The weekly messenger. [volume] (St. Martinsville [i.e. St. Martinville] La.) 1886-1948, 1889-08-17
BURMESE CUSTOMS.
Ideal Love- Making and Simple
Marriage Ceremonies.
An Inveterate Habit with Men,
Women and Children.


They are each a foot long, and one
looks for all the world like a poorly de.
veloped ear of corn with the husk on,
They are very mild, and have little to-
bacco in them, being made of OWNER
leaves in connection with the tobacco.
All OF the Burmese people smoke-men,
women and children. l have not vet
seen any babies leave the breast for a
Whit of a cigarette, as the books on
Burmah state they do, but 1 see many
three and four year old children smok-
ing, and the. Burmese maiden learns to
smoke as soon as she can walk. All of
the girls are adopts in rolling cheroots,
and in Burmese counting the girl gives
her lover cheroots rolled with her
own hands and the two take, 1 doubt
not, whiffs about in the smoking of
them. 1t is common to pass the cigar
from one friend to another, and in a
group of three girls, whom 1 watched
having their fortunes told under the
shadow of the great golden pagoda,
saw that one cigar did for the trio.
The Burmese do not court in the day
time. Love making goes on during the
evening, and the lover never calls until
the old folks have gone to bed. He
always brings friend with him, and the
maiden dresses herself in her best and
paints and powders for the occasion.
Elopements are common and the lovers
are so romantic that they undertake
them many times when there is no oppo-
sition on the part of the parents. After
remaining away for several weeks they
come back and ask for forgiveness, and
the marriage is then often celebrated,
though not before.
The Burmese marriage is very SIM
pie affair. 1t consists ordinarily of the
eating rice together in the presence of
friends and of saying that the two pro-
pose to live together as man and wife.
The matches are sometimes made by the
parents and sometimes by professional
The most common
method, however, is by the young peo-
pie fixing the arrangement for them
selves and carrying on their billing and
cooling the same as we do at home. The
Burmese groom furnishes the wedding
breakfast, and he carries it to the house |
OF the brile. After the marriage rice is
thrown after the couple and they are ex-
pected to pass seven days in seclusion,
though this is not common. The newly
married pair live with the brides
parents for several years at least, and in
case that one of these parents dies the
other becomes an inmate of the family |
Tor lifetime. 1t is presumptuous for a
young man to set up housekeeping i'm
mediately after marriage, and he is sup
posed to work for a certain time for his
wife.
The favorite time for marrying is in
April and May, and most of the Burmese
ire married core they are twenty. As
to prOpcrt ri yhts, the woman's money is
kept apart from the man S, and she has
IN equal right with her husband in the
property earned during married life. In
Ease ola divorce she gets back all of the
money she brought into the family and
half of the earnings. She has right to
her own earnings, and the laws of
iivorce are more in favor of her than her
husband. She can get divorce if her
husband IS poor and unable to support
DER, or If ne is idle and lazy. If he is
always aiiing or If he becomes a cripple
liter marriage, she may be divorced,
md on the other hand the man may get
divorce for three reasons. The first is
i his wife has no SONS. The second is if
We docs not love him, aDd the third is
Il she persists in going where he forbids
ler. In addition to this, divorces are
permissible by mutual agreement. They
Ire no. common, however, not reputa-
Die, and it is Burmese saying that a
divorced woman needs small wooing.
another Burmese saying is that:
Monks are beautiful when they are