What do elephants mean in Thai culture?

Thai culture celebrates the elephant as a symbol of fortune. The superstitious will pay money to pass underneath the beast’s body in the hopes of gaining the animal’s luck. Besides being superstitious, one must also be brave as elephants are the largest land animals in existence today.

What is the importance of elephants?

Elephants help maintain forest and savanna ecosystems for other species and are integrally tied to rich biodiversity. Elephants are important ecosystem engineers. They make pathways in dense forested habitat that allow passage for other animals.

Why is the elephant considered a religious symbol in Thailand?

The elephant is a religious symbol in Thailand The elephant is a symbol of Buddhism and the Lord Buddha. Legend says that Queen Maya, the Lord Buddha’s mother, dreamt that a white elephant presented her with a lotus flower, another religious symbol, before entering her womb.

How the elephant became Thailand’s national symbol?

On the eve of his birth, it is said that the Buddha’s mother dreamed that she was given a lotus flower by a white elephant. This gave white elephants superiority and made them sacred among Thais. Later, they became a symbol of royalty. Rare white elephants were then used for royal duties throughout the country.

Are elephants sacred in Thailand?

The ancient kings of Siam used elephants to ride into battle and the more elephants a king had the more status and power he enjoyed. White elephants are rare but considered sacred and are a symbol of royal power; all those discovered in Thailand were presented to the king.

Is the elephant sacred in Thailand?

There are many elephant’s references to artworks, literature and national emblems. Since Thailand is a majority Buddhist country, elephants are portrayed as sacred animals from their special symbolism in the practice of Buddhism. The royal Thai navy flag also bears the symbol of the white elephant.

What is the elephant symbolic of?

Elephant Meanings, Symbolism & The Elephant Spirit Animal. Elephant meaning includes intelligence, wisdom, majesty, good luck, loyalty, strength, and other noble qualities. Native to Africa and Asia, the elephant is an important figure in the cultural mythology of these regions and beyond.

Why are elephants decorated in Thailand?

What does the elephant symbol mean?

Elephants are traditionally considered a symbol of good luck, wisdom, fertility, and protection. Wearing or placing the image of the elephant with its trunk raised in your home is thought to attract good fortune, as it showers its positive energy out of the trunk and into all surrounding beings and spaces.

What kind of elephants are found in Thailand?

They are commonly known as African elephants and Asian elephants. The elephants that are found in Thailand are Indian elephants, a subspecies of the Asian elephant. You can identify an Asian elephant most easily by looking at their ears — they are more triangular in shape than African elephant ears.

Why are white elephants the symbol of Thailand?

Thailand adopted the symbolic importance of white elephants from Cambodia when Ayutthaya invaded and conquered Angkor Kingdom. Indeed, the Hindu God Ganesh has the body of a man but the head of an elephant; hence he is both the symbol for power and authority.

When is Thai Elephant Day and why is it important?

Siamese kings are often depicted in films, as well as in the oral and written traditions as leading the battle against foreign enemies such as the Kingdom of Angkor and the Kingdom of Burma while seated on a fiercely charging, armoured bull elephant. Since 1999, March 13 is celebrated every year as Thai elephant day.

Why are elephants so important to Asian culture?

As such, throughout Asian art and culture, elephants have come to serve as a source of admiration, symbolizing positive attributes including strength and power, royalty, intelligence, longevity, luck and fortune [3], [4].