'-•^^_ CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY JOHN M. ECHOLS Collection on Southeast Asia Cornell University Library DS 527.4.S42 1911 Burma :a handbook of practical Informati 3 1924 011 680 455 Cornell University Library The original of tliis bool< is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31 92401 1 680455 BURMA Fiist Edition igo6 Second Edition igii BURMA: A Handbook OF Practical Information BY Sir J. GEORGE SCOTT, K.C.I.E. Willi Special Articles by Recognised Anihorities on Burma NEW AND REVISED EDITION WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS BY THE AUTHOR AND OTHERS ALEXANDER MORING LTD, THE DE LA MORE PRESS 32 GEORGE STREET, HANOVER SQUARE, W. 191 1 PREFACE There have been ini miles long and 35 broad, through which the Tanai flows, later to be called the Chindwin. The greater part of this tangle of hills is, if not pathless, at anyrate untrodden by us. The 3000 or 4000 foot ridges, which begin north of the con- fluence of the Irrawaddy, vise steadily to the north, but we have made few incursions into them. So far we have taken nothing under administration north of 26° 30' north latitude, and the country south of this has been divided into forty tracts. The mass of hills has a general north and south arrangement, intersected by valleys, all leading to the Irrawaddy, which drains the countiy with its two main streams, the Mali and the Nmai \'alleys, nearly as regular and numerous as the spines of a fish. The country within the forty administered tracts is roughly estimated at 19,177 square miles. Only 64,405 Kachins were enumerated in the 1901 census, but the number of our technical subjects is probably treble that total. Northern Districts. — The four districts of Myitkyina, the Upper Chindwin, Bhamo, and Katha form the ap- proaches to the hills, and are cut up into strips by parallel ranges, forming the underfalls of the Chin and Kachin Hills. They are either a sci-een, or a barrier, or a ladder to the savage hills, according to the point of view. The ])opulation is mostly not Burmese, or at anyrate not pure Burmese. There are Kachins, Shans, Kadus, Bur- mese Shans, Chinese Shans, and some settlements of of Assamese. The area of the four districts extends to 40,842 square miles, of which the Upper Chindwin claims nearly one-half. They contain some valuable teak forests, and enclosed in the Upper Chindwin are the two Shan statelets of Hsawnghsup and Singkaling Hkamti. DRY ZONE 7 The Dry Zone.— The first subdivibiun of Central Burma is tlic so-called Dry Zone, which extends from the Arakan Yoma to tlie foot of the Shan Plateau. It includes the districts of the Lower Chindwin, Shwebo, Sagaing, Man- dalay, Kyaukse, Meiktila, "^'amethin, Myingyan, Magwe, Pakokku, and Minbu, and is practically bisected by the Irrawaddy River. It is a country of long slopes and gentle ridges, covered with a scrub jungle of thin, stunted trees and prickly bushes. Everything is in a minor scale : the hills are comparatively mere undulations, except where the Pegu Yomas rise to the south, and the one consider-able peak, Popa Hill, which is volcanic ; the trees do not exceed a height of from 10 to 30 feet, and the driest of dr}^ bamboos cover long stretches. Still, it is very different from the vast levels which stretch away from the base of the Himalayas in India. It is rather a rolling upland, with broad, shallow, sandy channels to represent the rivers, always without running water except after heavy rain, and discharging themselves into the Irrawaddy and the Sittang, called the Paunglaung in this part of its course. The Dry Zone begins immediately north of the old frontier of Lower Burma, and covers from the twentieth to the twenty-second parallel of latitude. The districts included in it have an area of 36,367 square miles. The Irrawaddy Delta. — The Irrawaddy Delta extends from the Arakan to the Pegu Yomas, from Prome as an apex, to the sea. There are a few swelling grounds, such as the Pegu Yoma, but otherwise it is a vast, level, monotonous plain. The undulations run north and south, and are covered with dense forest, intermingled with bamboos, fading away into elephant grass and cane brakes, but otherwise it is a stretch of rice-land, or land which might and will be rice-land. Burmese, M6n, and Hkmer traditions all represent the deltas of the Irrawaddy, Sittang, Salween, Menam, and Mekhong as having been under the waters of the sea. Thaton was on the seashore when it was founded, and Prome is said to have been raised out of the waves. The ocean is represented as having retired so recently as two or three centuries after the commencement of the Christian era. The Irrawaddy 8 BURMA Delta districts are Tliarrawaddy, Ilanthawaddy, Pegu, Uangoon, Hcnzada, Maubin, Bassein, Myauiiguiya, and Tliongwa. The districts of Thayetmyo and Prome are really outside of the Delta, and lie between it and the Dry Zone, but they may be conveniently included in this subdivision. With this addition the total area is 33,214 square miles. , It is the marrow of the country, the trea- sure-house of the province. The Sittang Tract. — To the east of the Pegu Yomas lies the Sittang drainage system. Geographicall}' this is part of the Irrawaddy basin, but it is separated by natural features as well as administratively. The area is hilly in the north, sloping gradually down to broad, fertile plains towards the mouth of the Sittang and the confluence of the Salween, Gyaing, and Attaran. In includes the dis- tricts of Toungoo, Shwegyin, Thaton, Salween Hill tracts, and the northern parts of Amherst, with an area of about 25,500 square miles. Tenasserim. — Like Arakan, with which it shares the dis- tinction of being the first portion of Burma to become British territory, Tenasserim is a narrow strip of territory between the Bay of Bengal and a range of hills, the range which divides Burma from Siam. Like the Shan States to the north, of which Tenasserim is a seaward prolongation, it is very hilly, in some places almost mountainous, and is scored with the deep-scooped chann'els of many streams. The chief islands of the Mergui Archipelago are Maingv, St Matthew's, Kissering, and King's Island, sheltering Mergui town. A very few are cultivated, some not so much as formerly. There is nothing to compare with them as a cluster of islands, except Halong Bay, in Tong- king. Perhaps there is less that is fantastic, but there is no yielding in contrast and striking beauty ; wooded holms, rocky craigs, great, broad-shouldered hills half submerged for a bath ; ba3's, bights, coves, kyles like those of Bute ; forelands, bluffs, hummocks, blank rock faces ; cascades leaping sheer from the rocky brow ; cataracts drawing a line like a chalk mark on a billiard cloth down the hillside; silver beaches and granite precipices; deep- furrowed sandstone or conivhinicrate capes and pro- montories on the inner islands, and bold, porphyry walls to SHAN STATES 9 meet the strons;er seas outside — all covered with a ijar- imnt of excry sliatle of green. The}' « ould be visited by streams of sii;litseers if they were not off toin-ists' routes and these did not all flock to Japan. Tenasserim includes the districts of Mergui and Tavoy, with the southern j)ortion of Amherst^ and has an area of about 18,200 square miles. The pojjulation is largely Mon, or Talaing, but there are many Burmese, Karens, Shans, and not a few Siamese, while the Selungs cling to the islands. The Shan States. — The Shan States broadly form a triangle, with its base on the plains of Burma and the apex on the Mekhong. In this subdivision the Ruby Mines district geographically is included on the north and the Karen-ni States on the south. The physical features of the Ruby Mines or Mogok district are precisely those of tiie Shan Stales. The [lopulation is largely Danu, Kachin, Palaung, or Shan. The district has an area of ,5476 square miles. The area of the Karen-ni States is included in the 59,915 square miles of the Shan States. The five states have a separate ai-ea of a little more than 3000 square miles. The hill ranges are crushed in here between the Salween and the jilains of Burma, and, except for the levej plain of north-western Karen-ni, there is no flat land in tha Red Karen country. Although the Shan States, broadly speaking, present the appearance of a ploughed field — north and south ranges alternating with valleys, the main ridges and the chief rivers alike descending fan-wise from llie high steppes of Tibet — yet there is enough variety to prevent the mono- tony of the curry-comb or the nutmeg grater. The tendency of the mountain ridges is to spread themselves into spurs and excrescent ledges, and to fade away as the ribs of a leaf fade into the texture, but this is checked first of all by the Salween and by tlie Mekhong, and later, when these edge away from one another, by the various .large affluents. Wherever there is room, however, they expand, and tend to create a jjlateau. The main Shan Plateau begins on the north about the middle of old Hsenwi State, extends westward, roughly speaking to the hills above Mandala), and narrows in towards the south on 10 BURMA the borders of Muug Nai and Mawkmai States. It has thus roughly the semblance of a knobkerry or a misshapen jargonelle pear. In addition to this theie are everywhere old lake beds. The abundant streams at first could not form channels, and so gnawed out spaces for themselves. In the course of ages they burst their boundaries, cut gorges through the hills, and left flat-bottomed valleys and plains behind, which now form the most fertile and prosperous states. Some of these are round, some oval, or torpedo-shaped, some indented like a string of sausages or a, daisy chain. The process may be seen in miniature during the course of a march up the course of many a mountain stream. The Yawnghwe Lake is the only important sheet of water remaining, and it is gi'adually shrinking. Mong Nai and Kengtiing have some tarns lingering as vestiges of the old great inland meres, and the Deluge traditions among most of the hill tribes bear testimony to the existence of the others. The Salween alone, like the arrowy Rhone, flows main south down a gorge which might have been cleft by a giant's plough- share. The majority of the parallel ranges have a height of be- tween 4000 and 5000 feet, rising to peaks of 6000 or 7000. The highest peak is that of Loi Ling, in South Hsenwi, which rises to 8842 feet. The hills between the Salween and the Mekhong are higher, and the country more cramped, than on the hither side of the Salween. The whole face of the country, without distinction, where it is left to nature, is covered with vegetation, sometimes so dense that nothing but an elephant can force a way through it, sometimes scanty where the roots cleave rocks asunder and clamp stones together in the struggle to hold on till the rains enable them to creep farther afield and gain new size and strength. There are no marshes, no sandy plains, no bare steppes, no Southern Atlantic savannahs, nothing like what we should call a pasturage, except where the hand of man, with infinite labour and toil, has won the soil for his own purposes, chiefly by calling fire to his aid. The valleys are chequered with the ridges of the paddy fields, the lower slopes are cut into terraces and irrigated by streams, the higher MOUNTAINS 11 slopes are shoi'ii clean for the cultivation of hill rice, or cotton, or popp}'. But the projiortion of cultivated land is vastly smaller than that of the primitive forest, and the jungle creeps back in a few years over all land left fallow. It is only in the main plateau and in the Myelat, where there has been regular cultivation for hundreds of years, that there is any appearance of grassy downs. There persistence has killed the tree roots, the wide clearances have dried up the springs, and forced the streams below the ground. In the more hilly country this is impossible. There is an infinity of torrents — some flowing in dark, densely wooded ravines ; some zigzagging between hills set like cogwheels ; soine racing down hillsides with a slope like that of a toboggan slide — but all causing vegetation to gi-ow with the rapidity of the mushroom. In the dry season they dwindle to brooklets or shrink to easily fordable streams, wandering over sandy beds dotted with massive boulders, or over wide expanses of shingle or jagged rocks, or gathering in deep crystal pools, but in the rains they become foaming torrents, dashing liigh up slippery rocks, or raging floods carrying away trees and bushes, full of eddies and whirlpools, and absolutely impassable till the flush has passed. Along such stream beds, between beetling crags and densely wooded slopes, the Shan in former days loved to make his roads, shaded by gigantic forest trees, covered to their top with flowers, or gemmed with orchids clinging to their stem. Even now he often would rather plash along their uneven beds in the cool, clear water with his bullocks than follow the smooth but dull monotony of the roads cut along the banks. Mountains. — The mountains which wall in Burma on three sides, start from the tableland of High Asia, and roughly assume the form of a pitchfork, with the basin of the Irrawaddy between the prongs. The base of the pitchfork is ' the lofty range, due east of Sadiya, in north-eastern Assam, from which the Irrawaddy takes its rise in the shape of a number of streams of consider- able size and no great length, uniting to form the Mali and the 'Nmai Hka. The western prong, beginning from the alps of Zayul, the land of the eartlien pots, runs south- 12 BURMA west fairly regular!}' along the Nam Kin Mountains, the hills of the Singpho and the Putkoi Range, the Naga Hills, Angoching Range, east of Manipur, the Chin Hills, and so to the Arakan Yoma. The eastern prong starts very slim on the lofty ridge which divides the Salween from the 'Nmaika, curves west somewhat, to be cut by the valley of the Taping and Nam Mao (Shweli) Rivers, and then in revenge, sweeping east, overpasses the Salween- Mekhong Watershed, so that in this portion the prong is like a barbed fishing spear, to return again to the Salween Watershed, which runs down the Malay Peninsula. The highest known peaks are those of Sabu and Warang, in the S.dween-'Nmaika Range, which are 11,200 feet above sea-level, and the general altitude here and in the Namkiu (Irrawaddy Mountains) is not far short of this. Liklang, the highest peak of the Arakan Yomas, nearly reaches 10,000 feet. Mount Victoria, a sort of detached outwork of the Arakan Yoma, ends in three peaks 10,400, 10,300, 10,000 feet above sea-level. It is 76 miles west of Pakokku, and close to, but detached from, the main Yoma Range. Lolling, in South Hsenwi State, a similar out-feature of the Irrawaddy-Salween Watershed, reaches 8842 feet. In the Ruby Mines district there are several peaks which exceed 7000 feet, and, in the Wa Hills, Loi Mu, and, to the south, Loi Ang Lawng, are 1000 feet higher. The ranges gradually fall away in size as they stretch farther to the south, until they wane into such trivialities as the Pegu Yoma, or the comparative insignificance of the range which foi'ms the backbone of the Malay Peninsula, or the minor feature of the Karen Hills, which cuts off the Sittang. In Burma proper, beyond the great outwork of Mount Victoria, the only considerable hill is Popa, a detached peak in the Myingyan district, which reaches 5000 feet. It is an extinct volcano, a very conspicuous landmark, and an object of superstitious reverence to the whole of Central Burma on account of the Golden Heads of Mahagiri, or Magayi, and the spirits of the fell. There are many cave temples, especially in the lime- stone hills. The best known of these are the so-called Farm Caves, near Moulmein, one of them full of images, some carved in the rockj some deposited in niches by MUD VOLCANOES 13 the pious. Other caves in the neiglibourhood are the Sad(lan-Ku and the Payon-Ku. The Powindaung Hill, in the Lower Chindwin district, is honey-combed with these cave temples, which Burmans declare to contain not less than 446,444 images of the Buddha. The lower slope of the Menetaung Range, near Pindaya, in the Myelat, has a celebrated cave temple of the kind. Long covered ways lead up to it, and the vestibule cave is crowded with images, some carved in the face of the rock, some deposited in niches, some of great size carried in and set on pedestals built for them. Arms of the cave burrow far into the hillside. The annual festival here attracts thousands, not only from the Shan States, but from Burma The mud volcanoes of Minbu are not in any sense hills: they are mere salscttes, little craters of mud gradu- ally formed, hardened, and raised by the intermittent discharge of soft, greasy mud, which occurs whenever there is a bubbling up of gas. In the similar volcano, on the extreme north-west of the island of Cheduba (Manaung), the gas is very inflammable, and occasionally bursts out in flames. A variation of the same phenomenon is the occurrence of hot springs, which are found all over the country, and are especially common in the Shan States. In Burma proper, and in the wealthier Shan valleys, most knolls and many hill faces form the sites of pagodas of all kinds and sizes, some glistening white like a yacht's sail, some blazing like a beacon fire when the sun strikes the gilding. Elvers — Irrawaddy. — The Irrawaddy, the chief river of Burma, is one of the finest in Asia, and in the world. Notwithstanding its size, it is probably much shorter than the Sahveen. It is like the tropical darkness, which comes at one stride. The Irrawaddy is an imposing river, in the compass of a day's walk from its beginnings. A number of streams rising in the Zayul Range, the possible northern boundary of Burma, join at the foot of the hills, to form the Mali and the 'Nmai Hka, the western and eastern branches of the Irrawaddy. The 'Nmai and all its affluents are savage torrents. The Mali Hka, com- paratively e^irly in the Hkamti-Long Valley, becomes a river, and, so far as is known, it keeps up this modified 14 BURMA sobriety to the confluence of the tvo streams in latitude 25° 45'. Nevertheless, from such soundings and measure- ments as have been taken, the 'Nmai has the greater volume of water. Not much is known of either river, but it seems possible that the Mali may prove navigable, at anyrate in reaches, liv the Mkamtis it is called Nam Kiu, a name given to the whole river by the Shans. From the confluence to Bhamo, a disl.ince of 150 miles, steamers can ply during the dry weather, when the water is not too violent in the Upper Defile. From Bhamo to the sea, a distance of 900 miles, river steamers travel throughout the year. Just below the confluence the Irrawaddy is from 420 to 450 yards wide, and in January is about 30 feet deep at the deepest point. It flows south as far as Bhamo, at first through hills, and Liter in more open country, where the channel widens in one place to as much as 1000 yards. At Sinbo the river is half-a-mile wide, and immediately below the Third Defile begins with a mouth of only 50 yards. At " the Gates of the Irra- waddy " it again narrows to this width. Swift rush of water, whirlpools, beetling rocks, and intrusive hills char- acterise this defile. It is like parts of the Salween on a small scale. Below the defile the channel widens again into broad reaches with numerous islands, near Bhamo, and narrows again at Sinkan into the Second Defile. This is shorter and not so constricted as the Upper Defile. The narrowest part is over 100 yards, and the current is not so headlong ; on the other hand, the scenery is more imposing and less savage. Below the defile the river runs west as far as the con- fluence of the Kauk-kwe, and then turns south, and keeps this general direction throughout Burma. Not far above Mandalay is the First or Lower Defile. Here there are simply high banks, covered with dense vegetation, growing in some places on slopes, in others on almost perpendicular heights. The First Defile may be called pleasing, the Second striking, the Third savage. Below the picturesque, pagoda-studded Sagaing Hills the Irrawaddy steadily widens, and at Thavetungo, south of the old frontier, is about 3 miles wide. At Akauktaung or Yegin Mingvi, a RIVERS 15 few miles below Myanaung, it commences the Delta, and at this point drains an area of 32i square degrees. The tide is also felt thus far. The first branch thrown off is the ■westernmost, the Bassein River. Including this, the Irrawaddy enters the sea by nine different mouths ; the others are : the To, or China Buckeer, the Fyapon, the Kyun-ton, the Irrawaddy, the Pyamalaw, the Pyinzalu, the Ywe, and the Rangoon River. The river divides and subdivides, recommunicating on each side with streams which have already left it, and converting the whole of the lower portion of its basin into a network of tidal creeks. The eastern and western mouths are the only two used by sea-going ships, but a portion of the To, or China Buckeer, is used by river steamers and large boats going from Rangoon to the main Irrawaddy during the dry season. The river steamers from Rangoon to Bassein cross all the mouths. The waters of the Irrawaddy are extremely muddy, and the silt is carried many miles out to sea. New sand-banks and mud flats are continually formed and old ones re- moved or shifted. The maritime delta is steadily, by inches every year, pushing out to sea. The river has a first rise in March, some months before the rains set in, but whether this is due to snow water or to heavy rains is not yet clearly known. There are several rises and falls until June, when the steady rise begins, and attains its maximum in September. At this time at Prome the rains level is from .S3 to 36 feet above that of the dry weather. The discharge has been calculated at 7.'5,000 cubic feet per second at the head of the Delta, and the flood maximum at Myanaung at 1,442,007 cubic feet, and the mean velocity 6451 feet. The average annual dis- charge in metre tons, calculated over a period of nine years, is 418,94.5,381,942. CMndwin. — The chief tributary of the Irrawaddy is the Chindwin, which itself is navigable for small river steamers for 300 miles from its junction with the main river near Pakokku. The Chindwin in its upper stretch is called the Tanai. It rises in the Kumon Range, north of Mogaung,runs north and north-west across the Hukawng Valley to the hills on the north-west, where it turns due 16 BURMA soutli, and takes the name of the Chindwin. The Tawan and the Turonjr join it, and research may prove that one or other of these is really the greater stream. Both of these rivers rise in mountains that are covered at least with winter snows. All three are swift and clear, but the lower Chindwin is as muddy as the Irra- waddy. At the point where the Uyu comes in on the left bank, at Homalin, the steam navigation of the Chind- win begins, but communication is interiiipted in the dry weather. From Kindat, 1.50 miles lower down, weekly steamers ply all the year round. Below Kindat the only considerable affluent is the Mjdttha, which brings the Chin Hills drainage. The Chindwin enters the Irrawaddy by several mouths. The extreme outlets are 22 miles apart, the interval forming a succession of long, low, partially in- habited islands. The southern mouth of the Chindwin, tradition says, is an artificial channel, cut by one of the kings of Pagan. The Chindwin is the Ningthi of the Manipuris. Other chief tributaries of the Irrawaddy are : the Mogaung River, which rises in the Chindwin-Irrawaddy Watershed, and has a length of 180 miles before it enters on the right bank. It is navigable as far as Kamaing for about four months in the year. The Indaw River brings in the overflow of the Indawgyi Lake. The Taping, and the Shweli, or Nam Mao, are consider- able affluents on the left bank. Both rise in Northern Yiinnan, and are torrents until they reach the narrow strip of plain-land — the Taping just above Bhamo, the Shweli some distance below. Kiaproth, at his desk, with a number of Chinese annals, satisfied himself that the Taping was the main Irrawaddy River. The Nam Tu or Myit-nge, also known as the Doktawadi, enters on the left at Amarapura, below Mandalay. The Nam Tu rises within a few miles of the Salween, in the northern Shan States, but it is only na\igable for a few, miles to the foot of the hills east of Mandalay. The only other affluents of any size are the Mole, on the left bank ; the Kauk-kwr, Meza, Mu, and Mon, on the right bank. Rangoon Eiver. — The Hlaing, in the Delta, is a true river. It receives great assistance by the Panlang and RIVERS 17 otliei' creeks from tlio Irrawaddy, and villi tlie Pej^u River and the Pazundaung Creek I'urnis the Rangoon River. The Sittang. — The Sittang is known in its upper course as the Paunglaung, rises in the Shan Karen Hills, and runs due north for over 50 miles, till it gets to the Burma plain, when it turns south, and for over 300 miles twists and writhes in its progress to the Bay of Martaban. There it opens out into a wide, funnel-shaped moutli, like the gape of a young bird. This estuary crushes in two currents of the great tidal wave of the Indian Ocean, and these, uniting and struggling, form the huge tidal wave which sweeps at the rate of 12 miles an hour up the Sittang. This bore, or Macareo as it was called by the old writers, reaches a height of 9 to 12 feet, and has a foaming crest of 20 feet. No boats can live in it except at certain known points. Following the crest of the wave is a heavy chop sea of sand and water, as dangerous almost to boats as the curling wave which precedes it. The winding course of the Sittang prevents the bore from being dangerous far up the river, Owing to the enormous quantity of silt carried down and driven back by the tide, shoals and sand-banks make the whole of the bay dangerous. The Salween. — The Salween is the second river in the province in point of size, and it is one of the most strikingly picturesque in the world. It is believed to rise in the mountains of Tibet, north of Lhassa, probably the farthest off of the sheaf of rivers which take their source there. For a distance of hundreds of miles the Irrawaddy and the Mekhong rob it of all affluents, except the mountain torrents from the ridges which wall it in on either side. Between these giant barriers it flows along in an abyss, which in some places the sun only strikes for a few hours in the day. Nevertheless, there are long reaches where the stream is as calm as the Irrawaddy, and as deep. Unhappily, u. little to the south of the eighteenth parallel, below the mouth of the Thaungyin, are the Hat-Gyi, the Great Rapids, which extend over 10 miles, and make navigation impossible. Nevertheless, steam launches put on tlie river above could carry goods for 200 miles, and. 18 13TTRMA blasting the rapids beyond, might open up the river almost througliout the Shan States. There is no rift, no defile, no cation on the earth's surface of equal length. The Yangtzu Gorges are a mere fragment in comparison, and the gorges of the Menam, the Irrawaddy, and the Hudson Rivers no more than trifling samples. In the dry weather the channel banks are alternate stretches of blinding white sand and a chaos of huge boulders, masses and reefs of rock, with here and there at the mouth of a small ti'ibutary a waste of shingle. The rocks are furrowed and worn into holes by the sand and pebbles borne down by the floods, and they have a peculiarly glistening polish of oxide of manganese, which gives them the appearance of having been blackleaded. In the rains all these disappeai-, and the flood laps against the forest trees and the abrupt slope of the hills. The average difference between high and low water level of the Sal- ween throughout the Shan States is between 6"0 and 70 feet, and in some places it is as much as 90. The tribu- taries of the Sal ween in Tibetan territory are unknown. In Yiinnan there are none of importance, and in British territory the first of any size is the Nam Ting, which flows in a short distance below Kunlong, and takes its rise hard by the Mekhong, in the neighbourhood of Shunning-Fu. On the left bank also are the Nam Hka, with the drainage of a great part of the Wa States and Northern KengtQng ; while the Nam Hsim, rising in the Salween- Mekhong Watershed, drains most of the remainder of Keng- tiing State. A little above this, on the right bank, enters the Nam Pang, and on the borders of Karen-ni the Nam Teng. These two streams between them deliver most of the drainage of the great central Shan Plateau. In its lower course the Yonzalin enters from the west, and the Thaungyin from the east ; while at its mouth the Gyaing and the Attaran enter together, and help to form Moul- mein Harbour, the second seaport of Burma. The Salween is known to the Burmese as the Thanlwin, to the Shans as the Nam Kong, and to the Chinese as the Lu Kiang. The Mekhong forms our frontier with French Indo- China for a distance of about 120 miles. It is a river of similar character, but neither so wildly picturesque nor B W < a LAKES Id of so great a size as the Salween in the same latitudes. The French have done much to make it navigable, and even have a launch with fighting-tops, called a caiioniiicre, in the reach which forms our frontier. We have no need or use for anything of the kind there, but it is not creditable to our enterprise or our enei-gy that we have done nothing on the Salween. The Chinese call the Mekhong the Lants'an Kiang, or the Chiulung Kiang. Lakes. — The largest lake in the province is the In- dawgyi, in the Myitk}'ina district. It measures 16 miles from north to south, and 6 miles from east to west at its broadest part. It is fringed all round by an expanse of marsh, except on the south-east and west, where there are two ranges of low hills. A dozen or so of small streams flow into the lake, and the Indaw River serves as its outlet on the north-east. It runs into the Mogaung River. Tradition says that the lake was formed by a convulsion of nature, and submerged a Shan town, of which remains on the eastern side are said to have been seen. The Indaw, in the Katha district, is also a natural lake, and covers about 60 square miles. The Meiktila Lake and the Aungpinle, near Mandalay, are to a very great extent artificial reservoirs, constructed as pious works for irrigation purposes. There are a number of similar smaller lakes in various parts of the country. The Paunglin, in the Salin township of Minbu, is a lake formed by a spill of the Irrawaddy into a large basin at the foot of low hills. When the river goes down, the water in the lake is allowed to sink to a certain level, and then all the creeks are blocked so that the remainder may be used for irrigation purposes. Great numbers of water-fowl frequent all these lakes. The Inle, or Yawnghwe Lake, in the Southern Shan States, is the last of the great lakes which, no doubt, in prehistoric times filled all the Shan valleys. It is midway in size between the Indawgyi and the Indaw, and is steadily diminishing in area. The Nam Hpilu, or Bilu- Chaung, drains it, and itself sinks into the ground at Lawpita, in Karen-ni. The Mongnai Lake has shrunk to two sheets of water, the southern of considerable depth. All these lakes are surrounded by a fringe of marsh 20 BURMA covered with bulrushes and aquatic plants. On the Yawngliwe Lake many houses are built on piles over the water, usually on the edi^c of the open water. Scattered about the Shan States are a number of mountain tarns, but none of great size. The Nawng Hkeo Lake is situated on the top of a whale -back ridge some miles north of Mong Hka, in the heart of the Wa St.ites. It forms the subject of a number of traditions and super- stitions among the Wa and the Shans, and is said to have no fish in its waters. It seems not improbable that it is the Chiamay Lake of Fernao Mendez Pinto and other writers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries^ and that their Gueos are the Wa. The sheets of water in Lower Burma are hardly worthy of the name of lakes. The principal are the Inma, in the Prome district ; the Du and Duya, in Henzada ; and the Sha-Hke Gyi and Inyegyi, in Bassein. The Inma has an area of about 40 square miles, and a depth of from 1 2 to 15 feet in the rains, but in the dry season it shrinks to a reedy marsh. The Du receives some drainage from the underfalls of the Arakan Hills to the north and west, and is steadily being silted up. The Shahkegyi is about 4- miles long and 600 yards wide, and always remains a lake, with from 8 to 10 feet of water at the southern end and half that depth at the north. The Inyegyi is a tidal lake communicating with the Daga River by a small channel. It averages between 15 and 30 feet of water. Chief Towns. — If a town be considered a place with a population of over 50,000 inhabitants, then there are only three towns in Burma — Rangoon, Mandalaj', and Moul- mein. Rangoon. — Rangoon, the capital of the province, is situated in l6° 47' N., and 96° 13' E.— 21 miles from the sea on the left bank of the Rangoon, or Hlaing River. It was first occupied by a British force in IS'Jl, and was restored to the Burmese. It was reoccupied in l.S.i2, and then passed, with the province of Pegu, into Briti.sh hands. At first Rangoon was very little more than a collection rtf monasteries and huts near the Shwedagon Pagoda. Dala, on the other side of the river, was the commercial part of the town. In those days it was known as Dajron, THE SOUTHERN' SHRINE OF THE SHWE DAGiiX. 2; < 7, O RANGOON 21 and is so referred to by Caspar Ealbi and Mendez Pinto. The name of Yankon, or Rangoon, was given to the town by Alaungpaya « bin he finally subdued the Mon (Tabling). At this time it was little more than a collection of bamboo huts on a marshy flat. At the beginning of last century the town stretched a little more than 1000 yards along the river front, and was about 600 _yards wide at its broadest part. The centre, or town proper, was surrounded by a wooden stockade 12 to 15 feet high, «ith the river and a shallow ditch expanding to the west into a nuivass, as outer tlefences. To the north a dense jungle reached practically to the pagoda wall. A very liberal estimate of the population places it at 20,000. The stockade disappeared immediately on our occupa- tion ; the swampy ground was raised with earth from the higher land behind ; the river was confined to its channel. The Rangoon of to-day is as unlike the Rangoon of 1852 as the present-day Chicago is that of the earlier date. It is now the third seaport of British India, and is close on the heels of Bombay. Rangoon has the double advant- age of easy access from the sea, and of a river navigable for 900 mile.s, running into the country behind. For a distance of 7 or 8 miles the river is over a. mile in width, so that even in the busiest time of the rice season there is at least as much room for shipping as there is in the Hooghly. Practically the whole trade of the Delta is concentrated in Rangoon. In 1863 the population had risen to 6l,l38; in 1873 it was 80,0()6 ; in 1878 it was 110,700; in 1891 it had risen to 180,324; and the last census, that of 1901, showed a population of 23-l',881. The Shwe Dagon Pagoda stands on a swelling ground 168 feet above the town. From this pedestal it rises to a height of ."68 feet, and so dominates Rangoon from whatever side it is viewed. It is not only the chief fane of the Burmese religious : it attracts pious Buddhists from Ceylon, Siam, Cambodia, Nijial, China, and Japan. Like all purely Burmese pagodas, it is a solid stupa of brick in the form of a cone, and it stands over a chamber containing relics of the four human Buddhas (Manushi) of the present dispensation : tlu- drinking-cup of Kawkathan (Kraku-Chanda), the robe of Gawaagong (Kunaka-Muni), 22 BURMA the staff of Kathapa (Kasyapa), and eight hairs of Gautamp. Another version gives the staff of the first, the water- filter of the second, and a portion of the robe of the third, but, since they are absolutely inaccessible, the precise ownership is of the less importance. After the annexation a passage was cut from the niche facing the east entrance to the centre of the pagoda, which showed that the original pagoda has had seven casings added to it. The hli (the " umbrella " at the top) was thrown down by an earthquake in 1888, and a new one, valued at six lakhs, was put up by public subscription and with gratuitous labour. For many years the Shwe Dagon was merely gilt and regilt. Since the beginning of the twentieth century it has been covered with thin gold plates as far up as the top of the inverted begging-bowl, whence the columnar spire rises through the " twisted turban," the " lotos flower," and the "plantain bud." These were presented by individual pious from every part of the province, and even from beyond its limits. Except the Kaaba of Mecca and the Black Stone of the Kaaba there is no earthly shrine which has attracted, and still attracts, such multi- tudes with full-handed largess. The Shwe Hmaw-Daw at Pegu is larger and higher, so is the unfinished Mingon, with its monster bell, opposite Mandalay ; the Arakan Pagoda, the MahS, Myatmuni, in Mandalay, has a more sacred image ; the Mahabodi at Gaya has more sacred associations; but none are so imposing in majesty of position or multitudes of worshippers as the Shwe Dagon. The masonry buildings, the long, well-kept streets, the steam tramways, the multitude of rice-mills and saw-mills, the churches, temples, mosques, and synagogues, do not appeal to the Burman, and they are accepted as matters of course by the European visitor. Even the new Victoria Park, the extension of the Roj'al Lakes, and Dalhousie Park, which will be the finest park in the East, is regarded more as a place from which fine views may be had of the pagoda than as a feature in itself. Rangoon, for every one except those who make their living there, is the City of the Shwe Dagon. Mandalay. — Mandalay was the last capital of independ- ent Burmn, and is riow the headquarters of the Mandalay iiWl Mt'f^ < < Q Z J ^5 w Q H D O MANDALAY 23 division and district. It stands a couple of miles away from the river, on the left bank of the Irrawaddy, in 21° 58' N., and 96° 8' E., and is 315 feet above mean sea-level. It is now divided into the town and the cantonment. The cantonment is the area inside the old city walls, and the town is what were called the suburbs in the kinf^'s days. Mandalay covers an area of 6 miles from north to south and .'