Elephants in Thailand

Cultural significance

Historically, elephants in Thailand are considered to be very important culturally. 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. Many artworks in Thai royal palaces and temples have drawings of elephants on the paintings on the walls. In 1917, Thailand's official flag was a white elephant in the middle of the scarlet background. White elephants in Thai society also represent wealth and power because of their past association with the Thai royals. The royal Thai navy flag also bears the symbol of the white elephant. Many provinces in Thailand used to have elephants as part of their official emblems as well. In the Thai animal and planetary zodiac, the elephant is the fourth animal zodiac of the Thai people.

Asian elephants share a close relationship with the Thai people, from being used warriors on battlefields, worshiped as religious icons, and faithful laborers to loggers. Environmental exploitation, massive landslides, and mudflows led the government to ban logging in Thailand in 1986. This led to almost 70% of domesticated elephants to be out of work but they still help a large amount of cultural significance in Thailand and were are a large part of the local's livelihood.

Thai elephant has served as a mascot for the 1998 Asian Games and 2005 Asian Indoor Games.

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