MANUFACTURES, COMMERCE, &c., OF THE BURMESE.

keep spies and retainers to discover who has money, | ible. Many trades are carried on skilfully, particularly and how it may be got. Accusations of all sorts are invented, and the accused has no way of escape but by a present. Real criminals may almost always evade justice by a bribe, if it bear any proportion to the magnitude of the offence. Gangs of robbers frequently practise their trade by the connivance of a ruler who shares their gains.

546

ARCHITECTURE, AMUSEMENTS, RELIGION OF THE BURMESE.

mattock. In some places, a rude plough is used. &c. The dramatic representations are quite respectRice is the chief article of cultivation, and is superior able, and are always in the open air. Cock-fighting to that of Bengal. Cotton is also extensively raised, prevails to some extent. Football is common. The and tobacco to some extent. Sugar cane is cultivated Burmese are fond of music, though few of them are for domestic use, but no sugar is made from it. The skilful in it. They have the gong, drum, guitar, harp, peasantry do not reside in detached farms, but collect and other instruments peculiar to themselves. They in villages for mutual defence against wild beasts and are entirely ignorant of whistling, and are astonished robbers. to hear a stranger "make music with his mouth.”

The dwellings of the Burmese are generally of wood or bamboo frames, covered with mats and thatch. A comfortable house can be built in four hours, and will last three years. A man's rank is particularly regarded in the architecture of his house, and a deviation from the rule, in this respect, would be instantly marked and punished. This distinction lies principally in the several stages in the roof. The Burmese monarchs erect none of the public works which are common in other parts of Asia-neither bridges, caravanserais, tanks, nor wells; but bestow all their treasure upon temples. These are generally of brick, stuccoed, painted, varnished, carved, and gilt in the most profuse and laborious manner. Some of them are truly noble, and an English traveller has pronounced the grand kioum, or monastery, of Ava the most magnificent structure in the universe. The zayats are a species of building which serve the purposes of town halls, temples, and lodging houses for travellers. Every village has its zayat, where the stranger may repose for many days. Near the great cities, these structures are beautiful and expensive.

The chief amusements of the Burmese are the drama, dancing, tumbling, music, athletic feats, chess,

All ranks are exceedingly fond of flowers, which they display great taste in arranging on public occasions. A lady in full dress has festoons of these around her hair. Well-dressed men wear them in the holes of their ears. Almost every one, male and female, chews coon, a substance compounded of areca nut, cutch, tobacco, quick-lime, and the leaf of betel pepper. This produces saliva, and colors the mouth red. Smoking tobacco is equally prevalent, and is begun by children almost as soon as they are weaned, and sometimes even before. The mother will take the cigar from her mouth, and put it into that of her sucking infant. Children of three years old may be seen tottering about smoking cigars. With this exception, temperance seems to be universal. The use of wine, spirits, opium, &c., is not only strictly forbidden both by religion and law, but is entirely against pubiic opinion. Children are almost as reverent to parents as among the Chinese. They continue to be greatly controlled by them, even to middle life. The aged, when sick, are maintained with great care and tenderOld people are always treated with marked deference, and in all assemblies occupy the best seats among those of their own rank.

ness.

hang near. Old people and others, who cannot remember the forms of prayer, get a priest to write them a few sentences, which they carry before the pagoda, or idol, at the end of a stick, and fasten it in the ground. Strings of beads are used in praying, like Catholic rosaries. A worshipper frequently spends a whole day or night at the pagoda.

Buddhism is the religion of Burmah; and it is in | idol, or pagoda, striking one of the great bells which this country that the principles of this religion appear most fully and strikingly developed at the present day. The Burmese do not worship collectively, though crowds assemble at the temples, at the same time, on fixed days. Each one makes his offering and recites his prayers alone. No priests officiate, and no union of voices is attempted. On arriving at the pagoda, or image, the worshipper walks reverently to within a convenient distance, and, laying his offering on the ground, sits down behind it on his knees and heels. Then, placing the palms of his hands together, he raises them to his forehead, and leans forward till his head touches the ground. This is called the sheeko. He then utters his prayers in a low tone, occasionally bowing, and afterward carries forward his gift to the

