The Leavenworth weekly times., 1879-05-22
BURNaH AND THE BURMESE.
lGassell's Magazine,I

D ILasselIs Magazinel
The Kingdom of Burmah - respectin:
which new interest has been created b,
recent events-formerly occupied nearly
the whole OF the great peninsula east O
HindOs;ap, and was divided into two re
gions-Psgu in the south, inhabited by tn,
Talaings, with Rangoon as the capital anc
seaport, and Ava in the north, with its cap
ital OF the same name, peopied by the Bur
mese proper. But British territory now
stretches long arm all down the coast OF
the Bay of Bengal, and includes the prov.
ince Of Pegu. Scarcely any reliance can
b. placed on the palm-leaf chronicles OF
the native historians, and it is not till we
hnd the Portugese firmly established in
Malscca, and able to look round them at
the doings of their neighbors Q540). that
any authentic information can be gathered
about the political and military struggl.-
Of the 1alainis and Burmese and th /.
kings of Martaban ard Toupg-oo. Tn
aforementioned was one Of the most promi
nent warriors of his time, and rejoiced il
various appellations, the most pronouncea-
bic Of which, as we'll IA the one by which
he is best known, being B-anginoco. After
conquering the Talaing Prince he attacked
him OF Martaban with the skilled assist
ance OF the Portuguese, and compelled him
to submit, promising him to spare his life
and the lives OF his wives and children il he
spent the rest Of his days in retirement.
1 he ssnguinary coEqueror, however, set up
gibbets forthwith on an adja jacent hill, where
1 Iea ho,, . sl..x l,l.I II
feet, and threw the fallen king with fifty of
his mobiles into the sea with stones tied to
their necks, proceeding, the barbarity of
which reused even his hardened troops iulo
mutiny against their III ister, who succeeded
in escaping from them and subsequently,
| besieged PRONE and Siam, quelled a reyo-
luton that had broken out in Pegu, slaugh-
| tering its luckless inhabitants right and
left, and was finally killed during the night
| by Nenim, the Governor OF SirtaDg, against
! whom he was leading an expedition. Men
| i'm then proclaimed himself king, but in a
couple of years was besieged BY Zemindoo,
a descendant CT the Talaing dynasty Of
Pegu, who had led the revolt in the previ-
Gus reign. Xenim being slain az he rode
on his elephant by shot from an argue
bus, Zemindoo reigned in his stead for a
year, when he was deposed by relative of
the formidable Branginoco, fled to the
mountains, and welded there a village maid,
to whom he was 80 foolish as to reveal his
rank. Women being but poor hands at
keeping a secret, she informed her parents,
and they, tempted by the large reward of.
fered for the royal fugitives head, betrayed
their son-iu-law to his foes, who mounted
him on a sorry Jade, crowned him with
hin, pocElaco of ov,iaoo o,J
finally struck off his head and divided his
body into eight portions
Having thus given the slightest of
sketches of the early history OF Burmah,
let us turn to its people, who are of the
Monaghan type and are divided into many
tribes besides the two already mentioned.
Perhaps the best known of the remainder
are the karens, among whom the devoted
American missionaries, Judson and Marsh-
man, spent their lives. Taken altogether, |
the Burmese are fine, robust race, among
whom ply -ical deformity and mental |
weakness are unusually rare. The men
are almost invariably tattooed from the |
waist to the knee with figures of birds and |
animals, on a groundwork of delicate |
tracery and waving lines. The operation |
is performed with needles, is exceedingly |
painful and is executed with black or blue |
colored matter. 1t is often commenced at
as early AN sge as SIX years. The arms
are frequently latooed in vermillion with |
csbalistic characters, supposed to be charms
against disesse and evil spirits. The hair
is tied in knot on the top OF the head,
and interlwinened with n piece Of gray |
muslin or silk, jacket of stuff or cotton
hangs from the shoulders, while bright
colOrsd cloth wound round the waist, ex-
tending 10 the ankles, and with one end
thrown jauntily over the breast, like
Highlander's scarf, completes the costume.
The women are frequently nice-looking,
and adep's in enl ancipg their APP
pearance by rich and careful dress.
The black hair is carefully dressed
and perfumed, gathered together
behind the head and usually adorned with
fresh flowers. They wear q vest or bodice
of the material known as Turkey red;
petticoat of native silk, partially open in
front, so that in walking it displays which
ever leg is thrown forward, snd a train Of
different pattern, the graceful management
of which is one of the accomplishments Of a
Burmese belle. An open jacket, shawl
draped across the shoulders and a pair of
red sandals sre also worn. Their jewelry
is massive and handsome, consisting of pure
gold and precious stones. Both seXes have
the lobe OF the ear bored, and the aperture
enlarged by inserting gradually an increas-
ing number of slips Of bamboo. In these
slits they wear tubes or cylinders of gold,
about an inch and half long and three
quarters Of an inch in diameter. Men,
women and children are inveteraie smo-
kers, and the ear-tubes are not inconyenient |
receptacles for half-smoked cigars.
Women hold a very different position in
Burmah to the one to which they are con-
demped by the Mohammedans and Hin
doos They wear no wells, have their own
legal rights, can hold real property inde-
pendently of their husbands, and are uni
versally respected and considered BY the
other sex. Their N anners are pleasantly
frank, though always we'll bred, and they
are allowed freedom of choice in matri-
mony. 1t is quite as common and natural
to see a betrol med couple enjoying an eve
ming walk in Burmah as il is in England
The greatest reverence ia shown by children
to their parents, and to all by the aged.
Good temper is a prevailing characteristic,
and though none seem 70 be very rich,
there is no poverty. II family should
happen to be in want the neighbors help
them, and strangers are always Hospitality
welcomed and fed.
Marrisge is purely civil rite, When
young people understand each other" the
mother or eldest relative of the man sounds
the girls mother, ard if she offer no otjec-
lions some Of the suitor's elderly kinsiolk
propose the marriage formally to the pa
rents of the bride el CT and:.arrsnge wha.-
ever settlement can be made. Their con-
sent being given The bridegroom provides
the trousseau according to the capacity of
his purse. A feast is prepared; the aft
anced pair eat out Of the same dish in the
presence of the assembled guests; and then
the husband presents his wife with some
hid-pet, or picked tea, che does the same by
him, and the ceremony is completed. This
preserved or picked tea is made up with
with some glutinous substance into small
balls or cakes, and is chiefly imported from
the countries bordering on China. 1t is
much used on ceremonial occasions by the
Burmese, who dress it with sesamum oil,
garlic and ssssfprids, and look upon it as
q s-eat delicscy.
K ce, as in most oher Asiatic countyies,
forms the sisple food, and il usually &C.
companied by siewed 6-h, meat and veget-
ables. Cucumber salid is q very popular
dish, and chutneys Of different favors
s,ound, the most indispensable one to a
Burmese repast being a very strong COM
pound Of pawns and the rose of various
i-h, seasoned with chillies, garlic and other
spicy condiments. Bird nest soup is as
highly prizsd asit is in China.
The meals are served nm in circular red