Norwich bulletin., 1921-12-22

men, and children's appearance is the inevitable +whakin' white cheroot.' It is said that mother often transfers her lighted cigar from her own mouth to that of the wee child in her arms; and no lady would start on a dress parade without taking a necessary stock of smokes to supply her while she is out. This cheroOt is more like an over grown cigarette than anything else, and is/said to contain but small portion oR the real tobacco leaf.
 Another Burman cutom common to boys, girls, men and women is kun chewing. The Burman has been said to smoke between chews and chew between smokes, but to have little time for anything else. The betel nut is chopped fine, red lime paste is spread on a certain kind of astringent leaf and all are jammed into the mouth together. Then the chewing be- gins. To extract the last bit of fla vor from the combination, the chew CT comforts his face while his cheeks puff out more and more, until final ly discomfort compels him to start again with a fresh charge
 '+The Burman has pride that makes him in his own estimation second to none on earth. He is descended from angels who came on earth and gradual ly adopted the ways of human beings His kings, before the days of Thebaw and his queen, Supiyawlat, had com plete power over their subjects and wore a list of titles which make the letter r-abbreviations of orders after the name of a British celebrity seem few by comparison. These potentates were content, however, to be known as the Lord of the White Elephant for short.
 There is no elaborate caste system among the Burmans 1a that which | proves curse among tAe HindUs, but certain classes are outcastS; the pa goda slave remains a pagoda slave gen. erauon in and generation out; a grave digger never hopes to rise above his occupation and his benighted social | position; and the lepers, beggars and | the deformed or maimed are believed to suffer the stigma of some terrible l sin of a former eXistance.
 ''The Burman is the cIeanliest and dressiest Of the races of his country,
 but his gaudy silk shirt is on indica- 1 ton that his pockets will give forth 1 the merry tinlIle of coin. In this sparse i ly populated country one finds Tala- l lngs, Shans, Karens, Kachins, and the Chins, whose manner of dressing would call forth little comment if they would
 only keep their clothes on.
 'As strict Buddhists these people
 are not supposed to take life in any
 form, special and uncomfortable hells being reserved for fishermen and hunt
 CTS; but few of them manifest any un- | willingness to eat the quarry when ii
 is served as food.
 One respect in which the Burmese | shine as a people among the other l Orientals is in the position of theil
 women. Though they consider a man
 far superior to a woman, and though her fondest hope is that she may be | born to this high estate in some future
 existence, sine walks the streets in all-
 solute freedom and puffs her cheroot
 to her hearts content. She takes part
 in and quite often has complete charge
 of. the business affairs of the family
 retailing her wares in a stall in a ba-
 zaar or market, figuring her accounts
 in her head-for she never has any
 schooling-and meeting her husbands
 friends on the same plane with hin
 in the household.
 | "Courtship in Burma is a more. oDer and natural filtration than it is in al.
 most any other part of the East. The young man usually fnarifests his in.
 terest at one of pagoda feasts by shy