None but priests visit the places of worship without carrying some offering, though this is sometimes nothing more than a flower, or a few sprigs plucked from a bush. A tasteful nosegay is the common gift; but those who can afford it carry, once a week, articles of food and raiment. The food is always cooked in the nicest manner, and delicately arranged in saucers made of fresh plantain leaves. There are four days

EDUCATION, LANGUAGE, FOOD OF THE BURMESE.

for public worship in every lunar month. The new and full moons are the principal Sabbaths. Business at these times is not suspended, for, though it is regarded as meritorious to observe these days, it is not held sinful to neglect them. The number of worshippers at the chief pagodas is always sufficient, on such days, to produce a large amount of offerings. The slaves of the pagodas take care of such as are useful, and divide the whole among themselves. On other days, the dogs and crows help themselves to the food, often attacking a gift the moment after it is set down by the worshipper, who allows them to devour it without the slightest molestation.

547

in religious matters. Sects have arisen among them, the chief of which is that of the Kolans, who are said to be numerous and increasing. Kolan was a reformer, who lived in the latter part of the eighteenth century, and taught the worship of wisdom. Many of the Burmese nobles are among his disciples. Until lately, the Kolans have been sharply persecuted. At present, the Burmese are very tolerant in religious matters. Foreigners of every description are allowed the full exercise of their own worship, but no subject of the empire is allowed to join a foreign religion under severe penalties.

The rudiments of education are widely diffused in Priests are required to observe not only all the rules Burmah, and most men even common laborers of morality binding on common people, but many learn to read and write a little. Women of respectamore. They are bound to celibacy and chastity, and, bility, in general, can read, but comparatively few of if married before their initiation, the marriage is dis- those in humble life. The mass of the people are solved. They must not so much as touch a woman, without books, and their reading is confined to the or even a female infant, or any female animal. They documents employed in the transaction of business. must never sleep under the same roof, or travel in the Literature is restricted, chiefly, to the priests. Books same carriage or boat, with a woman, or touch any are generally written on palm leaves, with an iron thing which a woman has worn. If a priest's mother style. The leaf is prepared with much care, and the fall into the water, or into a pit, he must not help her better sort of books are bound in wooden covers, with out, except no one else is nigh; and then he must only gilt edges. Sometimes thin leaves of ivory are used reach her a stick or a rope. They are not to recog- instead of palm leaf, and sometimes sheet iron. For nize any relations, nor lend money, nor sing, nor common books, a thick black paper is employed, which dance, nor play upon musical instruments, nor stand is written upon with a pencil of soapstone; but the in conspicuous places, nor wear shoes, nor any cover- writing may be rubbed off, and thus one book serves ing for the head, though they may shade themselves for many subjects. The number of books is not very from the burning sun by a fan. They must not hold large; yet all considerable persons possess a few. any secular office, nor interfere in the least with gov- The royal library at Ava contains several thousand ernment. Seclusion, poverty, contemplation, and in-volumes, kept in large and elegant chests, assorted difference to all worldly good or evil, are prescribed as their lot in life.

But this strictness of behavior, though required by the sacred books of the Burmese, is by no means exemplified in the conduct of the priests. They wear sandals, carry umbrellas, live luxuriously, and handle money. Although their religion requires them to dress in rags, they wear the finest silk and cotton dresses, preserving a shadow of obedience by having the cloth first cut into pieces, and then neatly sewed together. Their office may be called a sinecure. Few of them preach, and these but seldom, and only by special request, after which donations of clothing and other valuables are made to them. It is a rule that each priest must perambulate the streets every morning, till he receives boiled rice or other eatables enough for the day. They walk briskly, without looking to the right or left, stopping when any one comes out with a gift, which they deposit in an earthen pot, carried slung over the shoulder for this purpose. The number of priests is about one in thirty of the whole population. They are arranged into a regular hierarchy. The highest functionary is the thar-thera-byng, or archbishop. He lives at the capital, has jurisdiction over all priests, and appoints the president of every monastery. He stands high at court, and is considered as one of the great men of the empire. There are some priestesses, or nuns, though these are not authorized by the religious books. They are few in number, and are regarded with little veneration. Like the priests, they may return to common life whenever they please. Most of them are aged, though some are young; and these latter avow their object to be, a better chance for selecting a husband through the public nature of their office.

