A white elephant (also albino elephant ) is a rare kind of elephant , but not a distinct species. Although often depicted as snow white, their skin is typically a soft reddish-brown, turning a light pink when wet. They have fair eyelashes and toenails. The traditional "white elephant" is commonly misunderstood as being albino , but the Thai term, chang samkhan , actually translates as 'auspicious elephant', being "white" in terms of an aspect of purity.
32-599: HTI may refer to: Hti , the finial ornament placed on pagodas and temples in Myanmar HTI+ , a former technician certification from CompTIA Hamilton Island Airport , on Hamilton Island, Queensland, Australia Haiti , a country in the Caribbean Hamilton Theatre Inc. , a community theatre company in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Heads Teachers and Industry ,
64-459: A Burmese language word meaning umbrella , is the name of the finial ornament that tops almost all Burmese pagodas . The chatra umbrella or parasol is an auspicious symbol in Buddhism and Hinduism. In pre-colonial Burma, the hti was an indicator of social status and used exclusively by those who were granted express permission to do so. The royal white umbrella or hti phyu taw ( ထီးဖြူတော် )
96-477: A Buddha or a chakravarti (universal ruler). In the Buddhist kingdoms of Southeast Asia, the white elephant was closely linked with Buddhist cosmology , because of the white elephant's close association with Sakka (cf. Śakra), the chief deva of Mount Meru , and the concept of kingship, namely the ideal 'universal monarch' ( chakkavatti , cf. chakravarti) and 'righteous king' (dhammaraja; cf. dharmaraja). Thus,
128-427: A forest when the elephant was in his musth period. He named the bull elephant Sechanaka , which means "watering", as the elephant used to water the plants by himself without any prior training. It is said the cost of this elephant was more the half of Magadha . He later gave it to his son Vihallakumara, which made his other son Ajatashatru jealous. Ajatashatru tried to steal it many times, which resulted in two of
160-465: A monarch possessed one or more 'white' elephants, it was a glorious and happy sign." King Trailok possessed the first. In the Thai language, they are called albino, not white, indicating "pale yellow eyes and white nails", with white hair. The "rough skin was either pink all over or had pink patches on the head, trunk, or forelegs." "They were not worshipped for themselves and were regarded as an appendage to
192-446: A number of white elephants, eleven of which are still alive as of 2016 . In Hindu puranas , the vehicle or mount of god Indra ( Sakra in the Buddhist pantheon) is the white elephant named Airāvata , which possesses the ability to fly. Airāvata emerged when the universe was created by the churning of the Ocean of Milk by the demons and the gods. Consequently, Airāvata is depicted as
224-591: A pavilion near the Kyauktawgyi Buddha Temple in Yangon . The rest are kept at Uppatasanti Pagoda in Naypyidaw , the national capital. The captivity of white elephants has been criticised by observers, including historian Than Tun . Burmese white elephants are kept in inhumane conditions, shackled for 22 hours a day and housed in small open-air pavilions. The ruling military regime has repeatedly announced
256-568: A sacred white elephant, typically with four tusks in India and sometimes with five heads in Southeast Asia. The white elephant is referred to as Shrī Gāja ( lit. ' elephant of Shrī ' ), Megha ( lit. ' cloud ' ), or Gāja Lakshmī ( lit. ' Lakshmī of the Elephants ' ) when worshipped as a divine being. King Bimbisara had a white elephant, which he had captured in
288-675: A training programme in the United Kingdom Higher Technical Institute of Cyprus , now part of the Cyprus University of Technology Higher Technological Institute , a college in Cairo, Egypt Hoti language , an extinct language of Indonesia Hutchinson Technology , a manufacturer of disk drive components Hypoxic Training Index , in respiration therapy Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
320-477: A treatise on palace matters, describes 11 types of royal umbrellas and corresponding spirit maidens ( nat thami , နတ်သ္မီး ) who guarded them: The Irrawaddy delta town of Pathein (formerly Bassein) in Lower Myanmar is renowned for its colorful cotton umbrellas, which are dubbed "Pathein umbrellas" or "Pathein parasols" (ပုသိမ်ထီး), which are traditionally made in home workshops. The hti can be said as
352-422: A white umbrella. The umbrellas were embellished inside and out with pictures of sylphs and fairies in gold, thin gold plates shaped like banyan leaves fastened to the top, and handles of gold adorned with pearls, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, corals and with spangles. The umbrella used by the king when riding an elephant or travelling by carriage was called a yin hti . The number of umbrellas in one's possession
