Briefing: White elephant
Source: The Herald (United Kingdom), November 10, 2001
Q: How so?
A: A white elephant might be a burden here, but in Burma, Thailand, and Laos it is revered.
Q: Why?
A: The white, or albino, elephant is said to bring peace, stability, prosperity, and bumper harvests, while warding off danger.
Q: Any evidence that it works?
A: Not really. Burma-watchers are treating the news of the find with a pinch of salt because it was reported by the New Light of Myanmar newspaper. It is the mouthpiece of the junta and, unsurprisingly, concluded that the auspicious event boded well for the military rulers.
Q: So do white elephants exist?
A: Oh yes. They belong to the species elephas maximus, or Asiatic elephant. The other species, loxodonta africana, is the African elephant. Elephants are the biggest surviving animals on land, and among the mammals are exceeded in size only by the whales. Albino elephants are not strictly white.
Q: What colour are they?
A: Their skin is light pink in the rain and a soft reddish- brown in the sun. They have fair eyelashes and toenails. There are ancient Asian references to a white elephant with multiple tusks.
Q: Where exactly?
A: In Buddhist legend. Maha Maya, the mother of Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, had a dream about a white elephant with six tusks. It was taken to mean that she had conceived a child who would be a world ruler or buddha.
Q: What happened?
A: After 10 lunar months the child was born from her right hip. Seven days later she died but was reborn in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three Gods (Tavatisma Heaven).
Q: Why, in the English language, does white elephant mean a useless, costly possession that is difficult to get rid of?
A: White elephants are the symbol of kingship in Thailand. They are regarded as semi-sacred and must be dealt with respectfully by their keepers. It is said that the kings of Siam (Thailand's former name) gave white elephants to obnoxious courtiers, the aim being to bring financial ruin upon the offensive court attendant because of the great cost involved in maintaining the animal.