> from east to west. The roads are now good, metalled, lightened, and lined with trees. In the king's time they were dust-heaps in the dry weather and bogs in the rains. On the other hand, many of the very fine monasteries have disappeared, burnt or fallen into decay. The pagodas, however, remain in great numbers ; so also does a portion of the palace. Man- dalay was commenced in 1857 and finished in I860, so that the only archaeological interest in its buildings is that they were all — city wall, palisade, and palace — built according to old traditional measurements for capital cities. In 1886, at the time of the occupation, there were 6000 houses within the city wall and a4',00() outside, and the population was estimated to be 186,000 — consider- ably more than Rangoon at that date. The census in 1891 showed a population of 188,315, which in 1901 had fallen to 183,316 — a decrease of 3 per cent, in the decade. It is more of a. Burmese town than Rangoon, where from a quarter to a third only of the population is Burmese. In Mandalay there are many and increasing numbers of Zerbadis (Burman Mohammedans born of Indian fathers and Burmese mothers), Mohammedans, Hindus, .SuratiSj Jews, Slians, Chinese, and Manipuris, called Kathe. Moulmein. — Moulmein was the chief town in British territory in Burma from the time of the Treaty of Yandabu till the annexation of Pegu in 185'J. The site was chosen by the military. The civil commissioner, Crawfurd, selected Amherst for his headquarters. Moulmein was then a mere spacious, irregular quadrangle, enclosed by an earthen ram- part. All within and without was mere tangled tree and grass jungle. Now the town is one of the most pictur- esque in the East. For a time a good deal of shipbuilding went on in Moulmein, This lias now been given up, but 24 BURMA a good deal of teak and rice is exported, and there are several steam rice-mills and saw-mills. The town has been ])racticHllv stationary for many years. The earliest sta- tistics available date from J «.;.'). The population then was 17/(22. In 18.'w there were 23,6H:i inhabitants. In 1867 there were 65,566, and in 1877 only 51^607. At the last census, in 1.901, tlic total was 58,366. Other Towns. — Wiien Akyab was occupied in 1826, at the same time as Moulmein, it was a mere fi^hin^- vill:if;e. Now it is a flourishing town at tlie mouth of the Rivers M\ u, Koladain, and Lemyu. It is the third port in Burma, and does a considerable rice trade. The population in l.qOl was 31,687. Bassein is a town of almost equal importance in point of size, population, and movement as a port. It has great capabilities, both from a mercantile and a military point of view, since it commands the great outlet of the Irrawaddy. It has been in British hands since 18.52, and in 1901 had a population of 31,8()4. The river steamers of the Irra- waddy Flotilla Company ply between Rangoon and Bassein. Tiiere are only two other towns with more than 20,000 inhabitants — Prome and Tavoy. The former is on the Irrawaddy, and is the terminus of the first railway built in Burma. It is the site of a famous old capital, and the Shwe San-daw Pagoda is interesting, and much venerated. Besides these there are only ten towns with a population over 10,000. Kengtung is the only Shan town which reaches 10,000. Most of the centres of districts have about this population. Interesting places are the old capitals — Tagaung, which is now dense jungle; Pagan, a marvellous collection of pagodas and temples ; Amarapura, which is d suburb of Mandalay ; Ava, w Inch is more like a park than the site of a famous city ; Sagaing, at one of the most picturesque points on the river; Thaton, Toungoo-, Pegu, Bhamo, and Shwebo, which hardly suggest to the visitor nowadays that they were once famous, considei-ably beyond the limits of Burma. All of them repay a visit. Weather and Meteorology. — There are only tin ee seasons in Burma : the dry or cold weather, the hot weather, and the rains. They run into one another with verv little margin. Very little room is left for doubt as to whether f%j^ '"^Jif^sS^ THE KENGTl'XG P.AZAAR. "^m >^^ SHAN RACIXG BOAT. (Men in front paddling uitli theii- feet.) .•^rjr-^fjr^ CLtMATE 25 it is the cold season, the hot, or the rains. The cold sea-son lasts, roughly, from November to February ; the hot throughout March and April, and the rains from May till October. The coiTiing and going of the south-west monsoon, wliich brings the rains, are usually marked by violent storms, with thunder, violent squalls of wind, and torrential rains, but cyclones take their course up the Bay of Bengal, and never enter Burma. Damage by lightning is also rare. Hailstones are commoner in the hills tlian in the plains, but do not occur very often there. When they do come the hail is not uncommonly like fragments of ice, and birds ai'e killed, crops spoilt, and trees stripped of their leaves. Just as thisre are three seasons, so it may be broadly said that there are three zones in Burma : the littoral and deltaic, the dry zone, and the montane and sub-montane. Between the deltaic and the dry zones there is a strip, which may be called sub-deltaic, where the annual rainfall is less than !)0 inches. It includes the inland districts of Thayetmyo, Tharrawaddy, Prome, Toungoo, and Henzada. The rainfall in the coast districts of Arakan and Tenas- serim ranges from 2(I0 to 2.0O inches. In Rangoon and the greater part of the Delta the rainfall is between 90 and 100 inches. The Arakan Yoma and the Pegu Yoma depi'ive the south-west monsoon winds of thtir moisture, the temperature is higher, and in the Dry Zone the annual rainfall varies between 15 and .'j'O inches. In the hilly and wooded north the humidity again increases, and be- tween 70 and 90 inches are received. The temperature varies almost as much as the rainfall. It is naturally highest in the central zone, \\ here the mean of the hot weather readings for the latter part of April and beginning of May is, roughly, 100° Fahr., and is almost steadily so in such towns as Mandalay, Myingyan, Pakokku, Shwebo, and Kyaukse. In the coast and deltaic districts and in the sub-alpine region the mean maximum is about 10° less. The districts hottest in summer are also the coldest in winter, and the average minimum in December and January ranges from r>5" to 60° F. In the Delta and coast districts it is about 10' more. The Shan States, Chin and Kachin HiUs^ have a temperate climate. 26 BURMA Temperatures much over 80° F. are uncommon, and in the coldest months there is a white frost at night, and the thermometer frequently goes down to 25°, and even lower. Snowfalls occur on the highest hills in the Chin Hills and the Shan States, but they are far from common. In the extreme north of the Kachin country, however, there are hills clad with snow for a great part of the year, and it is possible that there are even eternal snows in the farthest north. The narrow hill valleys are often ex- tremely hot, with temperatures quite as high as the hottest parts of the central zone. On the other hand, on account of the condensation, 10° of frost are not at all uncommon during the night. Earthquakes are of frequent occurrence in Burma, but they are rarely violent. The shock which split the Mingon Pagoda in 1839 is the most serious recorded, and does not appear to have resulted in any considerable loss of life. FAUNA By EnoENE W. Oates The first attempt to compile an account of the animals of Burma was made half-a-century ago by Dr Francis Mason in his work " Burmah : its People and Natural Produc- tions." Although little more than a catalogue, yet this account was accompanied by such interesting notes and remarks that it proved of great use to the residents of Burma for many years. A greatly enlarged edition (in two volumes) has been published under the editorship of Mr W. Theobald. In 1881 representations were made to the Secretary of State for India, with the result that sanction was accorded to the publication of a series of volumes on the Fauna of British India, including Burma. Considerable progress was made v/ith this work under the editorship of the late Dr W. T. Blanfoi-d. Eight volumes have been issued, dealing with the whole of the \'ertebrates, and another eight with portions of the other sub-kingdoms — namely, four with the Moths, two with the Bees, Wasps, and Ants, one MAMMALS 27 with the Rynchota or Bugs, and one with the Arachnida, or Scorpions and Spiders. The work is still in progress. In view, therefore, both of the immensity of the subject and our slight knowledge of many of the groups of ani- mals, coupled with limitations of space, it appears advisable to restrict the present brief sumvnary of the fauna of Burma to the Vertebrates. This sub-kingdom comprises the Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Batrachians, and Fishes — ■ animals of which our knowledge is more or less complete and satisfactory. The Mammals. — The first Order of Mammals contains the Monkeys and the Lemurs. The Anthropoid Apes are represented by two Gibbons — one of which, the white-browed Gibbon, occurs in the north, and the other, the white-handed Gibbon, in the south, of the province. These monkeys are characterised by their very long arms and the absence of a tail. The old-world monkeys have shorter arms and a tail of variable length. The Macaques, of which there are six species, have a cheek- pouch ; but in the Langurs, of which there are five species, this feature is wanting. A sixth species of these latter is doubtfully reported from Tenasserim and should be searched for. This monkey has the upper parts and tail black, portions of the head and neck white, and the lower parts bright ferruginous. The Lemurs have only one representative in Burma : it is widely distributed, and nocturnal in its habits. The next order, the Carnivora, comprises the Cats, Dogs, Bears, and various small animals. The Tiger and the Leopard are found throughout the province. Five other species of Cats, all of smaller size, also occur. Of the Viverridae, Civets, there are three species, and somewhat similar to them are the two Tiger-Civets and the three Palm-Civets. The Bear-Cat, or Binturong, is a curious animal with a long, prehensile tail. Of the well- known Mungooses three species occur, of which the so-called Burmese Mungoose is probably the commonest -form. Hyenas do not occur in Burma, and the Dog tribe is only represented by the Jackal, which is found in the neighbourhood of some of the towns in the northern part 28 BURMA of the province^ and by one^ or possibly two, species of Wild DojT. Tlierc is also a single species of Marten, one Ferret- }?adi;er, two kinds of Hog-Badger, and three species of Otters. 'J'he Bears are three in number, of which the Himalayan Black Bear and the Malay Bear are commonly found. The occurrence of the third species, the Sloth-Bear, or Indian Bear, in Burma has not been fully established, but there are good grounds for supposing that it occurs. The Insectivora consist of a number of small animals, mostly nocturnal in their habits, and probably a great number of species remain to be discovered. The Tree- Shrews are represented by a single species. The true Hedgehogs are absent, but the family is represented by two species of Gi/mnura — small creatures with smooth tails. Moles are not common. The white-tailed Mole occurs in the Sittang Valley, and a mole with white feet is found in the Shan States. Of the Shrews there appear to be four or more species. To this oi'der is consigned that remarkable animal the Flying Lemur, which, however, must not be confounded with the true lemurs, already mentioned. This animal lias the head, legs, and tail connected by an expansion of the .skin of the body, and somewhat resembles the Flying Squirrels, in which animals, however, the tail is quite free, and not connected by membrane with the hind legs. The order of Bats is an extremely numerous one, some forty species being known from Burma alone, and doubt- less many moi'e remain to be discovered. The large Flying Fox, so common in Rangoon and wherever there are large orchards, spends the day suspended from the branches of mango-trees, and issues at night to devour fruit. Of these fruit-eating Bats there are other five species, but they are not so large or so well known. Of the insect-eating Bats the Painted Bat is remarkable on account of its brilliant orange colour and small size. It is frequently disturbed in elephant grass, and when flying resembles a butterfly. The Rodents embrace a number of small animals which ave more or less familiar, many of them being pests iq MAMMALS 29 house and garden. The large family of Squirrels is represented b\' four species of Flying Squirrels which have the limbs connected by a membrane, which enables them to pass from one tree to another in long flights or leaps. The ordinary squirrels, of* which there are some fifteen species, range in size from that of a domestic cat to that of a small rat. The Rats and Mice are very numerous, some twenty Burmese species being known, and probably many more remain to be discovered. The Bamboo-Rats are heavy, clumsy creatures, burrowing in the ground, and raising heaps of earth like a mole. There are three species. Porcupines are fairly abundant, but seldom met with, owing to their nocturnal habits. The Bengal Porcupine appears to be the common species, and there is also a crestless Porcupine which has not been properly identified. The brush-tailed Porcupine is yet another species. The Burmese Hare is common in the drier parts of the country, and is the only species of the Hare tribe in Burma. The important order of Hoofed Quadrupeds contains the largest living land animals. The Indian I'^lephant is found in all the hill tracts and many portions of the plains. Two species of Rhinoceros are met with — ene with a single horn, and another with two horns. The Tapri occurs in Tenasserim. The Gaur, or Wild Ox, frequents the thick forests ; and the late Mr W. Davison procured a single specimen of the Ciayal, or Mithan, in Tenasserim, as recorded by Blanford. The Banting, another species of Wild Ox, is distributed over the province. The Wild Buffalo occui-s in suitable localities. The Burmese Goat- Antelope is frequently shot on the hills, and tie Hima- layan species will piob^bly bs fo ind in the extreme north of the province. One or two species of Goral appear to have been discovered lately in the Chin Hills. Two species of Barking Deer occur — one being of wide distribution and the other being restricted to Tenasserim. The Thamin, or Brow-antlered Deer, is common, as are also the Sambar and the Hog-Deer. Two species of Mouse-Deer occur in Tenasserim. Lastly, the Indian Wild Pig is universally distributed, and is the sole representative of the Pig tribe. 30 BURMA Of tlie curious Pangolins, or Scaly Ant-eaters^ there are two species in Burma. The list order of Mammals comprises the Whales, the Dolphins or Porpoises, and the Dugong. Two species of B'in-whales and two species of Sperm-whales have been taken in the Bay of Bengal, and may, therefore, be in- cluded in the Burmese fauna. Similarly, about a dozen species of Dolphins are found in the Indian Ocean, and may lay claim to being considered Burmese ; while the Irrawaddy Porpoise is essentially local, occurring only, so far as is known, in the Irrawaddy River above Prome. That curious animal the Dugong has been taken on the islands of the Mergui Archipelago. The Birds. — The Birds are belter known than any other class of animal, and the number of species found in Bui-ma is not far short of 1000. The first order of the birds {Passeres) is by far the largest, and contains those birds with which we are most f.imiliar. The formation of the foot is such that one muscle moves the front three toes, and another (a com- pletely independent one) moves the hind toe, which is always of considerable size, and well adapted, in conjunc- tion with the front toes, for perching and clinging. Birds of the Crow tribe head this order, and comprise the true Crows, the Tits, and the Crow-Tits. The true crows are mostly very common, two species being found in every pai't of the country : the Jungle Crow, which is of large size, and entirely black ; and the House Crow (C in.wletis), which is smaller, with a portion of the plumage brown. Some of the Magpies are of handsome plumage. The Tits are nowhere very numerous, and the Crow-Tits are decidedly rare. The next family (Craleropodidw) is of enormous extent, and embraces a series of birds which have their greatest development in the south-east of Asia. They have short, rounded wings, and are of sedentary habits. Among them may be mentioned the Laughing Thrushes, which go about in flocks, and have a number of loud, joyous notes, frequently uttered. Other Babblers are well known under the name of the "Seven Brothtrs," from the cir- cumstance that they are generally in flocks of this number. BIRDS 31 and follow each other in their actions. The Whisth'ng Thrushes have pleasant noteb. Ihe Green Bulbuls and the large section of Common Bulbuls are mostly familiar birds. Nuthatches and Creepers are quiet, unobtrusive birds, and, though fairly common, are seldom noticed. The Drongos are conspicuous birds, and some species, such as the Black Drongo, are extremely abundant. The beautiful and conspicuous racket-tailed Drongo is a charming songster and mimic. The Warblers are well represented. Some, such as the Tailor-birds and the Grass- and Wren- Warblers are resident ; others, like the Willow-Warblers, are merely winter visitors. Although the warblers are on the whole of plain plumage, the Flycatcher-Warblers form an ex- ception, many of them being of br.'ght colour. The Shrikes are numerous. The true shrikes are chiefly winter visitors. The Minivets, on the contrary, are re- sident, and are of very bright plumage, the mules being scarlet and black and the females yellow and black. The Cuckoo-Shrikes bear a general resemblance to the Common Cuckoo in style of plumage. One species, the Jay-Shrike, has a long crest, and inhabits Tenasserim. The Swallow- Shrikes are brds of a bluish colour. They fly much after the manner of swallows. The Orioles, the Grackles, and the Starlings are all numerous. The Mynas, belonging to the last family, are the best kno\Mi and most familiar of all Burmese birds. The Flycatchers and the Thrushes are extensive families, among which may be mentioned the Magjiie-Iiobin, which affects houses, and has mucli of the same familiar habits as the Englisli Robin, and the Shama, which is the best singing bird of Burma. The Weavers construct elaborate nests suspended from the tips of branches of trees. The Finches are few in number if we except the Sparrows, which are as numerous as they are in England. The Swallows recall our English birds, and the Wagtails differ little from their Euro])ean allies. The Larks are represented by a species which differs only from the English lark by its smaller size. Its song may be heard in all the plains of Pegu. The Sun- 32 BUKMA birds and the Flower-peckers are very numerous, and the iii.ijority are clothed in very beautiful plumage. Lastly, the Ant-'i'hrushes, which come to Burma at the beginning of the rains (a few species are residents), are handsome birds, and have melodious notes. The Broadbills are a small family of richly coloured birds, which are sometimes classed with the Fasseres and sometimes treated as an independent order. The next order of birds is usually known as the Picarian, and is' of very large extent. In this group the hind toe is moved by a muscle which is always connected in some way or other with the muscles of the front toes. The feet are formed in various ways. In some sections the front toes are joined at the base. In others there are two toes in front and two behin 1, and in other birds the hind toe is reversible, and can be brought to point to the front. The fir.st section of this family contains the Woodpeckers, which are extremely numerous, and the Barbets, a noisy group of birds, of which the " Coppersmith " is the com- monest example, and the monotonous note of which bird may be heard everywhere in the dry season. The second section comprises a number of birds which have the three anterior toes connected at the base. The Rollers, the Bee-eaters, the Kingfishers, the Hornbills, and the Hoopoes belong to this section, and are for the most part common and well-known birds. The Swifts form the third section. They have the hind toe reversible to the front. To this section also belong the Nightjars, or Goatsuckers, birds of soft plumage, and nocturnal in their habits. Allied to them are the curious Frogmouths. The Trogons form a small section, with the toes in pairs. They are of most gorgeous plumage, and inhabit dense forests. The Cuckoos form still another section with the toes in pairs. The common English cuckoo is abundant in the higher hill tracts of Burma, and its call may be heard throughout the spring. The Koel is distributed all over the province, as are also the peculiar Crow-Pheasants. The Parrots form a well-marked order of birds. All BIRDS 33 the Burmese species are of comparatively small size. They abound in all parts of the country. The other orders of Birds are also well marked, but must be treated very briefly. The Owls are very numerous, ranging from the huge Fish-Owls to the diminutive Owlets. The diurnal birds of prey are also extremely numerous, and many familiar English forms occur, such as the Sparrow-Hav/k, the Kestrel, and the Peregrine Falcon. The Osprey is often seen on the large rivers. House Kites abound during the dry weather. Of the Pigeons and Doves there are upwards of twenty species. Some of the Fruit Pigeons are of very large size, and are excellent food. The Game Birds comprise the Peafowl, the Argus and Peacock Pheasants, the Jungle Fowl, the Pheasants, the Silver Pheasants, the Tragopans or Horned Pheasants, the Bamboo Partridges, the Hill Partridges, the Francolins, and the Quails. To these must be added the Bustard- Quails, or Three-toed Quails. The Rails and Cranes form a small group. Among these may be mentioned the beautiful Sarus Crane, common in the large plains of Pegu. The Waders comprise a vast number of birds, mostly winter visitors. There are Glareoles, Jacanas, Plovers, Oyster-catchers, Curlews, Sandjiipers, and Snipes. The last are very abundant from August to November. The Gulls and Terns are common birds, not only on the coast but also far up many of the rivers. The curious Scissors-bill flies in large flocks about the sand-banks. Of birds which have all the four toes connected by a web there are the Pelicans, which are seen chiefly in Lower Pegu ; the Cormorants, which are generally dis- tributed ; and the Frigate-birds, the Gannets or Boobies, and Tropic-birds, which are entirely oceanic. To the open sea also belong the Petrels. The Heron tribe is very numerous, and large communi- ties of the White Herons, or Egrets, may be met with near every village, nesting in clumps of trees. The Geese and Ducks mostly arrive in the winter, and aflbrd good sport, especially in Upper Burma. Many of 34 BURMA the species are identical with the common English ducks ; others are peculiar Lo Burma and India. The last group of birds is the Grebes, of which there are only two species. The Reptiles. — The Reptiles are well ]-epresented in Burma, and of the four orders into which they are usually divided one only is absent from the province. The three order's that occur are: the Crocodiles; the Tortoises and Turtles (Chelonia) ; and the Lizards, ChamaBleons, and Snakes (Squaviula). Three species of Crocodiles occur. The Glinridl reaches a' length of 20 feet, and feeds entirely on fish. The snout is extremely long, and there are twenty-seven or more teeth on each side of the upper jaw. The other two species have a much shorter snout, and less than twenty teelli on each side of the upper jaw. The first of these {Crucodilus porosus) is found chiefly in salt or brackish water, and grows to a length of more than 30 feet. The snout is about twice as long as it is broad. The second, the Common Mugger, frequents rivers and ponds, and attains a length of 12 feet or more. In this species the snout is about one and a half times as long as it is broad. The Tortoises and Turtles are very abundant. The Snapping Tortoises have a soft shell, a very long neck, and claws on the three outermost toes only. They are purely aquatic, and bite fiercely. The Land Tortoises and Terrapins comprise a number of forms which are either terrestrial or in some measure amphibious, but none are found in the sea. They have a hard shell covered with shields, a short tail, and the limlss with either four or five claws. A rare species of tortoise(^Plati/s/emum megalocephahim^has a tail as long as the shell, the head extremely large, and all the toes provided with claws except the outer one. The Turtles are marine animals of large size, measuring from 3 to 8 feet in length. The fore legs are developed to form flippers for swimming, and there are never more than two claws on each limb. The Green Turtle, so valuable for food, is herbivorous. The horny shields of the shell in this species meet at the edges, and do not overlap. Large numbers of Green Turtles frequent Diamond Island, in the Bassein REPTILES 35 River, for tlie purpose of depositing their eggs in the sand. The H.Twksbill Turtle is valuable for tortoise-shell, but, being carnivorous, is not fit for food. This species has a strongly hooked beak, and the shields of the shell overla]) one another. A third species of turtle, the Loggerhead, is of no value either as food or for tortoise-shell. This tiu'tle is of large size, and has five shields on either side of the shell instead of four, as in the other species. I'he Leathery Turtle is yet a fourth species of turtle, which grows to a length of 8 feet. The shell is of leathery texture, without shields, and is furnished with seven longitudinal ridges. The first group of the Squaiiinta comprises the lizards, of which about sixty species have been recorded from Burma. The Geckos include the large, well-known House Geckos, or "Toukte," of the Burmese ; the smaller House Geckos ; and a curious species (^Ptychosouin) which has the limbs and the sides of the head, body, and tail furnished with a membranous fringe. Another group (^AgriniidiV) comprises among others the Flying Lizards, and a number of beautiful Tree Lizards, many of which have the power of rapidly changing their colours. The Slow-wonr, without legs, and resembling a small snake, also occurs. The Monitors are huge lizards several feet long, and common on the hills. The true lizards are hardly represented in Burma, but the Skinks are extremely numerous. They love dry spots, and many burrow in the soil. No species of Chain^leon is known from Burma. The large group of the Snakes is strongly represented in Burma. There are some three species of small Blind Snakes, without teeth, and living in the ground. Of the Pythons only one species occurs {Python reticidatns). As is well known, this snake crushes and suffocates its victim by enveloping it in its coils. It is said to grow to a length of 30 feet. The Cylinder Snake is of small size, but, like its larger relatives the pythons, has vestiges of a hind pair of limbs. A fierce snake (Xenopellis) feeds on small mammals. The family Coluhridce contains a vast assemblage of snakes, some of which are poisonous and others harm- less. To this latter category belong the snakes of the 3G BURMA first section of this family, the best-known species of which is the common Rat Snake, found in all thatched roofs of houses. It grows to a length of 6 feet. This same family contains a large number of snakes which are more or less aquatic in their habits, and feed on frogs and fish. The second section of this group contains a small number of snakes which are either harmless or poisonous only in a slight degree. The best-known members of this section are the Whip Snakes, of great length and slender- ness, and of a green colour. These are found on bushes or tall grass, with the tail tightly curled round a branch, and the head and body free, by which habit they are able to strike to a long distance. The third section embraces snakes which are very deadly, and includes three species of Adder, of very bright coloration, seldom exceeding 2 feet in length ; other allied species are the Banded Adder, which is common ; and the Krait, which is rather rare. Both grow to a length of about 4 feet. The Indian Cobra is suf- ficiently common in Burma, as is also the Giant Cobra, which is very fierce, and grows to the great length of 13 feet. A large number of species of Marine Snakes, very poisonous, and easily recognised by their oar-shaped tail, abound on the Burmese coast. Another familj- (Amh/y- ceplialidm) is represented by three small snakes less than 18 inches in length. Lastly, five species of Vipers are recorded from Burma, of which Russell's Viper is one of the most deadly. It is about 4 feet in length. The Batrachians. — In this class are comprised the Frogs and Toads, the Salamanders and the Cacilians, all of which are found in Burma. The Frogs, with two other allied aniilies, are numerous in species and individuals, nearly thirty species occur- ring in the province. Eana tigrina is the largest species, measuring more than 6 inches in length. There is also a genus of Flying Frogs, which have the feet expanded into lai-ge, weljbed discs, thus enabling them to take fly- ing leaps from tree to tree. The Toads and allied families are not numerous, less than a dozen species occurring. Biifo melauo-slidus is a FISHES 37 common toad of lavsje size, nearly 7 inches in lengtli. Besides tliese there is the common green tree-toad, and a genus containing some huge toads which have Imrns on their eyeUds. The Salamanders are represented by a single species, of a blackish brown colour, and about 6 inches in length. The writer found them very common at Bernardmyo on the road, after very heavy rain in April. The Ctecilians are worm-like creatures living in soft mild. One species occurs. It is about 15 inches in length and half-an-inch in diameter. The Fishes. — The Fishes of Burma are very numerous, both in species and individuals, and enter largely into the food of the people. In fact, fish, whether fresh, dried, or pounded with salt, is eaten by the Burmese at almost every meal. If the traveller who has not much time on his hands wishes to form quickly an idea of the fishes of Burma, he should endeavour to visit one of the large maritime markets, such as the one at Akyab, in the early morning, and one of the large inland fisheries, such as abound in Lower Pegu, and many of which are at no great distance from some of the large towns on the rivers or railways. All fishes living at the present day are divided into four sub-classes. Two of these, the Lung-fishes and the Chimseroids, are not found in the Bay of Bengal. The other two sub-classes are largely represented both on the coast and in the inland waters. The first sub-class that we have to mention (^Ela.imo- hranchii) contains the Sharks, Rays, and Skates. The two latter are so unlike sharks in general appearance that their relationship to each other is not very obvious. Never- theless, the two groups agree in structural features. They have, among other characters, a cartilaginous skeleton, as distinguished from the bony skeleton of the next sub- class. They also have the apertures leading into the gill chambers formed in the shape of vertical slits, generally five in number, on each side of the head, and distinctly visible. The dreaded carnivorous sharks, the Hammer-headed Sharks, and the smaller sharks, known in Europe as " Hounds." abound along the coast. The Thresher 38 BURMA is easily recognised by the great development of the upper lobe of the tail, which is nearly as long as the body itself The huge, but harmless. Basking Shark attains a length of more than 50 feet. Another species of shark has only one dorsal fin, situated near the tail. The Dog- fishes with spotted bodies, and the Zebra-Shark with a striped body, are other species of sharks. The Saw-fish, which attains a length of 20 feet, has the upper jaw produced into a flat, bony process, armed with lateral teeth. The Rays include the Beaked Rays, which have a projecting snout, and attain a length of 7 or 8 feet, and the Electric Rays, which are furnished with an electric organ, or galvanic battery, between the head and the pectoral fins. A shock from this is said to be sufficiently strong to disable a man. These Rays have the side fins greatly extended, and meeting in front of the head, and their form when viewed from above is rounded. The Sting Rays have a body which is rounded or tri- angular when viewed from above, and they ai'e armed with a whip-like, serrated tail, with which a very dangerous wound can be inflicted. They measure as much as 6 feet across the disc. Besides these there are represent- atives of those huge and hideous fishes which are termed Devil-fishes, Bat-fishes or Eagle-Rays. They attain in some instances to enormous dimensions, as much as 18 feet across the disc. The lateral fins, although greatly developed, do not extend quite to the sides of the head, but reappear at the snout in the shape of fins or ear- like appendages. The fishes of the second sub-class, which comprise the great bulk of the existing fishes, and which include what are popularly known as " true fishes," have a bony skeleton, and gill arches protected by a cover. The families into which this immense sub-class is divided are so numerous that only the more prominent can here be noticed. Eels are common both in salt and fresh water, and some species attain a length of 10 feet. The Cat-fishes, so named from the presence of feelers or barbels round the mouth, are ugly creatures without scales. The spines on many species can inflict serious wounds. The Carps FISHES have toothless, sucking mouths. The Mahseer belongs to this family. The Herrings are not numerous. The Hilsa is the best-known representative of this family. Besides these there is a small family^ which contains the " Bom- bay Duck/' or " Bummaloh." Of the Flying-fishes there are several species occurring in the Bay of Bengal. The large family of Perches is well represented, but the Burmese species are mostly marine fishes. Another section (the C/uetodontidcK) are, perhaps, the most gorgeously coloured of all fishes — the Emperor-fish, for example, being of a brilliant blue, ornamented with numerous gold stripes. The red Mullets are all excellent for the table, and the Sea-breams also furnish good food. Another group (the ScorpwnidcE) comprises a number of fishes with heads and fins of very grotesque form, and sometimes with expansions of the skin resembling sea- weeds and leaves. A small family (the Pohpiemidae) contains the celebrated Mango-fish, easily recognised by the presence of several filaments below the pectoral fin, which are about twice the length of the fish. Yet another group (the Scicenidce) ai-e for the most part fit for food, and isinglass is made from their air-bladders. Three species of Sword- fishes are found on the Burmese coast. The curious ribbon-shaped " Hair-tails '' are often dried for food without salting. Besides these there are the so-called "Surgeons," fishes which are furnished with a lancet-shaped spine on either side of the tail ; the Pilot-fish, usually seen in attendance upon sharks ; the Horse-Mackerels ; the Bat- fishes, with very deep body and greatly developed fins ; and the Pomfrets, which are very excellent eating, and abound at Akyab. The Cori/phcenidie, well-known fishes erroneously termed Dolphins by sailors, are noted for their lovely but fugitive colours. To the foregoing we may add the Mackerels, the Tunny-fish, the fishes known as "Seer" in India, and the remarkable Sucking-fi.shes, which have a disc or sucker on the upper surface of the head, by which they attach themselves to the under surface of a turtle or shark, and profit by the greater power of locomotion possessed by their bodies ; and the Mud-skippers, which abound on mudbanks in tidal creeks at low water. These are small fishes, with very prominent eyes. They lie on the mud in 40 BURMA great niiinbers, on the watch for food, and when disturbed they jump into the water, or farther inland. The Spiny Eels resemble the true eels, but may be distinguished by the presence of a series of spines along the back. The fierce and voracious Barracudas grow to a length of 8 feet. The grey Mullets are numerous in species. The climbing Perch is common in Burma, and is able to live out of the water for a considerable period. Numbers of these fishes may sometimes be seen toiling painfully over the ground in passing from one piece of water to another. The family of the Flat-fishes, of which the Sole is a familiar example, does not ajipear to be well represented in Burma. Pipe-fishes and Sea-horses also occur, and the last group contains the Sun-fishes, the spine-clad Globe-fishes, the File-fishes, and the Coffer-fishes. FLORA By Captain A. T. Gage, I.M.S. As the botanical exploration of Burma is still very in- complete — there being whole tracts the flora of which has either not been collected or not been studied — this account of the herbaceous vegetation of the province rather attempts to set forth our present knowledge than pretends to be an accurate picture of the vegetation in every part of the country.