1 Learning Resources for GE-Elect 1 (Asian Literature)

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3 CHAMPOON
4 by Theb Mahapaorya
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7 https://www.coursehero.com/file/87082654/Champoon-Short-Story-Thailanddocx/
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10 Before we went up to the special ward, the director of the hospital

11 warned me. “This patient comes from a good family and the story which I have

12 together from his relatives and friends is connected with people who are still

13 living, wealthy and influential. And these symptoms are such that, well, in this

14 hospital… We cannot come to any definite conclusion. You see, we hesitate to

15 call him insane especially in the legal sense.”

16 “Officially, I can only state that this patient received a violent shock. It has

17 been five months now, and yet, he cannot shake himself free of it. The whole

18 world is shut off from his consciousness. Only what led up to that shocking event

19 is remembered. His brain cannot accept any other impressions. This is the whole

20 trouble. We have tried everything to bring him back to normal. To make him

21 reacts in the normal way. If he can do it, he will be cured, we think, but if we

22 can‘t then...”

23 The doctor shrugged, drew up his hands in a rather hopeless gesture. The

24 patient was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight. He was well built, and his

25 illness in no way affected his look. He was not poisoned or emaciated as one

26 might suppose. In fact, he did not look sick at all. He was good-looking and

27 seemed his clothes were proper. He gets up to greet us in a manner of well-bred

28 man. His personality reflected that of a leader and not a follower. After the

29 usual introductions by the doctor, he gazed vaguely at me and maintained a

30 disturbing silence. Nothing that I did or said elicited a response. I remembered

31 the doctor‘s warnings.

32 “You must have stayed sometimes in Bhuket?”

33 “No, not in Bhuket. It was in Taimuang in Pangnga where I stayed for many years.”
34 “Taimuang is the center of many mining districts. Isn‘t it? It must have been great

35 fun.”

36 “It was hell.”

37 I was alarmed. “What? Did it have anything that other places didn‘t have? Like

38 Hadyai, for example?”

39 “Haydai and other such places had women, drinking and gambling. But Taimuang had

40 champoons, crocodiles and iron chains.”

41 “I don‘t understand. What had champoons, crocodiles and iron chains to do with

42 three vices you have mentioned?”

43 “I will tell you.” He said.

44 FROM THEN ON, the current flowed. I had succeeded in breaking the dam

45 that barred his voice. What follows is the story I got from him. I have, however,

46 filled the gaps with information gather elsewhere. The names of all persons and

47 places are, of course fictitious.

48 “My father was governor of Pangnga. I was educated in a boarding school reputed

49 to be one of the best institutions in Bangkok at the time. When I was sixteen, I

50 became a little wild, and my father ordered me to go back to Pangnga and I went

51 to school there. I stayed there for five years until I realized that we Thais should

52 do something about freeing our father retired.

53 “My father was one of those rare people who had long realized that we Thais

54 should do

55 something about freeing ourselves from foreign economics domination. He had always

56 tried to lead me towards going into business rather than work in the government,

57 and he convinced me quite easily. I was out for it. My father retired and went

58 back to Bangkok. I became independent and took a clerical job in Australian mining

59 company in Pangnga. My father irregular life and education equipped me for this job

60 since I spoke Malay, Hokken and Hailam. The firm was ready to pay any price for

61 someone who knew three languages in addition to English and Thai. I was paid two

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62 hundred bahts, a salary I couldn‘t dream of getting if I went to live with my father

63 in Bangkok.”

64 “However, I only worked for two years with Australians. An American firm, the

65 Yukon Gold Mining Company, opened a mine near Taimuang and wanted someone who

66 could control all its Asiatic labourers and also act as liaison with government

67 officials. I applied at once and out of more than ten applicants, the company chose

68 me, the youngest. I was paid about four hundred bahts. Aside from this, the

69 manager allowed me to handle the building and other contracts, so that, in a very

70 short time I was earning an average eight hundred bahts a month.

71 “For a young man of twenty-four who earned eight hundred bahts, though this was

72 not unusual in Bucket, it means a significant and inevitable change in my life. When

73 I was earning two hundred bahts, I always had enough money left to save. I led a

74 quiet life, I read, and listened to the radio after work.

