Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-04-23

where parents object the young people
elope and go off TO themselves. There
are few marriages for money.
The marriage is a civil ceremony
and Il has nothing 10 do with religion.
IL is a social and business partnership
rather than a moral contract. and
many marriages are entered into with
out any ceremony at all Among some
people the wedding is kept secret FOR
a time. for the young couple do not
like TO be stared al nor have stones
thrown on their housorOOfs. as Is some
times the custom. a girl does not
change her name when she marries,
and there is nothing about her to show
whether she Is married or not She
wears no marriage ring, and she still,
as / have said. keeps her own property
She can act for herself In a business
way and she frequently acts for her
husband She can sign deeds, lend or
borrow money and make any kind Of
arrangements as to buying or selling.
with all this the woman do not mix
I'm public affairs. They make no fuss
about their rights. and the Burmese
suffragette is yet unborn. Such girls
as / have seen are modest and lady
like They are spccting, but not
independent nor forward.
wOMAN'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 proper
~ distinct from her husband She
manages her own money, and has am
equal right with her husband I'm an
that they make together during their
married life. She has right 70 her
own earnings. and IN divorced she
takes back an the money she has
brought into the family and half of
what has been accumulated since the
wedding
As 10 divorces. these are not difficult
OF attainment on either side OF tho
family. Any disconnected husband
or wife may go before the elders and
claim a separation. and II Is seldom re-
fused.
There are also special grounds for
divorce n tho husband IS idle or lazy
the wife can claim separation II he
IS unable 10 support her. n he rs al
ways ailing. or becomes n cripple after
his marriage she can demand that the
marriage tie be broken. and the same
is true II he ill-treats her In any way.
on the other hand, the husband has,
also. plenty Of grounds for divorce. n
his Wife does not love him, N she visits
places 10 which he objects, and II she
persistently dlsobeys him. he may
claim his freedom. The same is alRo
true n she gives him no boys Not
withstanding 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 q wife is called run
away. while a divorced woman Is said
to be always anxious 70 marry again.
Indeed marriage IS considered tho host
statc for woman, one OF their proverbs
being as follows:
Monks are beautiful when they are
lean four-rootcd animals when they
are fat. men when they are learned
and women whenthey arc married"
EASY HOUSEKEEPING.
Tho burmese wife has Tower house
keeping troubles than her American
sister. m she belongs to the weli-tu-do
classes She has servants. and n not
she has but little hard work The ore
binary house is built of wood or bam-
boo raised upon posts about eight feet
apart 10 has n voruuda iu front. With
steps leading To the rooms overhead
Tho floors are NJ thin plauldpg or baW-
boo canes, and the roof is Of thatch or
leaves. The whole is simple to AN exc
INfIII'. Ilf IINAnH mas I|N tut IIIt NI' 'II
our sense of the word Tile people
sleep upon mats and rest their heads
on bamboo pillows. There ls little
sweeping 90 DO. and tho most of tho
cooking is on fires out Of doors. The
cooking utensils usually consist OF two
or three carthon pots, lu addition TO
which are some Jars for water and
several cocoanut ladies. Most ~ the
people use neither knives nor forks.
Tho staple food OF the Burmese o.
rice. which IS boiled or steamed, and
eaten with fish pasto and peppers.
Nothing is drunk with the meals. aud
after them only water. But few Of
the Burmese eat meat. for ii is con-
trarv 10 the Buddhist religion 20 com
sumo ANYTHING that has life. the chief
exception being fish which is eaten
fresh dried and also when rotted by
buryinR n I'm the sand A favoritc dish
Is a fish curry with rice. The family
usually sit around the rice dish, each
having little bowl for curry and a
larger one for rice Every one helps
himself taking from the rice platter
as much az he can squeeze In his
hands He conveys the food 10 his
mouth In his hands AZ the close Of