^ The herbaceous flora is markedly different in different regions of the country and at different altitudes and different localities in the same region. The same factors of rainfall, altitude, ex- posure, nature of the soil, etc., which markedly affect the character of the forests of Burma, also influence in varying degree tlie more lowlj- forms with which this chapter is concerned. The shrubs and weeds of the ' In drawing up the following sketch of the herbaceous — ks distinct from the forest — vegetation of Burma, the books and papers, which are cited in the appendix at tlie end of this volume, have been used freely, and to them the reader is referred for more detailed information than can be given here. COASTAL FLORA 41 moist Sittang Valley or the In-awaddy Delta present quite a different aspect to those of the dry regions of Upper Burma, and both diiTer still more from the homelike wild flowers of the Shan Plateau, than they do from each other. The herbaceous vegetation may be considered under the following divisions, which are neither altogether artificial nor entirely natural, but are convenient for our purpose: — (1) The herbaceous vegetation of the coasts; (2) of the larger rivers ; (3) of swamps and lakes ; (4) of forests ; (5) of the Shan Plateau. The Coast. — The shores of the Irrawaddy Delta and parts of the coasts of Arracan and Tenasserim are fringed with tidal swamps, in which the Mangrove and kindred trees form on the mud a confused tangle of roots and submerged stems. On the mud amongst those roots several kinds of grasses, coarse sedges, and reeds flourish. Algae grow at- tached in tufts to the roots themselves, or as Diatoms and such-like microscopic forms occur in the shape of brownish or yellowish patches of jelly-like matter on the muddy surface. Where — as along parts of the coasts of Arracan and Tenasserim — Mangrove swamps give place to sandy beaches, the goats'-foot Convolvulus [IponuEa Pes- CaprcE — so called because its divided leaves have a fancied resemblance to a goat's hoof — and Spinifex grass are the most conspicuous weeds, creeping over the sand, and helping to bind it. On the trees, whether of the Mangrove swamps or of the sandy beaches, orchids and ferns like the oak-leaved Polypody are common. The Large Rivers. — Along the larger rivers, like the Irrawaddy and the Sittang, there extends, often for many miles on each side without interruption, an alluvial belt of varying breadth, covered with very tall, coarse grasses, and having trees sparingly scattered along it. These belts are called Savannahs, or elephant-grass jungles. The so- called elephant grass comprises several distinct sjDecies as known to the botanist, including a wild sugar-cane. These grasses grow to ten or twelve or even more feet in height, and form a dense jungle very difficult to get through. Mixed up with those gigantic grasses are small shrubs be- longing to many species, while i-ound their almost bamboo- 42 BURMA like stems species of Convolvulus, Ipomcea, Passion flower, Cucuibitaccous plants, wild yams, and climbing f'eins twine in great luxui-iance. In some parts along tlie Irrawaddy, and probably other rivers also, the large elephant grasses are replaced by a much smaller white, feathery thatch-grass, which strangles out jilmost all other herliaceous vegetation. On the scattered trees which struggle up through the wilderness a few ferns find resting-places. The river-face of the banks of such rivers as the Irra- waddy affords footing to a heterogeneous host of widely spread tropical weeds, comprising such plants as a species of crow's-foot, a water-cress, several species of wild In- digo, a crowd of composites, several docks, knot-grasses, spurges, and amaranths, and a great variety of sedges. On sandbanks tamai'isk-bushes may be all that can be seen. On the banks away from the river-face occur such plants as the prickly-leaved and yellow-flowered Argemone, or Mexican poppy, introduced from America, and now spread over the greater part of India and Burma ; milkworts ; a variety of leguminous shrubs and herbs, including the sen- sitive plant ; several species of Heliotrope and Amaranths ; a Speedwell ; many kinds of grasses and plants like Tobacco, Cape Gooseberry, Datura, Castor-oil, etc., which have escaped from cultivation. On fallow fields a host of grasses and sedges spring up, presently to wither away with the approach of the hot season. In and about villages along the river-banks one comes across such plants as Croloti, Castor-oil, Tapioca, Poinseltia, Cereus — a true Cactus often used as a hedge — and shrubby spurges which closely resemble true Cacti, but belong to a quite different order of plants. Common village weeds are Basil, Datura, Solatium, Cucurbitaceous climbers. Oralis, Portulaca, etc. Off the alluvial belt, and away from the influence of the river, the vegetation of the drier parts of Upper Burma is very scanty and ill-favoured. Most of the plants either possess villainous spines or prickles, or secrete an acrid milky juice, the use of both the spines and the juice SWAMP FLORA 43 being to deter men or animals from molesting or making- use of the plants as food or for other purposes. In this dry zone Capers abound in great variety, while other very common plants are Zizi/p/ius Jujtiba — tlie so- called "wild plum" of the English residents in Upper Burma — the milky- juiced Swallow-wort (Ca/o/;o/;wg/ff««/c'a), and a Cactus-like spurge, which may reach the dimensions of a tree. Common herbs are — a very prickly-leaved Sulanum, lying close on the ground, with bluish flowers and a yellow berry ; Trihuliis, a creeping herb, with small spiky fruits like miniature calthrops ; Maiiijjiia, not in- appropriately named the Devil's Claw from the ferocious curved hooks which characterise its fruit-capsule. In the rainy season in many parts Gloriusa superba appears in abundance. Swamps and Lakes. — The swampy hollows which occur along the Savannah tracts show a mixture of grasses — some- times very tall sedges and creeping Convolvull, or are sometimes almost entirely choked with Pulrjgumim or a species of shrubby Cunibietum. The shores of lakes are fringed with an abundant growth of creeping Convul- vuli, sedges and grasses. Reed-mace, and other aquatic plants. In the water, and often entirely covering its surface, occur in great abundance the Water - soldier, with its yellowish green rosette of floating leaves, water- lilies and the superb Lotus lilies ; curious, stringy Bladder- worts, wliich live partly by entrapping microscopic crus- taceans in their tiny bladders, and therein digesting them ; Vallisnerin, with its stem possibly coiled up into a spiral ; the minute Duckweed, looking like dots of green on the water ; and cryptogamic plants like Azolla and Mursilea. Beautiful microscopic algae — mostly Desmids and Diatoms — - also ai'e plentiful. Herbaceous Vegetation of the Forests. — In the ever- green tropical forests which occur in the moist, equable climate of Lower Burma at low elevations herbs are few in number, as the denseness and darkness of such forests are against them. Still, where the forest is more open, as along the beds of streams, a multitude of Acantliaceous herbs and small shrubs spring up, and terrestrial aroids, grasses, and sedges are common. Although ordinary lierbs 44 BURMA are scanty in such forests, ferns of all sorts abound, both on the ground and on the ti-ees — the tree-loving ones being mostly filmy ferns. Orchids also are fairly common, although they do not reach their greatest development in such forests. Mosses are present in fair amount, and Fungi, especially in the rains, are in great force. Above 3000 feet elevation those evergreen tropical forests give place to evergreen temperate forests. These latter are, of course, found only in those parts of Burma where the necessary elevation and requisite amount of rainfall are both present. I'hey are not found at all on the Pegu Yomahs, but occur on the ranges east of the Sittang Valley, and on the Arracan Yomahs and Kachin Hills. In the moister foi-ests occur such plants as Roses, Hydrangeas, Gardenias, Begonias, Chirita, Balsams, Honey- suckle, Jasmines, Clematis, Ivy, Royal Ferns, Selaginellas, Club-mosses, and, above 5000 feet. Rhododendrons, Violets, Strawberries, and such like. In the drier forests, where the ground is fairly open, grasses and sedges abound, and along with them a host of other plants like Polygomim, Bed-straw, Sundew, Lobelia, many Composites, Viola, Cosltis, etc. — a curious mixture of tropical and temperate forms. Orchids in great abundance adorn the trees, the more conspicuous being Dendrobiuras, Vandas, and Coelog3'nes, with their magnificent trusses of lovely flowers. Numerous ferns and club-mosses, scale- mosses, and ordinary mosses also clothe the branches. Loranthaceous parasites, and a mistletoe not unlike the European one, are frequent. The rocks are covered with lichens, mosses, Selaginellas, and small ferns, and the ground — in burnt-up parts — by mosses. In the moister hill forests grassv vegetation is absent, though here and there its place is taken by patches of sedges and other monocotyledonous herbs. Common plants in such forests, especially along the banks of streams, are Polygonums, a species of Solomon's seal, Snake-roots, and many othei' aroids. Begonias, Ferns, Peppers. Mosses and Scale-mosses cover the tree-trunks, but orchids are seldom seen. In the leaf-shedding forests, which are characteristic of the drier regions of Burma, the herbaceous vegetation FOREST FLOE A 45 differs considerably from that of the moist evergreen forests just described. In the Eng forests usually a scattered assemblage of grasses and sedges imperfectly covers the soil, with a mixture of common tropical weeds. During the hot weather showy bulbous plants like Crinums, Gingers, Curcumas, and other Amanjilidacece and Scila- minece make patches of colour on the baked-up soil. The trees in such forests are covered with gorgeous orchidi such as Dendrobiums, Vandas, Cymbidiums, etc. Ferns and Mosses are scarce. In the mixed leaf-shedding forests growing on alluvium the herbage is scattered, and consists less of grass than of such plants as Coslus, Ginger, Curcuma, and other Scita- mineous plants, Malvaceous herbs, composites. Ferns, etc. Orchids are still frequent on the trees, as also parasites of the mistletoe order. In the mixed leaf-shedding forests of the Pegu Yomahs and Martaban, the bulk of the herbaceous vegetation is made up of Malvaceous and Acanthaceous species, with a sprinkling of composites and grasses of various kinds. Orchids, of course, are in a fair abundance on the trees. Practically the same sort of vegetation is found also in the open, dry, leaf-shedding forests of Upper Burma. The vegetation of the rocky beds of hill streams varies according as to whether the latter flow tlirough leaf- shedding forest or evergreen forests. Shrubs like willows, small figs, and other Urticaceous species are common, wedged in amongst the rocks. The herbs are chiefly Scrophdaiinea;, and Lahialw, while a large white Lobelia is often found. In the evei'green forests the rocks and boulders are covered with Mosses, Liverworts, Selaginellas, and Ferns, while jelly-like masses of filamentous Algae are also common. The Shan Plateau. — The vegetation of the Shan Plateau is worthy of special mention as showing some remarkable features. It has been described by Collett and Hemsley in Vol. XXVIII. of The Journal of the Linnean Society, to which the reader is referred for fuller details than can be given here. The evergreen forest which clothes the upper slopes of 40 BURMA tlie liills bordering the plateau gives place, at a height of almost 4000 feet, to open, breezy, rolling downs. The flora of those rounded grassy hills is almost European in some respects. Species of Crow's-foot, Clematis, Violet, Milkwort, St John's Wort, are quite common. A primrose {Piimula Forbciii), which is also found in China, is very abundant. Other plants occurring on the plateau, and characteristic of a temperate climate, are Anemones, Lark- spurs, Catch-fly, Balsams, Agrimony, Willowherb, Bed-straw, Louse-wort, Mint, Bugle, etc. Two species of wild Roses occur, one being a gigantic climber, with long, lianging branches covered with huge white flowers, probably the largest wild rose known. Another interesting plant is a honeysuckle, which has much the largest flowers of any honeysuckle, the corolla being about 7 inches long. Amongst the tropical forms of plants growing on the plateau — conspicuous and common is a dark - leaved rosaceous shrub resembling the English blackthorn in appearance, and covered in spring with small- pretty white flowers. Convolvulaceous species and Labiates are numerous. Amongst the former a dwarf Ipomaea is peculiar in grow- ing only from 6 inches to 1 foot high. It lives amongst the grass on the level plateau or dry hillside, and has large flowers of a beautiful deep purple. Amongst the latter Colquhounia elegmis is remarkable for its beauty, being a shrub of 8 to 10 feet in height, with dark red or pale salmon - coloui-ed flowers. Other notable and common plants of this region are — a tall, bushy Lcspedeza (a Leguminous shrub), bearing large, dense panicles of beautiful blue flowers ; two composites — a Femonia and a Leucomeris — which attain the dimensions of trees ; and a Campanulaceous creeper, with beautiful dark blue flowers, which lives amongst the grass, twining round the stems like a convolvulus. Epiphytic and ground orchids are common. Amongst the former two are peculiar. One, Cinhopetahim collettii bears five or six dark purple flowers in an umbel at the apex of a scape 2 or .S inches high. The sepals are extremely long and slender, very mobile, and wafted about by the faintest breeze. They are also furnished with FLORAL AFFINITIES 47 niimerous little appendages, which wriggle about in every passing breath of wind. The whole plant presents a curious spectacle. The other, Bulhophiillum como.mm, is remarkable for its bottlebrush-looking inflorescence, quite unlike any other species of the genus. Affinities of the Burmese Flora. — The flora of Northern Burma north of the Irrawaddy River, and comprising the Kachin Hills and the Hukung and Taping Valleys, has strong affinities with the flora of the Assam Hills, and to a less degree with that of the Eastern Himalaya. Western and Southern Burma, by which is meant the country between the sea and the crests of the Chittagong Hills, Arracan Yomahs, and mountains of Tenasserim, ex- hibits a flora which Is Malayan in character, although it probably also contains many plants of the temperate regions of Northern Burma. The continuity of this flora is broken up by the interposition of the deltas of the Irrawaddy, Sittang, and other rivers, which have a char- acteristically estuarial flora of evergreen littoral forests resembling that of the Gangetic and Bramahputra Delta. The flora of Eastern Burma is so little known that nothing can be said with certainty as to its affinities with the neighbouring Chinese and Siamese floras. The vegetation of Central Burma, between the Arracan Yomahs and the hills east of the Sittang River, is — particu- larly in the northern drier half of the countrj' — akin to the Indian Deccan flora, with a considerable African element as well. BIBLIOGRAPHY TO THE FOREGOING KuRZ, S. — "Preliminary Report on the Forest and other Vegetation of Pegu." Calcutta, 1875. KuRZ, S. — "Contributions towards a Knowledge of the Burmese Flora." Journ. Asiat. Sue. Bengal, xliii. Part II., 1874, and following volumes. 48 BURMA HooKERj J. D., and Thomson, T. — " Introductory Essay to the Flora Indica." London, 1855. Hooker, Sir J. D. — "A Sketch of the Flora of British India" (to be published in The Imperial Gazetteer), 190^. HooKEit, Sir J. 1). — "Flora of British India." London, 1875-18.97. Mason, F. — "Burm.ah, its People and Natural Pro- ductions." Rangoon, I860. CoLLETT, H., and Hemsley, W. B. — "On a Collection of Plants from Upper Burma and the Shan States" (with a map). Jouni. Linn. Soc. But. xxviii. 1889. Grant, B. — -"The Orchids of Burma." Rangoon, 1895. PoTTiNGER, E., and Prain, D. — " A Note on the Botany of the Kachin Hills, north-east of Myitkyina" (with two maps). Records of the Botanical Survetj of India, vol i. No. 11. Calcutta^ 1898. Gage, A. T. — "The Vegetation of the District of Minbu in Upper Burma" (with a map). Records of the Botanical Sarvey of hidia, vol. iii. No. 1. Calcutta, 1904. Hooker, Sir J. D. — "An Epitome of the British Indian Species 'of Impatiens " : III. " Species of the Burmese Region from Assam to Tenasserim." Records of the Botanical Surveij of India, vol iv. No. 2. Calcutta, 1905. GEOLOGY AND MINERALS Our knowledge of the Geology of Burma remains very unequal. The chief general authorities remain Dr Oldham and Messrs Medlicott and Blanford, though detailed examination has been made here and there by Dr Fritz Notling, and other members of the Geological Survey of India, too few of whom have been detailed to work in Burma. The general parallelism of all the streams and hill ranges gives an appearance of simplicity to the physical geography of the country, but owing to the prevalence of jungle it has been found extremely difficult to determine the stratigraphy, and very little can be said to be really known about the formations occurring. The greater portion of the Irrawaddy \^alley is formed GEOLOGY-ROCKS 49 of newer alluvium, older alluvium, and silicified wood and bones of mammals in sands and gravels of the Pliocene age. The Pegu Yoma consists entirely of the Miocene group, with beds of later Tertiary age, chiefly sandstone and shale. The Arakan Yoma, and the spurs to eastward and westward of the main range, are chiefly of earlier Tertiary age, resting on Cretaceous and Triassic beds, which rise to the surface on the western face of the range. The Carboniferous limestone, and its associated beds, together with the Mergui group, appear to run up the line of the Salween. The Mergui group consists of highly metamorphosed rocks resting upon granite, and showing every variety, from gneiss and raica slate to hard silicious slates, occasionally chloritic, and to black and earthy, but micaceous and glossy, slates. Numerous veins of granite run through these. Above this comes a great accumulation of beds of pseudo-porphyritic rock, which form the higher grounds of all the outer ranges in the south, but ai-e less strongly represented towards the north. The total thickness cannot be less than 9000 feet. To the northward there are beds of hard sandstone, covered b}' a series of grey, shaly beds, and above this a 200-feet layer of fine, soft sandstone, on which rests the hard and thick limestone so largely developed near Moulmein. This has a thickness apparently of about 1000 feet or more, and extends northward, in large hills and ranges, into Karen-ni and the Shan States. The abrupt cliff's, full of caves, characteristic of the formation, are very notice- able near Mcing Nai (Mone), and northward in the same latitude. The same formation is found east Of the Sal- ween, in Kengma, Kokang, Chenkang, and probably far northward. It seems to belong to the Carboniferous series, and to be identical, in part at least, with the limestone found in the Mergui Archipelago. Until the fossils are better known it is impossible to say whether the Burma series exactly corresponds to the Carboniferous beds of the Himalayas and the Punjab. They are cer- tainly of the same approximate age. The occurrence of marine fossiliferous rocks of the Carboniferous period at the two extremities of the extra-peninsular area of British India, and the complete absence of any iTiarine Palaeozoic 50 BURMA fossils within the peninsular region, afTorcl the most striking illustration of the great divergence between the geological history of peninsular India and that of the surrounding countries. There is an abundance of these abrupt, precipitous limestone cliffs, but, so far as is yet known, they nowhere in Burma assume the extraordinary circular or elliptical basin formation found in North Tong- king and in Kwangsi. There, especially near Caobang, are complete circular fortresses of jagged, saw - edged peaks, rising to a height of 1000 feet, with no road in, and no outlet for water except underground. From a balloon they have exactly the appearance of the moun- tains of the moon. They are supposed to be of animal formation, built up exactly like the atolls of the Southern Pacific, and, indeed, dating from the time when the coral sea covered this part of Continental Asia. In the Shan States they appear only in the form of punch-bowls and devil's cauldrons, covered with metamorphosed, sedimen- tary deposits. The Burmese gneiss series consists of more or less granitoid gneiss, hoi-nblendic gneiss, crystalline limestone, quartz, and schists of various kinds. In many places the gneiss becomes a true granite. So far as is known, there are two groups — the gneissose forma- tion and limestone — which have been supposed to be of Lower Carboniferous age, but, according to recent investigations, more probably belong to the Lower Silurian formations. Metamorphic rocks cover a large but unexplored area in Upper Burma. The}' form all the higher ranges in the neighbourhood of Mandalay, and extend throughout a great portion of the country towards the Salween. Farther to the northward they extend from Bliamo to the neigh- bourhood of T'engyiich (Momien), in Yiinnan. The hills that skirt the Irrawaddy north of Mandalay are Silurian limestone, locally charged with crystalline limestone, which is the matrix of rubies, and metamorphic rocks, composed of gneiss and hornblendic schist, and opposite Kyaukmyaung greenstone and basalt are found. The Irrawaddy below Mandalay turns to the west, and flows through recent rock formations. The crystallines continue to the southward, forming a great part of the Shan States GEOLOGY— ROCKS 51 and tlie Kaien-ni country, and extending southward into Tenasserim. On the west of the Irrawaddv the formation of the Segaing Hills is partly metaniorphic and partly tertiary, composed of sandstones and shales of the Miocene period. The gneissic rocks of Burma have more resemblance to those of peninsular India than to the crystalline formations of the Himalayas. In the Arakan Range, running up into the Chin Hills, the rocks of the main range consist of rather hard sandstones and shales, greatly contorted and broken, traversed by numerous small veins of quartz, often slaty, and sometimes schistose. The only characteristic beds are some white-speckled grits interbedded with shales and sandstones, 35 miles west of Thayetmyo ; a band of dark blue shale with conglomerate, part of which is calcareous ; and some thick-bedded shales, passing into massive sandy shales, with hard nodules interspersed. To the northward there is a thick band of very pure limestone. The main outcrop of numnnilitic rocks extends from north to south-east of the Arakan and Chin Hills and west of the Irrawaddy. The beds have a general dip to the eastward. There are occasional outcrops of serpen- tine. The surface rocks are generally shales and sand- stones. Coal has been found, but has not yet been worked. The Irrawaddy Valley, from the old frontier to the neighbourhood of Ava, where the raetamorphic area is entered, consists of the same tertiary rocks as are traversed by the river in Pegu. About 50 miles north- north-east of Yenangyaung, and 25 miles east-south-east of Pagan, the extinct volcano of Popa rises to a height of 3000 feet above the rolling country, composed of Pliocene sands and gravels. The peak consists of ash breccia, but flows of lava, mostly trachytic, form the lower slopes and the surface round the base of the volcano. Amongst these flows are some of a beautiful porphyry, witli crystals of pyroxene. Tlie volcano is sujipused by Mr Blanford to have been in action during the Pliocene period. 52 BUKMA Here and there on the edge of the alluvial tracts laterite of the detritil low-level type is found, forming, as usual, a cap to other rocks, and having a very lovir dip towards the river from the sides of the valleys. The laterite seems to form the basement bed of the post- tertiary gravels and sands, and laterite gravels are largely dispersed through the older alluvial deposits. To the east of the Sittang River there is a well-marked bed ot this formation along the base of the metamorphic hills. The laterite rock here forms a plateau, rising 40 or 50 feet above the alluvium of the Sittang Valley. Along the margin of the Irrawaddy and Sittang allu- vium there is a broad but interrupted belt of undulating ground, clearly distinguished from the fiat alluvial plains near the river, both by the greater inequality of its sur- face and by its more sandy character. This tract is known as Induing, or the country of the In tree {Diptero- carpus tuherciilaius). This Induing tract is composed chiefly of gravel, derived in a great measure from the neighbour- ing hills, but partly from a distance. A portion is washed from the top of the hills, and the rest is carried and deposited by the river. Large tracts of the same deposits are found in places isolated in the Delta, sometimes rising considerably above the flat country round about. One such tract, 20 miles long, from north-east to south-west, by 10 broad, lies east of Ngaputaw, to the south of Bas- sein. Another, of about the same area, lies to the south- west of Rangoon. These may be ancient hhangar (older alluvium) deposits, or may be caused by local upheaval. There is no important expanse of alluvial deposits in the valleys of the Burmese rivers. The beds of all immediately above the deltas are formed in places by older rocks, and there is no such continuous alluvial plain as is found along the courses of the Ganges and Indus. The Delta of the Irrawaddy has been formed by elevation through subterranean forces, and not by tlie accumulation of fluviatile beds of recent origin. Some tracts of alluvium occur here and there, but the wide, undulating tracts in the neighbourhood of the rivers in Upper Burma are com- posed, not of river alluvium, but of the Pliocene fossil wood deposits. The hills which bound the Irrawaddy on SALSETTES 53 both sides are chiefly composed of sandstones and shales containing fossil wood and bones. The mud volcanoes, or salsettes, of Minbu appear never to be subject to the violent eruptions of these at Ramri, on the Arukan coast, where stones have been ejected and flames are sometimes emitted. The Minbu salses are conical hills of mud, hardened on the outside, and formed by the decomposition of volcanic rock. The mud is forced up by the currents of gas escaping from the solfataric region below, apparently at a great depth. The central hollow is filled with liquid mud constantly agitated by bubbles of gas. The hillocks rise in some places to the height of 60 or 80 feet. The salses are most active during the rains, and the gas which escapes from them is easily ignited. There is so much oil in the surrounding, soil that wells are quite useless for the purpose of obtaining drinking water. A similar phenomenon causes the " Spirit- fire" of Kama, between Prome and Thayetm3'o, on the Irrawaddy. Here there is a hillock with a heap of stones on the top, and from between the stones comes a con- tinuous flickering flame, as well as from some cracks in the ground. The soil is gravelly, and when this is stirred the result has been compared to the stirring of plum pudding in which brandy is burning, to which the flames bear no slight resemblance. Hot springs are found all over Burma and in very many parts of the Shan States. In some places the water is hotter than any on record out of volcanic regions, and " reaches within 12° or 14° of boiling water, and in a few cases actually touches the boiling point. Not unseldom these hot springs occur in the beds of streams. They usually appear on the lines of geological disturbances or faults. The water in almost all cases is perfectly cleai-, with a beautiful blue tinge in any quantity. The pools are usually filled with grey mud, and no distinct openings are visible from which the water issues, but bubbles of steam rise continually from the bottom. There is frequently a strong smell of sulphur- etted hydrogen. The salts consist of sulphate of lime and magnesia, with traces of alkalies, principally potash, and have in all likelihood come from dolomite. The 54. BURMA water would be liiglily beneficial in cases of clivonic rheumatism and gout. Gold. — Grains of gold are found in practically every stream in the country. Much is found in the Upper Irravvaddy, and the sands of the Salween are full of it. Every year in the intervals of agricultural work parties of the country people encamp, not only on the Salween, but on the banks of streams in every part of the country, and gather enough gold dust to have a festival in their village when they go home again. The gold is panned out in the crudest possible way in shallow, round wooden trays. There is, in fact, no doubt whatever of the presence of gold over very wide areas, and gold-bearing quartz even has been found in several places. Within the last few years a company for the extraction of gold by dredging from the Inawaddy above Myit Kyina has been started, and enterprises of the same kind are likely to be begun elsewhere, particularly in the streams east of the Salween, which have the reputation of being the richest in dust. The Burmese always had a profound belief in the existence of nugget gold in the rivers of the Wa States, and sent an army to exjiluit them. The Wa and the climate, however, disposed of the force. The only British force which reached the famous Golden Deer Stream, however, failed to find anything. The only gold mine started in Burma was at Chaukpazat, in the Katha district. The results were very satisfactory for a time, but the quartz reef was soon worked out, and proved to be a mere pocket. Silver is found in quite a number of peaces, and the mines in the Wa States are particularly rich, but, except at the Bawzaing lead mines, silver is nowhere extracted in the territory administered by Government. Coal. — Coal has been found in a great many places in different parts of Burma — in the Shan States, on the Chindwin River, and near Mogaung — but the only place where coal was actually mined has been at Kabwet, or Lingadaw, in the Shwebo district. The coal was of fair but not of particularly good quality, and the enterprise suffered from want of capital. At\er reaching an output of over 20,000 tons in the year the mine was eventually shut down. COAL 55 The coal deposits have been in most places only very superficially examined. In various parts of the Shan States where empirical experiments and analyses have been made the conclusion come to has been that the term lignite, or brown coal, would better express its com- position. Seams have been lound of a thickness of ilO and 50 feet. In the Geological Survey Records of the Government of India for the year 190.7, Messrs La Touche and Simpson report on the Northei-n Shan States fields. The coal in the Lashio field they describe as "a, brown-black lignite with a ?emi-conchoidal fracture and a specific gravity of I '53. It burns poorly in the open, with a dull flame and a sulphurous odour, and whilst burning decrepitates. As mined it is fairly hard and in largish lumps, but after a short exposure it breaks up into cubical fragments owing to the loss of moisture." Analyses of samples taken from out ci'ops and from inclines and pits give proportions of carbon as .34.