Cattle and buffalo are raised to draw the heavy wooden plows and very little modern equipment is used. Oxen and water buffaloes are far more common than tractors. The Burmese farmers live in villages among trees or along roads or rivers leading into the Ganges Delta. The wealthier people often live in sturdy, mahogany homes that are raised off the ground and have plank floors and tile roofs. Those with lower incomes may live in thatched roof, bamboo houses that have dirt floors.
All activities take place on the dirt floors, including eating and sleeping.
Therefore, it is extremely impolite to enter a Burmese house wearing shoes. The single most important social institution in the village is the temple. It symbolizes unity among the villagers, and provides a wide variety of activities for the people. The Burmese do not recognize clans or lineages. Marriages are monogamous, and rarely arranged by the parents.