SECTION 10
#1733085514857384-626: The Mon , the Bamar (Burmans), the Rakhine (Arakanese) and the Shan . The hti is considered the most important part of the pagoda. A special ceremony being held for the placing of the hti on the pagoda is called hti tin pwe ( ထီးတင်ပွဲ ). The hti is placed on the top of a pagoda and hung with a multitude of bells. The hti of prominent pagodas are often made entirely of gold or silver. The bells are used to attract
416-570: The Order of the White Elephant to civil servants since 1861. Albinos are much rarer among African elephants than in Asia. They are reddish-brown or pink, and may suffer blindness or skin problems from sun exposure. In English, the term " white elephant " has come to mean a spectacular and prestigious thing that is more trouble than it is worth, or has outlived its usefulness to the person who has it. While
448-519: The Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon is about one and a half stories tall and contains about half a ton of gold. The hti belongs to the magaik form, and is set with over 5,500 diamonds, 2,300 rubies, sapphires and other gems, and 4,000 golden bells. The older hti , donated by the penultimate King of Burma, Mindon Min , can be seen at a temple inside the middle platform ( အလယ်ပစ္စယ or ရင်ပြင်တော် ) of
480-571: The King's majesty." In Thailand , white elephants ( ช้าง เผือก , chang phueak ) are considered sacred and are a symbol of royal power; all those discovered are presented to the king (although this presentation is usually a ceremonial one; the elephants are not taken into captivity). Historically, the status of kings has been evaluated by the number of white elephants in their possession. The late king Bhumibol Adulyadej owned as many as 21 white elephants; considered an unprecedented achievement, making him
512-629: The army of the Sasanian king Khusrau II . According to al-Tabari , a white elephant killed the commander of the Arab Muslims Abu Ubayd al-Thaqafi in the Battle of the Bridge . White elephants were considered royalty by Arabs and served as mounts for caliphs . Abul-Abbas , a white elephant was gifted to Charlemagne by Harun al-Rashid , the fifth Abbasid caliph. "According to Brahmanic belief, if
544-546: The attention of good spirits in Tāvatiṃsa and other abodes of the devas of Mount Meru . The htis of the temples of Bagan and Mrauk U, the two archeological treasure troves of Myanmar, are all made of stone, while the htis of the pagodas there and elsewhere around Myanmar are made of metal (usually iron or steel), coated with gold. The hti is then decorated with golden or gold-plated brass and bronze bells ( ခေါင်းလောင်း ), and at jewelry donated by devotees. The hti of
576-536: The discovery of a white elephant was considered a cosmic endorsement of the reigning monarch. They are traditionally graded based on characteristics called kyan-in lekkhana (ကြန်အင်လက္ခဏာ), including their tusks, back, ears, eyes, toenails, skin, and tail. As of 2023 , Myanmar possesses ten captive white elephants, which are in the custody of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation 's Forest Department. Three white elephants are currently held in
608-557: The discovery of white elephants, to bolster support for their regime, and by extension, their political legitimacy. In 2009, the military regime began printing 5000 Myanmar kyat banknotes that feature an image of a white elephant, widely seen as an act of yadaya . In 2013, Thai prime minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul asked the Burmese government to temporarily lend a white elephant and house it at Chiang Mai Zoo for 6 months, in order to mark 65 years of bilateral relations between
640-518: The king's friends and allies. The animals needed a great deal of care and, being sacred, could not be put to work, so were a great financial burden on the recipient; only the monarch and the very rich could afford them. According to one story, white elephants were sometimes given as a present to some enemy (often a lesser noble with whom the king was displeased). The unfortunate recipient, unable to make any profit from it, and obliged to take care of it, would suffer bankruptcy and ruin. Thailand has awarded
672-455: The main distinctive feature of Burmese pagodas, as they are more prominent than their Sri Lankan counterparts, while the Laotian and Thai pagodas do not have any. The tip of the hti , which is studded with precious stones, is called the seinhpudaw ( စိန်ဖူးတော် ; lit. "esteemed diamond bud"). Hti have been found on pagodas constructed by all four of the pagoda building ethnic groups of Myanmar:
SECTION 20
#1733085514857704-461: The monarch who owned the greatest number of chang phueak in Thai history. The first elephant found in King Bhumibol's reign was regarded as the most important elephant in the whole realm; it received a royal title which bears his majesty's own name: Phra Savet Adulyadej Pahol Bhumibol Navanatta-parami (พระเศวตอดุลยเดชพาหล ภูมิพลนวนาถบารมี). However, the King did not bestow royal titles to all of
736-524: The most terrible wars, called the Mahasilakantaka & Ratha-musala . The white elephant also holds significance in the story of The Buddha 's conception and birth. According to the story of the Buddha's conception, on the night Siddhartha was conceived, Queen Maya dreamt that a white elephant with six white tusks entered her right side. From this dream, soothsayers predicted that the child would be born
768-530: The pagoda's compound. Said hti at Shwedagon is a gilt iron-work umbrella, on each of whose many rings hangs multitudes of gold and silver jewelled bells. It was presented by King Mindon Min and placed at a cost of not less than 50,000 British pounds. It was constructed by voluntary labor, using donated money and jewels. The vane and uppermost band are richly studded with jewels from all parts of Burma. White elephant (animal) As of 2023 , Myanmar has ten white elephants. The king of Thailand also keeps
800-493: The possession of a white elephant symbolised kingship in mainland Southeast Asian kingdoms. Competition for white elephants drove royal courts to wage war with each other. The most prominent of such wars were the so-called 'elephant wars' between Thai and Burmese kingdoms. Between the 1500s to 1700s, Ayutthaya fought numerous wars with the Taungoo , Restored Taungoo , and Konbaung kingdoms . Arakanese and Burmese monarchs adopted
832-573: The title HTI . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=HTI&oldid=1197759954 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Hti Hti ( Burmese : ထီး ; MLCTS : hti: , IPA: [tʰí] ; Mon : ဍိုၚ် [daŋ] ; Shan : ထီး [tʰi˦] ),
864-399: The title 'lord of white elephants.' The discovery and receipt of white elephants by royal courts featured prominently in indigenous chronicles. In Myanmar (Burma), white elephants, called hsinphyudaw ( Burmese : ဆင်ဖြူတော် , lit. 'royal white elephant'), have historically been revered as good omens, and as symbols of power and good fortune. In the pre-colonial era,
896-553: The two countries. The Burmese government rejected the request, citing logistical challenges. On 24 July 2022, a white elephant named Raṭṭhanandaka was born in Taungup Township , Rakhine State. Special postage stamps and gold commemorative coins featuring the elephant were produced to mark the 2023 Independence Day celebrations. Below is a list of captive white elephants in Myanmar: There were white elephants in
928-504: The white elephants in his possession. As of 2016 , eleven of these elephants are still alive and only five have royal titles. A white elephant in Thailand is not necessarily albino , although it must have pale skin. After being discovered, the elephants are assigned to one of four graded categories before being offered to the king, although the lower grades are sometimes refused. In the past, lower grade white elephants were given as gifts to
960-399: Was a sign of sovereignty. Indeed, use of a white umbrella by any persons other than the king and his chief queen was regarded as a declaration of rebellion, punishable with immediate execution. At the death of the king, the royal white umbrellas in his possession were broken. The white umbrella was also permitted for religious usage. For instance, The Mahamuni Buddha was formerly shaded by
992-518: Was also an indication of social status, as they were showcased during public processions and put up in prominent places at home. The king was allotted nine white umbrellas, the crown prince eight golden ones, distinguished statesmen and military generals several golden ones, and the other royal personages had numbers corresponding to achievements or the king's regard to them. The royal white elephants ( hsinphyudaw , ဆင်ဖြူတော် ) were also granted six umbrellas, 2 white and 4 golden. The Shwepon Nidan ,
HTI - Misplaced Pages Continue
1024-537: Was one of the five articles of coronation regalia ( မင်းမြောက်တန်ဆာ , Min Mhyauk Tanza ). Use and possession of a royal white umbrella was limited exclusively to the Burmese king and his chief queen, while the highest officials ( wun , ဝန် ) and royal princes (including the Crown Prince or Uparaja ) possessed golden umbrellas and lower-level officials possessed red umbrellas, if any. The royal white umbrella
#856143