75 “But when I began to earn eight hundred, my money rarely lasted the month. It

76 was not anything to wonder at. Nai Amnuey had made a reputation for himself, a

77 reputation for all the vices there were in the garden. Yes, I was always news where

78 women, drinking, gambling were concerned.

79 “I was also ahead in other things. I never allowed anybody to act superior to me. I

80 was always the leader, never a follower. And I played the role well, too. I believe

81 my social background came in handy. I felt at home in any company, weather of

82 Thais or of a foreigners. And what is more, my money made me a friend of

83 everyone.

84 “The places where I love to spend my time best were the various clubs in Taimuang.

85 The town was the center of travel in the region, from its roads led to all

86 directions. From there one could go to many places and company’s headquarters only

87 a short distance away. All the most interesting dens were there, too.

88 “I would like you to pay close attention because what follows is important.

89 “There were two ways of travelling from Taimuang to the mouth of the river where

90 the company headquarters was. From here, you could go upstream in a boat up to

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91 Taqupa Tungmaprao Road, on the other bank. You wait for a bus, and then you go

92 downstream of Taimuang, towards the mouth of the river. This took a lot of time.

93 It meant sitting stiff in the boat for five or six hours. On top of this, you are

94 never sure whether you can catch a bus.

95 “The other way was to get a boat that would take you across the river right to the

96 area near the mouth. Then you trek on foot across the jungle to Taimuang. This

97 would take only about three hours. But there are serious disadvantage traveling this

98 way. You could easily lose your way in the jungle unless you know the paths very

99 well. Besides, the part of the river swarmed with crocodiles, the fiercest that I

100 have ever seen. When my father was governor of Nakom

101 Sritammaraj, I accompanied him during his crocodile hunting trips in the Park Payuk

102 District which was believed to be the ideal for crocodile hunting. But really that

103 cannot compare with the river near our mines. Here the crocodiles would jump

104 without warning at me in the boat. No wonder that part of the country was

105 desolate with just few families along the banks of the river. You can imagine why

106 very few people would venture across this river, especially in a small boat.

107 This district was widely notorious in the province of Bhuket. Taimuang people, who

108 wanted to visit our mines, refused to cross that river unless their boat was firm

109 enough and equipped with high, productive walls on both sides.

110 “I, of course, used the company‘s boat which was big and safe. That way was I

111 able to cross even the dangerous spots. From the bank I would cut across jungle. I

112 mastered the paths very well since I used them often. Still, I saw to it that I

113 would be out of the jungle before the dark. Tiger‘s footprints were not rare in the

114 place.

115
116 “You see how attractive vice is. Even tigers and crocodiles would not keep one way.

117 “I don‘t want to boast, but I must say that I was very popular at Taimuang. And

118 this led to clash with one important person in Taimuang, in fact the whole Bhuket.

119 The man was Taokae Soon. “Taokae Soon was also known as Big Brother Soon. Now

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120 if this man had prospered in Bangkok, his name would have been pronounced in a

121 way that the Chinese meaning would be kept. But in Southern speech, it was

122 pronounced either to sound Chinese like a foreigner‘s names as suited the occasion.

123 Taokae Soon was friend and acquaintance to every man in the regions around

124 Bhuket. But the areas in which influence was most felt were Taimuang, Takuapa,

125 Pangnga, Koakloy and Tungmaprao. As it were, every case -legal and illegal- was

126 taken by Big Brother before it reached the court or was settled outside the court.

127 He entertained all high government officials. All of them travelled in Big Brother’s

128 car when they visited and he brought them to the best places.

129 “All the luxuries available in the region would then be out at their disposal. If an

130 important official made a wish known, it was at once fulfilled. Big brother had the

131 reputation of being the most lavish entertainer. Young government officials easily

132 succumbed to the comforts he offered and soon were made into useful instruments.