-84, 3060, 28-64., 29-72, and 37-40. The coal in the Nam Ma field is better. " In an open fire the freshly mined coal burns well, with a bright flame and a somewhat aromatic odour." It leaves also a very small amount of ash. " It is a lustrous lignite with a specific gravity of 1-37. In colour it is a bright black and the streak is brown. It is non-coking and appears to be free from any large intermixture of iron pyrites." The coal is very low in carbon and the percentage of moisture and volatile products is very high. Both coals are therefore poor fuel, and unless bricjuetted will be of little value for locomotive purposes. In the Upper Chindwin, however, the prospects are brighter, though the inaccessibility of the coalfields, which extend to at least 75 square miles, is a drawback. Dr Notling, who reported on the Chindwin coal about fifteen years ago, came to the conclusion that, "as regards the proportion of fixed carbon, which is the most important factor in the production of heat, the Chindwin coal is far inferior to English coal, a little inferior to the best Indian coal, the Karharballi coal, but nearly equal to the Raniganj coal. It is certainly superior to the latter, as well as to any Indian coal, except that of Assam, as regards the per- 56 BURMA centage of ash, which is less than half the quantity in the best peninsular coal. The average Chindwin coal, there- fore, represents a high quality of fuel, and can compare favourably with any mineral fuel now imported into Burma." Dr Notling calculates that the total amount of available coal aljove the level of the Chindwin would reach about 10,5,000,000 tons, and, taken at a daily rate of production of 1000 tons, would last for 290 years, or at the minimum, on a daily supply of 1000 tons, for 130 3'ears. Coal is also found in the southern part of the Mergui district and in Thayetm3'o. This coal seems to be of much the same quality and character as the Chindwin coal. The Thayetmyo field, however, seems to be a mere deposit, or ])Ocket. The Tenassarim fields, on the con- trary, in some places form an anticlinal fold apparently, and, therefore, must be a thrown-down block. Petroleum. — Two different sorts of petroleum occur in Burma. I'hat in Ak3'ab and the Kyaukpyu districts of the Arakan division is hmpid, and is like sherry in colour and fluidity, varying from pale to dark, usually with a peculiar opaline tint. The oil from Yenangyaung is thick in consistency and dai-k in colour, and is very rich in paraffin wax. The Arakan oil has been worked for years, but has never been found in any very paying quantities. The oil from the Yenangyaung and Yenangyat wells, on the contrary, is well established, and the extraction is constantly increasing. It is thought that both varieties of oil are derived originally from the nummulitic group of rocks, through the subterranean distillation of their carbonaceous beds at great depths. Dr Notling's view is that, by some chemical ])rocess, the nature of which is unknown, whether we call it dry distillation or decomposi- tion, seams of coal formerly, and partly still, existing, were charged with it. The Yenangyaung field lies in a flat anti-cline, the axis of which, by variation in pitch, has produced a flat dome in the Kodaung tract. The deposits in this dome include a porous sand at depths of from 200 to 300 feet, covered by impervious clay beds, which have helped to retain the oil. The oil- bearing sandstone consists of a, more or less soft, coarse, RUBIES 57 or fine mioaceoiis sandstone of a bluish - grey colour, which changes to a more or less yellowish-gi-een, according to the amount of oil held suspended. There a])pear to be no natural reservoirs filled with oil. It is only to be found in soft, sandy beds, from which it slowly exfiltrates into the well or bore sunk into the beds. "The working of the oil is described under the head of Mines in Part IV. Rubies. — Next to petroleum, rubies form the most valuable mineral product in Burma. They are found ia a variety of places — at Nanyaseik, in the Myitkyina dis- trict ; in the stone tract of the Sagyin Hills, in the Mandalay district ; and in small quantities in a few other places. The only place, however, where the returns are really profitable is the Mogok area, about 90 miles north- north-west of Mandalay. The Ruby Tract proper, con- sisting of mines at work and those abandoned, extends to about 66 square miles. The area in which mines are in active operation covers 45 square miles. The rocks of the district are of Pala;ozoic age, and are composed of intimately associated gneiss masses, with interbedded granular limestone la3ers, which are the matrix of rubies. Portions of the gneiss and other similar rocks on the mountain crests have become entirely decomposed, whilst the limestone has been disintegrated and dissolved. The resulting hill wash is a clayey material of various colours, from dark red, through light red, to pinkish and white. In this clav are found the rubies and spinels, and occasion- ally the normal blue sapphire, with the rarer green, yellow, and white varieties. The stones are found sparingly in the red loamy clay, and more freely in the yellow and brown clays in the same deposit. In the alluvium of the larger valleys, covered over by a brown sandy loam, there is a bluish-grey clay mixed with gravel and sand and rounded gneiss blocks. This is the ruby- bearing portion, and is usually from 2 to 6 feet thick. The Ruby Mines Company had difficulties at first in getting machinery to the ground, but the industry has now entered a most encouraging phase (see Part IV.). Jade. — The mineral found in Burma is not the true jade stone, or nephrite, and is properly called jadeite, but it has 58 BURMA the colour which is specially fancied by the Chinese, who are the real jade purchasers of the world. The jade-producing country may be described as lying between the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth parallels of latitude, and enclosed east and west by the Uyu and Cliindwin Rivers. The chief quarries are at Tawmaw (see Part IV.). At this place the jadeite forms a layer in the dark green serpentine, against which, on a fresh surface, it stands in striking contrast on account of its lighter colour. They are not, however, in direct contact, but are separated by a band of soft, clayey ser- pentine of light green colour. The serpentine pierces strata of probably Upper Miocene, but possibly of Lower Miocene, age. Jadeite occurs in masses of closely inter- woven crystals, which account for its great hardness. The purest, though not the most valued, forms are white in colour, but more often there are various shades of green, and in the case of stones found embedded in the laterite of Up])er Burma there is a red staining, often extending to considerable depths in the pebbles. This, in the eyes of the Chinese, greatlj' increases the value. The white jadeite with emerald-green spots, caused by the presence of chromium, is also valued greatly for the cai-ving of bangles, thumb-rings, and stones for rings. Some jadeite — often the best material — is found in the form of nodules and pebbles in the gravels of the Uyu River. The most valuable jade, in a Chinaman's eyes, is of a particular shade of dark green. The colour, however, is by no means everything. Semi-transparency, brilliance, and hardness are also essential. Stone which satisfies these four condi- tions is very rare. Amber. — Burmese amber, like Burmese jade, is distinct from the ordinary succinite, or Baltic amber. It is, in fact, different from any other form of fossil resin, and it has been suggested that it should be called Burmite. The Burmese amber-mines are situated in the Hukawng Valley, to the north of Myitkyina district. The substance is found in clays of probably Miocene age, and fragments of amber have been similarly found in association with beds of this age in other parts of Burma — as at Mantha, in Shwebo district, and at Yenankyat, in the oil-fields. .Burmese amber is a little harder than that of Prussia. AMBER 59 It is easily cut, and takes an excellent polish, but many thin films of calcspar are included, .md there is less variety of colour than in Baltic amber. There are, in fact, only three shades of one colour. The ^lound colour is a bright, pale-sherry yellow ; darker shades lead to a reddish tint, which fades into a dirty brown, like colophony or congealed petroleum. It has a strong fluorescence — that is to say, it has a bluish tinge when light is thrown into it at a certain angle. A few insects have been found in it. It is largely used in Mandalay in the manufacture of rosaries, nadajings or ear-cylinders, and various trinkets in the shape of elephants, monkeys, fish, and even figures of Gautama Buddha. Tin. — Tin is found frequently, but tin-mining specula- tions have not been very successful. The country in which the ore occurs lies in a belt running from the Chinese province of Yunnan down to the very rich tin-ore fields of the Malay States. Hitherto no alluvial deposits of any size have been found inside Burma. The raj)id rate of rain denudation in the wet zone of the ti-opics is responsible for the fact that rich alluvial deposits may accompany poor lodes, and consequently the occurrence of tin ore in the sands and gravels of Burma does not warrant the hope that workable lodes will be found before the placer deposits are exhausted. Salt.^Apart from the salt boiling carried on along the sea-coast between the months of February and March, most of the salt made in Burma is extracted from fields the soil of which is saturated with brine. Manufacture is carried on in the Lower Chindwin, Sagaing, Shwebo, Myingyan, and Yamethin districts. At Maw-Hkeo, or Bawgyo, in the Northern Shan States, near Hsipaw, there is a salt well, or spring, which has been worked inter- mittently for the last ,500 years. The great fault of the salt is that it has a bitter taste, due, apparently, to the presence of sodium sulphate. Iron. — Iron is found in many parts of the hills, and is quarried in shallow, open cast pits in many places. Shan blacksmiths convert it into das, swords, daggers, and choppers, mattocks, axes, and a variety of household and agricultural tools and implements. 60 BURMA Lead, copper, and antimony are also found in various places, but the working of all of them, like that of the iron ore, is carried on in a very empirical way. Alabaster, a fine white marble, is mined from the quarries at Sagyin, north of Mandalay. Nearly all the marble images of the Buddha are made from the alabaster of these quarries. Mica is extracted in several places, and exists in others, and steatite mines are worked in the Minbu district. The material is used by the Burmese for writing on their black parabaik books. RACES OF BURMA It is uncertain who the original inhabitants of Burma and the tributary states were. The only tribe now remaining which does not belong to the Indo-Chinese family is the Selung, or Selon as the Burmans call them, the sea- gypsies who inhabit the islands of the Mergui Archipelago. Their language shows affinities with that of the Tsiam, or Cham, the aborigines of Cambodia ; it also appears to have relationship with the language of the Aetas, or Negritos, the aborigines of the Philippine Islands. It seems prob- able, therefore, that they were the inhabitants of the coast when Thaton was on the sea and Pegu was a mere speck of sand on the waste of waters, on which Henthas — golden geese — preened their feathers. Who lived in the hills behind is unknown. Dr Grierson thinks they were of the same stock as the progenitors of the great Munda race, and also of some of the tribes now found on the Australian continent. Upon these first indwellers there poured swarm upon swarm of Indo-Chinese invaders, crowding down from North-western China, from Tibet, the Pamirs, and from Mongolia, following the course of the great rivers. Local traditions, taken with ethnology and philology, prove that the first invading horde was that of the M6n-Hkmer sub- family. These were followed by a wave of Tibeto-Burmans, who di'ove their predecessors before them — many up into the hills, more still over the borders of the province altogetherj into Siam and Cambodia. Upon these warring TIBETO - BURMANS 61 bands there came down finally the peoples of the Siamese- Chinese sub-family — the Karens, and the Tai, or Shans — ■ who crushed and thrust and wedged themselves in where they might. The trend southward was continued over centuries, and, indeed, the last irruption from the hiving north — that of the Chingpaw — was only stopped by the British occupation of the country. Bands are still poured from the frozen loins of the teeming north, but they are marshalled like the orderly queue entering a public meeting, and do not force their way in like the rabble which breaks the fence round a football field. Of all these races the Tibeto-Burman have left the most evident traces of themselves and their origin. Their course is marked, like the trail of a paper-chase, by affiliated tribes that occupy the sub-Himalayan region from the Gandak River, in Western Nip;'d, to the basin of the Irrawaddy and beyond. They were as quarrelsome as sjjavrows. Tliey fought with one another all the way down througli the years, and for years and years they fought mercilessly with the people they found in the country before them. To all seeming they made their first appearance in the Irrawaddy Valley about 600 b.c. Forbes and Gamier unite in the conclusion that in the earlier ages kindred tribes of the Mon-Hkmers dominated the whole country from the Irrawaddy eastward to the China Sea, and, till tliey were split by the Tai invaders, the whole of the territories frona the Salween down to the shores of the Gulf of Siam, and over to the Chinese-ridden Annamese and Tongkinese, were dominated by the Hkmer, in constant conflict with their blood relations the Mon, and their remoter kindred the Burmans. But the Mon- Hkmer were finally subdued, and the Tibeto-Burmans not only occupy a vastly greater extent of country, but are a much superior factor in the politics of Farther India. Neither the Mon nor the Hkmer traditions give any ac- count of their first migrations. The tales of the Burmese, the Shans, and the Karens do, and these all bear out the theory that the Mon-Hkmer preceded them. The races of Burma, with the exception of the Selung, are, therefore, all of the same original stock. The Selung 63 BURMA are as much stranp;ers as the Basques are in Western and Central Europe. The rest are from the same countryside, and are more or less distantly related and connected. There are three sub-families where the relationship is nearer, and the animosities have, therefore, been the more bitter and prolonged. The cadets of these sub-families may be most conveniently mentioned here in groups. They are : T'l T'l i T> ( The Burmese Clans, ine libeto-Hurman i ,,„ ^, . ,-,1 c , o ., -; Ihe Chnigpaw Clans. •' ' 'I The Kuki-chin Clans. The Siamese-Chinese J The Tai Clans { Sub-family . . ( The Karen Clans. The M6n-Hkmer Sub- f The M6n or Talaing Clan, family , . . \ The Wa-Rumai Clans. Population of the Province. — The total population of the province in 19OI was 10,490,624. This cannot be compared with the figures for 1891, on which it shows a very great increase, because it included a number of tracts which could not be enumerated in that year. Similarly, it will be impossible to compare the total as a whole with that obtained at the next decennial census, because it is probable tliat areas which in 19OI were "estimated," in 191I will be enumerated, while tracts altogether omitted in I9OI may later be '^ estimated," or even formally counted. The number of people ordinarily speaking Burmese is estimated by Mr C. C. Lowis, the Provincial Superintendent, at 7,006,495. Messrs Risley and Gait, the editors of the general report on the census of India, raise this total to 7,474)896, and are inclined to add the speakers of Mru, and to make it 7,498,794- This divergence is due to the existence of very pro- nounced dialects, which vary as much as the talk of the Aberdonian does from that of the Devon man, or more than Wiltshire differs from Ayrshire. To a stranger, and even to a man with a very considerable command of one dialect, the variations seem to amount to the status of a separate language. Long separation has led to much of this, as in the case of Arakan. The earliest Burman settlers at Tagaung had apparently the custom POPULATION C3 of Borougli English, which exists to the present day among their congenors the Chingpaw (Kachins) and the Manipuris. On tlic death of the founder of the first monarchy at Tagaung, the elder son went off to form a new kingdom, and conquered and settled down in Arakan ; wliile the younger brother remained behind, and reigned over Tagaung. The Arakanese, therefore, claim to be the elder brothers of the Burmese, but the claim has about as much weight as the number of those speak- ing Arakanese — 405,143 — has to that of the Burmese speakers proper — 6,508,682. The Pyii. — On liis way to Arakan the elder brother, Kan Rajagyi, subdued and gave a ruler to the peoples in the Kubo Valley and in the Chindwin Valley, the Pyii, the Kanran, and the Sak. Who these early dwellers in the country were is, and is likely to remain, a mystery, for the Burmese State History, the Mahayazawin, wliich is responsible for their names, gives no details about them. Mr Parker identifies them with the P'iao of Chinese chronicles and thinks they were probably Tai, but the fact remains that the Pyiis who founded Prome are as extinct as the Trinobantes in Middlesex. The names were as likely as not nicknames, just as the Bengalis call the people of Chittagong Maghs, or as the Chinese speak of the Miao and the Lolo, the Burmans of the Slians, and ourselves of the Welsh, and no one can tell whether or not they will become permanent, as some have. The Tavoyers are descendants of a colony from Arakan, and the Intiia seem most likely a colony from Tavoy. Thus we get variations of speech, and more particularly a whole set of new names, which set up to be new tribes. A great factor in the change of language was the continual wars which were waged. The victors were most thorough in their metliods. i'hey killed all the males they could lay hands on, and they married all the women. The offspring learnt their first language from their mothers, and this coloured the speech which they and their likes later developed. Or, perhaps, a whole community — men, women, and children — were carried off as prisoners of war, and settled down in a body in a far country, where their speech gradually developed a new character of its own. 64 BURMA Tliis accounts for the numerous dialects and sub-dialecls which are classified separately in the census tables. The Burmese Group. — The Burmese group is said to include : — Burmese Taungyo Maingtha Arakanese Kadu Lihsaw Tavoyan Mru La'hu Yaw Szi Akha Chaungtha Lashi Ako Yabein Maru Intha Hpon The first six of these might be called Burmese, or archaic forms of Burmese. The next eight are half- breed languages, and are entitled to separate notice on a varying scale, ranging from a comparison with Pidgin English, which is only a more complicated variety of the Butler English of the curry-eating colonel, and rising up to Yiddish, which is, perhaps, the tongue triumph of the mongrel, seeing that it has a literature. The last five seem to require further consideration. Not much is known about them, but what is known seems opposed to the bundling of them into this corner for convenience sake. They assuredly belong to the "nomad languages," of Max Midler, which have no literary standard to prevent the blurring of the original words and grammatical forms. The very name of the Maing-Tha (Monghsa) points him out to be of Shan origin, and the features of the others deny Burman affinities. First Home of the Burmese. — The presence of these different forms of Burmese, some admittedly archaic, or at anyrate old fashioned, ought to help to the identifica- tion of the first home of the Burman. The Burmese National History, the Mahayazawin, states that the first king, and therefore, naturally, with him the predominating power, came in the person of Abhiraja, from the country of the Sakya kings, in Northern India, but a majority, perhaps, of modern students do not agree with the Royal Chronicle, and will have it that they came from North- western China. But the probability is that that part of the world was the original home of the Tai, and that west FIRST IIOIME OF BURMESE G5 of them from Eastern Tibet came the Mun-Hkmcr^ peiliaps originally displaced by a movtuient of the Tibeto-Burmaus and of the Tai. Logan, with only a tithe of the informa- tion now available, wavered between the country enclosed by the Hwang-Ho and Uie Kinsha (the Upper Yangtzu) and the Himalayan home. He came to the conclusion that vocabularies showed an alliaiue between the Hima- layan and Tibetan roots with the Indo-Chinese tongues, and he and his school, notably Forbes, were finally con- vinced that the Burmans came from the northern slopes of the Tian-Shan Range, extending eastward across a great part of the Tibetan Plateau to the upper valleys of the Brahmaputra and the Irrawaddy, and, perhaj^s, touching what is now known as China, but which as- suredly at that time was very far from being what we now know as China. Mr Houghton, by dint of a study of Tibetan and Arakanese, proves that a scrutiny of their etymologies is essential to a proper comprehension of the question, and brings the Burmans from the Tibetan Plateau. The later Indian school of philologists will have none of this, and favour the Chinese Soiiche. But we have no proof that the modern Tibetans are the aborigines of Tibet. The Kapilavfistu kings, Gautama himself, was not an Indian of the present day. The Burman is blood-brother of the Buddhist races of India l)efore the arrival of the Aryans, who exjielled Buddhism from India. There were no , Punjabi Mohammedans or Bengalis in the country in the time of Suddhodana and Yasodhara and Siddartha. The Sakyas, no doubt, were Aryan, but the bulk of the population was Dravidian. The base-born Chandragupta, who drove the Greeks from India, was not of kin to anyone in those regions now. His grandson, Asoka of Mng.idha, who was the Saul and the Constantine of Buddhism, sent his missionaries across and along the Himalayas to preach his religion. He naturally sent them along the line where the trend was of the population. His apostles introduced Buddhism into Tibet and Tai traditions say that they penetrated to the then headquarters of the Shans in ,"00 u.c, in the country south of the Kinsha Ki;ing. Mr Parker, late of the Chinese Consular Service, soaked 66 BURMA in Chinese learning, can discover no traces in Chinese histories of the Burmans, unless the P'iao be the Vyu, one of the three tribes of the Yazawin, and, if they were, they did not come from the east. The question is one of interest rather than of importance, but the bulk of the evidence and the circumstantial weight of the authorities seem to indicate that the belief of the Burmans themselves is correct, and that the Mahayazawin is right when it brings their forebears from the Mon- golian countries north of Magadha. The race traditions of the Burmese, the Mon, and the Hknier all represent that for some time after their arrival the deltas of the Irrawaddy, the Sittang, the Salween, and, farther east, the Menam and the Mekhong, were still beneath the waves of the Gulf of Martaban and the Gulf of Siam. The lower valleys of these rivei^s were arms of the sea, and Syriam was an island. They unite in fixing a date two or three centuries after the commencement of the Christian era as that of the retirement of the sea from the littoral and the occupation of this by the inhabit- ants of the foot-hills. The Burmese have a tradition that a great earthquake caused the rise of the level of the country about Prome, where Maha Thambawa founded his capital in 483 B.C. Arakanese. — The Mahayazawin gives a list of 227 kings of Arakan between 2666 b.c. and a.d. 1782, when the country was finally annexed by Burma. Without ac- cepting either the dates' or the names and the number of the kings, it is clear that the Burmese have been very long in the countrj, at anyrate in Northern and Western Burma. The Arakanese branched off very early, and, since they were separated from Burma proper by a tract of formidable mountainous country, had relatively very little intercourse with the main stock. They were, moreover, screened by the same range from the intrusion of other races. It may very readily, therefore, be conceded that owing to this isolation their original form of speech has been protected, and that Arakanese is the nearest to the ancient tongue of the race. It is the parent of the so-called Tavoyan and Chaungtha and Yabein dialects, and it is itself unquestionably the chief dialect of Burmese. ARAKANESE 67 But It is in no sense a dialect such as Cantonese or Fuk- hienese are of Pekingese. In both languages the written character is used by the branches of each nation, but the divergences of the Cliinese dialects and of the Burmese cannot be compared. It is possible that Mr Houghton may be found to be right in making Burmese a lineal descendant of Bhotia. As far as pronunciation is con- cerned, the relationship is not to be recognised, but by assigning the original value to the vovifels and consonants some remarkable resemblances come to light. But it is a resemblance of the desk rather than of the platform ; of the scholar's study rather than of the market-place. The people themselves have no doubts on the subject. The Arakanese are proud of their assumed sujjerior antiquity, but consider themselves Burmans ; the Burmans look upon them as uncouth talkers and accomplished liars, but do not deny the kinship. The separation of the two is a matter of sentiment, and is likely gradually to disappear. Tavoyans. — The Tavoyans have already recognised the fact. Only five in the last census called themselves Tavoyans, though their tongue bewrayed many others. Yaws. — The Yaws are of the same opinion, and only five of them also made their name correspond to their tongue. The popular idea in the Yaw country is that it is the hill water which they drink that is responsible for their brogue and their twists of speech. Chaungtha. — Similarly, the Chaungtha of Ak3'ab and the Arakan Hill tracts talk a variety of Arakanese, with re- miniscences of their neighbours, or part progenitors in the Arakan Yoma. Over 1300 people, male and female, considered themselves Chaungtha. Yabeins. — The Yabeins, on the other hand, call them- selves Burmese outright, and decline to admit the name, which is connected in the popular mind with silk- weaving, a strong Arakanese accent, and a last home in hell, rather than with any idea of difference of race. Taungyo. — The Taungyo, who live in the Myelat, the Shan States front yard, in contradistinction to these faint spirits, have no ideas of self-depreciation or false sentimentality. They recorded themselves to the number 68 BURMA of 10,543. The men dress like Slians, and the women have a picturesque dress, suggestive of the Karen fashions. They themselves scout the Burmese connection, though a great part of tlicir speech sounds like burlesqued Burmese or forced archaism. They may have fled iiom Tavoy, or liave been brought as prisoners, and paired with such daughters of the land as their parents would |)ermit to mate with them. The Taungyo had abundant ac- quaintance with the Burmese, and were well known to them, but it is only since the British occupation that any connection between the two races has been suggested. The fact that the dialect of Burmese which Taungyo resembles is the old Arakanese form, suggests that their forefathers came up from Tavoy. Intha. — The Intha, who live round the Yawnghwe Lake, have a direct tradition that their original home was in Tavoy. Their name has no more special signi- ficance than that of the Chaungtha. The latter name means Sons of the Stream, and Intha means Sons of the Lake. But they are often called Dawe, though, perhaps, more in formal lists than in conversation. Their own tradition is that they were artificers who were brought up by Prince Mani Thesu when he visited the lake district in 715 B.E. (1353 a.d.), and built pagodas and left images there, among them the famous Hpaung-daw-il, so called because it was carried in the bows of the Prince's barge. The Intha language is undoubtedly Burmese in the main, but instead of having a Tavoyan accent the people pro- nounce it as a Shan would pronounce Burmese in reading it from a book without a knowledge of the language beyond the written characters. They dress as Shans, both men and women, but the latter wear black-lacquered string garters to show off the whiteness of the leg, which Shan belles do not think necessary. Neither Shans nor Burmans can understand them, unless they know both languages. In the census of 1901 they numbered 5851, and, as they are a conceited, self-assertive race, it does not seem probable that they will drop out of future census tables like the Tavoyans, Yaws, and Yabeins. Kadu. — The Kadu have been classed with the Burmese more for convenience than because it is clear that they DANU G9 belong to the Burmese £fi-oiip. Mr B. Houghton is per- suaded that the Kadu belong to the Kachiu-Naga sub- group, and that they are related to the Sak, or Thek, of Arakan. They are chiefly found in the Katha district of Upper Burma, where Shans, Burmans, and Kachins have prevailed in alternation, while parties of Chins are re- corded to have made tlieir a]ipearance. It seem probable, therefore, that the Kadus are just as mnch dregs as the populations of the South American republics, and are like nothing so much as .1 dish-clout, which retains traces of everything it has been rubbed against. Mr Houghton gives them a respectable first home in Tibet. It lias also been suggested that the first Kadu were prisonei-s from Arakan, brought over by Sam Ldnghpa, or some other of the warrior kings of Mogaung. In 1901 the number of people owning to the name of Kadus w.is 16,300. It seems probable that there will be none before papers cease to be written about them in Tlie Indian Antupianj. Danu. — A similar sort of by-blow are the Danu. Tliey live in the Myelat proper, and generally in the border country between the Shan States and Burma, and are vastly more numerous than the Kadu. They have a firm conviction that they are a separate race, and their young women are, with some of the hill Karens and the Wa, the prettiest in the tributary states, but. Mr C. C. Lowis, and with him the editors of the Indian Census Report, deny that thev have a separate language of their own. After cataloguing so many mere dialects this is somewhat un- kind. The people are, doubtless, a mere ethnological precipitate of an irreducible character, like the inhabitants of the greater part of the South American coast, but their talk is as much a Mosaic or a Macaronic or a Yiddish as that of the Chaungtha or the Kadu. Mru, or Mro. — Not very much information is available about the Mru, of whom l.S,414 were registered in the 1901 census. For long their language was looked upon as a variety of Ciiin. Dr Grierson, however, has decided to treat it as a member of the Burmese group, spoken in a very archaic form. In the main the people follow the phonetic system of the Burmese, but have very essential diDTcrences. The Mru live in the Akyab district and in 70 BURMA the Aralfan Hill tracts, and, as might be expectecl, have suggestions of Kuki-Cliin forms of speech. They even go farther, and have reminiscences of iiodo and X;igS. Szi, Lashi, and Maru. — Between Burmese and Kachin there are several transition tongues, some of them mere liybrids, about which not very much is known. Of these the most typical, and the most easily disposed of, are the Szi, or Asi, who live in the hills near Mogaung ; tiie Lashi, who are very much mixed up with them ; and the Maru, who are mostly found on the Burma-China borderland. All of them, however, have thrown out settlements else- where. When they were first met with they were un- hesitatingly called Chingpaw, or Kaohins. They live in the Kachin counLiy, they are mixed up with pure Kachin sejrts, and their dress, religion, and customs are those of the Chingpaw. But their language is, at least, as much Burmese as Chingpaw, if, indeed, it is not more Burmese. They are the poor relations of both groups, and form the connecting-link. The census recorded 756 Szi, Si Lashi, and 151 Maru, but there are vvy many more whose numbers wei'e not recorded. It is ditlicult to say which way they will incline, but the probability is that they will claim to be Kachins, whom they most resemble in feature, and in every other way except forms of speech. Hpon. — The Hpiin are a small community in the hills along the Irrawaddy near and below Sinbo. In appear- ance and habits they might be anything. In speech they might be either Burmese or Shan. They have long been isolated in the hills along the Upper Defile, which offered no attractions to anybody. They are a kind of lees, or scum, of the neighbourhood, and possibly were in the beginning refugees from justice or from tyranny. In the enumeration they called themselves Burmese. The remaining communities which the census reports, pigeon-holed in the Burmese group, are so very unlike the Burmese in every way that it seems better to deal with them separately later in this chapter. They are the Maiiigtha, the Lihsaw, the La'hu, the Akha, and the Ako. The Burmese. — As we have seen, the Arakanese claim that the Burmese established themselves in Northern FIRST ACCOUNT OF BURMESE 71 Burma earlier than ^>(}G6 B.C. The true Burman's opinion of the capacity of his elder brother, the Arakanese, for accur.ito statement is so pronouncedly low as to be almost insultintj. We may, therefore, take it that there is some exajifreration. So tar as external information is concerned, we have no proof that the Burmans got to the Irrawaddy Valley before about 600 b.c. It is very clear that between B.C. 500 and a.d. 500 there was a vast deal of tribal shift- ing, and the changes seem to have been so sudden md frequent that we can only compare the situation to the wriggling of mites in a cheese, or to the gyrations of animal life in a globule of water under a microscope. By the ninth century a.d. the nations had consolidated themselves — the Burmans in the greater part of what is now Upper Burma ; the Mon on the Lower Irrawaddy, the Sittang, and the Salween ; while the Hkmer were at the height of their power, with magnificent towns and temples in Cambodia. In the fourteenth century the Tai moved from Tali, and overran Northern Burma, forcing the Burmese down on the Mon, and occupying the delta of the Mtnam, thus finally separating the two chief nations of the Mon- Hkmer family. In the sixteenth century the Burmans and Mons may be said to have merged. They fought as vigorously as ever, and first one and then the other had the upper hand, until in the end Alaungpayah crushed the M6n, and founded Rangoon to punctuate his victory. The P'iao. — The T'ang history of the "Southern Barbarians" gives us the first glimpse of the inhabitants of Burma under the name of the P'iao. It is possible that these were Shans, but it seems more probable that they were Burmese. The translation is Mr Parker's : "When the King of the P'iao goes out in his palanquin he reposes on a couch of golden cord ; but for long dis- tances he rides on an elephant. He has several hundred female attendants. The circular wall of his city is built of greenish glazed tiles, and is ]60 li [over 50 miles] m circuit. It has twelve gates, and there are pagodas at each of the four corners. The people all live inside it. Their house-tiles are of lead and zinc, and they use the wood of the Nephelium Lkhi as timber. They dislike 72 BURMA taking life. They greet each other by embracing the arm with the hand. Tliey know how to make astronomical calculations, and are devotees of Buddhism. They have a hundred monasteries, with bricks of vitreous ware, em- bellished with gold and silver, vermilion, gay colours, and red kino. The floor is painted and covered with gay carpets. The King's residence is in like style. 