Eleven Ayutthaya elephants and 200 mahouts have taken part in a procession in Bangkok dedicated to King Bhumibol Adulyadej who died last month. Report by Nikhita Chulani.
Sad to see some people whom posted negative comments about these Royal elephants without proper consideration for the feelings, history and cultures of Thailand. I am not Thai but am from Singapore but i do understand the need to respect others. These Royal elephants are not the normal ones we used to see. Thailand has a strict criteria for determining if the elephant can be tested and passed as a white elephant. White elephant is Buddha's favourite animal and it has a god like status that is regal. Kings have gone to war in the region just ove one white elephant as its very auspicious. Hence, its only the King who can afford to have them. Any commoners whose domestic elephant may have gave birth to one baby white elephant or some may said is albino, is presented to the king. Once the new born elephant passed the test and conferred the title as white elephant, it is then accepted by the king. Commoners don't asked for wealth or title even though they can .They simply did it out of their love and respect for the King and asked for nothing. Thats the beauty of Thai culture, the way the Thais treat their King and people, thus earning them the name, land of smile. The parade here for these Royal white elephants is equalivent to that of a millitary parade for world leaders whom passed away in their country. Even the Thais don't get to see a Royal elephant daily except on important occasions. I still feels very sad each time i watched documentaries about His majesty, King Bhumibol. He has won my love and respect even though i may not be a Thai. I cn only wished and hoped that i had a King in my country whom i can revered and look on to as my source of faith and insipiration. I have been to Thailand many times and i love their culture. Many Thais have told me that King Bhumibol's contribution to the nation and people may have surpassed the deeds done by his great grand father, King chulaongkorn. Rama V whom i am required to study for history when i was a student and i can still remembered what he did. King Chulaongkorn abolished the slavery, opened up Thailand, bring in new technologies,ideas from the west. He ascended the throne at the age of 16 but was not allowed to rule under the royal decree until he is 21. He spent 5 years travelling all around Thailand, to the rural parts too to know his subjects. Became a very down to earth King who really knows his country and people. King Bhumibol did even more, to the mountainous terrain even if he has to walk there. Rest In Peace my dear king Bhumibol, i am not be a Thai but i do regard you as a king of mine in my heart. Condolences too the Thai people. Sawadee, chok Dee.
As a Thai, I hold respect for the Singaporeans for your people for their industriousness and Lee Kwan Yew for his vision. Rama IX and LKY are men to look up to. They were the beacon of hope in times when our region is rampant with wars and division. With Southeast Asia looking much brighter now, we are thankful for them
Don't be mad at people who do not know about our culture.. doesn't matter what they think or what they say Just smile and explain to them if we can or just keep quiet if we can do nothing .. be good as our king was taught us
Shame on all those who have no respect for other cultures. These elephants are not harmed or abused. This is culture. Thai people loved their King this is how they show their love to him. If you have nothing nice to say then don't say it at all. It's 2017 no need for culture shaming or racism anymore. Learn and get your facts and history before you judge.
The tribute was beautiful. The animals are very well trained and I'm sure they get plenty of food and vet care. No one is attacking culture, They're angry at the thought of highly intelligent animals being trained through pain. The animals are kept on chains and only get to move about when being worked. I feel hypocritical being opposed to such training methods when I do the same thing to horses, but at least my horse is a less intelligent domestic animal that has a field to move freely in.
SwitchingReins these elephants are the kings himself and he rescued these elephants cause they are rare breeds. Hence why there is a picture of him and one on the first elephant. They get to live in a sanctuary where they get to run free and live among other elephants. They don't get kept on chains. Or any other comments you've made please do some reason before you criticise again or actually go to Thailand and see for yourself that these animals live freely and many donations are made for them. Thanks.
Jane Thomas If that is true, they are some of the very few elephants to get room to move. You can't blame people for being pissed when every other one is being treated so poorly. Their training methods are still the same. Every one of those rides had a bull hook in hand.
SwitchingReins how don't they have room to move when clearly in a sanctuary they get to roam freely and sleep where they want rather than sleeping in stables where you put your horses into sleep? Yes your horses may get a field these elephants get a whole jungle to themselves. Yes I see that those "hooks" are there as part of equipment used to tame and train these elephants for this occasion but isn't whips and ropes used to train horses also? And those horses that get trained to compete and if they break their legs they got shot or put down if these elephants were hurt or break their leg during performances or any kind of way they have replacements legs because of the donations and the sanctuary looking after them? I'm not blaming anymore for being pissed off everyone gets to have their own opinion in life. I'm just standing up from all those racist comments and culture shaming comments that were said about this tribute for the king. Comments like "Thai people are stupid for treating animals like this" or "Thailand is a horrible country for doing things like this"
Its wonderful that none of the elephants are chained. Hats off Thai people. I think Indians also should learn from Thai people regarding control of the elephants.
Rama 9 and the 2001 Tina Arena minor hit - Soul Mate Number 9. the district in Bangkok, Thailand and the Thai king - really this song is about them, but someone changed it from Soul mate number 9 to Rama number 9
Note to the editors at ODN and to the narrator of this report: the "TH" in "Ayutthaya" is not pronounced 'th' as it would be in English, but rather just as a regular "T". Think of it as "Ayutaya'. Also, culture and respect aside, Thai elephants are indeed "broken in" at a very young age, it's a very harsh training regimen that involved painful prods and some violence to the animal. I worked at a wildlife conservation centre in Thailand and I can tell you that the treatment of most elephants there is pretty bad. That needs to be said.
People are so disrespectful to another people's culture , unless you been to Thailand and see the elephants getting "abused" don't cry about it in the comment section, the elephants are well taken care of , why do you think there are elephant sanctuaries in Chiang Mai? People these days really get on my nerves
Cruel treatments to the majestic elephants...... Thai royal family allowed people to perform those activities. No respect to the King and the Thai's royals at all! Those acts must be stopped - Return the captured elephants to their forests, let them live freely for the rest of their lives, PLEASE!
@@mh_nk7 Cruel treatment began when they are 2 years old babies. These elephants are not orphans. They were stolen from their mothers in the wild, and trough pajaan. You can look this up. No elephant will do this without this kind of training. They are wild animals and have to be trained young. Also, did you not see that bull hook some of them hitting them on their heads? This a the same weapon they used on babies when training and they use them t to remind them of pain. If these people really worship these creatures, They wouldn't be exploiting them humiliatating them by dreesing them or painting them. Most of all they wouldn't be inflicting pain on them. Those bull hooks are very sharp and look like a tool you would poke in your fire places in your home.
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Do you know how these elephants are trained...through abuse, through pain. Temple elephants are horribly abused...these were too. I ran across this video by accident, sorry I did but at least you know a little more how captive elephants are treated.
Emily C do you know how they train these poor elephants? Did you see the bull hook in the rider's hands? They train them with that causing pain to their bodies by jabbing and/or pulling at their skin. And what was on one elephant's trunk...I had never seen it before but I'm sure it wasn't a good thing, maybe to stop her from eating. These are not natural hairs for an elephant and neither is getting on all fours. Their poor joints.
They are king's elephant. As you can see in the pic, They are his royal elephant. Their living condition is better than regular people. Surrounded by servants and training.
NISARAD LEDROD I don't give a fuck if it's a part of a retarded tradition or culture. If you partake in the torture and enslavement of animals you are a neanderthal degenerate and nothing more, hate to break it to you. Welcome to the 21st century.
I understand tradition but animals used for entertainment and ceremony needs to be banned. Look at “elephant crushing” if you disagree. The training methods used are disgraceful.
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