What is Phajaan process?

Put simply, Phajaan is the process of breaking an elephant’s spirit and crushing their soul. Phajaan literally means crushing in Thai. It’s a form of sustained and endless torture designed to bend a baby elephant to the will of the humans who have captured them.

What does it mean to break an elephant?

National Geographic reports on the use of nails and sticks stabbed into the ears and feet of an elephant, the subject of a crush, in Thailand. Other reports cite the use of beatings with sticks, chains or bullhooks, sleep-deprivation, hunger, and thirst to “break” the elephant and make them submissive to their owners.

Can you tame an elephant?

Elephants require brutal training to accept human contact. Even then, they retain their natural instincts which are meant for the wild. Elephants are not and have never been domesticated like cats or dogs. It’s not possible for one individual wild animal to become domesticated within their lifetime.

Is it true that elephants ride in phajaan?

The brutal reality of phajaan. If you ride elephants in Asia this is what your money sanctions.

How did the phajaan ceremony get its name?

Phajaan literally means “to crush”, and a Phajaan ceremony lives up to its name. Elephants endure an intense week of physical and mental torture, forcing them into submission. The process begins by stealing a young elephant from its mother.

What is the process of phajaan in Thailand?

Elephants welfare in Thailand is awful and begins with the process of Phajaan. Elephant tourism relies on this process to break the creature physically and mentally – and as tourists, we need to come together to stop this entertainment exploitation.

Is it possible to tame an elephant in Thailand?

And while it is “possible” to tame an elephant, manipulating them for riding, or the more labour intensive task of logging requires a tonne of effort. In Thailand, the process by which elephants are forced into submission is known locally as a Phajaan ceremony, often referred to as “breaking the spirit”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVckvi_gWVo