'i'he people cut their hair at eight years of age, and enter a monastery. If at the age of twenty they have not grasped the doctrine, they become lay people again. For clothes they use a cotton sarong, holding that, as silk cloth involves the taking of life, it ought not to be worn. On the head they wear golden-flowered hats with a blue net. or bag set with pearls. In the King's palace there are placed two bells, one of gold and one of silver; when an enemy comes they burn incense and beat the bells in order to divine their good or evil fortune There is a huge white elephant a hundred feet high , litigants bum incense and kneel before the elephant, reflecting within themselves whether they are right or wrong, after which they retire. When there is any disaster or plague the King also kneels down in front of the elephant, and blames himself. " They have no manacles, and criminals are flogged on the back with five bamboos bound together, receiving five blows for heavy, and three for light, offences. Homicide is punished with death. The land is suitable for pulse, rice, and the millet-like grains. Sugar-cane grows as thick as a man's shin. There is no hemp or wheat. Gold and silver are used as money, the shape of which is cres- cent-like; it is called Teng-k'a-t'o, and also Tsii/i-t' an-t' o. They have no grease or oil, and they use wax and various scents instead for lighting. In trading with the neigh- bouring states of their class they use porpoise \? skin], cotton, and glass jars as barter. The women twist their hair high up on the crown of the head, and ornament it with strings of pearls ; they wear a natural tinted female petti- coat, and throw pieces of delicate silk over themselves. When walking they hold a fan, and the wives of exalted persons have four or five individuals at each side holding fans. Near the city there are hills of sandj and a barren FIRST ACCOUNT OF BURMESE 73 waste, which also borders on Po-sz and P'o-lo-incn, and is twenty days from the city of Si-she-h. [The Si-slie-li of the Buddhist classics is Central India.] " Nanchao [the Shan kingdom at Tali] used to exercise a suzerainty over it on account of its contiguity and by reason of the military strength of Nanchao. Towards the close of the eighth century a.d. the King Yung K'ang, hearing that Nanchao had become part of the T'ang Empire, had a desii-e to join China too, and Imousiin sent an envoy, named Yang Kia-ming to Kien-nan [in Ssu- ch'uan]. The Viceroy of Si-ch'wan [this is the old form of the name], Wei Kao, begged permission to offer the Emperor some barbarian songs, and, moreover, told the P'iao State to send up some musicians. For specimens of their music see the General Annals. His Majesty Divus Teh made Shunando [possibly the heir-apparent] President of the Royal Mews, and sent him back. The Governor of K'ai-Chou submitted a panegyric upon the P'iao music. " In the year 832 the Nanchao monarch kidnapped 3000 Burmans, and colonised his newly acquired eastern domin- ions with them." This discription has sufficient general correspondence with the Burma of 1000 years later to warrant the belief that it describes a Burman kingdom. It may have been Shan, but it may also have been the kingdom of the Pyu, whom Kan Rajagyi subdued and organised on his way from Tagaung to Aracan. There is, no doubt, much exaggeration, just as there is much exaggeration in the tales of Fernao Mendez Pinto, of the city and court of-the " King of Bramaa " at Pegu, but sufficient resemblance remains to justify us in believing the whole in a general way. The result is to strengthen the probability that the Burmans came from the country north of Magadha, and not from Eastern China. They were Buddhists, a religion which they afterwards renounced, only to recover it again from the Mon, and other allusions, such as that to theii astronomical calculations, suggest India rather than China. The atmosphere certainly is that of Burma ; the gay colours, the lacquered house-posts, the white elephant, the twelve gates of the city, the pagodas at its corners. t4 BURMA the bells in the palace, the prominence of music — all suggest the Burma of native rule. Written Character. — Nothing is said about literature, but nothing is more certain than that the Burmese, like the Mon, Hkm^r, and Tai, all adopted alphabets more or less closely borrowed fi-om the old rock-cut Pali of India, and with the alphabet and the Buddhism, a very consider- able number of Pali words. Notwithstanding this, all of them strictly preserved the monosyllabic form of their language and their non-Aryan grammatical constructions. Although, according to history, the Burmans obtained their religious books and their system of writing from the Mon, it seems probable that they had both, long before Anawrat'a, in the eleventh century, carried ofFthe Buddhist scriptures and relics from Thaton, the dwelling-place of Buddhagosha, and the principal seat of religion. The Name Burma. — For long the origin of the names Burma and Burmese was not doubted. The early Indian settlers gave to them the name of Brahma, and this was adopted by the people themselves. The name of Brahma is that used in Buddhist sacred books for the first inhabit- ants of the world. This is now written Myamma, and is pronounced Bama. Brahama-desa is the name commonly given to Burma by Cinghalese monks. But first the late Bishop Bigandet, and Forchhammer, and after them Mr G. H. Parker, contest this, and will have it that Mran, Myan, or Myen was the original name. It is asserted that this theoiy is supported by the circumstance that the Kachins call the Burmese Myen and the Shans Man ; but this is merely the Chinese name for the country, and all Kachins, and very many northern Shans, know Chinese, and, no doubt, adopted the Chinese name. Mr Parker makes a point of the fact that the Chinese only began to know the Burmese by the name of Mien in or about the year 1000 A.D., and did not give Burma the name by which thev now know it, of Mientien, until 1427. But Mien is just the form that Brum would take in the mouth of the heavj'- tongued Chinamen, and the Ma is simply an honorary affix. One branch of the Karens calls the Burmans Payo and another Pyaw ; the Rumai call them Paran. The Karen names suggest the mysterious Pyu, or P'iao, and NATIONAL CIIAEACTER 75 tlie Paran may very well be Bram. The reasonable conclusion seems to be that the Uurmese are right when the}' say that they came from tlie Himalaj'as, and that they are right about the origin of their name. The assertion that it is mej-e modern, " empty, bombastic pi-ide " comes queerly from a Chinese partisan and it seems prob' able in any case that the original Biirman had at leas- as good a conceit of himself as his modern descendant undoubtedly has. National Character. — The Burmese are probably the most engaging race in the East. The Japanese are the nearest to them. But where the Burman is open and frank, and withal courteous, the J;ipanese carries his politeness beyond the bounds of simplicity. The Burman is genuinely inartificial and ingratiating ; the Japanese is polished to a degree which gets on the nerves, and in the end lies under the suspicion of being a mere mannerist. Except the South Sea Islanders, there is no Oriental race which is so winning, and the South Sea Islanders have no backbone. Both the Japanese and the Burmese have that in addition to tlie charm of demeanour. Their friendliness of manner may be compared to that attitude respectively in a Scotch terrier and a bull-dog — for bull- dogs are friendly, though they do not get credit for it. Both adapt themselves to those who make advances to them, and a very great deal depends upon the character of the observer. It may be at once admitted that the Burman is a thoroughly unbusiness-like person, and the Japanese is nothing if not business-like, even in the sweetness of his disposition. For this reason it is undeniable that tlie Japanese ladies are more fascinating than the Burmese. Both are frank, and unaflected, and have a charming .artless- ness, but the Burmese woman is far ahead of her lord in the matter of business capacity, and the Japanese woman is equally far behind. The Japanese wife is not only supposed to obey her husband, but actually does so. The Burmese wife shows her capacity by the way in which she rules the household without outwardly seeming to exercise any authority. The Japanese wife treats her husband as an idol, the Burmese as a comrade. Both have the power 7fl BURMA of beauty without the possession of it, both have a dangerous power of witchery ; but the Japanese imusinne is more piquante and winsome, the Burmese mcbikale more prim and practical. There are not wanting people who believe that the Burmese and the Japanese in far back ages lived in the same Himalayan home. Faults. — But though the Burman has many good points he has also many disappointing faults. He has a courtesy of manner and natural good breeding which make him conspicuous even among Orientals, but he has great pride of race and self-reliance, and these, when he is clad with a little brief authority, too often develop into arrogance. The race is probably the most light-hearted in existence, but for want of providence one can only compare them to a tribe of Sheridans and Goldsmiths. The love of laughter is born with them, and remains with them to the shadow of the lych-gate, but they are lamentably wanting in self-control, sometimes passing into wild outbursts of brutality. They have a most extraordinarily keen sense of humour, and yet they are as credulous as the marines, or JudEeus Apella, and as superstitious as Louis XL They are keen judges of character, as many a nickname given to their rulers, native and British, can testify, but they will allow themselves to be imposed upon by any glib or solemn charlatan with charms and philtres and runes. Like most Orientals, they are Ingrained gamblers, and they have far more passive courage than most Europeans. In former times they were notable warriors. They levelled Ayuthia, the former capital of Siam, with the ground. They made, early in last century, raids into Eastern Bengal, and created a temporary flutter even in Calcutta. Yet now they cannot be made into soldiers, and are not in the least disconcerted by the fact. It is, therefore, too common to call them cowards. They would not meet British troops ; but what company of men armed with fowling-pieces, flint and matchlocks, spears, swords, and sticks, would face battalions armed with the best rifles and supported by artillery.? Those who did so would be fools, and in certain ways a Burman has much common- sense. The Boer was not called a coward because he fought at long range and habitually avoided close quarters. niVSICAL APPEARANCE 77 Similarly, the Burman suited his fighting to his country. He laid ambuscades, fired his gun when the enemy was near enough to be hit, and then he ran off half-a-mile or a mile to get time to charge his muzzle-loader again. The Burman is a bold horseman, and shows great pluck in boat-racing, boxing, and football. Where the odds against him are too great he has the pluck to acknowledge it — not the foolhardiness to throw his life away. Physical Appearance. — The Burmese in person have very marked Mongoloid characteristics — high cheek-bones, heavy jaws, narrowed eyes, and a nose which is too much developed in the nostrils and too little in the bridge, so that the eyeballs are almost flush with the face. The complexion is brown, but never very deeply brown, even in the agriculturists. The tint varies from that of Ijutter in the' case of well-to-do women in the towns, who are little exposed to the sun, to that of a dead oak leaf in the case of country farmers and hai'vest women. 'I'he hair is very black, very long, usually coarse and lank, but sometimes fine. It is quite usual for a man or woman to be able to sit on the hair, and not at all uncommon for women to be able to stand erect on it. In figure they are sturdy and well-built, with very good chest and leg development. Their height varies in different [)arts of the country, but may be said to average 5 feet 2 or 3 inches. The women are 2 inches or more shorter, as a rule. Tattooing. — A peculiar characteristic of the men is the "breeches" which they have tattooed on them, fi-om the waist to the knee. The figures tattooed are those of a variety of animals, real and heraldic — tigers, monkeys, and bitus. Each representation is surrounded by a roughly oval tracery of a variety of letters of the alphabet, which form a curious and singularly effective frame. Magic squares and ladder-step triangles as charms are often added in vacant places. The tattooing ink is a solution of lamp-black obtained from the smoke of sessamuni oil. The arms, chest, and back are occasionally tattooed with isolated figures, but these are almost always special ch.irnis, and are always done in red. A few scattered vermilion dots between the eyes almost always imply a,lu\'c-cliarm. 78 BURMA so does a quail on the jaw. Practically every Biirman has some of these, though the national badge of the breeches is falling out of fashion among the town youth. Women are practically never tattooed, except with these red love-dots, and this only in rare cases, where a maiden is particularly love-sick, or is in danger of becoming a wall -flower. Ear-boring. — While the Barman youth asserts approach- ing manhood by getting himself tattooed, his sister has her ears bored, usually at the age of twelve or thirteen. The signification is much the same as the letting down of the skirts and the putting up of the hair of the British girl. The ceremony is very formal, and is done at a propitious hour, according to the girl's horoscope, indi- cated to the professional ear-borer by the caster of nativi- ties. All the family, and most of the relations and friends, are present in their best clothes. The ear is pierced with a golden needle, and then the hole is gradually enlarged until it is big enough to hold the ear -cylinders, about the girth of a thumb, or larger, which Burmese women wear. The boys have their ears pierced too, but the ceremony with them is much less formal, though occasionally it is made the opportunity for a pwc, one of the functions which the Burman loves. Birth. — When a child is born the national custom is to apply hot bricks swathed in cloths to the mother's body for seven days, and to dose her with turmeric and other decoctions, finishing off with a rude kind of Turkish bath. This drastic treatment is giving place in the towns to Western methods, with great advantage to the women, though the purification of the tabooed mother still pre- vails in most country districts. Naming. — The child is usually named a week after- wards — about fourteen days after birth. The relations and village elders assemble, and sit in a circle, and smoke for a decent interval, and then one of the elders, or a near relation, suggests a name for the infant. This has been confided to him by the parents beforeliand, and is im- mediately accepted. The name, however, is always chosen according to a regular scheme. The consonants of the alphabet are divided into grouj)s, which aVQ assigned NAMING 79 to the days of the week. All the vowels of the language are assigned to Sunday. The accepted rule is that the child's name must begin with one of the letters of the alphabet besjnging to the day on which he was born. There are thus no family names, and even if a boy were born on the same day of the week as his father, and, therefore, might have the same name, it would never enter any Burman's head to give it to him ; he is, in fact, told not to do so in an old popular distich. The proper letters for each day are : Monday, the gutturals: K, UK, G, HG, NG. Tuesday, the palatals : S, HS, Z, ZH, N, Y. Wednesday, up till noon, the liquids: L, W. Wednesday, or Yahu, noon till midnight : R Y. Thursday, the labials: P, HP, B', HB, M. Friday, the sibilants : TH, H. Saturday, the dentals : T, HT, D, HD, N. Sunday, any vowel. Thus (premising that Maung stands for a male, and Ma for a female) a Monday's boy might be called Maung Hkin, Master Lovie. A Tuesday's girl might be Ma San Nyun, Miss Like- which-there-is-not ; and a Sunday's, Ma An, Miss Airs. Where two names are given, as in the case of San Nyun, the first follows the birthday letters, and the second may be taken from any of the lists upward, but not downward, in the following scheme : — Monday, gutturals. Friday, sibilants. Thursday, labials. Sunday, vowels. Saturday, dentals. Wednesday, liquids. Tuesday, palatals. Thus a Sunday's child may take a second name from Thursday or Monday, but not from Saturday or Tuesday, lists. A Tuesday's child has the whole alphabet before him for a second name. One born on Monday is limited to the gutturals. Thus a Thursday girl might be called 80 BURMA Ma Hmwe Thin, Miss Fragrant Learning, but not Ma Hmwe At, Miss Scented Needle. Monastic Names. — I'lie rules are falling into slackness in use in the towns, hut not with the great mass of the people, the peasant-folk. When, however, a boy enters the monastery he gives up his lay name, and takes on the Bwc, or honorary title, which he preserves for his life if he becomes a full monk, and only remembers as an inci- dent, if he returns to the outer world. In the case of these novitiate names, the birthday letters are most care- fully followed. Thus a Monday's novice would be Gantama, or Gunama ; a Sunday's Athapa, or Adeiksa ; and so for the other days of the week. A planet presides over each day of the week : Monday, the Moon ; represented by a tiger. Tuesday, Mars ; represented by a lion. Wednesday, before noon. Mercury ; represented by an elephant with tusks. Wednesday, after noon, Yahu, the planet of the eclipse; represented by an elephant without tusks. Thursday, Jupiter ; represented by a rat. Friday, Venus ; represented by a guinea-pig. Saturday, Saturn ; represented by a dragon. Sunday, the Sun ; represented by a Galon, the fabulous half-bird, half-beast, which guards one of the terraces of Mount Meru, the centre of the Buddhist universe. Birth Candles, or Nan. — Candles made of red or yellow wax are fashioned in the form of these birthday tokens, and are offered on their name-days by the pious at the pagodas. Venus, the Moon, Mercury, and Jupiter repre- sent north, east, south, and west. The Sun stands for north-east. Mars for south-east, Saturn for south-west, and Yahu for north-west. The cardinal points exercise a benign influence ; the diagonal rhumbs are malign. The day on which a person is born is called iiis A'n/), and sign- boards on the Shwe Dagon platform in Rangoon show him at what point he should light and offer his Vn«-candle. Horoscope. — The exact moment at which a child is born is always most carefully noted, so that a Zada, or horoscope, may be drawn UD. This is not usually done till the child BUDDHIST BAPTISM 81 is five ov six years old^ when it is carefully recorded with a metal style on a piece of doiibled-up palm leaf. When an astrologer wishes to ascertain whether a day or enter- prise is likely to be lucky, he ascertains the age of his client and his name-day, and divides his age by eight. If tliei'e is no remainder the planet presiding over the day of birth gives the sign, fortunate or malign, as the case may be. If there is a remainder the hands of a watch are followed in counting round from the day of birth, and the planet to which the remainder number brings him shows whether the fates are auspicious or not. Zadcis are always kept very carefully concealed, lest enemies should work spells from them, Buddhist Baptism. — When a boy is eight or nine years old he goes to the village monastery. No fees are charged, and teaching is given to all alike — to the son of the native official and the fisherman's boy. Thus every Burman can read and write. When he is thirteen or fourteen nowadays, but according to old custom not before lie is fifteen, the boy enters the monastery as a novice. According to.JBuddhist ideas, it is only thus that he attains humanity and becomes really a man. Before his novitiate he is no better than an animal. He visits all his relations and friends, dressed in his finest clothes, and followed by a band of relatives, especially by the girls. The march is meant to symbolise the novitiant's renunciation of the world, and to recall Prince Siddartha's last splendid appearance in Kapilavastu, before he aban- doned his kingdom to become an ascetic and a Buddha. In the evening the party goes to the monastery. The boy has his hair cut off and his head shaved and washed. Then he prays to be admitted into the Holy Assembly as a neophyte. He is robed in the yellow garments, the begging-bowl is hung round his neck by its strap, and he falls in among the train of the mendicant, and goes with him to the monastery. Every boy must remain at least twenty-four hours in the monastery, so that he may go round the village at least once on the morning begging tour from house to house. A stay of less than three days is considered hardly decent. A week, a fortnight, a month, are common periods nowadays. The devout ex- 82 BURMA pect theii" son to stay at least one Lent — the four montlis of the rains. The ideal stay for one who does not intend to remain in the Sacred Order is three Lents — one for his father, one for his mother, and one for himself. The general tendency, however, among the town Burmans is to elaborate the family festival which celebrates the event and to cm-tail the stay in the monastery. No father would allow his son to omit the ceremony, any more than Christian children would remain unbaptised, or members of the Church of England would fail to be con- firmed. It would not be respectable. Marriage. — The Burmese marry very early, almost invariably in their teens. Marriage can be brought about in three ways according to the Laws of Menu — (l) by arrangement between the parents ; (2) by arrangement between the parties themselves ; (3) by the services of an auiigthwiiy or go-between. Marriages of mutual agreement are much the most common. Marriages arranged by the parents are confined to families of position or substance. Few marriages are arranged altogether by a go-between, except in the case of excessive shyness in one party, or in alliances between aspirants in places at some distance from one another. The youth and maiden get to know one another at pn-iis, festivals, religious, social, or dramatic ; more commonly still in the markets, where practically everv girl keeps a stall when she has grown up ; most commonly of all, they have known one another all their lives. But there is no courting such as prevails in the West, no walking out, no sitting on benches or in corners, with arms round waist or neck, no cuddling and kissing. The love-making is quite formal, in appearance at anyrate. It is done in the gloaming, at the hour called lads-go-courting-time. The girl dresses herself up, puts flowers in her hair and fragrant ihantihka paste on her face and neck, sets a light near the window, and waits. The youth comes round with a friend or two, bound later on the same errand to another house. He brings oranges or sweets, or, most commonly, verses, composed by himself if possible, if not, cribbed from the latest philanderer's manual. These are romantic rather than passionate, rhapsodical rather than rapturous. *: 5! 2 B. CO ^ p O rt rr m m MAKRIAGE 83 eulogistic rather than erotic. The lass at fiist confines herself to retui-n presents of cigars and Berlin wool com- forters, and to prim answers, mostly denying all j)ietension to good looks, with .i full knowledge that her mother is listening to it all. Later, she too may break into verse, but it is naive and sentimental and flattering rather than tender or devoted or amorous. When this has gone on for u. decorous time the lad's parents pay a formal visit to the lass's, and the marriage is arranged. The bridegroom makes the girl a present — a silken skirt, or a piece of jewellery, a relic of the purchase money — and a favourable day is arranged by a scanning of the horoscopes. Sometimes the contract breaks down then, for youths born on some days of the week may not mate with girls born on certain others, but, since every girl in the country knows the marriage rhymes, an accident of this kind rarely occurs. There is no formal ceremony: the publicity of the joining together is the binding force. Friends and i-elations are invited to the house of the girl. The happy pair are supposed to join hands (^let-iat, the name for the bond), but commonly do not. They are also supposed to feed one another, in love- bird fashion, but the chewing of betel and salad tea, lel-hpet, by the parents on both sides— the national way of ratifying any contract, legal or commercial — is the really effective rite. If the parents are unkind, and the young people are in earnest, runaway marriages are resorted to, and are quite common. Most of the marriages are really marriages of affection, and though the parents grumble for a time they usually receive the pair back. The Burmese do not marry for money, they marry to make money. Since marriage is so purely a civil contract, divorce is almost as simple a matter. Either party may go before the elders and claim a separation, and it is seldom refused. Each party takes away what property they brought to the alliance, and property acquired during coverture is equally divided. Since it is the women who are the great workers and money-makers their interests are thoroughly guarded. No women in the East are freer, or are more safeguarded against adventurers, or drones, than the Burmese. Poly- 84 BURMA t;/imy is not forbidden, but is not common. Tlie rich sometimes liave two establishments, particularly if they have business in different towns, but it is very rare for two wives to be under one roof. The census of 3 891 showed returns of 1,306,722 husbands and 1,307,292 ■wives. At the same time there were in the province 5,342,033 males and 5,148,591 females — that is to say, there were a 1 000 males for every 962 females. This is due to the large number of foreign immigrants, the very great bulk of whom are males. In the ten years, 1891- 1900, there were registered in Lower Burma the births of 707,223 males and of 658,052 females. This is in accordance with the practically universal rule that more boys than girls are born into the world. Of the deaths registered during the same period 589,558 were those of males and 470,551 those of females. This also is in accordance with well-known physiological facts. Country-loving. — The Burman is essentially an agri- culturist, and the inhabitants of the hills, as well as the non-Burman dwellers in the plains, are the same. Con- sequently, we find that in the 1901 census the returns showed 6,917,945 persons as engaged in pastoral and agricultural occupations. This is 67 per cent, of the total population of the province, and these people were practi- cally all natives of the country, as distinguished from im- migrants from India, China, and elsewhere, who formed a large proportion of those engaged in other occupations. The race is undoubtedly incorrigibly lazy, and takes most kindly to the work that implies least trouble and least constant attention. The country abets him. The soil of Burma has merely to be tickled with a hoe to laugh with a harvest, and there is a superabundance of land available. For Burma as a whole, exclusive of the Shan States and the Chin Hills, the density of population per square mile is 55, as compared with 45 in 1891. Taking the province as a whole, and including the Shan States and Chin Hills, the density is 44 per square mile. This compares l)adly with India, where the mean density for the whole country in 1891 was 184 persons per square mile^ a figure which is somewhat more than the Burma District maximum. Mr C. C. Lowis, however, points out COUNTRY-LOVING 85 that the Cumia density is higher than that of both Norway and Sweden, and is not far removed from that of Russia in Europe. According to the census held on 3rd Decem- ber 1900, the density for Norway was 17 '9 only, and at the close of 1899 that for Sweden was estimated at 29'5 per square mile. In European Russia the first general census of the population, which took place on the 9th February 1897, gave a density of 51 per square mile. The Burman also distinctly would rather hear the lark sing than the mouse squeak. Of the total population of the province 9^500,686 persons or QO-6 per cent, were enumerated in rural areas, and 989,938, or 9'4 per cent., in urban. In 1891 the urban population of the province amounted to 94'6,64'9, or to 12-4 per cent, of the total population. A comparison with the 1891 figures, however, is hardly possible, since the Shan States and Chin Hills were practically excluded. The actual total of villages in 1901 was 60,395, and the average number of inhabit- ants for each village was 157'3. There were only 28,719 villages in 1891, but the area of the census operations was much greater in 1901 than ten years earlier. Over-crowding is not altogether acute, but it is not unknown in Rangoon, where, however, the population is largely alien rather than Burmese. Rangoon has an area of 19 square miles, over which the population of 231,881 spreads at the average rate of 1 2,362 persons per square mile. In area, population, and density it corresponds very much with the county borough of Nottingham, where the area is 17 square miles, the population 203,877, and the density to the square mile 12,.">08. Portions of the business quarter in Rangoon are, however, distinctly over-crowded. One block of 4f)8'7 acres has a population of 73,309 — that is to say, a density of 99,840 to the square mile, or nearly double that of Liverpool, the most crowded town of the United Kingdom. Density of Population. — The most populous districts in Burma are in the Delta; Henzada, with l6'9 to the square mile, and Hanthawaddy with t^iO, and these are purely agricultural. If the country be divided into four areas, according to the amount of rainfall, which in India, at any rate, greatly influences population, it will be found 86 BURMA tliat meteorological conditions in Burma do not follow this rule. This is possibly due to the thinness of the popula- tion, but it is certain that zones of humidity and rainfall do not visibly affect the distribution of the people. The sub-deltaic tract of Lower Burma lying round Prome has 90 persons to the square mile, The dry zone of Upper Burma, with its centre about Mandalay, comes next with a density of 79. Then follows the coast strip, where rainfall is heaviest, from the Malay Peninsula to the borders of Chittagong, with 55, and, last of all, comes the wet tract of Upper Bui-ma, which only shows 15 persons to the square mile. This last division includes the hill tracts, where the Chin Hills have only 5, and Northern Arakan 4, persons to the square mile. Increase of Population. — It is not easy to arrive at con- clusions as to the increase of the population in Burma, owing to the large addition of territory in the last twenty years and the inaccuracy of enumeration in Lower Burma in 1872 and of Upper Burma in 1891. In 1872 the recorded population, naturally for Lower Burma alone, was 2,747,148. In 1901 the population of United Bui-ma, with a great proportion of the tributary States, was 10,490,624. Between 1872 and 1881 there was an in- crease of population in Lower Burma amounting to 36 per cent. In the course of the decade ending in I89I the population of Lower Burma rose to 4,658,627, or by 24^ cent., of which about 2^ per cent, was attributed to immigration and 22 per cent, to natural growth. Upper Burma was annexed in 1886, and was enumerated for the first time in 1891, when the population was returned a? 2,946,933. This brought the total up to 7,60.5,560 for the province as now constituted, excluding the Shan States. The population in 1901 of the same area was 9,136,382, an increase of rather more than 1,500,000, or 20 per cent. The rate of growth is 21 per cent, in Lower, and 17'7 per cent, in L'pper, Burma. In Upj)er Burma, however, five districts were very incompletely enumerated in 1891, and if these be left out of account the rate of increase there falls to 11-2 per cent. Immigration. — The Burmese, in towns at least, seldom work as coolies, and there is, therefore, a great immigration IMMIGRATION 87 from Madras and Bengal of coolies_, field labourers, and domestic servants. Between 1891 and I90I Lower Burma sjained 130,000 in this way and Upper Burma 22,000. On the other hand, the Barman is as little fond of leaving •lis country as the Frenchman, and the corresponding loss is very small. Tlie greatest progress in Lower Burma is found in three of the great rice-growing districts in the Delta and in North Arakan. Each of these grew by more than 40 per cent, in the course of the 1891-1901 decade. The rapid development of the deltaic districts appears even more extraordinary when compared with the results of the first census in 1872. At that time Myaungmya had only 24 inhabitants to the square mile; it has now 102. Thongwa had only 43, and now has 139. In Pegu the population is three times, and in Hanthawaddy it is two and a half times as great as it then was. This remarkable j)rogress is, of course, due largely to immigration, mainly from other parts of Burma, for though all Burmans marry, and widows can easily find second husbands, the repro- ductive power of the race is hardly equal to this growth. For trustworthy details as to increase of population in Upper Burma it will be necessary to wait for the next decennial enumeration. In a country of great natural fertility, with vast areas of land available for cultivation, it will be very long before there is a class of landless labourers, and before the people cease to be prosperous. This prosperity is not without its dangers to the Burman, in view of the great numbers of Indians and Chinamen who now settle in the country and make large fortunes. The Burman is incorrigibly lazy ; he has no idea whatever of being provident ; he is a spendthrift to the point of extravagance ; whenever he has money in hand he spends it on a pwe, an elastic word wliich covers every sort of festival from a purely family entertainment, through a dramatic performance offered gratis to the neighbourhood, up to a religious ceremonial. The young Burman spends his earnings on boat races, pony-racing, cock-fights, and boxing matches ; the middle-aged man does the same with profuse hospitality to the whole neighbourhood and half the surrounding villages, and all strangers thrown in ; the 88 BURMA old man builds works of merit, bridges, rest-houses, monasteries, and pagodas. Nobody saves except the women, and if the Burman is to be preserved from losing hiscountry to the industrious and copy-book-maxim-virtuous Chinaman, or native of India, it will be due to his women- kind. The daughters of Burma, for their part, are by no means unwilling to mate with the strangers ; in fact, a Cliinaman is rather a catch. The native of India, especially the Madrassi, is rather looked down upon as an inferior, but, nevertheless, he has no difficulty in getting himself a wife, for divorce will easily free the damsel from an unpleasant husband, and she has quite as sturdy an independence as her brother, though she has the liking for accumulating possessions. There is a very large half- breed population growing up. The boy born of a Burmese mother and a Chinese father dresses and considers himself a Chinaman, and is usually a very capable person. The half Mahommedan calls himself a Zerbaddi, and is most unpleasant, and occasionally a dangerous member of society. The half Hindu, especially the half Madrassi, is usually contemptible, and frequently useless. The Chinaman's daughters dress as Bumiese, and most com- monly are plump enough to please a Zulu. The Zerbaddi girls are often extremely pretty, with dangerously fine eyes, which not unseldom are responsible for much violtnt crime. The half Madrassi, half Bengali, half Burman females are mostly mere hussies. It seems probable that the Burma town population will become more and more made up of these — not to the advantage of the towns. The pure Burmese is essenti- ally pleasure-loving, but it is not the pleasures of the towns that he loves, and if he does, they usually land him in his grave or in gaol. The Burmese will, in no great time seemingly, become a purely rural population, living peacefully and contentedly on their small farms, or in little townships far from the greedy, bustling world. There are i)ractically no rich Burmese men, but, on the other hand, there is probably no place in the world where the population is so generally well off as in rural Burma. Dress. — It is difficult to say which sex is the more gaily dressed : the men in brilliant turbans and gorgeous u o X < o g £ o DWELLINGS 89 silk waistcloths, many yards long, not unlike a kilt with a long end, which is worn either tucked in at the waist or thrown over the shoulder, and with silk or cotton white jackets ; or the women, also with snowy white jackets^, bright-hued neckerchiefs thrown over the shoulders, and silken skirts of endless pattern and striking contrast of colour, red or white flowerb stuck in the glossy tresses or wreathed round the chignon, and jewellery in extraordinary profusion, and always of gold, for the Burmese think silver ornaments only fit for children. The skirt is nearly square, about four feet and a half wide, and a little more in depth, and is fastened by a half hitch, with the opening in front. Thus at every step the girl shows an amount of leg extending above the knee. This at- tracted so much attention from foreigners that practically all town gii"ls now wear a skirt, which is sewn up like the Malay sarong. The skirt was always stitched up by dancing girls. A Burmese crowd on a festival day is an orgie of colour: a double handful of cut jewels on a billiard-cloth, an oil and colourman's shop blown up by dynamite, or a palette which has been used for years for no other purposes than painting sunrises and sunsets, are the only things which can give an idea of its brilliance. A detestable modern fashion has introduced kirtles, or farthingales, of velvet or velveteen, and all of one dead colour, instead of the old butterfly hues, but the Burmese coquette may soon be trusted to find out the mistake. Dwellings. — The ordinary Burmese house is built of wood or bamboo, and is always raised on posts 8 or 9 feet apart. There is usually an open front or verandah, with steps leading up to the dwelling-rooms above. There may be a double roof in the case of a large house, with ridges parallel to one another, and a gutter which allows water often enough to fall in the middle of the house. The floors and walls are of thin planking or bamboo matting, and the roof is of thatch, split bamboo, or occasionally shingles. The whole is of the simplest and most flimsy description. In native da3's sumptuary laws and fear of extortion prescribed this, and the Bnrman is too slow-moving to alter old habits. Corrugated iron is far too frequently being used for 90 BURMA roofing, because it saves trouble. Houses are, however, gradually becoming more substantial, also to save trouble, because they do not need rebuilding so often. The household furniture is even more simple. It is the national custom to sit, eat, and sleep on the floor, so that chairs, tables, and beds are not needed. Lamps are also unnecessary where the farmer goes to bed soon after dark and gets up with the sun. AH these household articles are coming into use among township people, but the villages still mostly do without them. Each house has its little plot of land at the back of the house roughly fenced in with split bamboo. In this a few fruit-trees, flowering shrubs, and vegetables are planted. The village streets usually have mango, jack-fruit, cocoa, and toddy palms, tamarind, and such-like trees planted along the roadway, and are often very picturesque. Shade-giving trees, like pipul or ban3'an and padauks, usually grow outside, often over rest-houses, or platforms, where ti'avellers may rest or the village elders may dis- cuss local affairs. Food. — Food is of the simplest possible kind, and con- sists mainly of boiled rice, with a few condiments, chief among which is ngapi, a most evil-smelling fish paste, made in a variety of ways, but chiefly by burying the gutted fish in the sea-sand for a longer or shorter time. Meat is occasionally eaten, but not often. Nothing is drunk with the meals, and after the meal only water. There are only two meals — the morning and the evening meal. Death. — When a Burman dies there are always loud lamentations, and as soon as possible a band is hired, which continues to play until the funeral. Immediately after death the corpse is swathed in white cotton cloth and dressed in its finest clothes. The thumbs and great toes are tied together with the hair of a son or daughter, or, where there are none, with twisted white cotton. A Charon's fee, called Kado-Ka — ferry money — is put in the mouth, and the body is prepared for tlie coffin by pro- fessionals called Sandala. The coffin is of light wood, usually let-pan, and is placed under a bier or spire of many tiers, decorated with tinsel and gay-coloured paper. A monk is commonly summoned to stay in the house to recite DEATH 01 liotnilies on the theme — Aneiksa, Dolchhn, Avalla: Evanes- cence, Woe, Nullity. The object both of these exercises and of the band is to keep away evil spirits. The funeral comes earlier or later, according to the poorness or richness of the family and the number of I'elations. The cemetery is always to the west of the village. Monks and pro- fessional mourners and a. funeral band take their place in the procession. The grave has been dug by the outcast Sanda/a, 9:id the coffin is swung backward and forward over it three times before being lowered. The nearest relations then throw in some handfuls of earth, and the grave is filled in by the Sandala. Strangers often join in the procession from motives of piety, and all are supplied with refreshments and cigars by the women who accom- pany the party. Tlie oldest male relative present calls upon the Leiphya — the "butterfly," or spirit of the deceased — to come away, and the spirit is supposed to be caught in a dexterously closed silk handkerchief. This is ke()t in the house for seven days, and is then opened. It is sup- posed that after that time the deceased will not return to the graveyard and become an evil spirit. On this seventh day, and in some cases for the whole seven days, a feast is given to the funeral guests as a measure of purification. Cremation used to be the regular way of disposing of the dead, and is still the more common in some parts of the country, particularly with the well-to-do. Such por- tions of the bones as are not consumed are collected, washed carefully in cocoa-nut milk or scented water, wrapped up in white cotton, and placed in a jar. This is taken to the house where the death occurred, and on the seventh day after the feast of purification is carried away, and buried, not uncommonly near a pagoda. Most graves have nothing to distinguish them after the bier or spire has disappeared, but some have a post or a brickwork pillar raised over them. Pagodas may only be built over the graves of monks or of persons of royal blood. The Chingpaw or Kachin Group Following the Burmese in the Tibeto-Biirman sub-family comes the Chingpaw group. Chingpaw is the name which 92 BURMA tliey give themselves, and Singpho is simply the Assamese form of it. It means a 'man." We have taken the name Kachin from the Burmese. Thev inhabit the great tract of country to the north, north-east, and north-west of Burma, tlie he.idwaters of the Chindwin and Irrawaddy Rivers, and extend as far west as the borders of Assam. During the last half-century they have been constantly pressing southward, and have spread a long way into the Northern ■ Shan States, and into the Burma districts of Bhamo and Katha, and isolated villages have penetrated much farther. The movement still continues, but is to a certain extent controlled. Only 67,340 Kachins were returned in the census lists of 1901. but at 'least twice this number should be added for the tribes living beyond the administrative border and in the "estimated" tracts. The Kachins who have entered Assam, and are there known as Singpho, appear to have settled about a century ago, and their language shows that they came from the Burmese side. Origin of the Chingpaw. — We have much to learn yet about tlie Chingpaw, but the theory which at present finds most favour is that before the beginnings of history they pushed into the country where China^ Burma, Tibet, and India meet. They seem to have come after the Mon- Hkmers migrated, and it is not at all impossible that they accelerated, or perhaps even caused, that movement. Those who would bring the BuTmese from Western China incline to the belief that the Chingpaw are the rearguard of the Indo-Chinese race, of whicli the van was formed by the Tibetans, the Burmans, the Nagas, and the Kuki-Chins. These went on west and south, and the Chingpaw re- mained for years in the labyrinth of mountains which is still their headquarters. During the last half-century they have advanced their boundaries 200 miles, and isolated parties have gone much farther, as has been noted above. It seems more probable, or at anyrate possible, in view of the pliysiolot;ical differences between the two races, that the Cliingpaw were not so much a. rearguard as a simultaneously moving hmde, coming from the east and north, while the other Tibeto-Burmans came from the west. They clashed together, the others were diverted ?: M a f^ ^ .h ^'v mf^j»^kj^^:W^^\iL:.'