The Burmese are not all of the same opinion

under different heads. The greater part of the Burmese literature is in verse, consisting of ballads, legends of Gaudama, histories of the kings, astronomy, geography, &c. The manner in which the Burmese have written their own history may be judged from the following specimen, which is the account of the war with the British in 1824 and 1825, inserted in the national annals by the royal historiographer: "In the years 1136 and 1137, the Kula Pyu, or white strangers of the west, fastened a quarrel upon the Lord of the Golden Palace. They landed at Rangoon, took that place and Prome, and were permitted to advance as far as Yandabo. The king, from motives of piety and regard to life, made no effort whatever to oppose them. The strangers had spent vast sums of money in their enterprise, and, by the time they had reached Yandabo, their resources were exhausted, and they were in great distress. They petitioned the king, who, in his clemency and generosity, sent them large sums of money to pay their expenses back, and ordered them out of the country."

The Burmese language is very unlike the other languages of the East. All pure Burman words are monosyllables, and there are no inflections to any parts of speech. The pronunciation is very difficult to foreigners. The sacred books are in the Pali, a dialect or corruption of the Sanscrit. This is studied by the priests.

The food of the Burmese is simple. Rice is, with them, the staff of life. It is often eaten without any condiment, but generally with curry and sauces of various kinds. Cocoa and sesamum oil are much used in cookery. All sorts of vegetables are eaten by the Burmese, who are by no means scrupulous in their diet. Dead carcasses are eagerly devoured. The religion of the country forbids the taking of life; yet

of Siam began his reign in the thirteen hundredth year of this era, or A. D. 756. Wars with Pegu, and internal revolutions and usurpations, appear to be the only events with which the early history of Siam is filled. The first distinct notice of this kingdom by European writers is an account of an overland expedition made by a Siamese army against Malacca, in 1502. According to some authorities, Siam was subject to Burmah from 1567 to 1596. According to others, the king of Pegu, in 1568, made war upon Siam, on account of two white elephants which the Siamese refused to deliver to him. Another motive assigned for this war is a design to reconquer the territories on the Bay of Bengal, which had been wrested from the Peguans by the Siamese. This war seems to have ended in the subjugation of Siam by the Peguans.

few have any scruple in fishing or shooting game. | be identical with the Gaudama of Thibet and the BurThousands of the natives are fishermen by profession. mese. This era is fixed at 544 B. C. The first king In eating, the Burmese take food with their fingers. They have but two meals a day, and drink only water. The dress of the men in the lower classes is a cotton cloth called a pesso, which passes over the shoulder and round the hip, covering, in a graceful manner, nearly the whole body. The higher classes wear the same garment of silk, and there is scarcely any one who has not a silk dress for gala days. A jacket with sleeves, generally of white muslin, but sometimes of broadcloth or velvet, is added by the higher classes. All wear a turban of muslin or a cotton handkerchief. Sandals of wood or leather are worn on the feet. The whole aspect of a Burman's dress is neat, decorous, and graceful. Women wear a skirt of cotton or silk, lined with muslin. Those of superior condition add a gauze or muslin jacket, with long sleeves. Both sexes wear ornaments in the ears, and allow the hair to grow very long. The custom of blacking the teeth is almost universal. When asked the reason for this, a Burman replies, "What! should we have white teeth, like a dog or a monkey!"

The Burmese, according to the popular notion of social distinctions, are divided into eight classes; 1. The royal family; 2. Great officers; 3. Priests; 4. Rich men; 5. Laborers; 6. Slaves; 7. Lepers; 8. Executioners. Each of these classes also comprises different degrees of respectability; but there is no hereditary caste, except the lepers and the slaves of the pagodas. All except slaves and outcasts may aspire to the highest offices, which are frequently filled by persons of low origin. The executioners are reprieved felons, who are dead in law. They are marked by a tattooed circle on the cheek, and often by the name of the crime tattooed upon the breast. They are not allowed to sit down in any man's house, and all intimacy with them is forbidden.

the Burmese and Peguans
of Constantine Phalcon
of the Present Dynasty — Population, &c.,
of the Kingdom.

