Heuvel in order to gain an advantage in the negotiations. A journal of that pilgrimage has been handed down, the Dagregister.

The pilgrimage first goes over water (Pa Sak, 'Teakbos' river,) and then from Tha Reua ('Haven') on a dead straight road to the 'Footprint'. This road is still called thanon farang song khlong, or 'the road of the farang with the binoculars'. Tradition says that a Dutchman built this road.

Phra Poetthabaat is located 20 km south-east of Lopburi in Saraburi province and is still one of the most important pilgrimage centers in Thailand. Worth a visit! I mainly chose passages that describe the interaction between the Dutch and the Thais, I estimate a small half of the total text. It is remarkable that the Dutch consistently call the Buddha 'a god'. They should have known better although I can see why they thought that.

Some passages from the 'Dagregister'

March 6, 1737 – Today, in obedience to the order of the king, the chief departed for Prabat (Phra Phutthabaat) accompanied by two high officials, deputed by the king….

March 7 – The son of the former Crown Prince, now a monk, joined us…

Not long after, we saw the king and his retinue, which consisted of 120 large boats, the smallest of which contained as many as 40 oarsmen….

The boats were wonderfully carved in the shape of dragons and other creatures, all gilded, as were the oars, and fitted with little houses…..

When the king passed by, we stooped and raised our hands above our heads three times, as tradition dictates…..

We could clearly see the king, an elderly man with a sunken face….dressed in a white robe tied high at the neck to hide his goitre (enlargement of the thyroid due to lack of iodine)…..

A young deer, chased by dogs, jumped into the water. We could have easily captured it, but we gave that pleasure to the above-mentioned monk…..

March 8 – Early in the morning a deputy came on behalf of the king to ask what we needed…

After expressing our utmost gratitude, we asked for transportation…..

To our delight, at four o'clock in the afternoon eight horses, five elephants and 5 carts came… the road after that was full of carts, and elephants, loaded with all kinds of goods and we passed large markets selling all kinds of fruits and other foodstuffs….

March 9 – We received a lot of visits from higher officials who we entertained with preserved fruit and betel…..

March 10 – The king, seated in a cottage on a large elephant with long tusks, passed us at a distance of 8 meters. He was preceded by as many as a thousand soldiers in two columns, composed of hill tribes, Cambodians, Chinese and Malays, armed with muskets, bows and arrows, swords and spears…..

Shortly afterward, an official, commissioned by the king, came to inquire about our well-being. After expressing our gratitude, we asked for water…

A higher official took us back to our quarters although the chief warned that this was not correct because the king had not yet left….

March 11 – We were visited by several high officials, probably to spy on our behavior and our words, what we would say about the king and his court. We therefore acted extra cheerfully and praised the king's beneficence.

March 12 – We were visited by a high-ranking official who, on behalf of the king, invited us to visit the 'Footprint of the Buddha' but that we should raise our hands above our heads in reverence, as even the king had to do . We replied that then we would leave our curiosity unsatisfied because such a thing would go against our conscience and religion….

The official tried to convince us with more foolishness and brutality until the chief asked him to keep quiet because it annoyed us beyond measure. We noted that we believe in the One True God and would rather suffer here and now than be punished forever if we worshiped a false god. The official bowed, saying that we were right and that he would convey our words to the king.

We received various gifts, fruits, pastries, etc. By order of the king, gold and silver coins were thrown into the crowd and then there were fireworks.

March 13 – …..a high official asked us, in the king's name, to attend a performance by the king's dancers. We sat in the hot sun for over 3 hours, which felt like a penance, but we didn't dare show it. The chief offered the dancers 120 riksdollars afterwards, which they politely refused to accept…

March 14 – The king sent a gift consisting of a coat of Persian gold fabric and a pair of trousers made of satin and decorated with gold flowers and 51 gold buttons…

The chief turned to the palace and raised his hands with the gifts above his head three times and said that he would wear the clothes in honor of the king and as a proof of the king's mercy…..

The officials were treated to candied fruits and tea and said a friendly farewell…..

March 15 – After hearing what was said on March 12 about the visit to the Footprint of the Buddha, the king informed us: 'They are right, they are foreigners, let them do what they want to do for he, who is not faithful to his own god is not faithful to his master.'

The king sent two high officials who showed us everything in the pagoda that is highly revered by the Siamese. (follows a detailed description of the pagoda). The high official asked us if we could not worship the god, Buddha, because he had all sorts of animate and inanimate beings under the sole of his foot to which we wisely kept silent…..

We asked to be allowed to withdraw, but first, with our hungry stomachs (it was already after midnight), we had to attend a new performance by dancers. The king, who apparently had seen our ordeal two days ago, had ordered an awning to be put up, which was usually not allowed.

March 16 – At 8 o'clock in the evening we were invited to visit a high-ranking monk. He was a polite, talkative and curious man who asked us all about European buildings and the way of life in those regions. Just then there was a lunar eclipse and he asked our opinion about this phenomenon….

(which was followed by a lecture on western astronomical ideas from one side and the ideas of the Brahmins were explained from the other side, a dragon eating the moon…)

The prince Walpothai, known in the walk as 'the silly prince', wondered how the world could still support his god (the Buddha), heavier than a hundred thousand people, if we were right. The monk and we responded with a smile. After a cup of tea and some betel we said goodbye.

March 17 – At six o'clock in the morning we rode out with two officers for a pleasure trip in the area. We drove through valleys covered with forest to the foot of a steep mountain range. We visited a number of caves in which gilded statues were placed…….

We made our way to a famous dam, two hundred meters long, with a lock in the middle. The water is used for the king and his subjects who would otherwise suffer from a lack of water…..

We climbed the dike and enjoyed the coolness and fresh air in the shade of a tree. We ate something and took a walk in the woods along the aqueduct….

March 23 – During our return journey nothing remarkable happened, but we found that the land was well populated and cultivated and full of pagodas.

Source: In the King's Trail, an 18th Century Dutch Journey to the Buddha's Footprint, The Royal Netherlands Embassy, ​​Bangkok, 1997