The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-01-11


Thebaw, and escaped to monastery. She de-
spised Thebaw as being the priests son. and she
also objected to her younger sister becoming
Thebaw's wife If she was herself to marry him.
The subsequent fate of Seiin Soopayah is IN
known. Her refusal to marry greatly enraged
Thebaw, who relieved his feelings by causing
the hands OF two maids of honor, supposed to be
privy to Selin Soopayah's fight to be chopped
off. Thebaw married Soopayah-lat. the younger
princess, who became his chief queen, or Queen
OF the South, and has remained his sole Queen
The Queens name, Soopayah lat. means s'the
most delightful princess" An interesting &C
count of visit to Mandalay, in 1880, by an En-
glish lady, Mrs. Rowett, the wife of one of the
principal merchants at Rangoon, was published
in Fraser's Magazine of May, 1882. Mrs. Rowett,
who had heightened interview, under unusu-
ally favorable circumstances with Soopayah lat,
thus described her: 1.-THE Queen is only twenty
one years old. She is very nice looking, and
unusually fair for a Burmese, and her express
sion is really good" Soopayah-lat is woman of
considerable mental powers She openly de-
spises her brother husband, and is known to
rule him. alike in matters social and political
Within few months of Thebaws accession to
the throne. a series of horrible massacres ensued
at Mandalay Seventy of the princes and
princesses Of the royal blood, and many of their
children, were murdered under circumstances Of
the most revolving atrocity. One of the
prncesses, pregnant woman, was disembow-
eled in her husbands presence. The old Prince
who had been governor of Rangoon when it was
captured by the English in 1852 had his mouth
filled with gunpowder, and the head then blown
OF. These massacrea were undoubtedly In
stignated by Soopayah lat and her mother, and
they, with difficulty, obtained Thebaw's consent
to them. The most active agent in the massa-
ores, who personally participated in them, was
the Tynadah Mengyee, who since Thebaw's ac-
cesslon, has been the most trusted adviser. The
practice of msssacring all possible rivals on the
accession of a new monarch il Burmah has been
of frequent occurrence Many of Thebaws
subjects approve of his having murdered his
relations, on the ground that it would insure
peace and order, and prevent civil war in the
country, and he incurred no general unpopularity
by this wholesale slaughter. What, however,
degrades him in Burmese opinion and what his
subjects cannot forgive him, is the manner in
which he allows himself to be bullied by
Soopayah-lat and her mother. All previous kings
of Burmah have had four chief queens-the
Queens of the South, East, West and North. the
supremacy of the Queen of the South being
recognized. Thebaw's predecessors by no means
confined themselves to their four chief queens
The late King Min done Min, who was religious
monarch, and who specially prided himself
the title of Holder of the Fifth Ecclesiastical
Synod" title not borne by bis successor, had
ffty-three recognized queens, besides few
score of inferior wives. Thirty seven of his
recognized queens survive him. BY his queens
he had Ito children, of whom seventy two were
alive at his death. Notwithstanding these pre-
cedents-and the Burmese are very conservative
people in social matters-Soopayah-la has in
sisted on remaining TEebaws sole wife.
Various maids of honor, supposed to have
been favored by Thebaw, have been put to death
by the Queen with every refinement of torture
Thebaw has recently married second Queen,
but she has to be constantly guarded by soldiers
to save her from the vengeance of the Soopayah,
lat. This condition of affairs is regarded by the
Burmans as being highly discreditable to the
King. Thebaw has had but one son, who died
of smallpox, and one daughter, who survives
His predecessor, Min-done-Min averaged, dur
ing his long reign, about five children a year.
When Thobaw. assembled the throne he was de-
scribed as being although very dark, the hand
soonest young man in Burmah. He has now be-
come bloated IN appearance, possibly owing to
bis undue devotion to gin. On more than one
ors, he has appeared with his face extensively
scratched. Owing to the manner in which the
person of the 'Sun- descended Monarch" is
guarded, and the precautions taken in reference
to him, there can be but little doubt that these
injuries to the face of the Supporter of Re-
ligion" were caused by the nails Of Soopayah lat.
The details of the inner life of the
palace at Mandalay have often been described
how the Kings toe nails are cut off and carried
in golden vessels some FIVE miles to the river
Irrawaddy and there deposited with great cere
mony by gorgeously attired officials. Soopayah-
lat has introduced certain ceremonial customs
and observances at her court, which probably
few Europeans have heard of. In Burmah it is
est, to search each others heads for the purpose
OF relieving them of lice with which they are
afflicted. When battue of this kind takes place
in her Majestys hair the parasites captured are
considered to have been so highly honored by
having dwelt on the royal person that they are
rot slain when taken A maid of honor kneels
near the Queen while the operation lasts and
the parasites taken in Soopayah -lat's hair are
transferred to the locks of the kneeling lady. 1t
sometimes happens that the bag captured is so
large that second maid of honor has to be call
ed into requisiJion. This distinguished position
is highly coveted by the ladies of the court, and
to be selected for it is proof of enjoying the
Queens favor.
The most powerful of Thebaw's Ministers is,
and has been the Tynedah Mengyee. His enc
mics allege that in early life he was Dacoit If
this statement is true. it would appear that he
still retains hankering for his old predatory
pursuits. Upper Burmah is at present greatly
infested by gangs of Dacoits. The King recently
senthis Admiral, the Lay Thyin- Alvin Woon, to
hunt down some of these gangs. The gallant
Admiral succeeded in capturing number of Da-
colts, who pleaded excuse for their pro-
ceedings that they were working under the di-
rection of, and in partnership with, the Tynedah
Mengyee, who received the largest share of the
profits. The captured Dacoits were released
without the case being further investigated, on
their taking the oath of allegiance Except the
other Burmese Ministers are very much misrep-
resented, the Tynedah Mengyee is by no means
the only Minister who maintains very intimate
business with. and shares the profits of, Dacoits
The Tynedah Mengyee has steadily opposed all
reforms He retains his influence over the
King and Queen by encouraging them in their
extravaganza. Since Thebaw's accession to
the throne both he and the Queen have
spent enormous amounts in erecting q
great number of psgodas and kyoungs at
Mandalay, and have otherwise squandered vast
sums. The public revenues have been wholly
insufficient to meet this expenditure. To obtain
money from the people the most oppressive
means have been resorted to- all regular collec-
ton of taxes has ceased, and general anarchy
prevails throughout upper Burmah. The i'm
pending famine is likely to greatly aggravate
matters. The great opponent of Tynedah Meng-
zee among the Ministers Is Kinwoon Mengyee,
or Senior Prime Minister. He is a man of con-
siderable learning, and especially famous as a
Pail scholar. He also enjoys the advantage of
having travelled in Europe His sympathies are