% GROUP OF LIHSAW. ORIGlKr OF THE CiTTXGrAW 93 south, .ind the f'hingpnw sprcnd oyrr all llie Jiills at the headwaters of the Inawaddj and Chindwin. There has been a constant tendency to disintegration among the Chingpaw, just as there has been among the Tai, and, hideed, among all hill races where the abrupt divisions into hills and valleys favour isolation and the development of differences of dialect. Migration was caused as much by over-population as by the wasteful chai-acter of the hill cultivation. Moreover, it was favoured by the custom whereby the youngest son succeeded his father; while the elder brothers set out, with such following as they could muster, to found new settlements, near or far. The Kentish custom of Borough English was, no doubt, a re- miniscence of a similar rule among the Anglian tribes. The Chingpaw divide themselves into the Kliakhu and the Chingpaw, but this seems to be a geographical term rather than a racial. Khakhu simply means " head of the river," and all Kachins claim to have come from the river- source at one time or another. The division, therefore, seems more fanciful than real. The Khakhu are the river- cradle people, the Chingpaw are the southerners. Another national division is that into the Kamsas and the Kumlaos. The Kamsa Kacliins are those who have a duwa, a chief or ruler. The Kumlao have no chief, and sometimes only an occasionally summoned village council. Such republican or democratic communities ai-e no longer permitted within the Burma administrative boundary, which runs east and west from the confluence of the two branches of the Irra- waddy. The original meaning of Kumlao was rebel, and this suggests what may have been the origin of the mixed communities which go by this name. Kachin tradition declares that the race sprang from one Shippawn Ayawng, who was a spirit-child. It was only in the time of his grandson, VV'akyetwA, that the Chingpaw man became mortal. From Wakyetwa are descended the five parent tribes — the Marips, Latawngs, Lepais, 'Nhkum.s, and Marans. From these parent tribes a vast number of clans are descended. These clans probably have the same origin as those of Scotland and Ireland — that is to say, they were probably the descendants of a common pro- genitor, and possibly his followers. The Kachin clans, 94 BURMA however, have not the common name characteristic of the Celtic clans. The Chingpaw dialects, as always in a hill country, are very numerous, and are tirmly believed in by their speakers. Dr Grierson, with no fears of a blood- leud, or a "debt," before him, summarily divides the dialects into three classes : the Northern, the Kaori, and the Southern Kachin. The language he considers to occupy an independent position. It comes close to the Tibetan in phonology ; on the other hand, it is closely related to the Naga and Kuki-Chin languages, and to Burmese. Without being a transition language, it forms a connecting-link between Tibetan on the one hand, and Naga, Meithei (the language of Manipur), and Burmese. Szi, Lashi, and Maru. — The Szi, Lashi, and Maru have been referred to above as belonging to the Burman group. All their neighbours call them Kachins, of an inferior type certainly, but still Chingpaw. The Maru deny the relationship, and they eat dogs like the Naga and the Annamese and the Akha. Still, they intermarry, live mixed with the other Chingpaw clans, and have a similar religion and similar ways. They may have relations with the Liutzu and Kiutzu and the Lissus of Chinese territory, but we do not know enough of these to say how far this is the case. Their dialects certainly are nearest to Burmese. Maingtha. — Similar waifs are the Maingtha. The Chingpaw claim them as cousins, but they are hard- working, steady people, and no one has flattered the Chingpaw with these qualities. The Shans call them Monghsa, and believe them to be Shans, the inhabitants of the two Shan-Chinese States of Hohsa and Lahsa. They are also called Tarengs, or Turongs, which is, perhaps, a perversion of the Shan Tai-long, the Great Shans. Their language is about a third Shan, a tenth or more Burmese, with Chingpaw as a large portion of the remainder, not unmingled with Chinese. In dress, and to a certain extent in features, they are most like Shan-Chinese. The patchwork of their speech is, no doubt, caused by their habits. Every year they wander far and wide, doing smith-work, stone-cutting, road-mak- ingj and ditching— at all of which cralts they are expert. LAHU (MUHSo) woman. a, D O o MATNGTHA 95 When the hot weather approaches they make their way home to their liills. On these gipsy wiinderings they pick up the medley of tongues, and weld them into an amalgam. It seems more reasonable that they should be called dragoman Shans rather than Burmese, and that their speech should be called navvy's patter rather than a definite language. A literary Maingtha might make a language of it, just as English takes words from every- where, even from cracksmen and destitute aliens. The Maingtha's dress proclaims him a Shan - Chinese ; his industiy suggests the Chinaman ; and his features suggest intermarriage with the Chingpaw. He will probably come tj be called a worthy mongrel. In the 1901 census 749 Maingthas were recorded, while in 1891 there were liJJt.'j. In the area not included in the census there is a vastly greater number. In Ho-hsa and La-hsa, where they have come more under observation than the purer blooded farther north, they call themselves A-ch'ang or Ny.i-ch'ang. The Li-hsaw, or Yao Yen. — The Li-hsaws are a similar puzzle. It seems certain that they have no connection with the Yao tribes, the Ting-pan, Lanten, and others, who live beyond the Mehkong. We are told that Yawyin is the Chingpaw name for them, and that they are called Li-hsaw by the Chinese, and accept that name themselves. Their language has considei-able resemblances with La'hu or iVIu-hso, but none whatever with Chingpaw. In person and features they most resemble the Chinese of Yunnan, and most of the men talk Chinese fluently. They are opium cultivators, always live at very high altitudes, and have very small villages. They also celebrate the Chinese New Year, and most of the men wear the queue. It seems reasonable to suppose that they have some connection with the Lissus, or Lesus, of the region of the great rivers descending from Tibet into Yunnan and Burma, who, it may be said with some confidence, are related to the Musus. There were l6'()5 Li-hsaws recorded in the I901 census, while at the same time the number of La'hu, or Mu-hs6, was l6,7.'52. It cannot be doubted that thei-e are very many more of both, any more than it can be doubted that the Li-hsaw and the La'hu are related. 96 BURMA The La'hu or Mu-hso. — The La'hu have a tmrlition that tlieir ancestors came from near the Irrawaddy River. This may account for the suggestion of Burmese about the language. Probably they came from somewhere on the Tiljet borders. There is very little in their appearance, manners, or ways that suggests connection with the Burmese nowadays, and they are yearly pushing farther and farther south into the Siamese Shan States, even beyond Chiengmai. They seem to have had a sort of confederation of their own, independent of their Burmese and Shan neighbours, until comparatively recent times. The Burmese overran the country of the Thirty-six Fu, or chiefs, and placed them nominally under Mong Lem authority. Kengtung and Kenghung also attacked them, but with no great success. These appear to be the wars referred to in Shan history as the wars with Mong Kwi, and in Burmese history as the fights with the Gwe Shans. The Kwi of modern times claim to be distinct from the La'hu, but are certainly only a tribe. The La'hu power, however, remained distinct, though shaken, until the time of Tsen Yii-ying, the " Miaotzii " Viceroy of Yunnan. Their subjugation was begun as recently as 1887, and was only accomplished after much fighting, in which the Chinese met with very moderate success until they brought Krupp guns to their aid. Since then the wandering of the La'hu has begun, and every year more and more come into British territory. There is still, apparently, one of the Fu remaining, the Ta Fmje of Mong Hka, on Nawng- hkeo Hill, in the Wa country. The Musus of the north are said to have formerly lived in a kingdom, the capital of which was Li-kiang-fu, north of Tali, which the Tibetans and the hill people generally call Sadam, and their king was known to the Chinese as Mu-tien Wang. The modern Musus, or Mossos, have a king at Yetche, near the Mekhong, a little south of Tseku, about the twenty-eighth parallel. Terrien de Lacouperie thought that the Musus were of the same Tibeto-Burman group as the Jungs, or Njungs, who appeared on the frontiers of China six centuries before Christ, coming from the north-east of Tibet. Chinese historians mention the Musus in 796 A.D. as having been subdued by the King of o z ID H O o o •a o 3 MKXG OR MIAO-TZU. LA'HU 97 Nan-chao. They are probably of the same origin as the Lolo. This is a Chinese nickname, just as Miisu is. The Lolo call themselves Ngo-su, while the Musu call them- selves Na-chi, or Na-chri. None of the La'hu met with in British territory know of this name Na-chi, or Nashi as it is pronounced on the Tibetan border, but it seems probable that they are simply the vanguard of the Musu. The Chinese name for the La'hu is Loh-crh, a contemptu- ous phrase, which means, Lo, or La — "niggers." Tlie La'hu in British territory give two main divisions of the race, called variously Red and Black, or Great and Yellow, La'hu. The farther south call themselves Red or Black, and those nearer China Great or Yellow, La'hu-na, and La'hu-hsi or La'hu-chi. The Kwi clan are La'hu-hsi, and can understand the La'hu-na, or La'hu-lam, but the two dialects differ considerably. The only settlement of any considerable number of La'hu in British territory is in the hills on the borders of Mong Hsat and Mong Fang (Siamese), in the Trans-Salween Southern Shan States, but villages are found scattered all over Kengtung and over the Trans-Salween Northern Shan States. The La'hu have much more of a nose than most of the Tibeto-Burmans, and have straight-set eyes. The men shave the head like the Chinese, and either wear it twisted into a queue of very moderate dimensions or bind it up on their head in the folds of their turban. This, like the rest of their clotjies, is dyed with indigo, and they form a very sombre crowd. The coat and trousers are of Chinese cut, and they have a general air of being China- men in reduced circumstances. The women wear a long coat of similar material, reaching nearly to the ankles, and slit up at the sides to the hip-.. It is not unlike a dressing- gown, or an Annamese congni'.i coat, except for the slits. This robe is fastened at the throat and over the bosom by a large silver boss or clasp. Below the bosom it falls away, and exposes a triangular portion of the person before the trousers begin. Bead patterns and embroidery adorn the upper part, or, in the case of the Red La'hu, red and white stripes, arranged like the frogs on a tunic. The turban is high, something like a silk hat or a Parsi's head- 98 BURMA gear. Tlie women -wear large silver neck -rings, or torques, it' they can att'ord them ; otiierwiee they have cane neck- lets. Both men and women wear very large ear-rings, often 5 inches or so across, so that they nearly reach the shoulders. They are shaped like a mark of interrogation upside down. The women are much more fully clad than the Lissus, whose clothing, according to the weather and other circumstances, varies from the atmosphere up to two garments, an apron, and an armless waistcoat. Some La'hu have guns, but the national arm, like that of the Li-hsaw, is the crossbow. These are very powerful weapons, and can kill at 100 yards. The quarels are are both poisoned and unpoisoned. Aconite is the ordinary poison used. The La'iiu kill tigers, leopards, and bears with them. Another characteristic of the race is the Ken, a musical instrument, which consists of a dried gourd with a number of bamboo pipes of various lengths plastered into it with beeswax. This is practically the same in- strument as the reed organ of the Lao States, though very much smaller. It also differs in having several holes in the sounding-chamber. There are never more than four or five reeds, besides the mouthpiece, so that the compass is very much smaller than that of the Luang Prabang Ken, which sometimes has as many as fourteen, besides ranging in size from 3h feet to 10 feet, and even more. The La'hu pipes vary from 1 foot to 2^ feet in length, and the sound is something between that of a flute and the bagpipes. They are ])layed by the men on their way to and from the markets, and they seem to march in time to them, as the Luang Prabang Shans certainly do; otherwise they appear to be exclusively used in their dances. These are carried on in a circle. The performers are all close together, and face inward, sometimes gyrating and sometimes not. There is a good deal of posturing on one leg, and stamping on the ground like a buck-rabbit, and the general idea conveyed is that of the Highland fling being danced by " man in the last stage of physical exhaustion. The A'cH-pl.-iyers seem to be ordinarily the best dancers, and are certainly the most enthusiastic. The Southern La'hu seem to have been broken by their LA'HU 99 privations and wanderings. i liey are puny in statnre, and have the name of being timid, it' not cowardly. The northerners, thougli they are not tall, are muscular, and they maintained themselves with credit against the Chinese. The Southern I-a'hu also appear to have reverted to Animistic religion. The original faith apparently was Buddhistic, and the chiefs would seem to have been spiritual as well as temporal kings. In the times of the La'hu kingdom there were thirty-six Fu, with Ta-fu-ye, or great Buddhas, over them. There were also thirty-six Fu-fmtg, sacred (Buddhistic) houses, each of which had a service of ten J'lij/e, priests or monks. The only Ta-j'u-ije known to exist, or at anyrate who has been met with, is the Chief of Mong Hka, near Nawng Hkeo, and he is. If not himself the actual object of worship, at anyrate chief ministrant in the Waiv-long, or New Year's festivities. His house is the last in a series of squares, arranged in a line, and marked out with loose stone walls. These squares are absolutely empty, except the second, which has in the centre a rudely squared cubical altar or block of stone. Similar squares are on most of the knolls round the village, and each is visited by a procession at the IVaw-lovg season, firing guns and beating gongs. Lighted candles and burning joss-sticks are deposited before them. The main Fn-J'avg, or religious house, at Mong Hka is ap- proached from the north, through a series of courts, outlined by low, loose stone walls. These squares ai-e absolutely empty, like the entrance courts leading up to a Confucian temple, except for here and there a few white umbi-ellas and long poles, with pennants or streamers ?uch as are familiar on the Burmese TagCmdaing, or prayer- posts. The shrine itself, in the farthest court, consists of no more than a couple of rude sheds, long and barrack- like. The entrance to each is on the middle of the northern side, and within there is nothing but a line of tables, or altars, with erections on them like troughs raised on end, and inscribed with Chinese characters. There is no suggestion of an image of any kind. Offerings of fruit, food, and flowers are placed on the tables ; candles and joss-sticks burn outside the shed and at the foot of 100 BURMA the piUars; but tliere is no priest or monk in direct charge, and there ajjpc ar to be no regular services, or days of worship, unless, perhaps, the full moon and the last of the waning. The Musus have a form of ideographic writing. It does not appear, however, to be very hig'ily developed, and the compositions seem to be very limited, mostly ])rayers, or religious homilies. Each page is divided into little squares, and these are filled from left to riglit with the word pictures. So far none of these manuscripts have been found in British territory. It seems as if the La'hu got their religion from Tibet, whether they themselves came from there or not, but much has to be learned about them. Their connection with the Tibeto-Burman sub-family, however, seems un- doubted, and rather with the Burman group than with the Chingpaw. The Akha or Kaw. — The Akha ai-e the most nimierous and widely distributed of the hill tribes of KOngtung. They are not found west of the Salween. In the census of 1901 they numbered 21,175, and the Akhii were re- corded as 1162, but there ai"e probably more of both. Dr Grierson places them provisionally in the Burmese group, but it seems likely that when more is known of them this view will be revised. They are a bigger race of men than most of their neighbours, and swarthier. They have coarse, heavy features, quite distinct from both the Shan and the Burmese type. The bridges of their noses are higher than those of the Mongoloid type, and their eyes are round rather than narrow. Their most characteristic feature, however, is the pointed, projecting .jaw, which suggests the Oceanic ty])e. They have a vague general resemblance to the people of Annam and Tongking, but physically they are very superior to that somewhat effeminate race. They have an appearance of stolidity almost amounting to stupidity, and the heaviness of their ways is the more marked from the alertness of most of their neighbours, lake the Wa and the Maru and the Annamese, they tat dogs. Apparently, however, they and the Maru will eat any kind of dog, and are not particular AKHA (KAW) MEX. ^ j:^i«,^(jj^ ' " s'v .•..'!' -^ .:'!« AKHA (KAW) WOilEN. AKHA 101 about fattening tliein for the table. The Wa eat a pavticalar kind of dog that looks like a d^^ arf p;iriah. The Chinaman will only cat the chow-dog that has a black palate, no matter what the colour of his coat may be. The Annamese will only eat black dogs which have a black palate. The men's dress is practically that of the Shan or the Chinaman : coats and trousers dark blue or black, turbans black, dark blue, or occasionally red — the only relief to the general sombreness. Some of the wealthier men, however, appear in elaborately braided coats on market-days, and with a considerable quantity of silver ornaments — coat buckles, buttons, necklaces, and ear-rings. The younger men, too, in some places have red tassels in their turbans and a rim of silver bosses at the top edge. The dress of the women is much more distinctive, and varies according to the different clans. As a general thing, it consists of a short coat which stops a long way short of the next garment — a sort of kilt rather than a petticoat, which reaches from the waist to a point some- what above the knee, and has a singular aptitude for getting unhitched. The head-dress varies with the clans, and with most is rather striking. The simplest form is that of two circlets of bamboo — one going round the top of the head horizontally and the other fastened to it at an acute angle, so as to go round the back of the head. These are covered with dark blue cotton stuff, and are ornamented with studs and bosses and spangles of silver, arranged sometimes in lines, sometimes in a pattern. An elaboration of this, with broader bands, and more of them, rises to the height of a mitre, and is studded with spangles and seeds, and hung with festoons of seeds and shells, tiny, dried gourds, and occasionally coins. Still another form is a tall, conical cap, like a witch's or Plantagenet hat, also decked with beads and the white seeds of shrubs. The unmarried girls wear skull caps, or coifs, of blue cloth, similarly ornamented, and coming low down over the brows like a Newgate fringe. Ropes of white seed necklaces are worn, and the calves of the legs are covered with cloth leggings, as a protection against leeches rather than as a covering, or an adornment, which they certainly are not. 102 BURMA All tho women let the liair fall over the l>row.s, some of them part it in the middle, and at least one clan wears it coiled in heavy loops over the ears, in owl-in-the-ivy-bush fashion. The race is said to be divided into seven main branches, and there are many subdivisions into clans, but tliese are delusive, and the differences of dialect should not puzzle the intelligent any more than the}' do in the similar clan divisions of the La'hu. The houses are built of bamboo or timber, a little off the ground, and pigs and buffaloes live below. Villages are always built at some distance from main roads.. Granaries are never built in the villages, but always at some distance from them. There is less danger from thieves than from fire. The chief crops cultivated are cotton and opium. The cotton is sold to the Chinese, and so is the opium. Though the Akha grows the poppy he very seldom smokes oj)ium, unlike the La'hu and the Li-hsaw, both of whom smoke steadily, but never to excess. At every Akha village there are large gateways, much larger than the two posts and a cross-bar which are seen outside La'hu villages. There are usually two, and the top is often adorned with whorls and devices like the rising sun. Sometimes the rude figures of a man and a woman are carved on either side. These gates are called Lakaimig, and are said to be intended to show the village limits to the spirits, who, if properly propitiated, will not trespass inside them. In most villages of anj' size also there is a Lasho. This is a kind of arch formed by three or four long bamboos or poles, joined together at the top. From this is suspended a piece of wood fashioned like the yoke, or collar, worn by men and women when they carry heavy loads up the hills. Sometimes also a rude trough is suspended ; and this seems to be always the case at the festival in August or September, when a sacrifice is made to the spirits to pray for good harvests. This festival has not yet been reiwrttd on. The religion of the Akha seems to be a form of ancestor- worship, or rather the propitiation of their ancestors, whom they regard as malignant influences. The spirits are called Mi/csa, or Mihia, and the west door of the house is KUKT-CHIN 103 reserved for them. No male and no stranger may enter by this door. Women may, but with reveifuce, and not as a regular practice. In the houses of the Akho there are two he.arth.s, one of which is reserved for the exclusive use of the ancestors in ease they should come from the region of the setting sun, where tliey are supj)osed to live. The Akho are much smaller than the Aklia, but these seem to be undoubtedly of the same race. They are said to have only one wife, while the Akha may have as many as they choose or can support. The dead are buried in a log of a tree hollowed out. A burial service is chanted by the village seer, and buffaloes are slaughtered, and a revel follows. The hill liquors are very strong. The body is buried without any ceremonial, and nothing is erected to mark the grave, which is always on a lonely hillside. Akha girls marry freely with strangers, and purchase from the parents is all the courtship necessary. The Kuki-Chin Group The Kuki-Chin group of tribes pi-actically inhabit one range of hills. Their country, therefore, is extraordinarily long in comparison with its breadth. It covers 10° of latitude, and probably nowhere one of longitude. From Cape Negrais it extends as far as the Naga Hills, Cachar, and East Sylbet, and from east to west it is hemmed in by the Myittha River and the line where the Arakan Yomas slope down to the sea. 1 he stri]) is com- posed of hills and mountain ridges separated by deep valleys. The Siyins have a fable which accounts for the character of the country and the multitude of dialects, and, incidentally, recalls the Tower of Babel. It is frcm the notes of Mr Bateman, Assistant Superintendent, Tiddim. Many centuries ago all the Chins lived in one large village, somewhere south of Haka. They all spoke the same language, and had the same customs. One day, at a big council, it was decided that the moon should be captured, and made to shine peimanenlly. By tJiis means 104 BURMA a (Treat deal of unnecessary expense and bntlier would be saved in lighting. In consequence, tiie ((Mistruction of a tower was begun, Avliich was to rtach to the moon. After years of labour the tower got so high that it meant days of hard marching for the people working on the top to come down to the village to get provisions. It was, there- fore, decided that, as stage upon stage was built, it should be inhabited, and that food and other necessaries should be passed up from below from stage to stage. Thus the people of the different stages had very little intercourse, and gradually acquired different manners, languages, and customs. At last, when th/; structure was all but finished, the nat in the moon fell into a rage at the audacity of the Chins, and raised a feai-ful storm, which brought down the tower. It fell from south to north. The people inhabit- ing the different stages were consequently strewn over the land, and built villages where they fell. Hence the dif- ferent clans and tribes varying in language and customs. The stones and building materials which formed the huge tower now form the Chin Hills. It appears, therefore, that the people recognise the re- lationship of the different tribes, which is by no means usual with the hillmen. The names Kuki and Chin are not national, and have been given to them by their neigh- bours. Kuki is an Assamese or Bengali name given by them to all the hill tribes in their neighbourhood. Chin is the Burmese name given to all the people in the country between Burma and Assam. Its origin has not been determined. The Chins call themselves Zho, or Shu, Yo, or Lai. One suggestion is that Chin is a corruption of the Chinese jen, the word for man, but this savours rather of the Diversions of Purley. Sir Arthur Phayre was of opinion that Chin was a corruption, through Arakanese, of Klang, the word for a man, and this seems eminently probable. The name Kuki -Chin at anyrate is a purely conven- tional one. The tribal languages fall into two main sub-groups — the Meithei, the language of Manipur, the Kathe of the Burmese, and the Chin. Meithei is the language of the original settlers in Manipur, and still remains the official tongue, though the people have been converted to Hinduism, and have adopted many Hindu KUKI-CHIN 105 ways. The Cliin siib-n-roup, aocovding to tlie linguistic survey of Iii(li;i, contains over thirty distinct languages, and eighteen of these are spoken in Burmese territory. They ai-e divided geographically as follows : — The Norlhcrn C/iiiix, wjio live in the hills more or less parallel to the Chindwin River, as far south as its conflu- ence ^vith the Irraw addy : Thado Sokte Siyin The Central Chin.'!, who occupy the Northern Arakan Hill tracts and the Pakokku Chin Hills : Tashon Lai Shonshe The Southern Chins, the much more broken up and less formidable tribes who extend towards the Irrawaddy Delta and the south of Aral;an : Chinme Yawdwin Anu Chinbcin Yindo, or Shendu Sak, or Thet Chinbok Taungtha Yoma Chin Welaung Khauii To these may be added the old Kuki race, the Kyaw, who live far to the soutli, on the banks of the Kuladaing, and are the descendants of some old Kuki slaves, who were offered to a local pagoda by a pious queen of Arakan some three centuries ago, and came originally from Lushai- land. The theory about the Chins most favoured is that they are an offshoot from the original Burman invaders, who left the main hoi-de in the extreme north of the province, marched down the Chindwin, and climbed the hills west of the river, and then spread westward into the Lushai country, and southward over the Arakan Yomas. They left before any great change had come over the ancient form of speech, and Mr Taw Sein Ko is of opinion that some of the Chin customs, in regard to slavery, inheritance, marriage, and the like, give a ))robable picture of the pre- Buddhistic Burman usages. The Chins, therefore, of all the non-Burman races in the province, have the closest ethnical connection with the Burmese. The administrative tract, known as the Chin Hills, and 106 BURMA under the cliav^c of a political officer, gciK'rally corre- sponds witli tht country of the Nortliern Chins. More is known about them than about the other members of the group. Like the Chingpaw, the Chins are divided into tribes, and these are subdivided into clans. The chief tribes are the Haka, Tashon, Siyin, Sokte, Thado, Tlangt- lang, Yokwa, Yo, Nwite, and Vaipe. Some of the most conspicuous clans are the Hanhow of the Sukte tribe, the Yahow and Whenoh of the 'J'ashons, and the Thetta of the Yokwas. The great bulk of the Thados were attacked and expelled by the Sokte in the middle of last centuiy, and now live in the southern hills of Manipur. The Sokte are the most northerly' tribe in Burma ter]itory, and east of them, round Fort White, live the Siyins. The Nwite, Vaipe, and Yo Chins have now almost entirely recrossed the northern border into Manipur or Cachar, and the Han- hows have occupied their hills, and are themselves steadily pushing northward. The Tashon tribe is by a good deal the most numerous, and next to them come the Hakas, also called the Lai, or Baungshe. Baungshe is merely a Burmese nickname, referring to the way in which the men tie their hair in a knot over the forehead. The Tashons call themselves Shunklas, and their territory is the most thickly populated. Lai is said to be likely to become the lingua franca of the Cliin Hills. They occupy the centre of the country, and many of the surrounding dialects closely resemble the Lai form of Chin. Tiie different tribes were counted together in the census, and the general head of " Chin" made up a total of 175,0,S7 persons in 1901, including both the Northern and Central Chins under this title. The Siyins are the Tautes and Tauktes of the Manipur records, and they and the Sokte were the chief slave hunters until quite recent times. It appears from a consideration of the Cliin Laws, as collected and codified by Waung Tet Pyo, that the race was at one time more united, and certainly much more civilised, than we found it. The thirt}'-six clans, or Zo, of which we are told, and of which the names have been preserved, do not now exist any longer. The headquarters of the political officer in charge of the KUKI CHIN 107 Chin Hills ave at Falam, whence the Ta^)hc'ins and Iheir tributaries are adrainisteied. 'J'lie Siyins and Suktes are controlled from Tiddim ; the Hakas^ Tlantlangs, Yokwas^ and the southern villages from Ilaka. 1'he Southern Chins are not very well known as yet. They are sometimes called the Tame, as disLingiiishtd from the Wild, or Norlhern, Chins. The Ciiinmes live about the sources of the eastern Mon River. It seems doubtful whether their dialect has more of a right to a separate name than the patois of other surrounding clans. Their speech, however, is said to be a connecting-link between the Lais and the Chinboks. The Welaung Chins live at the headwaters of the Myitlha River, and are bounded on the north by the Lais, and on the south by the Chinboks. The Chinboks live in the hills from the Maw River down to the Sawchaung. They are bounded on the north by the I/ais and the Wclaiings, on the east by the Biirmans, on the west by the tribes of the Arakan Yomas, and on the south by the Yindu Cliins. The Yindus are found in the valleys of the Salinchaiing and the northern end of the Mon Valley. The Chiubuns live about the southern end of the Monchaung, and stretch across the Arakan Yomas into the valley of the Pichaung. They claim to be of Burmese origin. The Khamis, or, as the Burmese nickname them, the Hkwemis — "the dogs' tails" — are found along the River Kuladaing, in Arakan, and stretch into the Chittagong Hill tracts They used to live in the Chin Hills, and only came to their present villages in the middle of the nineteenth century. Near the Chinbons are the Taungthas^ who profess to trace themselves from immigrants from the Myingyan district. There were 4.578 persons returned as speaking TaungLha in the lyoi census. They lived in the Pakokku district. 