Since the object is perceived as being controlled by the will of the deity, however, no one can be held responsible for any damages incurred during the procession. This type of ritual may thus be considered an instrument of social sanction, affording the people a means of enforcing compliance with accepted norms or seeking retribution for perceived injustices. This article describes the conceptions of governmental power held by Burmese villagers in Upper Burma, and the degree to which their conceptions correspond to the behavior of government officials at the township and district levels. The ethnographic present is Burma prior to the 1962 military coup. They are recruited by agents who extract a portion of the piece wage as their profit.
Most agents are men.
Some, though, are women with moderate to high skills in embroidery. The dependence of embroidery workers upon female agents calls into question whether gender can be a basis for solidarity and action.