133 “Big Brother was strongly nationalistic; he worked for his country, of course. He

134 was beyond reprimand as far as that goes. I, too, was violently nationalistic, but

135 what enraged me was when he would for a moment forget himself and misbehave in

136 any way. Taokae Soon, of course, never insulted anyone in public. He was always

137 sarcastically subtle. I thought I would match subtlety; I was therefore never

138 openly hostile. He was a veteran gambler, while I was young and new in that sort of

139 game. Although several times, I managed to weaken the ‘tiger‘s stripes’ with some

140 of my private original tactics. People began to talk about my strategies and secretly

141 laughed at him. It was something Soon could not forgive.

142
143 “Though we never meet in open battle, our conflict became known all over the area,

144 and it was always incomprehensible to me how everyone, both Chinese and Thai,

145 seemed to await our meeting and managed to confront us with opportunities by

146 which we could clash. It seemed to be kind of an exciting game for them to see

147 me, a green horn, at war with an old tiger like Soon. I was anxious about the day

148 when they could force us into open battle. Soon had been the king of the jungle for

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149 so long that it was impossible for him to tolerate the situation. How could a tiger,

150 the king, allow a strange animal to invade his territory without doing anything about

151 it? I told myself that this would eventually happen to me, if not in broad daylight,

152 then the dark of the night. I passed the precarious ground between us more and

153 more carefully. Until…. “Do you know a champoon?”

154 I was started by his question and the new turn in his narration. The doctor left me

155 alone with this patient. Am I safe? I quickly replied, “I have heard of it, but have

156 never really seen one.

157 “It’s rare flower in Bangkok, but in the southern provinces it is quite common,

158 especially in the areas around Taimuang. I will describe it.

159 “It‘s of the family of champak. It looks like a champee, but with a velvety calyx

160 which first wraps up the petals inside the while the flower is a bud. Then this

161 velvety part opens and later the petals spread out. You can imagine the fragrance

162 released. The petals are wax like, thick and stiff. They don’t fade like those of

163 champee. After it has bloomed the champoon lasts several days. Its scent marks

164 that of all other flowers around it. The scent is overpowering compelling, and

165 unyielding.

166 Isn‘t it strange that Soon with all his nationalism should name his only daughter

167 after this flower? Champoon. Probably he knew how it suited her. At nineteen,

168 Champoon was a bright and attractive girl. She did not attract at first sight just

169 like the flower, her namesake. But once you take a second, earnest look, her

170 beauty is revealed to you. Her emotions are exactly what you should expect from a

171 girl with that name. They changed frequently and they have the same power as the

172 scent of the flower. They made of Champoon an overpowering, compelling, and

173 unyielding person. When Champoon’s mind was made up nothing in the world could

174 change it.

175 No one could stop her from carrying out what she was determined to do.

176 “Champoon went to school in Bhuket until she was twelve years old, after which her

177 father thought it was time she stayed home like a good Chinese girl. But Champoon

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178 was at time in Matayom IV, and had tasted enough freedom to rebel at the idea of

179 spending her life the way her father had mapped it out. Somehow, Soon

180 appreciated the fact that Champoon inherited his willfulness. He compromised by

181 allowing her to continue her education at a convent in Penang. This shows that it

182 was not the education of the girls in itself that he objected to, but he wanted to

183 prevent Champoon from becoming absorbed into Thai life. It means, of course, that

184 he did not wish daughter to marry a Thai.

185 “Soon after Champoon’s return from school, her father‘s will clashed with hers.

186 Taokae Soon continued to be strict with his daughter. And Champoon would yield to

187 a certain degree, such as refraining from going out all by herself and staying away

188 from the front of the house which was un-Chinese. This would somewhat offend her

189 father, but when Champoon decided to go to a place or her presence was required

190 somewhere, she would not let her father stand in her way. Her father would

191 pretend knew nothing about it, because his courage failed before her stubbornness,

192 and he would not press obedience whenever it was more convenient to compromise.

193 “I must describe to you the way houses are built in the south, so that you would

194 understand what I meant when I said Champoon agreed not to be seen in the front

195 porch. “Lodgings in the southern provinces are built so that they look or less like

196 lodging house in Bangkok, one room after the long the edge of the street. The

197 houses appear to have the same length from the street as lodging houses in

198 Bangkok, But they usually are much longer. Each house may be thirty or forty wah

199 in length. A wah is nearly one meter to obtain sufficient light; the roof is open in

200 certain places. The openings are covered either with glass or tin according to what

201 the owner can afford. The glass or tin covers are movable so that they could be

202 slid over the openings when it rains. The wealthiest Chinese in the region lived in

203 this kind of house. Chinese businessmen built beautiful mansions for show, but they

204 preferred to live where they had prospered in. Taokae Soon’s home was built in

205 the way that I have just described. But the house was outside the town and did not

206 face a busy street. While the back of the house touched the fringe of the jungle.

