Evening star., 1921-07-25
BURMA Of CHEROOT
| FAME MAY Be FREE
New Government Likely to
Follow Changes in Custom
in Pagoda Land.

There is to be change in the gov
ernment of Burma. following the re-
cent reshaping Of the governmental
machinery of India. according to dis
patches from London. where a COM
mittee Of parliament has been con-
sidering whether a constitution shall
be granted and even whether the
country should eventually be severed
from the empire. That there have
p"itical fields is brought out in the
Following bulletin of the National
Geographic Society. issued from its
washington headquarters:
Recently in Burma. the old pagan
order of things has been passing. and
modern ethical ideas and manners are
gradually seeping into the oriental
MIND and replacing many picturesque
and amusing customs" says the bull
letin.
Perhaps the most characteristic
concomitant of the Burmese mems,
women's and children's appearance is
the inevitable 'whackin' white
cheroot.' 1t is said that a mother
often transfers her lighted cigar from
her own month to that of the wee
child in her arms; and no lady would
start on a dress parade without TAX
ing necessary stock of Smokes to
supply her while she is out. This
cheroot is more like an overgrown
cigarette than anything else. and is
said to contain but a small portion
Of the real tobacco leaf.
Women Not Only Smoke, But Chew.
"Anoher Burman custom 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
s chopped fine,~ a red lime paste is
spread on certain kind of astring-
ent leaf and all are jammed into the
mouth together. Then the chewing be-
gins To extract the last bit Of flavor
rom the combination the chewer
comforts his face while his cheeks
Jun out more and more. until finally
discomfort compels him to start again
with fresh charge
The Burman has q pride that
.Iiakes him, in his own estimation,
second to none on earth He is de-
scended from angels who came on
earth and gradually adopted the ways
of human beings. His kings, before
the days of Thebaw and his queen.
Supiyawlat, had complete power over
their subjects and wore list Of titles
which make the letter abbreviaNons
of orders after the name of a British
celebrity seem few by comparison.
These potentates were content, how
ever. to be known as Lords of the
White Elephant for short.
There is no elaborate caste system
among the Burmans like that which
proves a curse anon the Hindus, bgut
certain classes are outcasts; the
pagoda slave remains a pagoda slave
generation in and generation out; a
grave digger never hopes to rise
above his occupation and his benight
ed social position; and the lepers.
beggars and the deformed or manned
are believedy to suffer the stigma of
some terrible sin of a former exist
"The Burman is the cleanliest and
dressiest of the races of his country. but
his gaudy silk shirt is no indication that
his pockets will give forth the merry
tinkle of coin. In this sparsely popu
lated country one finds Halaings, Shans.
Karens. Kachins and the Chins. whose
manner of dressing would call forth lti-
tie comment if they would only keep their
clothes on.
LAS strict Buddhists. these people are
not supposed to take life in any form,
special and uncomfortable hells being
reserved for fishermen and hunters; but
few of them manifest any unwillingness
to eat the quarry when 1t Is served as
food
"One respect in which the Burmese
shine as a people among the other ORR
entails is in the position of their women
Though they consider a man far superior
to a Goman. and though her fondest hope
is that she may be born to this high
estate in some future existence, she
walks the streets in absolute freedom
and puffs her cheroot to her hearts con-
tent She takes part in. and quite often
has complete charge of, the business af
fairs of the family. retailing her wares
in a stall in a bazaar or market, figuring
her accounts in her head-for she never
has any schooling-and meeting her hus-
bands friends on the same plane with
him in the household.
No Ban ON Flirting.
"Courtship in Burma is a more open
and natural filtration than it is in al
young man usually manifests his inter-
est at one Of the pagoda feasts by shy
attentions; he then calls in company
with his boy friends to find that the
young lady with bevy Of her friends is
awaiting him. He means business. how
ever, and If the families consent he per-
suades her to eat a meal with him in
public and by virtue of this procedure
his bachelorhood Is brought to an abrupt
end.
before the young girl in Burma
makes her debut she must have her ears
pierced for earrings The holes are kept
open and enlarged by wearing IN them
glass or metal tubes Of increasing size
until they are half an inch in diameter.
capable Of carrying weights similar to
the decorations worn by the South Sea
islanders. In olden times the fashion
demanded much larger holes than those
in vogue at the present time, and many
an old Burmese lady uses hers as hold
ers for her cheroots, somewhat after the
American doughboy's conceit Of wearing
a fag behind his ear.
"a dead man in Burma always pays
his fare across the mystic river Of death
>~l- I-I - q - -
mouth. Tho curse that rests on grave
diggers as a class probably comes from
the fact that most of the men Of this
trade have no scruples about digging
the poor wretches up for their coins. 1t
Is believed that this causes the spirits
Of the disturbed ones to return to this
world to suffer all the ills that the Bur-
man imagination can conjure up for