The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1899-09-01
BURMAH's pHooNGYEE BYAN.
Queer Burial Ceremonies where
Every One Present Gets Drunk
and Fights,

tanning the DOdy OF INC deceased FhOOn-
gyee (priest) In layers Of pulverized
charcoal is placed with great deal of
pomp and much circumstance on a plat
form 25 feet above the ground in the
center of large rectangle in some open
space near the village. In Sinbyugyun
the bed Of the brook, west of the village,
serves this purpose excellently. 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 fantastically parti-colored.
They spend their time bowling, dane
ing, beating drums, clashing cymbals,
and indulging in obscene jests, bestow-
ing at intervals most extravagant ex-
pressions of sorrow on the dear and sa-
cred departed, all with no more appar-
| ent object than to raise laugh mile
around.
At one corner of the rectangle is
huge pyre Of bamboo, shaped like
! nothing in particular and pasted over
with the gaudiest of gaudy wall papers.
On this the corpse is eventually Gre
mated, the ash being collected in an
urn for deposit in the Kyoung to which
the Phoongyee belonged, or, if his rank
was sufficiently high, as the foundation
for an umbrella-topped pagoda. Ranged
on the four sides of the rectangle are
sheds occupied by Phoongyees from
the neighboring villages. The pupils Of
each of these Phoongyees bring 'py-
athat," 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 a 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 fur
nished Burmanized version of an Eng
lish lady, not forgetting the sunshade.
Another villages exhibitor that is
what they resolve themselves into-was
a Chin, all made with little shelf to
hold the coffin. The Myook, in some
cases a sadow, high priest, I suppose
occupies a shed on the side of the rec.
tangis opposite the pyre. At a given sig.
nal, the beat of deep-toned gong, the
taboots are brought one by one from
their places to the shed of the Phongyee
Byan president, having taken on Its
way the coffin from the platform (the
coffin being more or less securely
fastened to the 'pyathats"). I may add
that the villagers who carry the "pya
that's" generally form themselves into
a band of dancers called "hanpwe."
Almost everyone in Burmah is familiar
with the contortions of hand and body
that constitute the Burman dance, sc
1 will not infict you with description
of the details of the hans" beyond
mentioning that one batch are known
as the "bap dab ham," another as the
"Ghetty ham," the poe thi daw han,
and so on. Well, arrived at the princi
pal shed, the band of dancers arrange
themselves before the "pyathat," and
begin sensuous dance to a chorus that
goes with lit and is simply irresisti
BILE to the gay Burman, the coffin mean
while being hustled in its perch as the
bearers sway to and fro in wild rhythm
to the weird music. After all the
"pyathats" have had their turn, the
body is taken out of the coffin and
burned, and everyone goes home jovial'
ly drunk. do not pretend to know
how things are done in other parts OF
Burmah, but this is how I see them
done in Salin and Sinbyugyun. Sew.
eral free fights, ending in broken heads
took place between villagers carrying
"pyathats." There is some mystic ri.
valry at the bottom.
The first time I saw 'byan" here
thought it Interestingly savage; the sec.
ond it was savage only, and have never
been to third. Crowds, dust and
drunkards do not form combination
with sufficient attractions for me. The
township officer, Mg Po Than, was very
much in evidence during the proceed
ings, 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 to
be kept in order, as the majority of
them were as drunk as fish. One of the
guardians of the peace fell foul of a
"pyathat," and almost pulled it to bits,
to the rage of the phoongyee proprie'
tor, who could not understand the on
slaught, as his pupils were going along
peacefully enough. Why will the police
get drunk on the few occasions on
which they are called upon to be soberP
The not uncommon spectacle in these
jungles of preternaturally sober po-
liceman staggering along with hope
lessly drunken villager at the end of a
chain has always seemed to me the best
practical illustration of the figure OF
speech known as "irony."-Times OF
Burmah.
A GoIdash KaIeidoscope,