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292
SIAM.
their superiors or of the priests.
The mandarins wear,
besides the loin-cloth, (called by the Portuguese payne,
from the Latin pannus,} which is generally black, a
muslin shirt or vest, and, on days of ceremony, a high
conical cap, somewhat resembling the king's ; only that
his is encircled with jewellery, while their respective
rank is indicated by circles of gold, silver, or ver-
milion.
" The skin of the Siamese is of a lighter colour than
in the generality of Asiatics to the west of the Ganges,
by far the greater number being of a yellow complexion;
a colour which, in the higher ranks, and
particularly among women and children, they take
pleasure in heightening by the use of a bright yellow
wash or cosmetic, so that their bodies are often
rendered of a golden colour. The texture of the skin
is remarkably smooth, soft, and shining."*
The Siamese women are represented by M. LoubeYe
as both cleanly and modest. They are fond to excess
of the bath, using it repeatedly in the twenty-four
hours, and they are generally excellent swimmers, but
they never lay aside the pagne. They never make a
visit of ceremony without a previous ablution. They
use perfumes, and apply a paste to their lips, which
increases their natural pallidness, in order, it may be
presumed, to set off their blackened teeth.
The food of the Siamese consists chiefly of rice,
which is eaten with a
"
substance called balachonff, a
strange compound of things savoury and loathsome,
but in such general use, that no one thinks of eating
without some portion of it." The religion, as in the
* This fondness for a golden complexion is not peculiar to the
Indo-Chinese. Van Egmont tells us, that the Greek ladies at
Smyrna, on high occasions, used to gild their faces, which was
considered as rendering them irresistibly charming.