The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1899-09-29
PHOONGYEE BYAN :
IN THE COUNTRY OF sURMAH THIS
CORRESPONDS TO AN IRISH WAKE.
They Spend the Time Howling, and


They Spend the Time HOwling, and
Indulging in Obscene Jests, Be-
slowing at Intervals Expressions Of
Sorrow on the Dear Departed.
A "phoongyee byan" corresponds to
an Irish wake. The gilded coffin con-
tanning the body OF the deceased
phoongyee (pries) in layers Of pull
verified charcoal is placed with a great
deal OF pomp and much circumstance
on a platform twenty-five feet above
the ground in the centre of large rec
tangle in some open space near the vii
lage. In Sinbyugyun the bed OF the
brook, west of the village. serves this
purpose excellently. Later on the :. o.
pie drink the water of the brook. II =
platform is occupied as long as thu
show lasts by young men in different
states of intoXication and with faces
fantastcally parti-colored. They spend
their time bowling, dancing, beating
drums, clashing cymbals and indulgins
in obscene jests. bestowing at intervals
most eXtravagant expressions Of sor-
row on the dear and sacred departed,
all with no more apparent object than
to raise laugh a mile around.
At one corner OF the rectangle is a
huge pyre of bamboo, shaped like moth
ing in particular and pasted over with
the guadlest Of gaudy wall papers. On
this the corpse is eventually cremated,
the ashed being collected in an urn for
deposit in the kyoung to which the
. hIAnuYna hplnngpn
was sufficiently high, as the foundation
for an umbrella-topped pagoda. Rang
ed on the four sides Of the rectangle
are sheds occupied by phOongyees
from the neighboring villages The pu-
pills Of each of these phoongyees bring
a "pyathat." a towering structure OF
the ever-useful bamboo. with a sort of
shelf on the top to hold q coffin. pre-
sumably 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 taboois are Of different shapes,
some like elephants. others like China
men, says the Times OF Burmah. One
enterprising village furnished a Bur-
manized version OF an English 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, | suppose, ocCu-
pies a shed on the side of the rectan-
gle opposite the pyre. At a given sig
nal, the beat of deep-tuned gong, the
taboots are brought one by one from
their places to the shed of the phoon-
gyee byan president having taken on
its way the coffin from the platform
(the coffin being more or less securely
fastened to the "pyathatsO. | may add
that the villagers who carry the "pya-
that's generally form themselves in
TO band of dancers, called a "hanp-
we"
Almost every one IN Burmah is ia
miliar with the contortions Of hand
and body that constitute the Burman
dance, so | will not inlict you with
description of the details OF the hans"
beyond mentioning that one branch
are known as the Chiefly han" the
poe thi daw han" and so on Well,
arrived at the principal shed the band
of dancers arrange themselves before
the "pyathat' and begin a sensuous
dance to a chorus that goes with a lit,
and is simply Irresistible to the gay
Burman, the coffin meanwhile 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 every
one goes home joyially drunk. | do
not pretend to know how things are
done in other parts of Burmah. but
this is how | see them done in Salin
and Sinbyuyun. Several free fights,
ending in broken heads, took place be-
tween villagers carrying "pyathats.
There is some mystic rivalry at the
bottom.