Siam and Laos, as Seen by Our American Missionaries
History
Siam and Laos, as Seen by Our American Missionaries
Laos -- Description and travel; Missions -- Laos; Missions -- Thailand; Thailand -- Description and travel
The girls play at keeping house, and make dishes of clay dried in the
sun, and from seeds, grasses and weeds they make all sorts of
imaginary delicacies. Little images of clay washed with lime are their
only dolls; these are sometimes laid in tiny cradles and covered with
a few pieces of cloth. The Siamese cradles are made on oblong wooden
frames, something like a picture-frame, from which hangs a network bag
made of cord, which forms the cradle, and a board is put in the bottom
to keep the netted cord in shape. The large cradle of the same sort in
which the live baby sleeps is fastened by ropes to the rafters of the
house, and forms a cooler and safer cradle than those in which
American babies rest. If any one will make a little frame and net some
cord for the basket part, she can have a real Siamese cradle.
The boys in Siam are very fond of pitching coins, and spend much of
their time in this game. They play leap-frog, and very often jump the
rope. Now that so many foreigners come to this country they have
learned to play marbles too. Foot-ball is also a very popular game,
but instead of a ball they use a little square piece of thick leather
with feathers fastened into one side. The men, as well as the boys,
enjoy this game, and it is really the most active exercise the Siamese
ever take. Fishing is a favorite pastime; and as crabs and prawns are
not always in season, they are a greater luxury than fish, and it is
considered great fun to catch them. The time for this is when the tide
in the river is very low and great mud-banks are left on either side.
The little fishermen carry with them a coarse sieve and an earthen
jar. The sieve is pushed along under the surface of the mud, and the
crabs, when caught, are put into the jars, which the children drag
along after them. After they have caught enough crabs they pelt each
other with mud, just as American boys do with snowballs. When they are
tired and dirty enough they plunge into the water, have a good swim,
and come out of the water as clean and happy as boys can be. In the
month of March, though usually dry and hot, winds are blowing. At this
time the Siamese, young and old, are much engaged in playing games
with kites, which are fitted with whistles, and the air resounds with
the noise produced by the toys and the shouts of the multitudes of
people engaged in the sport. Very frequently, too, mimic battles are
fought in the air by means of these kites, skillfully directed by
strings held in the hands of the owners.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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