storyA French diplomat, 1687

ทูตฝรั่งเศส พ.ศ. 2230 · thut farangset

"Wrestling and fighting with fists or elbows were just their occupations."

Simon de la Loubère (1642-1729) · Public domain

What it is

Simon de la Loubère, envoy of Louis XIV to the court of King Narai, wrote down what Siamese men did with their time.

The long version

From Du Royaume de Siam: the heat wearies them; wrestling and fighting with fists or elbows are the trades of showmen; the boat races are their only exercise.

Inference — the sentence is dismissive and that is what makes it useful. A visitor who thought little of it still recorded, in 1687, that fist-and-elbow fighting was a trade somebody was paid for — not a military art, not a ceremony. Professional prize-fighting in Siam is documented by a man who was not impressed by it.

Eleven years later the same court was training it in a hurry. After the revolution of 1688, with French warships reported off Puducherry and Mergui, King Phetracha ordered recruitment and training in wrestling, muay and krabi-krabong — and a letter of 9 June 1699 says the training was a heavy burden on the veterans.

Connected to

• The Tiger King Three years later, and a temple fair.
• The rope What they were fighting with.

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