El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-04-23
FRANK G. CARPENTERS LETTER.

and make any kind of arrangements as
to buying or selling
With all this the women do not mix
in public affairs. They make no fuss
about their rights, and the Burmese suf-
fra gette is yet unborn Such girls as
I have seen are modest and ladylike-
They are respecting, but not indie
pendent nor forward.
Women's Rights in Burma.
The rights of a woman after her mar
riage are well protected. The women
are the chief workers and money
makers, and woman can hold property
distinct from her husband. She man
ages her own money, and has an equal
right with her husband in all that they
make together during their married
life She has a right to her own earn
all the money she has brought into
the family and half of what has been
accumulated since the wedding
AS to divorces these are not difficult
of obteinment on either side of the fam
lily. Any disconnected husband or wife
may go before the elders and claim
separation, and il is seldom refused
There are also special grounds for
divorce. If the husband is idle or lazy
the wife can claim separation. If he
is unable to support her, if he is al
ways ailing, or becomes a cripple after
his marriage. she can demand that the
marriage tie be broken and the same
is true if he i'll treats her in any way.
On the other hand. the husband has.
also plenty of grounds for divorce If
his wife does not love him, if she visits
places to which he objects, and if she
persistently disobeys him, he may claim
his freedom. The same is also true if
she gives him no boys Nothwithstand-
ing all this, divorces are not much more
common than in the United States. They
are hardly respectable, and the man who
enters a monastery 10 get rid of
wife is called a run away, while di-
vcrced woman is said to be always anx-
fous to marry again. Indeed, marriage
is considered the best state for wom-
an. one of their proverbs being as fol-
lows:
Monks are beautiful when they are
lean. four-footed animals when they are
fat, men when they ARE learned and
" omen when they are married.
Easy Housekeeping.
The Burmese wife has fewer house
keeping troubles than her American
sister If she belongs to the well-to-dO
classes she has servants. and if not, she
has but little hard work. The ordinary
house is built of wood or bamboo raised
upon posts about eight feet apart. 1t
has a veranda in front, with steps lead
ing to the rooms overhead The floors
are Of thin planking or bamboo canes,
and the roof is of thatch or leaves. The
whole is simple TO an extreme The
house has no furniture in our sense OF
the word. The people sleep upon mats
and rest their heads on bamboo pillows.
There is little sweeping to do, and the
most of the cooking is on fires out OF
doors. The cooking utensils usually
consist of two or three earthen pots, in
addition to which are some jars for
water and several cocoanut ladies' Most
Of the people use neither knives nor
forks
The staple food of the Burmese is
rice, which is boiled or steamed. and
eaten with fish paste and peppers
Nothing is drunk with the meals, and |
after them only wafer. But few of
the Burmese eat meat, for it is con- |
trary to the Buddhist religion to con-
sumo anything that has life, the chief |
exception being fish. which is eaten |
fresh, dried and also when rotted by |
burying it in the sand y favorite dish is |
a fish curry with rice The family usually |
sit around the rice dish each having a |
little bowl for curry and larger one |
for rice. Every one helps himself. TAX
ing from the rice platter as much as he
can squeeze in his hands. He conveys
the food to his mouth in his hands. At
the close of the meal everyone is ex-
pected to wash his own dishes and
each goes TO the water jar to rinse out
his mouth The meals are more like
picnics than anything else.
Education of Women.
Until the English came to Burma
only the fewest of-the women could
read and write. There are not many
who can do so now. The government
has established schools for girls in
the large towns. but in the villages
they seldom exist, and the monks can