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Here is a legend that I invented based on the history of the McKean Center in Chiang Mai. It’s a short story in three parts.

PART ONE
It all begins with a mad elephant…

Once upon a time, in the distant land of Chiang Mai, there was a creature unlike any other: an elephant with the demeanor of a troublemaker, more whimsical than your wildest dreams. This elephant, a gift from Prince Inthanon to his son, well-intentioned but with unparalleled misfortune, couldn’t do anything like other elephants.

From the moment it arrived on the tranquil river island, the elephant behaved like a capricious king. It devoured the villagers’ gardens, toppled their granaries, and, to top it all off, turned their modest homes into its own playground.

The bewildered villagers, faced with this most peculiar elephant, prayed to the heavens to send someone to deliver them from this mischievous monster. And that’s where destiny intervened with a sly wink.

The Western doctor, Dr. James W. McKean, a man with a courageous heart and a single eye (yes, he had lost the sight in his right eye in adventures that were part of his personal collection of misfortunes), found himself, by the will of whimsical stars, to be the unexpected savior.

One day, as the elephant reigned as a tyrant on its island, Dr. McKean, with courage on his shoulder and determination as his compass, arrived with an idea as whimsical as the elephant itself. He approached the capricious animal and spoke to it with an eloquence only magical creatures could understand.

« Oh noble pachyderm, leaving behind you a wake of chaos and destruction, it is time to change your destiny. Come with me, and together, we will forge an alliance for the good of Chiang Mai and its inhabitants.

I am the healer of leprous souls, and I need your titanic strength to build a sanctuary, a Village of Lepers, where love and compassion will surpass the ravages of disease. Together, we will construct a haven of peace, a sanctuary of dignity in the heart of adversity. »

The strangely understanding elephant nodded its majestic head, as if comprehending the physician’s secret language.

Thus, an unlikely alliance was born between the healer of lepers and the majestic elephant, destined to create a refuge in the shadows of the world’s afflictions.

The duo set to work, transforming the devastated island into a haven of peace and camaraderie.

The whimsical elephant became the guardian of the island, protecting rather than exploiting, while Dr. McKean, with his singular piercing eye, continued his charitable deeds, leaving behind a legend as strange as it was marvelous.

And so, Chiang Mai lived happily and in peace, leaving behind the tumultuous days of the mischievous elephant.

PART TWO
Drowning …

The leper village, lost in the winding folds of time and majestic trees, was cradled by the murmur of the river tracing its path with steadfast serenity. The white fences of the cottages, adorned with roses and succulent plants, celebrated life that endured despite the hardships.

At the heart of this tableau, our majestic elephant, a silent companion to the lepers, stood beneath the towering chaulmoogra trees. His skin, thick with the weight of years, bore the scars of a forgotten era. He had witnessed the suffering of the lepers, sharing in their quest for a sanctuary.

The lepers, with their battered hands and marked faces, found in the elephant a mute confidant. He accompanied them to the riverbank, observing their rituals of fishing and bathing. When night fell, he became the guardian of the village, a sentinel with wide ears.

A young leper, blind and frail, ventured to the riverbank. His body bore the stigmata of the disease, a dissonant symphony of scars and gaping wounds. He undressed, revealing a living tragedy in the relentless dance of illness.

As he immersed himself in the verdant water, a insidious embrace of the river’s current almost overwhelmed him. The boy lost his balance, swept away by the capricious waters. His blind eyes could not perceive the imminent danger, his gnawed hands futilely searching for an invisible buoy.

It was then that our elephant, a colossal silhouette in the twilight, became the unexpected hero of this tragedy. The pachyderm, a towering guardian of broken humanity, rushed to the river. With unexpected grace, the elephant enveloped the vulnerable body of the young leper with its trunk, lifting him out of the tumultuous waters.

The boy, rescued by the unexpected grace of the elephant, emerged from the waves like a castaway saved by a colossal angel. The disparities on his face seemed to reflect an inscrutable gratitude; this scene was an alliance between human distress and animal benevolence.

Thus, in the shadow of twilight, the elephant became the savior of this story. The inhabitants of the Village of Lepers, witnesses to this miracle, honored the elephant as a link between tragedy and hope, a wise creature in a world of trials.

THIRD AND FINAL PART
Epilogue …

In the muffled echoes of the past, the leper village, once dedicated to the fight against leprosy, had transformed into a peaceful haven for the elderly. The years had gently erased the threat of leprosy thanks to medical advancements, and the village had evolved, welcoming more comfortable structures, equipped with a hospital for elderly care.

The elephant, once the protagonist of a tumultuous legend, was now a blurry memory. Debates persisted regarding its color, ranging from black to white (remember, it was a royal elephant!) or even red, according to the eccentric versions of the locals. Some skeptics, supported by documents, claimed that the mad elephant had already passed away by the time Dr. McKean established the leper village, attempting to rationalize the madness of legendary tales.

During the Covid epidemic in 2020, the island that had once isolated lepers from the world transformed into a protective sanctuary for its new residents, the elderly villagers. The gates, once symbols of separation, closed this time to shield the islanders from the sick outside world as the epidemic raged. Ironically, history seemed to play with roles, turning a place laden with negative connotations into a lifesaving refuge during this contemporary period of medical uncertainty. Thus, the island, a silent witness to so many stories, continued to write its chapters in the living book of the Lepers’ Village.

In the year 2023, as the McClanahan Theatre, erected in 1929, prepares for a new performance, the whispers of the past still resonate. It was in 1930 that the legend of the mad elephant came to life on this stage, eliciting laughter and unforgettable festivities.

The play, drawing from the madness and lightness of that bygone era, has been reinterpreted for the current generation. The villagers, now elderly individuals, gather in the theater, whose elephantine decoration echoes past legends. It is here that the whimsical tale of the mad elephant, once a playful actor, finds a new resonance. The McClanahan Theatre becomes a temporal portal, merging the past and the present in a comedic dance where the eccentric elephant is still the star. Laughter, once booming in the 1930s, echoes again, blending generations in a joyful celebration of the continuity of this improbable story. Thus, the McClanahan Theatre, infused with the legend of the elephant, continues to resonate to the timeless rhythm of laughter and comedy.

The story perpetuates, passed down through generations, a living tribute to transformed lives and the evolution of a place that once bore the burden of stigma to become a symbol of resilience and hope.

The photos were taken on Koh Klang Island, Chiang Mai, at the McKean Center in 2019, 2020, and 2023. The narrative is a product of Frédéric Alix’s imagination in 2023, based on historical documents.

Bibliography

• Chiengmai Leper Asylum, 1908-1929, written by Dr. James W. McKean, Siam Outlook, October 1929, pp 366-369
• The Leper Village, 1926, written by Ebbe Kornerup, Friendly Siam, pp 53-56
• Enchanted Land, Foreign Writings about Chiang Mai in the Early 20th Century, by Graham Jefcoate,
• McKean Senior Center History, written by Heather Smith.

The narrative and its photos: by Frédéric Alix, 2019, 2020, 2023.