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207 In Chinese homes, girls were rarely seen in the front part, and though Champoon

208 did not approve of the practice of keeping women in the house, she did not care to

209 show herself there and be conspicuously different from her neighbours. She really

210 enjoyed keeping herself busy with all kinds of housework and home crafts. She read

211 a great deal, had books sent to her from Penang and Bangkok, and she enjoyed

212 excursions to the jungle.

213 “We met by accident, and fell in love as if it had long been planned by Brahma.

214 Our love was sudden but strong and deep. The fact that we have to keep it secret

215 and that it all seemed hopeless only intensified it. We knew very well that Taokae

216 Soon would rather see Champoon dead than see her married to the man he hated

217 and regarded as his worst enemy.

218 I want you to take note of this. Champoon was very determined girl. Yet she

219 refused to elope with me. Her education and upbringing held her back. As for me, I

220 can swear to all the Gods that I loved her. Although we could have eloped, we

221 preferred to keep within the bounds of tradition and Champoon chose to suffer than

222 take easy way out.

223 “Taimuang was a small community, and nothing remained a secret for long. Especially

224 a love affair like ours. The talk spread in town and soon reached the ear of

225 Champoon‘s father. I could not see her again. I knew that she was not sent away

226 because I had men posted around her house to tell me. Don‘t let me tell you if I

227 went through. I tried every means to communicate with her. I even offered a

228 reward to anyone who should succeed in taking my letter to her and more reward to

229 the one who can bring her letter to me. Several attempted but no one succeeded in

230 transmitting our messages for each other. They only put their lives in danger.

231 During the period of our earlier hostilities. Taokae Soon and I still observed certain

232 rules of civility. We were outwardly polite to each other, but now it was an open

233 war. We glared at each other when we happened to meet, though we tried to avoid

234 each other. As for Champoon, I got some news about her from some of my agents.

235 She had been lashed, tortured and was like prisoner in that long dark house “I was

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236 exiled from Bhuket for a long time. This became a topic for discussion in several

237 circles around the region. A group of friends hired a motorboat and threw a wild

238 party in my place to console me.

239 “That party was memorable. It was in the style that Bhuket was famous for, food,

240 drink and women. I don‘t have to tell you about the quality of the food and wine,

241 but there was something which no money could buy.

242 “There was a courtesan from Penang who was brought along especially for me. But

243 on this

244 occasion, she came on an invitation which she accepted.

245 “On a dark night a little light is enough for a darkened soul. So when one suffers

246 because of the absence of one woman, one finds consolation in another. My friends

247 thought they were helping me. I accepted the gift of the devil.

248 “She was called Anita. She was Filipina with a trace of Portuguese. She could pass

249 for a Thai. She was beautiful beyond doubt and her personality was fascinating. A

250 beauty - that I saw. It was difficult to believe that she was dirt.

251 “My friends and I spent three days and three nights on the boat. They wanted to

252 take me Ranong but I could not join them because of an important business which

253 detained me. They left to go on while Anita played behind with me. In five or six

254 days, they would be back to pick her up and bring her back to Penang.

255 “I told Anita to go with my friends on Ranong. But surprisingly, she chose to remain

256 in that wild, remote place. I asked her later why she preferred to stay. She liked

257 my youth, my looks, and my good manners, she said.

258 “How those attributes undid me! Yet, what could have laid in store for me? What

259 could the beautiful Anita do to my life and soul?

260 “As soon as my friends had left, Anita and I went to my residents; it rather

261 excited us to really know each other.

262 “My residence was a roughly built wooden bungalow. Three rooms opened to the

263 verandah from which steps led to the ground. The first room was my bedroom, I

264 had my meals in the second. A passage from this room takes you to the kitchen and

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265 the bathroom. The last room was always locked since I kept my documents there.

