emporary sovereignty. At
present he is escorted in procession to Dusit,[228] a royal park
outside Bangkok, where he breaks ground with a plough drawn by two
white oxen.

Somewhat similar is the Thib-Ching-Cha, or Swinging holidays, a
two days' festival which seems to be a harvest thanksgiving. Under the
supervision of a high official, four Brahmans wearing tall conical
hats swing on a board suspended from a huge frame about 100 ft high.
Their object is to catch with their teeth a bag of money hanging at a
little distance from the swing. When three or four sets of swingers
have obtained a prize in this way, they conclude the ceremony by
sprinkling the ground with holy water contained in bullock horns.
Swinging is one of the earliest Indian rites[229] and as part of the
worship of Krishna it has lasted to the present day. Yet another
Brahmanic festival is the Loi Kathong,[230] when miniature rafts
and ships bearing lights and offerings are sent down the Menam to the
sea.

Another class of ceremonies may be described as royal, inasmuch as
they are religious only in so far as they invoke religion to protect
royalty. Such are the anniversaries of the birth and coronation of the
king and the Thu Nam or drinking of the water of allegiance
which takes place twice a year. At Bangkok all officials assemble at
the Palace and there drink and sprinkle on their heads water in which
swords and other weapons have been dipped thus invoking vengeance on
themselves should they prove disloyal. Jars of this water are
despatched to Governors who superintend the performance of the same
ceremony in the provincial capitals. It is only after the water
has been drunk that officials receive their half yearly salary. Monks
are excused from drinking it but the chief ecclesiastics of Bangkok
meet in the Palace temple and perform a service in honour of the
occasion.

Besides these public solemnities there are a number of domestic
festivals derived from the twelve Samskaras of the Hindus. Of these
only three or four are kept up by the nations of Indo-China, namely
the shaving of the first hair of a child a month after birth, the
giving of a name, and the piercing of the ears for earrings. This last
is observed in Burma and Laos, but not in Siam and Camboja where is
substituted for it the Kon Chuk or shaving of the topknot, which
is allowed to grow until the eleventh or thirteenth year. This
ceremony, which is performed on boys and girls alike, is