|
.
. . why is Koh Chang called Koh Chang?
There's no 100%
definitive answer as to why this island is called 'Elephant Island'. A
couple of ideas out forward suggest that either it was because
elephant's used to live here or due to the shape of the island when seen
from an orbiting satellite.
If it was
solely down to the fact elephant's lived on the island then why aren't there
more 'Koh Chang's or towns / villages with 'Chang' in the title in Thailand?
A hundred years ago there were elephants everywhere in Thailand, they
weren't unique to Koh Chang, if they ever actually lived here.
Something, which would have required them being shipped here by locals at
some time in the past.
And, surely,
Koh Chang was called 'Koh Chang' well before the island was accurately
surveyed or photographed from the air. Plus you need to be
smoking something stronger than menthol cigarettes to believe that the shape
of the island resembles an elephant's head. The elephant man's head
maybe.
Perhaps local
folklore can help explain how the island got it's name. Not being an
expert on local folklore or how the island got it's name I contacted people
who should know. People from an organisation who I had previously
equated with the invention of the chocolate teapot in terms of usefulness.
Yep, the Tourist Authority of Thailand.
After a couple
of emails getting sent back with replies that didn't answer my question but
did helpfully point out that Koh Chang was a beautiful island and
there were some beautiful resorts in which to stay all of which could be
booked through my local TAT office, it was time to get tough. I
pointed out that the information was required for my PhD in Thai
culture which I was currently undertaking and it'd be a pity if the TAT
couldn't get their act together and find someone who could answer my simple
question.
That actually
worked. And below is the official TAT approved reason as to why Koh
Chang is called Koh Chang.
As with all tales from bygone times it
involves sex, death and a curse but doesn't stand up to scrutiny by common
sense:
+++
Locals believe that long time ago a
Buddhist saint came to Koh Chang and raised a herd of elephants on the
island. He employed an old couple to look after the herd. The old lady
was
called 'Yai Mom'.
One day an elephant called 'Petch' escaped from the herd
onto the forest, met a wild elephant and had three baby elephants
out of wedlock.
The
saint found out about the matter and sent the old couple to look for the
elephant and its babies. The old man went up north. The old lady went down
south.
With the pachyderm
equivalent of a cry of "You'll never take me alive!" , Petch the elephant ran to north coast,
leapt into the sea and doggy paddled to the mainland where she landed at
the present day Ban Thamamchard. Being an unfit mother, Petch forgot that
her kids couldn't swim or at least not far enough to complete the 6 or
more kilometres to the mainland. The three babies drowned and were transformed into 2 piles of rock at
the head of Klong
Son bay. Today, the locals call it 'Three Baby Elephants Rock'. (Why three
elephants were transformed into only two piles isn't clear.)
Talking of transformations,
whilst swimming to the mainland 'Petch', the elephant, needed a toilet
break. Her bowel movements were also transformed into a rocky
outcrop, now known as 'Elephant’s Shit Rock'. (Obviously, Petch was
extremely fortunate that her shit turned to stone after it exited her
body.)
But that wasn't the end of
the totally unexplained transformations, the old lady followed the elephant
onto the mainland, but fell into a mud pool and died. Her body transformed
into a rock called 'Yai Mom Rock'. Her hat fell on a rock at the end of
the cape where there is now a lighthouse. The cape has since been known as
'Laem Ngob' (Hat Cape) and is now the departure point for passenger
ferries to Koh Chang.
The saint somehow knowing that
'Petch'
would come back onto the island, asked for tenders for a project to build a large trap towards
the southern coast on the area that is now called 'Ban Kok'. (This is one
of the first recorded examples of a pointless project costing an
obscene amount of money being instigated by an individual in a position of
power who is the only real beneficiary is the person who commissioned the
project in the first place. There are plenty of latter day examples
on Koh Chang.)
The two
islands from which the trap is made are called 'Koh Lim' and 'Koh Salak'.
However, most people now call the area 'Ban Salak Kok'
Petch the elephant did come to the
island, but being streetwise and spotting what must have been a rather
obvious trap strung between two islands went into different direction.
The saint therefore sent his men to catch the elephant.
In
the end, the saint has
cursed the island to prevent an elephant from coming to the island. Since
then, there has been no elephant living on the island. (Until the
advent of elephant camps for the tourists.)
Not a clue what ever
happened to 'Petch'. Did she reunite with the wild elephant hunk or
was she hunted down?
This tale must be a sequel
in the works.
|