266 Even at night, however, I seldom locked my bedroom. “My bungalow was a little

267 away from the other houses of the other houses of the company, just a short

268 stretch from the river and the fringe of the jungle. It was usually quiet and often

269 deserted. I had a servant and a cook in a daytime. In the evening, all the workmen

270 were mostly in their own lodgings, gambling or enjoying themselves. “The evening

271 before Anita was to be fetched by my friends, I accepted an invitation to a dinner

272 at the house of the company‘s engineers by the sea. There were dancing after

273 dinner and the two engineers had a very good time.

274
275 “I knew that they wanted to meet Anita; hence, the invitation. It had been quite a

276 long times since the engineers were with the women and the presence of the

277 beautiful woman simply melted their reserve. Nether less, they were very proper

278 and behaved like gentlemen. They dance and flirted with her. The party lasted till

279 dawn.

280 “I am a light sleeper and it was always takes some time to put me sleep. But after

281 the party that night, I was soon asleep. After a short while, I awoke. I heard the

282 creaking of what seemed to be the front door whose hinges were never properly

283 oiled. It was rather strange since I was sure I closed the door before I went to

284 bed.

285 “I got up to find out when the morning sun glared right on my face through the

286 open door, then I saw someone‘s silhouette at the door way. I could not believe it

287 and rubbed my eyes.

288 “God! Was I dreaming? Have I gone crazy? With eyes closed, I still saw what

289 seemed to be an apparition by the door. It was Champoon, all nude, her long, black

290 hair fell down her shoulders.

291 An iron chain, around her ankles and her waist.

292 “We were speechless. I saw her eyes moves away slowly from my face. I followed

293 them as if I had been hypnotized.

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294 “I held my breath as our eyes fell on Anita, her body pressed against mine on the

295 bed under a gauzelike and nebulous mosquito net. She was sleeping, breathing

296 softly.

297 “I don‘t know why I found no shame in the nudeness of Champoon but Anita’s

298 exposed flesh so shamed me that I quickly drew the coverlet over her.

299 “I could not look at Champoon. I waited for her to say something. My head reeled.

300 Was I

301 dreaming? Was this real? I pressed my eyes. When looked up, Champoon was gone.

302
303 “Champoon confessed to her father that she was in love with Nai Amnuey and that

304 they had trysts. But she assured him that I had done nothing to her which would

305 bring shame and dishonor herself or her family. Soon would not believe her. He did

306 not believe because he could not understand how a woman could still preserve

307 herself after several secret meetings with a man. Soon himself had six concubines

308 in his home. Besides being a normal young man, prone to those unusual temptations,

309 Nai Amnuey had been his enemy, the only man who had dared to stand up against

310 him in that part of the country over which he had ruled for decades, and

311 therefore, was likely to put out his rage for the father on his daughter. In allowing

312 herself to love the very man whom he hated, he thought Champoon had betrayed

313 him. He refused to listen to her pleas and explanations.

314 “When both father and daughter have the same obstinacy and determinations, and

315 neither would give in, the result could be foreseen. They recourse to violence. He

316 aimed a big piece of firewood at Champoon. She dodged and he missed. However,

317 Champoon was severely beaten. The noise attracted the attention of the neighbors.

318 Champoon tried her best to utter only faint moans even when the pain was too

319 great for her to bear. And when Taokae Soon was done with his brutality, she

320 raised herself from the floor.

321

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322 “I told you I am still untouched, and you don‘t believe me. You cursed and beat me.

323 I will now go to Amnuey and give myself to him, heaven be my witness.

324 “Everyone knew that Champoon would keep her word, for she had not said anything

325 which she did not carry out. A week later, she left the house while her father was

326 out.

327 “The word of a Chinese family head was law in the household. Soon had threatened

328 to punish everyone -- wives, son, servant -- if Champoon should ever get away. It

329 was hard for Champoon to escape. The whole household literally grabbed her back,

330 while some fetched the master of the house. Champoons was punished for her first

331 attempt.