'J'he majority of the other clans lived in an "estimated" area, and no figures are available, Khami was the main dialect of the Arakan Hill tracts proper, and was spoken by 2*1,389 people in 1901. The Anu were returned at 77.5, and there were 37 males and 30 female Sak, or Thet, in the Akyab district, and 232 of them altogether in the ])rovince. It seems very probable that proper study of these races will result in their 108 BURMA flisappeavance from our lists. The Daingnets are found to si)eak nothing more tliaii a corrupt form of Bengah, and are not probably allied to the Chins at all. The dialects spoken on the eastern and western slopes of the Arakan Yomas seem to differ very inconsiderably, seeing how little communication there has been between the settlements. All the tribes seem to have had no other system of government than that of village communities. Each village iiad a headman, and the title seems to have been hereditary. Like the Chins of the Chin Hills, these Southern Chins made regularly organised slave hunts. Their women had their faces tattooed, a custom which seems never to have prevailed in the north. The Chinbok women covered the face with nicks, lines, and dots of a unifovm design. The Yindus tattooed horizontal lines across the face, showing glimpses of the skin. The Chin- bon women, who were the fairest skinned naturally, tattooed the face a uniform dead black. The Northerners used to be head hunters. As in the case of the Wa, the skulls were not brought inside the village, but were iiioiiuled on posts outside. The Si.'vmese-Chinese Sub-Family The name Siamese-Chinese is from some points of view as unsatisfactory as that of Tibeto-Burman. The groups found in Burma are the Tai, or Shan, and the Karen. The Karen language is admitted to be pre-Chinese, and it is classed in this family merely as a provisional measure. The Tai race is equally pre-Chinese, so far as their earliest known seats are concerned, bnt there are much stronger traces of Chinese speech in Tai than there are in Karen. The Tai have various forms of written character which are in all cases derived from the old rock-cut Pali of India, but the Siamese, the Lao, and the Lii got it through the Mon - Hkm^r, while the British and Cliinese Shans got it through tlie Burmese. The Karens liad no ^vritten character till Christian missionaries made one for them. The Tai spoken language has been greatly influenced by Chinese ; the Karen, so far as is known, only very little. SIAMESE-CHINESE 109 Chinese. — There were 47,411' Chinese in Burma at the time of the 1901 census, and their number is constantly increasing, but it is not necessary to say much about them in a hand-book of Burma. Various dialects were spoken. The Yiinnanese are mostly found in Upper Burma, and in greatest numbers in Mandalay and Bhamo. Yiinnanese is a dialect of Western Mandarin. The Chinese in Lower Burma come mostly from Swatow, Amoy, Canton, and Hainan ; a great number of them filtered through the Babas of the Straits Settlements. Their dialects ai-e mutually unintelligible, and they talk to one another in Burmese. The Amoy and the Swatow men are mostly traders and shopkeepers, the Cantonese are usually arti- sans, and the Hainanese, who are comparatively few in number, are domestic servants. The Tai. — The Tai group, the Shans, have been divided into three classes by Dr Cushing, the earliest and till his death the best authority on the race : the Northern, the Intermediate, and the Southern. Pilcher divided them into four sections : the North-Western, the North -Eastern, the Eastern, and the Southern. Dr Grierson, studying them at his desk from the linguistic point of view, divides them into two sub-groups : the Northern and the Southern. From the point of view of the ju'ovince of Burma a better division would be into Cis-Salween and Trans-Salween Tai. But the Tai race is the most widely distril)uted in Indo- China. The Ahoms of Assam are indisputably Shans, tliough they are now completely Hinduised. The Hakkas of Canton are almost certainly of Shan extraction, though they would be the first to deny it if they knew anything about the Shans. The Li of the interior of Hainan, who have a written character "like the wriggling of worms," will, when we know more about them, almost assuredly prove to be Shans. The name Shan is firmly established, but it is not at all satisfactory. We got it from the Burmese. How the Burmans got it is by no means clear. Dr Grierson says that Shan is simply Sham, which, he says, is obviously Siani. But this is too cavalier-like a way of treating the question. The people practically everywhere call themselves 'iai. The Hkiin of Kengtung and the Lii of Kenghung profess to differentiate themselves, but they no BURMA are certainly wrong. There are nowhere any of the race who call themselves Shau. Sham, the word Dr Grierson fastens on, is simply a (possibly) more scholarly way of writing the word in Burmese, and, therefore, proves no- thing. The number of names given to the race is, in fact, not the least bewildering of the questions connected with them. They themselves use the names Tai, Htai, Hkiin, Lii, Lao, and Hkamti. Other names commonly given to them are : Pai-i, Moi, Muong, Tho or Do, Law, Tai- long, Tai-noi, Tai-mao, Tai-no, Tai-man, Tai-hke, Pu-tai, Pu-nong, Pu-man, Pu-ju, Pu-chei, Pu-en, Pu-yiei, Pu-shui, P'o, Pa, Shui Han, or Hua Pai-i, Pai-jen, T'u-jen, P'u- man, Pai, Hei or Hua T'u-lao, Nung or Lung-jen, Sha- jen, Hei or Pai Sha-jen, Min-chia, Shui-chia, Chung-chia, and many still more purely local. They have also at least six known distinct forms of written character. It seems probable that the Tai form a very large part of the popula- tion of four of the Chinese provinces : Yiinnan, Kuei-chou, Kwangsi, and Kwangtung. In view of this, any grouping of the race into sections based on the Tai, who are British subjects, can only be dogmatic, unprofitable, and tutile. History. — The Tai have no traditions of their pre- historic wanderings. They were certainly in the south- western provinces of China when the Burmans migrated south. Early swarms seem to have entered Northern Burma 2000 years ago, but they were small in number, and there was more movement south and east. In the ■year 130 B.C. we find the Emperor Hsiao Wuti conquering Yelung and Ye Yu, in the north and east of Yunnan, but in A.D. 47 the Ngai, or Ai-Lao, as the Shans were then known, were descending the Han and Yang-tzu Rivers on rafts. In 69 and 78 a.d. it is recorded that the Lin- mao and Lei-lao kings were defeated in the centre of China. The foundation of various Tai principalities in the Salween and Mekhong Valleys took place between the third century of our era and the fall of the T'ang dynasty in China. The Chinese Empire was in an inchoate state then, and for long after it was engaged in a des- perate -struggle with the Tai. About .'ifib' a.d. the great Emperor Wuti built a sort of Piclb' wall, to protect the j)assages of the Yangtzu west of I-chang. In 649 a.d.. HISTORY OF THE TAI 111 however, a definite Slian Ivingdom was formed by a potentate named Si Nu-lo, who absorbed five other princi- palities, and built himself a capital ten miles north-west of Meng-hwa Ting, in Yiinnan. It is stated that thirty- two j)rinces, covering a period of seventeen generations, had preceded him, but they seem to have been presidents if a confederacy rather than independent chiefs. Si Nu-lo made a. beginning, but it was his great-great- grandson, Koh Lo-feng, who became the first really formid- able king of Nan-chao, or Ta Meng Kuo as it is called in the Chinese annals. He succeeded to the throne in 748 A.D., and was granted the title of Hereditary Prince of Yiinnan by the Chinese, and a Chinese princess of the Imperial House was given to his son in marriage. Tali, which had been founded in 743 under the name of Yangtsii-me, became his capita], and received its present name in 764 a.d. Koli Lo-feng, notwithstanding these Chinese compliments, waged war with the Emperor, seized a number of Chinese towns, and transferred liis alliance from China to Tibet. Successors of his alternately sided with China and 'I'ibet, and defeated both, and several raids were made as far as Ch'^ng-tu, the capital of modern Ssu-ch'uan. Chinese perseverance finally prevailed, how- ever, and in the beginning of the tenth century the whole dynasty was summarily put an end to in a massacre which included 800 persons. The dynasty had lasted 2.^)5 years from the time when Si Nu-lo established himself, and during this period there had been thirteen kings of Nan-chao. For three and a half centuries after this Nan-chao was go\erned by a family of Chinese Shans with the name of Twan. They were more Chinese than Tai, and it seems certain that dining all this time the original Tai kingdom was being gradually absorbed by settlements of Chinese in the country. The tendency of the Tai has always been to fritter away their strenglli. Even at the time of their greatest power constant swarms seem to have left to form new principalities to the south in the great river valleys. None of these seem to have rendered any allegiance to the parent kingdom of Nan-chao, so far as can he ascertained from the meagre histories and traditions. It is at any rate 112 BURMA very clear that the Tai had spread far lie^oiid their original limits lonjr before Kublai Khan put an end to the Nan-chao kingdom in the latter half of the thirteenth centur}'. Of the greater now existing states^ Mong Nai (Mone) claims to have been founded in 5l9 b.c, Hsenwi (Theinni) in 441 b.c, and Hsipaw (Thibaw) in 423 b.c. The Mekhong States of Luang Prabang and Vien-chan were established still earlier. Vien-ehan (or Lansang) reached its state of greatest splendour about 1373 .\.0. It was conquered by Burma in 1592 and by Siam in 1777. It is now a mere riverine village. Luang Prabang still exists as a principality, and is the residence of the governor-general of the French Lao country. The great disruption of the Shan power, however, came with Kublai Khan's conquest of Tali. Just before this the noted General Hkun Sam Long had conquered Assam (Wehsali-long, the Shans call it). The bulk of the army remained there, but gradually degenerated. When they came they were "barbarians, but mighty Kshattriyas," but the taint of Hinduism converted them into " Brahmans, powerful in talk alone." The language has been dead for about three centuries, and is now only known to a few priests who have remained faithful to the old tongue. But the chronicles remain as a valuable legacy to make Assam notable among the Indian provinces. Their study will be a valuable contribution to Indo- Chinese history. With the establishment of the Mongols great hordes of Tai marched west, and supplied kings to Northern Burma for a couple of centuries. The conquest of Mogaung (Mong Kawng) by Alaung-Pava drove the bulk of the Tai north to Hkamti Long, where they still have a principality. The paltry statelets of Hsawng-hsup and Singka-ling Hkamti are the last remnants, but traces of the Shans in place names and in the features of the people are still found over all North Burma. The most successful swarm went south, and after slow wandering founded Ayuthia, about IS.'iO. on the site of the Hkmer city of Lavek, or Lavu, and became the proiieiiilors of the modern Siamese. The People. — The Shans are, next to the Burmese, the most numerous race in the province. Of Shans expressly PEOPLE OF THE PROVINCE 113 so called there were in the census of 1901 a total of 787,087. If to these we added the Hkun and the Lu, as they certainly should be added, since the difference of name is a mere personal conceit, and the difference of speech is merely that of a strong dialect, the total rises to 834,338. With the Hkamtis added, concerning whom details are wanting, the total should be considerably over a mill ion. The peace and order established by the British Government has resulted in a rapid natural in- crease. Siamese was spoken by 19,531 persons, for the most part in the Tavoy, Amherst, and Mergui districts. Others, speaking Burmese, brought the total up to 31,890. The Khiin numbered 4^,l60, the Lu 19,380, and there were 1047 Lao. The Shans present the somewhat curious spectacle of a race exceedingly ready to adopt the habits and ways and refinements of the peoples with whom they came in contact either as neighbours or conquerers, and yet exceedingly tenacious of the national characteristic of a liking for small communities, in confederation with others of their race, but steadily averse to subordination to one central power, which would have given them the stability and the conquering force which might have made them masters of all Indo-China, to say nothing of possibly the hegemony of China itself. The Burmese have been given the reputation of having devised the sagacious policy of splitting up the Shan States, and so ruling them with ease, but the truth is that they would have had much more difficulty in persuading the people to submit to the rule of one or two chiefs of greatly extended territories. The Shan States remain split up since we took over the States as they existed on the occupation, but the tendency now is towards friendliness and not towards antagonism. Part III. gives further information on this point. The Tai are now all technically fervent Buddhists, though that religion is even more overlaid with Animism than it is among the Burmese. It is commonly believed that they got their Buddhism from the Burmese, as the Burmese got it from the Mon. Their own traditions and the Chinese annals^ however, seem to prove that Buddhism 114 BURMA was introJuced long before, and was only revived by contact with Banna. It seems certain that King Asoka of Magadha, who was both a Saul and a Constantine, and sent Buddhist mission iries far and wide, introduced Buddhism into both Tibet and the Tai country somewhere about 300 B.C. Burma, and to a lesser extent the Shan Statts^ had two civilisations to contend with or to influence them — those of India and China.- The civilisation of China is essentially commercial and practical, and it has a vast literature of prosaic records and chronicles. The civilisa- tion of India is contemplative and religious, and its chief literature consists of imaginative hymns and epics. On the whole, Inlian civilisation has prevailed, but both races have maintained the chronicles, of which so few are found in India. Unfortunately, in the turmoils of centuries very few of these have survived. The Slians of British territory have adopted the Burmese era, both religious and civil, but in the north and in the south- east, and universally in astrological calculations, the Chinese system of the smaller and greater cycle is followed, as it still is in Siam at the present day. Appearance, Dress, and Characteristics. — In person the Shans greatly resemble both the Siamese and Burmese, but, as a rule, they are fairer. They are muscular and well formed, and average at least an inch higher. The eyes are moderately lineai', the nose is small rather than flat, and here and there has enough bridge to be almost aquiline. The mouth is large, and is made to seem more large by betel-chewing, which discolours the teeth and gums, and rivets attention. The hair is long, straight, and lank, and rarely any other colour than black. The Cis-Salween Shans tattoo to mid-calf, and also higher up the trunk than the Burman. Some of the chiefs bodyguard in former days were tattooed from the neck to the ankle, and a few had even the face and the back of the hands tattooed in blue. In addition to the regulation " breeches," charms, usually in red, a]jpear on the chest, back, and arms, as they do in the case of the Burmese. The Shan tattooers are said to be the best, but the custom seems to have begun with the Burmese. The Siamese do not tattoo, and the Lao are specially divided into the Lao Pung-kao, or White- SHAN CHIEF AND 3IAHADEWI (CHIEF WIFE) IX COURT DRESS. Beato & Co.] Y. •J Y. DRESS OP THE SHANS 115 paunch Lao, who Uve in the east, along the Mfekliong Uiver ; and the Lao Piing-dani, or Black-paiinch Lao, who hve in tlie west. The black and while sobiicjnets apply accordingly as the man is tattooed or not. 'Die tattooed Lao extend to Muang Nan. The Shan dress is a pair of trousers and a jacket. The coat is of Chinese pattern. The cut of the trousers varies considerably. Sometimes they are much the same as the Chinese, with well-defined legs, but in the north, and among the better-to-do classes generally, the seat is often down about the ankles, and the garment generally is so voluminous as to look more like a skirt than a pair of trousers. The turban is usually white in the north ; of various colours in the south. The Shan-Chinese wear indigo-dyed, .sombre head-dresses. The broad-rimmed, limp, woven grass hat is the great characteristic of the Tai of British territory. These flapping straws are made in China, and are not worn by the Shan-Chinese, or by the Siamese Shans. During llie rains and the hot weather they wear a huge conical covering, like a candle ex- tinguisher crushed down. The women are fair-skinned, and, perhaps, as a whole are not so attractive as their Burmese sisters. Their dress is certainly less coquettish than that of the Burmese or Siamese. The skirt is sewn uj), and does not reveal glimpses of shapely limbs, nor is it tucked up between the legs, as it is with the Siamese. Coats are only worn by the fashionable and the travelled. Ordinarily the dress is worn folded over the bosom. In the Lao States the bust is exposed to the waist by old and young. The Hkiin and Lii wear a cross-over bodice, with very tight sleeves, which may be a reminiscence of the Kimuno of the Japanese, from whom the Hkiin claim by old tradition to be descended. A turban is worn on the head, which varies greatly in size in different parts. In the north and in Kengtung it is sometimes as voluminous as the puggari of a Sikh, and in the south it is often merely the scarf worn round the head, which the Burma girl throws over her shoulders. The people are a quiet, mild, good-humoured race, as little addicted to intemperance in drinking or tnioking as 116 BURMA the Burmese. Goitre is very comrnon in the hills, and is, as elsewhere, slightly more prevalent among the women than among the men. Tlie birth and other customs are in veiy many cases the same as the Burmese. The religious or "great" name is given according to the same scheme of letters for the days of the week as in Burma. " Little names " are given in the [lowing order : — First Son , Ai First Daughter , Nang Ye, or O-e Second „ AlYi Second a Nang Yi, or I Third „ Ai Hsam Third Jy Xang Am Fourth „ Ai Hsai Fourth 3) Xantf Ai Fifth „ Ai Xgo Fifth )3 Xang O Sixth „ Ai Nok, or Lawk Sixth 3) Xang Ok, or Awk Seventh „ Ai Xu, or Hke Seventh S3 Xang It Eighth „ Ai Nai No more daught( ers are con- templated In the Kengtiing ruling family the eldest daughter is called Hpum-hpa or Pen-hpa, the second Tip, the third Tep. In all cases the above names are supplemented by others from the alphabet scheme, and they may be changed at will, if the child falls ill, or if the grown-up person has bad luck, according to a prescribed form. Marriage customs are much the same as among the Burmese. As in the Eist generally, the contract among the well-to-do is more a family than a personal affair. Among the peasantry the tie is mere concubinage, founded on mutual convenience. There are no bachelors and there are no old maids, and Tai ladies are every whit as chaste as their Western sisters. Polygamy is sanctioned, but not common, except among the chiefs. With them sowing wild oats comes after and not before marriage. Polyandry is forbidden. Infanticide is unknown. The Shans will eat anything : fish, Hesh, fowl, or reptile — nothing is forbidden but human flesh. Cicadas and the pupae of a large beetle, a scarahaeus, are considered KARENS 117 delicacies anct may sometimes be seen for sale in the markets. Snakes are only eaten as a regular tiling by the Tai-Dam, the Black (tattooed) Lao, who prefer them to any other diet, but everywhere lizards are eaten. Diseases are cured by the use of medicines, which are chiefly herbs ; by shampooing, which is very common and very ably done ; and by exorcism when these fail. The dead are buried usually in the jungle, or in a grove near the village. The corpse must be dressed in new clothes, and particular care must be taken that there is no mark of a burn on them. Persons who have touched the corpse must bathe before they re-enter the village. The Karen Group. — Our knowledge of the Tai is neither extensive nor exact, but it is full compared with what we know of the origin of the Karens. It is, perhaps, un- necessary to say that the name Karen by which we know them is not a national name at all. They are miscalled, just as the Tai, the Chingp.aw, the Mon, and the Sho are miscalled. On the other hand, they themselves have no national comprehensive name — nothing but tribal names — and the Sgaw and Pwo tribal divisions give no hint of a real name, for they simply mean "male" and "female," and refer to a prehistoric tribal quarrel which led to the prohibition of intermarriage and social inter- course. In the matter of endogamy the Karens as a race are very conspicuous. Just as it was penal for a Greek to marry a barbarian, for a Roman patrician to marry a plebeian, for a Flindu of one caste to marry one of another caste, so Karen religion sanctioned, and Karen law enforced, the custom of marrying exclusively within the tribe. Among the Bghai the marriage restrictions were, and are, even more complicated, and are only paralleled by the highly conventional social classification of the Australian bushmen. The bushmen clubbed offenders to death ; the Sawngtiing and other Karens made them commit suicide by jumping into a pit, with ropes, attached to a beam, round their necks. History. — The Karen national traditions refer to a " river of running sand," which their ancestors are supposed to have ci-ossed. Dr Mason identified this with the sand- drifts of the Desert of Gobi, in Central Asia, but later 113 nURMA anthorilieR r!o not agree with him. The most generally accepted tlieory is that the language is Chinese, hnt not descended from it, and that the people are pre-Chinese, and not Tibetan or aboriginal in their ju'esent seats, or descendants of the lost Ten Tribes, as enthusiastic prosel}'- tisers would have us believe. WlieLher their religious traditions, which have attracted so much attention, were derived from the Jewish settlements in China, or are the relics of a far distant past, like the far-carried boulders of the glacial age, does not seem capable of definite proof, l)ut it can hardly be amiss to point out that savage fancy ill many places recalls Biblical statements. The Burmese story of the Thalesan reminds one of " the fruit of that forbidden tree." The Wa and the Hkijn have a similar story regarding gourds and the ashes of the old world. Traditions of a deluge are found everywhere ; and the Chins have a story of the Tower of Babel ; while spring festivals in many places, and among numerous tribes, recall Easter. The probability is that the Karens were tribes in China driven south by the Tai, and afterwards driven back into the hills by the M6n and the Burmans. They claim to have first settled in the neighbourhood of Ava, whence, about the fifth or sixth century of our era, they came southward, and spread over the hills between the Irra- waddy, the Salween, and the Menam as far as the sea-coast. They now occu2iy the Central Pcgu-Yoma Range, which forms the watershed between the Sittang and the Irrawaddy ; the Paunglaung Range between the Sittang and the Salween ; and the eastern slopes of the Arakan Yoma Mountains to the west of the Irrawaddy Delta. They extend from Mergui to Toungoo, and form the chief pojiulation of the south-west section of the Shan States and of Kai-en-ni. Olans. — Dr Grierson has decided that Karen is a group of dialects, not of languages, and that it includes only the one language, Karen, spoken in greatly varying patois. There are three main divisions of the race: the Sgaw, the I'wo, and the Bghai, or Bwe. Dr Cashing thought that the Sgaw dialect will gain the mastery. It differs from Pwo in having no final consonants, which is characteristic also of Bghai. This latter dialect includes the language of the KATIEN CLANS 119 Red KaveiiSj and differs most noticeably in its s}',stem of numeration. It somewhat resembles Sgawj but possesses a large number of separate roots. Roughly speaking, the Sgaw and Pwo dialecls are con- fined to Lower Burma, while the Bghai is spoken by the northerly tribes. The Karens may, therefore, conveniently be divided into the South sub-group and the North sub- grou]), and the northerners may be believed to preserve the Karen language in its original and purest form. All the forms are tonic, and are believed to have the same five tones. The Pwo are mostly found in the Delta as far west as Bassein, but the Taungthu, who call them- selves Pa-o, and are most probably a sub-clan, are the most northerly of the race, and are found far up into the M3'elat, and in the state of Hsatung, besides extending well to the east. Karen has been reduced to writing by the missionaries, who have adopted a modification of the Burmese alphabet to express it. Their system includes the indication of tones by signs ; and Dr Gushing describes Sgaw as having one of the most perfect systems of phonetic representation in the world. The Southern group includes the Pwo, Sgaw, Mopgha, and Taungthu, or Pa-o. The Northern includes the Karen- ni, Bre or Lakii, and Mano, Sawngtiing, Banyang, and Padeng Layein, Kawnsawng, Yintale, and Sinlimaw Mepauk, Yinbaw, and, perhaps, the Padaung, or Ke- kawngdu. The Karens are the third most numerous population in Burma. According to the census of 1,901, they numbered in all 727,235 persons: Pwo 174,070, Sgaw 8(),434, and the Bghai 4.036 ; while 457,355 were returned as un- specified, and belonged largely to the Bghai division. The Taungthu, or Pa-o, numbered l60,436. If they are not hybrids, as their ways and partly their appearance and tongue, suggest, they would largely swell the numbers of the Pwo. The Karen-ni States were an estimated, not an enumerated area, and the numl)ers recorded were : Red Karens 2S,979, of whom 24,073 lived in Karen-ni ; Bre 3500, Padaungs 9692, and Zayeins 4666. All the groups, however, require much more study from a broad point of view, and it seems possible that the Padaung, or 120 BUJ^MA Kekawngduj may, like the Danaw, be liereafter classed with the Mon Hktner. A popular classificatiorij both with the people and their neighbours, divides them into the White Karens, including the Pwo and the Sgaw and their affinities, and the Red Karens, including all the Bghai clans. Tendency to Christianity. — The Karens generally furnish the most notable instance of conversion to Cliristianity of any native race in the British Empire, except, perhaps, the Khasias. The White Kai'ens were converted in great numbers about a generation ago. More recently, the Red Karens are being converted, by whole villages at a time, impartially to the Roman Catholic and to the American Baptist and Presbyterian faiths, and they exhibit towards one another all the zeal and intoler- ance of perverts. Old prophecies current among them, and the curious traditions of a Biblical character referred to above, led to this, as much as their antagonism to the dominant Burmese. It is certain that the race requires much more study. All the later authorities are convinced that the Karens have suffered from over-classification. The early mission- aries set themselves to the work with more zeal than discrimination, or study of the language. Their clans read like a table of fashion plates or a history of tartans. 'J"he only visible distinction between one clan and another was the dress worn. In one place the women wore a smock with red perpendicidar lines; in another tliere were no lines on the white blouse, but a narrow border of embroidery at the bottom, with sub-variants ; some men had red trousers; some white, with radiating white lines, and so forth. This is catching, but it is not scientific or satisfactory. Characteristics. — The White Karen is of heavier, squarei build than the Burman, and much more stolid. His skin is fairer, and he has more of the Mongolian tilt of the eye. They are credited with trutlifulness and cliastity, but they are very dirty, and addicted to drink. In disposition they are heavy, suspicious, and absolutely devoid of humour, The Red Karen is of an entirely different physical type. The men are small and wizened, but very wiry ; they have ZAYEIN KAREN WOMEN. A MYOSA (kAREX) with HIS WIFE (daXi) AND DArGHTEKS. KAREN DRESS 121 broad, reddish bi-own faces, and long heads, with the obhquity of eye perhaps accentuated. It was the in- variable custom for the men to have the rising sun tattooed in bright vermilion on the small of the back. They used to be wild and truculent, and desperately feared by their neighbours. Since they were subdued by the British Government they are sombre and despondent rather than surly or ill-disposed ; they steal cattle instead of men, and except for that purpose hardly leave their country ; but they still are very heavy drinkers. Dress and Customs. — The Southern Karens have been so much influenced by the Burmese, and later by the missionaries, that their dress and ways can now be hardly called national. Many of the men dress exactly like Burmans. The others wear short trousers and indeter- minate sort of coats. The general characteristic of the women's dress is the gabei-dine, or camisole, longer or shorter, and more or less elaborate or plain, according to fancy and means. Compai-ison with the Northern women suggests that this was at one time the sole garment, but in Lower Burma all women now wear petticoats. The dresses in the Northern sub-group are much varied. The men wear short trousers — some of them very short, and none approaching the amplitude of the Shans. If they wear coats at all they are of Shan or Chinese pattern, or a small, sleeveless coat, which is never fastened, and is usually of a dark colour. A cotton blanket, striped red or white, is, however, usually worn over the shoulders in the cold weather. Some sort of handkerchief, of meagre size, is twisted round the hair, which is tied in a knot on the top of the head. Small metal, pear-shaped ear-rings are also worn by the Red Karen men. Red Karens. — The Red Karen women wear a short skirt reaching to the knee. Usually it is dark coloured, but sometimes it is red. A bi-oad piece of black cloth passes over the back across the right shoulder, and is then draped over the bosom, and confined at the waist by a white girdle tied in front. Round the waist and neck are ropes of bai-baric beads and seeds of grasses and shrubs ; and a profusion of these also decorate the leg, just above the calfj which also is encircled by innumerable garters 122 BURMA of black cord or lacquered rattan. These, with the seeds, stand out some 2 inches or more from each sturdy limb, so that the women walk like a pair of compasses, and have some difficulty in sitting down, and always do so with the legs stretched straight in front of them. Round the neck all those who can aSbrd it hang pieces of silver — coins, and the like. Silver ear-rings are also worn, many of huge size. A piece of black cloth is thrown jauntily over the head, sometimes with red tassels, like those of the Taungthu. The general effect is striking, and, wlien the things are new, not by any means unattractive. Allied Clans. — The dress of the women of the other clans is of much the same general character. Instead of the shawl of the Red Karen woman they all wear the gaberdine, called Tliiiidaing by the Burmese, and perhaps more like a poncho, since it is slipped over the head, and, except that the sleeves are either rudimentary or do not exist at all, hangs loose, and is much like a lady's dressing- sack. This smock-frock, which has a neck, and reaches mid- thigh, is thought sufficient by some elanswomen. Others wear a short kirtle, which reaches within a hand's breadth of the knee. The great characteristic, however, is the garters — if leg-rings which support nothing can be called garters. Scnietiraes these are bunched together, like the Red Karen woman's. Sometimes, as in the case of the Zalun women, solid brass rings about 5 or 6 inches in diameter are fastened by these lacquer rings, and festooned round the leg. Others wear brass rod coiled round the leg from the ankle up to 4 inches below the knee, or, in other cases, quite up to the knee. Others, again, add to this coils beginning above the knee and reaching half way up the thigh. Similar coils of brass rod are worn twisted round the whole forearm by the Lamung and other elanswomen. In some places separate rings, both on arms and legs, are worn instead of one continuous coil. Practically all wear ear-plugs, or cylinders, in the ears, some of them of enormous size, distending the flesh to the utmost limit. They are of every sort of material, from sorry wood up to chased silver, according to the possessions of the famil}'. The armlets and leglets, or lec- cinctures, seem always to be of brass, and never of silver. SAW-KU KAREM r,TRr,_ ENDOGAINIY 123 Like all hill women, these damsels have substantial limbs, and the superimposed brass rings are singularly unbecoming to the unaccustomed eye, so that an untrammelled view of the sturdy, naked calves of the Mepu women, who have given up the use of these ornaments, is quite exhilarating. Besides the leg and arm circlets, many of the women also wear brass circlets, or torques, round the neck. These are usually so loose that they can be slipped over the head. Ropes of bead and pebble necklaces are also worn. Possibly the attention devoted to the loading of the arms and legs prevents attention to the hair. It is certain at any rate that many of the women neglect it shamefully, and no head-dress is worn, so that the glory of women is not sui'liciently taken advantage of. I'his is the more curious, since some of the Zayein clan.swomen have an effective form of coiffure. The hair is combed, and forced through a silver, dome-shaped receptacle, or through a piece of bamboo, and is knotted or festooned at the top with an elaborate head-dress of red and white pleated cloth, with an applique of black cloth, on which seeds are sewn in a lace or net pattern. Endogamy.— Very strict rules of endogamy prevail in most of the clans. Only cousins, or only the inhabitants of certain groups of villages, may intermarry, and contracts of the kind have to be approved by the elders. As soon as a boy has attained the age of puberty he is made to live with the other unmarried youth, in a building called the Haiv, which stands just outside the village. There he stays until he is married, and is supposed not to talk to any of the women of the village until that time. The limitations on pos.sible alliances are so considerable that in some places there are many decrepit bachelors in the Haws and many aged spinsters in the villages. The only occasions on which lads and lasses meet are at marriage feasts and wakes. It is alleged that these festivals, which last for three nights, are marked by the most shocking familiarities. There is certainly great excess in eating and drinking, and both sexes are seasoned, since they begin drinking strong drink before tlipj' are weaned. 