Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-07-19
BrRMAUs PHOONGYEE BYAN.
Queer burial Ceremonies Where
Every One Gets Drunk and Fights'
Crimes of Burmah.D

Every One Gets Drunk and figh'S'
CTlmes Of Burmah)
A "Phoongyee Byan" corresponds to an
Irish wake The gided coffin containing
the body of the deceased Phoohgyee
DriesD in layers of pulverized cnarcoai
Is placed with a great deal OF pomp anu
much circumstance on platform t"eh-
ty-fye feet above the ground I'm the Gen.
tire Of a large rectangIe in some open
space near the village. In sinbyugyun
the bed on the brook, west Of the village,
serves this purpose eXo'llently. Later on
the people drink the water of the brook.
This platform is occupied as long as the
show lasts, by young men IN different
stages Of intoxication and with faces fam
tastically parti-colored. They spend their
time bowling. dancing, beating drums,
clashing cymbals, and INDUCING in OBJ
scene jests, bestowing az intervals most
cXtravagant expressions Of sorrow on the
dear and sacred departed, all with no
more apparent object than TO raise a
laugh mile around.
At one corner Of the rectangle IS a huge
pyre Of bamboo. shaped like nothing In
particular and pasted over with the gau-
dest OF gaudy wallpapers. on this the
corpse is eventually cremated, the ashes
the Kyoung to which the Phoongyee be-
longed. or If his rank was sufficiently
high. as the foundation for an umbrella
topped pagoGa. Ranged on the four sides
of the rectangle are sheds occupied by
Phoongyees from the neighboring viii
lagos. The pupils OF each of these Phoon-
gyees bring a "pyathat," a towering
structure Of the ever useful bamboo, with
a sort Of shelf on the top to hold coffin.
presumably to do honor to the deceased.
AS almost every village here has Its
Kyoung. the higher the degree of the
deceased priest the larger the number Of
"pyathats."
The taboots are of different shapes,
some like elephants. others like China
men. one enterprising village furnished
a Burmanized version Of an English lady,
not forgetting the sunshade. Another viii
lagos exhibitor that is what they re-
solve themselves into-was a Chinall
made with q little shelf to hold the coffin.
The Myook in some cases a sadoW,
high priest, I suppose, occupies shed
on the side Of the rectangle opposite the
pyre At a given signal, the beat of
deep-tOned gong the tabOots are brought
one by one from their places TO the shed
of the Phoongyee Byan president, hay
ing taken on its way the coffin from the
platform (the coffin being more or less
securely fastened to the "pyathatsO. l
may add that the villagers who carry the
'pyathats" generally form themselves
into a band of dancers called a "hanuwe."
Almost every one IN Burmah is familiar
with tho contortions of hand and body
that constitute the Burman dance. so L
win not inhict you with a description OF
the details OF the "hans," beyond men,
tioning that one batch are known as the
"bap dab ham," and other as the "chet-
~ ham," the poe thi daw ham," and so
on. Well. arrived at the principal she'd
the band of dancers arrange themselves
before the "pyathat' and begin a sensu-
Gus dance to a chorus that goes with a
lit, and is simply Irresistible 20 the gay
Burman, the coffin mean while being hus-
tied I'm its perch as the bearers sway 10
and fro i'm wild rhythm 10 the weird mu-
sic After all the "pyathats" have had
their turn. the body is taken out of the
coffin and burned, and every one goes
home jOvially drunk. I do not pretend 10
know how things are done in other parts
Of Burmah, but this is how 1 see them
done in Salin and Cinbyugyun. Several
free fights. ending I'm broken heals, took
place between villagers carrying "pya-
that's" There IS some mystic rivalry at
the bottom.
The first time I saw a "byan" here /
thought il Interestingly savage; the Sc
cond was savage only, and 1 have never
been to a third Crowds. dust, and
drunkards do not form a combination
with sufficient attractions for me. The
township officer, NIg Pc Than, was very
much in evidence during the proceedings,
and has earned the thanks of the happy
few who got out Of the melee scot free
from "dOkes" and "dahs." / should
reckon the police were enough TO keep
order, but they themselves needed 10 be
kept in order, as the majority 81 them
were as drunk as fish, one Of the guard
ans Of the peace fell foul Of a "pyathat,"
and almost pulled it 20 bits. TO the rage
of the phoongyee proprietor who could
not understand the onslaught, as his
pupils were going along peaceably enough.
Why will the police get drunk on the few
occasions on which they are called upon
to be sober? The not uncommon specta-
Gle in these jungles Of a preternaturally
sober policeman staggering along with
hopelessly drunken villager at the end OF
a chain has always seemed 10 me the
best practical illustration Of the figure OF
speech known as irony"