The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-07-27
The Road to Mandalay
uI-The Indolent Burmese.
By Frederic J. Hsskin.

Rangoon, Burma.-In Burma one sees
more color in costuming than in Japan.
more incOrrigibla laziness than in Hawaii.
and more general prosperity than IN any
othef country outside Of Canada and the
United states. Like the lilies OF the field.
the Burmese are aTrayed in glory an
their own, and seemingly with little more
eftort than Is expended By the lilies, espe-
claliy IL one leaves the women out Of tn
discussion. If all the tribes that inhabit
TINS country, from its highest hills TO It's
--LATEST coasts should amalgamate into a
nation and write q national song, the re-
Train would doubtless be: Let the Women
DO the Work But from this it should
not De inferred thar the women OF Burma
are dull-eyed, hard-driven beasts Of bur
den Upon the contrary, they are birds
or irldescent plumage with Prismatic
views of life-coquettes I'm girlhOOd and
by no means frumps in middle life.
one reason for the racial disregard for
work Is that fl a considerable part OF
Burma Providence has snOwered the gift
OF plentiful harvest at the cost OF
minimum of labor. Another, and by no
means negligible, reason is that the Bur
mese are unconscious followers OF Wag-
ner's Simple Life" Aside from his ten
dency TO pale the rainbow and dim the
effulgenCe Of the heavenly bodies with the
splencor of his raiment, the Burman Is
man who wants but little here below. II
he is a piOus Buddhist. by the way, he
wants rather less than art o that IN
llC luLuIt- his highest nope Is lDt MI
Nana or nOthingnesss as reward Tor
the merit he has acquired in this and other
lives.
The Burmese are almost wholly an agri-
cultural people. In the rich deltaic region,
which Providence ordained should be
great paddy" field and which has
made RangOOn the world 8 first rice
port. there exists a peculiar combination
OF soil, climate and rainfall which results
in rice being produced almost Ia Dor free,
| To begin with, the creator fashioned the
mouths Of Burma rivers fan shaped. Their
various outlets gridiron the coast that
far out at sea steamers pillow through a
coffee cQlOred liquid composed in three
parts of silt These streams have their
sources in the outer ramparts Of the Him
alayas, and drain uneNplored areas OF
forest country where great herds OF ele-
plants are unmolested by hunters with
modern firearms.
The rich alluviaI soil in the deltas OF
| these rivers is ideally situated for rice
culture and the rainfall is so unfailing
I that the rice receives the right amount or
flooding without effort upon the part Of
the grower. Full advantage is taken Of
| these happy conditions and with very
little work large crops are harvested. In
other parts of the country there are good
opportunities to get d living easily, and
because of the contentment Of the Bur
mese with very little worldly goods and
simple pleasures, the maxim let well
enough alone is the slogan of the masses
Practically every Individual in Burma
reads and writes. This is due TO a system
Of free education extending to the sms Hest
villages. and giving equal opportunities
to the richest and poorest families. The
Burmese are Buddhists only - per cent
Of the population holding other creeds.
The schOOlmasters are the Buddhist
priests. who are supported by the people
and who in turn, keep the light of learn
ing aflame gratis. Wherever one goes in
Burma the monk is a distinctive feature
of the landscape. He wears a yellow
robe, not unlike a Roman tOga. keeps his
head closely shaver and carries q huge
palm leaf fan or umbrella 10 ward off the
actinic rays of the tropical sun. Every
BuTman spends a part Of his life as
priest. The minimum is one day, but the
more commonly accepted low limit Of
service IN the priesthood is three days,
one for each Of his parents and one for
the requirement of individual merit
Priests ten or twelve years old may be
boys who expect to devote themselves to
the calling permanently, or merely lads
going through the formalities Of obliga-
tory priesthood
Because the land is productive. and the
population per square mile small, the Bur
man is as independent a lord of the soil
as one could find. His farm is usually
small and his methods are nearly always
primitive. but ne is not seeking an Oppor-
tunity to change his way of life He de-
clines mental service absolutely. There
are no Burmese domestic servants, cab
men or coolies in the Anglo-Indian city
of RangOOu. In rural Burma the man
who hires himself to a fellow cOuntryman
for farm labor ranks low in the social
scale. Every family desires to live upon
its own patch Of ground.
Women as the owners OF shops IN the
bazars Of RangOon, Mandalay, MOulmein
and smaller cities are the RUE rather than
the exception. The social fabric is held
together by the willingness Of the women
/ TO supply the family with food and raj
ment. 1t is therefore said Of the Burman
20 nmuum
for a provider He is even less given TO
saving than to shaving His wOmankind
have a keen instinct for holding TO what
comes their way, and find the life Of the
bazars not unattractive. as each is q ia
vOrite place Of gossip and a considerable
feature of social life Behind a tiny booth.
embrOiderins and chatting by turns, and
almost always smoking a white cheTOOt
nearly q foot long, the Burma girl in her
I teens is as much out in society and
[ Tin the matrimonial market as an Amer
lean girl who has formally entered the
lists Of the unchOsen at reception or
ball to which all Of the desirable young
men of the town are invited.
In Burma there is little meddling with
marriage arrangements by the parents of
the contracting parties. As rule the
mating of the young IS the result of court
ships similar in essentials to those of the
western countries. but differing in details.
[ There II no visiting at the girls home.
no sitting out upon vine-clad verand8hs.
or waking 10 the DUSK or moonlight ! he
young man may converse with 4 girl in
the bazars. If he and she are urbanites,
or i'm the fields If they are ruralists. He
may come, later. to the windows Of her
home and under the chaperOnage Of an
unseen but ever present member Of her
family, give her sweetmeats or verses
paving tribute to her especial type OF
I real or imagined loveliness. He may re-
I Ceive verses In return, but the parlor sofa
and the red-shaded piano lamp are IN
[ known to him. The poetry written by
Romeo and Juliet in Burma is often
crudely done, but always delicate in sen
timent-
Marriage rites vary in the different
tribes, hut divorce offers easy escape from
calling letters in all of them One Burma
girl is q wife when she has eaten rice
from a dish with her sweetheart. An
other Is married when she and the young
man have said so in the presence Of mem
bers Of their families. and a third when a
T bit of string has been tied about her fin
+ ger with the sanction Of her parents. But
each becomes a divorce upon public
complaint of III treatment and pTOclama-
ton Of separation.
AS If in recognition OF her worth from
/ an economic point Of view, as we'll as
/ from reasons Of chivalry, the Burman
/ has protected the rights Of his women in
J a manner strange to the east. Widows.
/ for example. are exempt from taxation.
. in all provinces the women go unveiled
/ On public. and in one the men are secluded
+ before marriage while the maidens are