332 “She tried again several times but failed. To stop her, Taokae Soon finally ordered

333 that she be chained to a post in her bedroom. At night, to permit her some

334 freedom, he allowed the chain to be loosened from the post but still he kept it

335 around her ankles. Finding that Champoon tried to escape in spite of the chain, he

336 ordered one of the stepmothers to divest her of every piece of clothing she wore

337 before she went to sleep every night. This last measure would be more effective

338 than any other, he was sure. He had sworn that he would not relent even if the

339 conflict between them would eventually destroy one of them.

340
341 “One morning, Champoon‘s room was empty. The roof was open and the glass cover

342 was slide back. Champoon apparently used her bed sheet to hoist herself up.

343 “Champoon had fled to Nai Amnuey, her beloved. What pains and dangers she must

344 have gone through to reach my dwelling!

345 “Champoon have held up her chain from her ankle and tied the free end around her

346 waist. She must have climbed on to her wardrobe and hauled herself up the roof.

347 She probably used her foot to push open the roofcover and finally slipped away.

348 She was strong and healthy and it shouldn‘t have been difficult for her to escape

349 that way.

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350 “But it was a miracle how she found her way to my house. How did she cross the

351 crocodile infested river? No one could answer this. People concluded that the

352 bedsheet which Champoon must have used to cloth herself with had probably been

353 washed away in the river.

354 “So it was really Champoon that I saw at the doorway across my bedroom. I was

355 certain that she really been there. The open door proved that it was no illusion. I

356 rushed to the verandah but it was too late. There was no trace of her. I pursued

357 her to the bank of the river. I searched for her wildly and desperately till morning.

358 I then realized that she intentionally kept away from me. It was impossible for her

359 to have gone far enough and missed my calls in the short time it took me recover

360 my senses. “I run to the workmen‘s quarter and ordered twenty men to spread out

361 to the river for any sign of her. I made them search until dark. At sunset we

362 return home.

363 “I set out for Taimuang without going back to my Bungalow. I told myself that I

364 would kiss Taokae Soon‘s feet just to learn if Champoon was safe at home.

365 “When I reach Taimuang, my secret agents confined that Champoon had not been

366 at home.

367 Nevertheless, I wanted to be sure and went to Champoon’s father. After all,

368 Champoon was dear to both of us and should merit our concern no matter how we

369 hated each other. But the wretched Chinaman was a perfect beast. He laughed at

370 my face and said that if Champoon should be shameless enough to return he would

371 beat her to death and send me her corps in a coffin. “I went home and gathered

372 again thirty men, dividing them into two groups. They marched on both banks of the

373 river in search again of Champoon. She couldn‘t have passed anywhere except

374 through the river. I thought she might have crossed the narrow part. I followed

375 both groups in a boat which I rowed upstream.

376 “I had been walking and running for the last twenty-four hours. I did not remember

377 having taken anything except four or five gulps of brandy. I must have dozed off;

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378 I woke up surprised because the bow of my boat was pushed hard against the bank

379 of the river. What happened, I asked, and one of the boatman pointed something.

380 “Do you know how crocodiles make a meal of a human being?

381 “No,” I said.

382 No matter how big a crocodile is, it can not swallow whole a human body. Though

383 its mouth is big, it cannot bite pieces off, and its legs are too short to help tear

384 the prey‘s flesh. It must always take the body on land to make a meal of it. It

385 would hold a part of the body with its mouth and beat the body against a tree. It

386 would eat whatever part fell off the body. It would eat one of those parts each

387 time and would go on beating and eating until the whole thing was in shreds.

388 The patient stopped talking at this point, he gazed into the distance. The silence

389 made me nervous so I blurted out.

390 “Did the boatmen find Champoon?”

391 “No”, the patient said. “What they found was a piece of chain tied around a human

392 leg that was torn away at the knee. It was on a low branch of tree…

393 “Sir, can you tell me, did Champoon throw herself into the river to be purposely

394 eaten by

395 crocodiles? Or did she try to swim back to go home to her father and confess that

396 she loved the wrong man?”

397
398
399 I hope you enjoyed this short story.
400
401 Note: This handout must not be forwarded outside of this class for “fair use” and must
402 never be uploaded in another forum to avoid copyright infringement.

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