THE kingdom of Siam lies round the gulf of that name, which divides the territory of Farther India into two peninsulas. It is bounded north by the wild region inhabited by the Shyans, east by Laos and Cambodia, south by the Gulf of Siam, and west by the Burmese territories. The face of the country resembles that of Burmah. The name of Siam was given to the country by the Malays. The natives of Siam call themselves Tai, or "Freemen." Siam is called by the Burmese Yudia.

This country is supposed, by some writers, to have been known to the Romans under the name of Sine, which was applied to an Eastern territory by the geog. raphers Ptolemy and Cosmas. The native histories of Siam are free from the fables and extravagance which deform the Burmese annals. The chronological era of this country goes back to the pretended disappearance of the god Sommona Codom, who appears to

The first English ship visited Siam in 1602, at which time Ayuthia was the capital of the kingdom. In 1621, a body of Franciscans and Dominicans established themselves in the country, for the purpose of preaching the Catholic religion. In 1683, a Greek of Cephalonia, named Constantine Phalcon, was taken into favor by the king of Siam, and made prime minister. He introduced a respect for European customs, and opened a trade with France. Had his life been prolonged, he might have effected many improvements in the country. But his ambition caused a great jealousy among the grandees of the court, who seized the occasion of an illness of the king to put Phalcon to death. This catastrophe defeated all the plans which had been projected for opening the commerce of Siam to foreign nations. The treaty with France was immediately broken off. Some Englishmen afterward settled at Mergui; but their misconduct soon excited the hostility of the natives, who put them to death in a general massacre. For more than half a century from this time, the country was distracted by civil wars and contests for the throne. About the year 1750, Alompra, the victorious founder of the Burman empire, seized Mergui, Tavoy, and Martaban, and overran the whole valley of the Meinam. During this war, some of the principal Siamese in this quarter removed to Chantabon, a province on the east side of the Gulf of Siam, and thus escaped the presence and exactions of the Burmese armies. Among these was Pye-yatak, the son of a wealthy Chinese by a Siamese wife, who gathered a band of adherents, attacked the Burmese, and at length drove them from the country, and assumed the throne. For the purpose of promoting commerce, he removed the seat of government from Ayuthia to Bankok. After a successful reign, he was deposed and put to death by a body of conspirators, who placed on the throne another dynasty, which still rules over Siam. The Burmese made some attempts to reconquer the country, but without success, and a truce was concluded between the two nations in 1793. Since that time, the Siamese have been free from war, and their territory has been augmented by the acquisition of the provinces of Keda, Patani, Ligore, Bata-bang, and most of the Malay peninsula. The kingdom is now larger and more prosperous than it has been at any former period.

The population of Siam is about three millions. Of these, eight hundred thousand are Shyans, one hundred and ninety-five thousand, Malays, and four hundred and fifty thousand, Chinese, leaving the num

TRADE, ARCHITECTURE, RELIGION, DRESS, OF THE SIAMESE.

The shores are covered with palaces and gilded temples, and with the habitations of the grandees raised by posts above the ground, which is so swampy as to render walking hardly possible. The temples of Bankok are called wats. One of these comprises a spacious grove, with a variety of structures for worship, and the dwellings of the priests. The pagodas do not differ from those of Burmah. There are above a hundred wats in Bankok. The population of the city is In personal appearance, the Siamese are very ugly. about one hundred thousand, more than half of whom The national characteristics seem to be a broad and flat are Chinese. The city has no mayor or chief magis- face, long and square lower jaw, large mouth, thick trate, and little police of any kind. Each great man lips, small nose, broad and low forehead, and promiexercises supreme power over his slaves, which often nent cheek-bones. The back part of the jaw projects amount to several thousand. The foreigners have each as if it were swollen. They are short in stature, the their head man, before whom causes are tried. There average height of the men not exceeding five feet two is little litigation among the Siamese. No one dares inches. The dress of both sexes is alike, consisting of carry a complaint before a ruler without a bribe, and a cloth wrapped round the hips, and so arranged as at most persons choose rather to suffer indignities and a distance to resemble trousers. It is generally of injuries than to complain. Gaming prevails to a fright-printed cotton. Young women sometimes wear a narful extent, especially among the Chinese.