A white elephant in 19th century Thai art.

A white elephant is a valuable possession of

The term derives from the sacred white elephants kept by Southeast Asian monarchs in Burma, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. To possess a white elephant was regarded (and is still regarded in Thailand and Burma) as a sign that the monarch was ruling with justice and power, and that the kingdom was blessed with peace and prosperity.^[

A white elephant is something which is costly to maintain and difficult to get rid of. Typically, white elephants are also rare and very valuable, complicating the situation for their owners. Any number of things can be a white elephant, from a palatial home to an extravagant necklace. The term has even inspired a form of gift exchange, a white elephant gift exchange, in which people attempt to get rid of their white elephants by finding other people who might want them.

According to legend, the concept of the white elephant has its roots in Southeast Asia. Historically, Southeast Asians regarded the white elephant as lucky, because a white elephant supposedly appeared to the mother of the Buddha right before his birth to present her with a sacred lotus flower. The white elephant represented purity and knowledge, and because these animals were very rare, the sight of a white elephant was supposed to be lucky.

owning a white elephant was supposed to convey prosperity and good fortune,The elephants were exempt from work due to their sacred status, and they could not be sold, slaughtered, or given away. For their owners, white elephants were extremely costly possessions, and even though they were valuable, they could be a curse more than a blessing.

kings would give white elephants to courtiers who had fallen out of favor, with the goal of bankrupting and humiliating the recipient of the gift. In other stories, the white elephant was intended as a gift of genuine good will, to favored members of the court or their families.

Thank You.

Francis Daniel (Bahrain).