'J'he unmarried youth wear a special dress, varying with the clans. Some have coquettish shell-jackets trimmed 124 BURMA with seeds or cowi-ies ; almost all have necklets of coloured beads, seeds, or stones, most commonly with two or more hour's tushes fastened round the neck. Large ear-cylinders adorn the ears, and a few of the Loilong clan wear a sort of coronet adorned with cowries and rabbits' tails, with an aigret of rice stalk or grass. On the forearm also coils of brass are found, and other clans wear brass torques round the neck. When the man mai-ries, all his finery is transferred to the person of his wife or kept for the first son. At any rate it is no longer worn by tiie husband, so that bachelors are very conspicuous, and the fact that many of them are at least middle-aged is indisputable. The reason for the endogamy is not given. Probably the first cause has been forgotten. It is certainly not because there is wealth to bequeath, nor is it very ob- viously because the neighbouring communities profess different creeds. Many of the women are distinctly comely. They would also be fair-skinned if they ever washed themselves. Some would be quite pretty if they went through tliat formality occasionally. It is possible, therefore, that a desire to keep their women to themselves was the originating cause of the marriage restrictions. The Banyangs are the most distressingly rigid. Marriages are only possible within the limits of the village fence. Every year an official of the State goes to Banyang to arrange an alliance, to ensure that there shall be at least one in the twelvemonth. He orders a couple to be married — and married they are, just as a man might be sworn of the peace. There is no hint of marriages of inclination. They are all, as it were, officially gazetted alliances. Occasionally the bridegroom, it is recorded, has to be taken by force to the bridal chamber. The police, however, having effected this, keep him there for three days and nights. The village provides a banquet, from which the man is taken, so that possibly the seeming want of gallantry is due to incapacity to go or reluctance to leave too early. Tlie bride, for her part, carouses on the connubial bed. Auspices. — Fowls' bones are the Red Karen's dictionarj', vade mtcHiiij and W'here-is-it book. He consults them PADAUKGS 125 to know wliere he should pitch his village or his house ; vhether he should start on a journey, in what direction, ou what da\-, and at what hour ; whether he should marry a certain jjirl, whether she is likely to have many children, and if he is to marry her, then on what day ; where he should make his clearing, when he should clear, sow, and reap it — he can do nothing without authority from fowls' bones. The other clans are almost as assiduous in their studies ; but latterly very many have become Christians, and instead of killing fowls they break one another's heads, with all the fervour of the convert. Tlie Padaungs. — A tribe which deserves special mention is that of the Padaungs, or Kekawngdu as they call themselves. They are possibly not Karens at all, and may belong to the M6n-Hkmer group. Their language has strong resemblances to Taungthu, or Pa-o, and Taungthu has a large percentage of words which are suggestive of the Pwo tribe. Eoth tongues are probably hybrids. The chief characteristic of the Kekawngdu is the extraordinary collar worn by the women. This neckband of brass rod, as thick as the little finger, is put on the little girl as early as possible. Five coils are usually all that can be got on as a commencement, and fresh coils are added as she grows, so that the neck is constantly kept on the stretch until the ordinary limit of twenty-one coils is reached. Similar coils of brass rod are worn on the legs and on the arms. The total weight of metal carried by the average woman is fifty or sixty pounds, and some manage as much as eighty. With this they carry water for household use, hoe the fields, and go long distances to village markets to sell liquor. The fashion does not seem to affect the health, for there are old crones among them, and families of eight or ten are quite common. The only visible effect is that the women speak as if some one had an arm tight round their necks. In addition to the actual neck- band there is a coil slightly wider, which softens the bend of the curves to the shoulders, and inevitably sug- gests a champagne bottle. At the back of the neck, fastened through the wider coil, is a circlet of rings, ahout 126 liURMA the size of cui-tain rings, standing at right angles. This suggests tying up at night, but wlietlier this is really so or not is not known. A reference to the Kekawngdu produces nothing definite. They all grin. In the case of the men this may be a recognition of your acuteness or the .accepting of a hint. In the case of the women it may imply the reflection that she has on either arm weight of brass enough to emphasise a clout on the head if attempts weio made to prevent her from ful- fdling any engagement. The Lamung Karen women wear neckbands like those of the Kekawngdu. The women wear a coloured scarf twisted into the hair; a coat wliich is slipjied over the head has a V neck and very short arms, is usually black, and is orna- mented by a coloured border and sometimes by em- broidery. The skirt, or kilt, is striped red and blue, and stops short above the knee. Necklaces of coins and seeds and coloured stones hang down over the bosoin. Tliere is perfect liberty of marriage. Both man and maid are allowed to marry out of the tribe. Soine ot the girls are by no means bad-looking, but their formidable armour seems to deter suitors other than of their own race. They are worshippers of spirits — bad, indifferent, and amiable. The bad are sedulously worshipped with sacrifices, the others only in moments of leisure, or expan- siveness, caused by the liquor, of which they brew and consume quantities. The Yinbaw dialect seems to be a patois of Kekawngdu. The Taungthus. — The Taungthu, who call themselves Pa-o, are all but certainly Karen, and probably of the Pwo tribe, but they do not admit it. It was formerly assumed that the Taungthu of Lower Burma came from the state of Hsatung, which is almost entirely Pa-o; but the Shan States dwellers have a tradition that pre- ciselj' the reverse was the case, and date their migration to the hills from the overthrow of King Manuha by I^aw Ra-hta of Pagan. Their language is a mosaic of Karen, Burmese, and developments of their own, but the groundwork is Karen. They are nominally Buddhists, but spirit-worship is far more conspicuous as the family religion— just as it is with the Chinese and Annamese, ■Ai' - ^i**:?^---' -=r-^ L,.^"^ Si:' J ^p^^'i )£s- ,^'- ^\x o a: o D O TAUNGTHU 127 and to a lesser extent with the Shans aurl Bunnese. The Taungthu men dress exactly like the Shanb. The women wear the Karen poncho, or camisole. It is black, adorned with embroidery, much or little, according to the position of the wearer. Under this sack -jacket is worn a petticoat which neglects to go below the knees. Below the knee are garters of black thread, worn in a band rather than in a bunch, like the Karen-ni. Leggings black or white are also worn occasionally. The forearm also is covered with strips of various-coloured velvet or flannel. Green and purple are the favourite colours. The head-dress is very elaborate. The basis is a black cloth, or tabet, wound round the head turban fashion and ornamented with a variety of coloured tassels. The hair is done up in a chignon, and a large spike hair-pin with a silver band serves to keep this firmly fixed. Finally, a long silver cord or chain is wound round and round, and makes everything fast. Pendant ear-rings of silver are worn, and large, hollow bracelets and bangles are universal — some of silver, some very much alloyed. The Taungthu are well knowi;^ all over Siam and Cambodia and as far as the Lower Mekhong, about Bassac, and the rapids of the Thousand Islands. In the Shan States they are cultivators. When they go abroad they are most commonly elephant and horse dealers. They form nearly half of the population of the Myelat, and the state of Hsatung has a Taungthu chief. Their number at the time of the 19OI census was 168,301. The Mon-Hkmer Sub-Family xhe Mon-Hkmer preceded the Tibeto-Burmans in the occupation of Burma. They were once very powerful and far spread. They are now broken up, and widely separ- ated, and their speech has been superseded, or is in course of being superseded, by others. Neither the Mon nor the Hkmer, still less the Annamese or the Wa or the Palaungs, have any traditions of their first home, but they seem to have come from the north. There is a hill-en- compassed hilly tract in the Khasi and Jyiitia Hills where 128 BURMA the Klmssi of Central Assam still speak the tongue, and are able to comniunic;ite with, and receive staccato ideas from, the Hkamiik of the Middle Mekliong. But the Mou of the Pegu district was for years proscribed by the conquering Burmese ; the Hkmer of Cambodia nearly shared the same fate at the hands of the Siamese ; and in Annam and Tongking the speech is being crushed by the desperate load of Chinese. It seems probable that the M6n-Hkmer languages once covered the whole of Farther India, from the Irrawaddy to the Gulf of Tongking, and extended north at any rate to the modern province of Assam. The Munda languages at the present day stretch right across the centre of Continental India, from Murshidabad on the east to Nimar on the west. Resemblances between the two forms of speech have long been pointed out, and there are further resemblances in the Nancaori dialect of the Nicobars and the vocabularies of the Malacca neighbourhood. There have been those who would connect them, and imagine a common tongue spoken over the greater part of the Indian continent, over the whole of Indo-China, and even in the East Indian Archipelago and Australia. There is a substratum in common ; but Dr Grierson points out that the M6n-Hkraer languages are monosyllabic, the tongue of the Kols and of the Nancaoris is polysyllabic, and the order of words in a sentence is different. Nevertheless, there is a substratum in common. What this is, whether Mon-Hkmer or Munda, or a language different from both, remains to be discovered. The study of Wa and Rumai, of Hkamuk and Sedang and Ba-hnar, may reveal some- thing. It seems, however, more probable that the Mon are the result of a fiision like that between Norman and Saxon. Dr Grierson admits that, in the present state of our knowledge, we cannot tell whether the common lan- guage arrived in Farther India from the north, or whether it arrived by sea, and gradually worked up- ward. It is beyond all doubt that the Dravidians of Telingana, an ancient kingdom on the south-east coast of India, came by sea to the eastern shores of the Bay of Bengalj probably 1000 years before the Christian era^ MON 129 and that tliey then found the Mon in possession, and in a state wliicli it is hardly unjust to call rude savagery. They were like the Asurasa, the Rakshasas, and the Nagas of the Mahabharata — wild, laidly ogres — but their daughters were fair to look upon. The Dravidians evi- dently thought so, for they gradually lost themselves in that mass of ogres and bilus. M6n, or Talaing. — The name Mon seems to belong to the al)original, or rather the eai'lier settled, race. The name Talaing, now universall}' employed, even by the people themselves, seems a reminiscence of the name Kalinga, or Telingana. This is a much disputed point. Phayre accepted it, or pi-opounded it. Forcliliamnier rejected it with Teutonic grobheil : "All deductions, his- torical or etymological, from the resemblance . . . must necessarily be void ab initio." He will have it that the name dates from Alaungpaya's definitive conquest of the Mon, and means the downtrodden (which it really does in Mon), and was intended to mean it. The name I'alaing, he says, is found in no inscriptions or palm leaves, and was not known before Alaungpaya's triumph in the middle of the eighteenth century. But Mr E. H. Parker has found the word used in the T'engyiich annals in the year l603, when " Siam and Teleng during consecutive years attacked Burma." The Telingana wanderers went not only to Burma, but also to Cambodia. They civilised both countries, and both races have traditions of the foundation of the first city. Two princes of Thubinga, in the country of Karanaka (Karnata), in Kalinga (Telingana), left the continent, and came to live on the Peguan seashore, near the present town of Thaton. They found a naga-mas (she-dragon = pretty maiden) eggs, out of which two bo3's were hatched. One died ; the other grew up to be a prince, and founded the present town of Tliaton, under the name of Thiha- yaza, on the coast. This was in 600 b.c. The town is now 8 miles in an air-line from the sea. The first Buddhist teachers came after the Third Great Council, in 241 u.c. Hanthawadi (Pegu) was founded in .573 a.d. by the son of a king of Thaton, who had married a princess born of a naga-mas egg. The Ministers of the State 130 BURMA objected to tliis ofTspring of Coplietna anti the peasant maid ; so he was expelled, and made this new kingdom for himself, whicli became the later centre of tlie M6n power. The Cambodians have n correspcmding tradition as to the founding of Eiithapatabmi, in 457 A.i). Both cities were founded with the assistance of Indra, the great ruler of the Sky, the only Vedic God that Ihiddhism has admitted into its mythology. The reasonable conclusion, therefore, seems to be that Mon is the name of the fascinating, vigorous, but barbaric mother, and Talaing the name of the travelled, cultivated, and susceptible father, and that neither name need neces- sarily be wrongfully applied to the Peg nans, as old voyagers called them. This would account for the general similar- ities of tongue, and also for the very considerable differ- ences between the talk of tlie Kol, or the Sontal and the Talaing, and between the Mon and the \Va, or the Ituniai. The same tl)ing may be said of the Hkmer of Cambodia. The Halang, the Hkamuk and Lamey, the Ba-hnar, the Huei, the Sedang, the Kat, and the Souc stand to them as the head-hunting Wa does to the silk clad, soft spoken, Rangoon Mon. Both Mon and Hkmer got their religion, literature, and civilisation from India. The Mon at any rate got his short, thickset figure and his broad face and fair com- plexion from his buxom mother. Of tlie sub-family the Hkmer were the more intellectual and cultivated, and the temples of Angkor are infinitely beyond any remains there are at Thatun. The Mon never got beyond a position of importance and barbarous magnificence. The Annamese, the farthest branch of the sub-fannly, have apparently never been anything but slavish copies of the Cliinese, possibly at first from necessity', later certainly from choice. The kingdom of Cambodia was known to the Chinese as Chinla, and earlier still as Fu-nan. The Chinese annals say that there were human sacrifices in Champa as late as the end of the seventh century of our era. Each year, they say, the King of Basan, or Angkor, went to the temple on Mount Bakheng at night to oiler a human sacrifice. This suggests the priest of Nenji no less than the wild Wa with his Eastertide skull. RUMAI 131 Less than a century and a half ago the Pc.i^uans were masters of the country from the Gulf of Martaban to far to the north of Mandalay. Now the Mon population is practically confined to the Tenasserim and Pegu divisions of Lower Burma, and according to the census of 1901 only numbered .S21,8<)8 persons, and of these only 155,100 returned themselves as speaking the national language. After Alaungpaya's conquest of the country the Ms it would be more correct to say that these last three clans are becoming Buddhists, as are also some of the Ang-ku, or Hka-la (t). They are also all at the same time zealous spirit-worshippers, or conciliators. West of the Sal ween there are no Wa owning to that name, and only the Riang ti-ibes who are related. They will not admit any con- nection either with the Rumai or the Wa, but on paper at any rate they can be convicted out of their own mouths. There were 15,660 Tai Loi enumerated in the census of 1901, 1351 Hsen-hsum, .931 En, and smaller numbers of the other septs. The Wa and Wa cognates enumerated totalled altogether 23,976. The excluded areas might raise the total to close on 100,000. It is certain that the Wa occupied at one time the whole of the state of Kengtiing and much of the Lao States as far south as Chicugmai. 'J'radition and com- paratively recent history prove this, as well as the remains of fortified village sites now covered with jungle. It is not yet clear what this proves, or whether it proves anything. This country may have been the first home of the Mon and Hkmer before they ousted the first coast- dwellers, or the inhabitants may have been the rearguard of the southward-marching horde, or the}' may have been brushed back into the hills by the Tibeto-Burmans, and hustled still later by the Karens and the Shans. The jirobability seems to be that the Wa of the head-hunting country are really the aborigines. It does not seem credible that any one should have hankered to drive them out of the outrageou.sly steep hills among which they live. Moreover, the force necessary, with savage weajions, to drive out a stalwart and stubborn race like the Wa could not possibly have found enough food to support it on slopes as abrupt as the shoulders of a camelopard. The Wa Country and Divisions. — The Head-hunting Wa, the W.i T.iin, or Wa I'ui, as they are called, form tlie nucleus. The area of their lerriLory is undetermined. A "TAIIE" \VA DAXCE. ■■O WA COUNTRY 185 but is pi-ob.tMy not less than 20 miles from east to west and 50 from north to south. Kound them come the settlements of the Intermediate Wa, communities which have fits of head Inmting, take heads wlien they come in their way, use tlie skulls of criminals, or buy skulls. In the outer fringe are the Tame Wa, who liave no skull avenues at all, and only here and there a human skull. Skulls of animals take their place sometimes, but the majority of the villages have nothing of tlie kind. Not mucli is known of even the Tame Wa country, but it is certain that the states of Mang Lon, Mawhpa, Mot-hai, Kang-hsii, Sonmu, Ngekting, Loi-lon, part at any rate of Ngek-lek, and tlie settlements on the eastern frontier range of Loi Kang Mong, are Tame. In the country of the Wa Ilai, the Wild Wa, the government seems to be a system of village communities. Each village lias its own Kiiur, or liamaug, indejiendent of all others, but with agreements for the mutual respect of heads and for coalition against a common enemy. But even these minor confederations seldom extend beyond one range of hills. Dwellers upon other hills are looked upon as strangers, and probable enemies. The Tame Wa are divided into five different septs: the Hsin-lam, Hsin-leng, Hsin-lai, Hta-mci, and Mot-no. There is a slight differ- ence in patois, but the basis of distinction is the waist- cloth, which is striped or chequered in various patterns, or ill different colours, for the so-called clans. The division of the Wild Wa into Wa Pwi and Wa Lcin is, no doubt, equally needless, though the Wa I'wi declare the Wa Lon to be very degraded. This, however, appears to imply mere jealousy of their skill and success in getting heads. Material prosperity seems to exist some- what in inverse ratio to tlic degree of civilisation. The head hunters have the most substantial villages and Jiouses, the broadest fields, the greatest number of buffaloes, pigs, dogs, and fowls. Tliey have also the best conceit of themselves, the most ornaments, and the least clothes. The Intermediate Wa fall away rather in material possessions. The Tame W^a, with what, as a matter of comparison, is called civilisation, find their houses dwindle to hovels, their fields shrink to plots. 136 BURMA not extending to 3 acres, and vitliout the cow, and instead of ornaments they wear clothes. Ihey are, tliere- fore, much more filthy than the true savages, for none of them — man, woman, or child, head harrier, or tentative IJuddhist — ever wash, and their state of dirt is only limited by the point beyond which extraneous matter refuses to adhere to human flesh. The Wild Wa crop their hair close, except for a tuft of hair on the top, more of the size of the Gurkha's salvation lock, or the Gaungto Karen's ear-tufts, than of the boot-brush which ornaments the head of the Cambqjan or of the old- fashioned Siamese. The Tame \Va let their hair grow long, and cut it across the forehead in a \\'hitechapel fringe. 'I'iiey wear no head-dress, and use no covnbs. This gives them a picturesquely wild appearance, and affords a resting-place for much more dirt than is furnished by the Wild Wa. Ornaments. — In some places, especially in the Wa Pet-ken, on the Mekhong Watershed, the men wear numbers of silver necklaces, or rather rivieres of silver, hanging well below the chest. They have also long silver-mounted pipes, often a yard long, and rudely fashioned silver bangles. Chicken bones in couples are also often worn in the ears. The women and children have a profusion of bead necklaces, and are fond of silver buckles, buttons, and spangles, besides a variety of bracelets and ear-tubes, terminated in front by a large shield, so that they look like an exaggerated carpet tack. These are all of silver, of which there is a great deal in the country everywhere, except on the western side. Dress. — Their dress is soon described. The Wild Wa men wear nothing but a strip of coarse cotton frieze about three fingers broad. This is passed between the legs, tied round the waist, and the ends, which are tassellcd, hang down in front. In the cold weather a blanket, their bedding in fact, is worn over the shoulders till the sun gets up, and is then thrown aside. The women wear an exiguous petticoat, which is none too long if worn extended, but is usually worn doubled up, and is then all too short. In the hot weather at any rate and iu the village they go about ■all unabiished, unhaber- DRESS 137 clashed, milicrcliiia;." So do the men. The women in some places wear fillets of twisted straw or bamboo spathes to confine the hair. The unmarried girls wear sjiathe caps like forage caps or strawberr}' pottles. Many, however, perhaps the inajority, wear nothing on the head at all. The hair is sometimes parted in the middle, perhaps by nature or chance. The Tame Wa men often wear Shan dress, and at other times a loin-cloth woven by their womenkind. This is as strong as sail-cloth, but reasonably soft and pliable, and often decorated with rather pleasing patterns embroidered in the texture. The blankets are of the same material, with more of a frieze character, and some have really neat - woven border ornamentation. Unfortunately, a man seems to wear only one loin-cloth and one blanket all his life, and some of the garments look as if they were family heir- looms, with the stains of generations on them. The women wear skirts and jackets, not always or often fastened up. Appearance. — In appearance the Wa are not altogether attractive. They have short, sturdy figures, perhaps a little too broad for perfect proportion, but many of the men are models of athletic build, and the women, like most of their sex in the hills, have very substantial charms and marvel- lously developed legs. In features the Wa are bullet- headed, with square faces and exceedingly heavy jaws. The nose is very broad at the nostrils, but otherwise is much more prominent than that of the Burman or Shan, who cannot well be said to have any bridge to his nose. The eyes are round and well opened, and though the brows are by no means low they are rounded rather than straight. The eyebrows are often very heavy, but the type is not a degraded one. The Wild Wa ai-e much darker than the Tame Wa, almost as dark as negroes or negritoes, and without the yellow tinge one would expect in relations, however far off, of the Mon. The Tame Wa are much lighter, about as dark as the swarthy Akha, who otherwise are the darkest race in the hills. There is otherwise, however, no resemblance. The Wild Wa, however, look not unlike the La'hii, and they sometimes grow a moustache. 138 BURMA Villages, — W'a villages, at any vatc in the licirl-Iian^ing coLinti'v, aie formidably dei'eiided, quite im])re;^nable to all attack hut that by avtillery and aims of precision. Each village is surrounded by an earthen rampart 6 to 8 feet liigh, as many thick, and covered with shrubs, thorn bushes, and cactuses. Outside there is a deep ditch or fosse, just too wide to jump easily, and so steej) that scrambling up would be impossible. There are ordinarily only two gates, sometimes only one. These are approached by tunnels, sometimes dug out of the ground, sometimes fashioned with logs, earth and binding, thorny creepers. The liouses in the wild country are substantially built of wood, with walls of wattled bamboo, and heavy plank floors. They are fairly roomy, but very dark, since the thatch roof comes down to within 3 or 4 feet of the ground. J'he Wa sit on low settles 8 inches or so high, a piece of furniture never seen in a Slian house. Outside every Wa house is a forest of forked sticks, sjiaped like a catapult, recording the number of buffaloes sacrificed by the house owner. 'J'hey breed buffaloes for sacrifice, dogs, pigs, and fowls for eating. The hills are too steep to be ploughed by cattle. They are extraordinarily diligent cultivators, and grow buckwheat, beans, maize, and poppy, but especially poppy. Rice is only grown for the purpose of making liquor. Beans form their staple food. They both eat and smoke opium, and trade immense quantities of it to Yunnan caravans in exchange for salt and liquor, or rice to make more liquor. Spirit-worsliip is the only religion. The race is brave, independent, energetic, ingenious, and industrious. The cutting off of heads is a matter of religion, not a pastime or a business. Without the spirit of the beiieaded man the village might lack defence against wandering evil spirits; without a new skull in spring the crops might prove a failure. The taking of a head is a sacrificial act, not an example of brutal ferocity. The Wa may itiake good light infantry in time. At present the skull avenues outside their villages temper respect, and their drunkenness and dirt are not attractive. But they and the Chingpaw may some day help the Gurkha to keoji the passes on the north-west frontier. The Biang Trites. — 'I'here are three clans of Riang, best A WA TUNNEL-GATE. (From inside the Village.) RIANG TRIBES 130 known by their Slian names of Yang I.ani, Yang Sck^ and Yang W'an-likuii. The 'i'ang Lam call tliemsclvcs Uiang occasionally, but usually accept the Shan name. 'I'he Yang Sek call themselves Riang Rioi, and the Yang Wan- hkun, Riang Rong. The Burmese call them Yin. 13oth tliis and the Shan name Insinuate connection with the Karens, but this is a mistake. The Riang themselves deny it, and they are right. They also deny all rclationshij) to one another, and scout any connection with the Wa ; but here they are wrong, and the greater their volubility the more their speech liewrays them. In the census of 190I there were 49.90 persons returned as speaking Riang. Particulars for the different clans are wanting, and there is also no doubt that many Riang, especially the Yang Lam, returned themselves as Shans, since they speak that language as well as their own. The Yang Lam are the most numerous, and are found in the whole plain from Mong Nai to South Hsenwi. The Yang Sek are in great- est slrengtli in the Stale of Mting Sit, but they are also found in Miing Nai and Mawkmai, and stray villages occur in other states. The Yang Wan-hkun are so called by the Shans from the Wan-hkun circle of Lai-hka, which is the stronghold of the tribe. There are more of them in Lai-hka State than in any other, but many are also settled in Mong Nai. All three tribes look upon themselves as immemorial dwellers in their present sites, and they have, no doubt, been settled where they are for a very long time. The Yang Lam are steadily amalgamating with the Shans. In many villages they live alongside of them. All the men dress as Shans, and more and more of the women. Perhaps this is because the female national dress is so sombre. It consists of a dark blue homespun skirt, closed, not divided, and reaching to the ankles. The jacket is of the same colour and material, and is closely fastened up. There is an insertion of scarlet at the bosom, which is tlie sole relief to the general funereal effect. Sometimes no head-dress is worn, and the hair is dressed much in the Indian fashion, so that the suggestion of a connection with the Munda tribes will be found heie if anywhere. Anthropometry may prove it. 140 BURMA Tlie Yang Wan-likiin wome)i have a much more ett'ective dress. The skirt )•. of the same dark blue home- spun, but it is elaborately flounced — the only instance of this feature of dressmaking among the milliners of Burma, and probably in the East generally. The dress is much shorter, probably to show the black-lacquer garters below the knee. The basis of the jacket is also indigo-blue cloth, but it is elaborately embroidered, and ornamented with beads and scarlet upplique. Coils of thin bamboo or cane rings, varnished with wood oil, are worn round the ■waist. The Yang Sek women wear a poncho, or smock-frock, of the Karen pattern, with perpendicular red and white stripes. It is the only garment visible. They wear garter- rings of brass wire. Both the Yang Wan-hkun and Yang Sek have dances in which men and women join, as have also in some cases the Wa and the La'hu. The Riang dances suggest a com- bination of the Lancers and the Haymakers, and are danced with great spirit. They are said to represent courting, and, if so, place the conduct of that pursuit by both men and women on a oommendably high level. Ordinary Oriental dancing consists chiefly of posturing, contortion, wriggling, and stamping. The Riangs skip about with the activity of kids and lamb.s, the enthusiasm of little girls, and a conviction of the seriousness of the performance, which can only be attained by Dagoes, and never by Englishmen. Oriental representations of court- ship usually oppress the spectator with the reflection that his presence is the only restraint, and that he would be much better away. The most well-conducted young person could learn quite a lot from the contemplation of Riang courtship dances. The music is produced by reed pipes, or by catches and anliphons sung by the dancers themselves. For some dances, however, the Yang Wan-hkun produce wonderfully effective music by bumping lengths of bamboo of different diameter on the ground. Some of the deep notes are really fine. Hkamuks. — The Hkarauks, Hkamets, and Hkakwensare only refened to because they are very valuable material i C^ 2^^ y. < b O a, D O OS a I o z < o z o DAN AW 141 for the study of tlie Mun-Hkmer languages. Only seventy- five were returned in the 1901 census, but very many more come as temporary workers in the forests. Like the Wa, they are swarthy and black rather than yellow, and with henvy, irregular features. Many of the men, especially the Hkamets, or Lamets, part their hair in the middle, and sleek it well down, which is apt to give them the meek and epicene appearance of the stock curate of the comedy stage. In the remoter villages the Hkamet ladies wear a dagger-like skewer thrust through the haii--knot, and otherwise require no costume but the atmosphere. This reveals to the observer a development of calf and thigh, an amplitude of figure, and u breath of shoulder, which may iccount for the subdued appearance of the husbands. The Hkamuks eat snakes by preference, and, in case of poisonous specimens, are only careful to extract the poison glands before skinning. The Hkakwen children shave the head on the death of a parent. Girls do not do so after they are sixteen. This custom is so unusual in fndo- China, and so common on the Indian continent, that it is worth noting. The Danaw. — The Danaws of the Myelat are interesting also from the point of view of the ethnologist. They are certainly distinct from the Danus. They are equally certainly an ethnological precipitate of an irreducible character, and their language is no less a patch-quilt or a dust-heap. But many of their words are the counterpart of Wa, Riang, or Hkamuk vocables. They wear a dress corresponding to the Taungthu, but cannot be said to have Taungthu affinities. There were 18,994 Danaw recorded in 1901. At the same time there were 63,549 Danu. It is probable that both will soon be polished out of existence ; but while the Danu is, no doubt, a frank half-breed or multi-breed, the Danaw is an in- teresting linguistic problem, without reference to the frailties or misfortunes of his forebears. The Daye think they are Chinese half-breeds. They are more probably half-brothers of the Danaw. The Selung. — The Selung are the only permanent re- sidents of the province not of the Indo-Chinese family. They are Malayo-Polynesian, and seem to be decreasing 142 BUJIMA in numbers. In IpOl there were only 1325 persons, as against 1628 ten years earlier. Dr Grierson tells us that Selung and Cham, or Tiam, the languages of tlie aborigines of Cambodia, are probably the residuum of a tongue spoken at an extremely remote period by a prehistoric race on the continLiit of Farther India. Tiie Selung language is mainly dissyllabic, but with a strong monosyllabic tendency. Our knowledge of the race is not very extensive. They live in the islands of the Malay Archipelago, which are very seldom visited. Observers have been chiefly Government servants and missionaries. The former want taxes and the latter want to convert them ; and the Selu:ig is very timid, and avoids both. Apparently even now they have no fixed villages. Formerly, no doubt, they were han-ied by Malays, and found it safest to have no definite place where they could be found, but this no longer ajjplies. Nevertheless, they ordinarily still live in their boats, but during the heavy rains as many as 200 are found in encampments on the beaches of some of the islands. Even then, however, they rarely stay in one spot for more than a week at a time. Their temporary huts are made of branches of trees, roofed and walled with palm- frond mats. The dani mats they cany about with them ; the house-posts can be cut anywhere. Their boats are dug-outs, and have very fine lines. They vary from 18 to 30 feet long. After the log has been hollowed out it is spread open by being sus- pended over a slow fire, thwarts being used to assist and maintain the expansion. Then at intervals along the rim long bamboo spikes are driven in to fasten the long, pithy leaves of a palm, which are thus nailed on, and harden, and give a freeboard of from 2 or 3 feet. A huge sail is made of palm fronds stitched together, and the ropes are of twisted rattan. The boats sail fast in the gentlest breeze. They live on roots and leaves, fish and shell-fish, and wild pigs caught by their dogs. Tliey also get rice in exchange for their produce. This consists mostly of mats, woven by the women and hcclic-dc-iner, but they also bring sapan wood, turtles, sea -shells, pearls, and SELUNG 143 bees-wax, which they get by smoking out the wild bees. Thirty years ago it was thought that the Selung runibeied .'iOOO or 4000. They seem to be dying out, and the anack and opium sold them by traders no doubt hastens their disappearance. PART II GOVERNMENT In Burma, as elsewhei-e in the Britisli Empire, tlie object of the ruling power has been to maintain the spirit of the native administration and to interfere as little as possible with the native executive, legal, and land systems, and with the customs and prejudices of the people. It was necessary to purify corrupt methods and to remove barbarous excrescences, but it was still more necessary to avoid any attempt at imposing a brand-new cut-and- dried system, whether from Great Britain or India, in- consistent with the genius and habits of the Burmese race. The province has grown by degrees. At first there were two detached areas, Tenasserim and Arakan. Then Pegu was added. Finally Up]ier Burma was an- nexed. The growth of the administration system has kept pace step by step. At first a few short and simple rules were framed for the guidance of civil officers. Some imposts which were oppressive were abrogated at once, but no new taxes were introduced in their place. As soon as possible, simple codes of civil and criminal procedure were enacted, and so much of the law of India as could he made applicable was extended to the growing province, always with suitable modifications. From time to time these laws were added to, and new regulations were made. Gradually method and regularity were enforced. Simultaneously the administration grew. For long Burma was a "non-regulation" province. Tliis distinction is not so important as it once was. It de- rives its name from the old regulations or uniform rules of law and practice which j)reccded the present system of acts of the legislature. These regulations were originally intended to be universal in their application, but were withdrawn from time to time from ap{)licaLion 144 COMMISSIONERS 145 to certain areas, which from their backward state of civilisation, or other causes, seemed to require exceptional treatment. In non-regulation territory, broadly speaking, a larger measure of discretion was allowed to the officials, both in the collection of revenue and in the administra- tion of civil justice. Strict rules of procedure were made to yield to the necessities of the case, and the executive and judicial departments were to a great extent combined in the same hands. In addition to this concession to the personal element in administration, a wider field was also permitted for the selection of the administrative staff. This was not confined to the covenanted Civil Service. Military officers on the staff, and uncovenanted civilians, were also admitted to the administration. Thus the first few chief authorities in Burma were military officers, and the term deputy com- missioner in Burma, instead of collector-magistrate, still marks the non-regulation province, though Burma has been a lieutenant-governorship since 1897. After the first Burmese War the provinces of Arakan and Tenasserim were annexed, and were placed in the charge of commissioners. Twenty-six years later, in 1852, Pegu was added, and the kingdom of Burma lost its entire seaboard. Another commissioner was put in charge of Pegu. In 18(j2 so much progress had been made that the three commissionerships were amalgamated and formed into a local administration, which was called British Burma. Lieutenant-Colonel, afterwards Sir Arthur, Phayre was appointed the first Chief Commissioner and Agent to the Governor-General in Council. Burma was thus placed on the same level as the Central Provinces in India. The annexation of Upper Burma in 1886 gave the province a vastly greater importance and a greater area than any province in India proper. It was not, however, till 1st May 18.97 that Burma became a Lieutenant-Governorship, with Sir Frederic Fryer as its first Lieutenant-Governor. Lieutenant-Governor. — As a province of the Indian Empire, therefore, Burma has the Lieutenant-Governor as the head of its administration, and he exercises the powers of a local government in respect of all the terri K 146 BURMA lories f(irniin<4 tlie province of Burma as constituted by the Ujij)fr Burma Laws Act of 1886. He also exercises ]io1itical control over the wild tribes of the Chin and Kachin Hills and over Karen-ni, a congeries of small independent states, in subordinate alliance with the British Government, but outside British India. Legislative Council. — He is assisted by a Legislative Council of nine members, five of whom are appointed by him as official members ; wliile the remaining four are non-officials, selected from the mercantile community or from native notables, chiefs of the Shan States, or others. This body prepares and jiasses Bills regarding local and provincial requirements, which become law when they receive the sanction of the Governor-General, and are not referred previously to the Indian Legislative Council. Oificers of Government. — There are, besides, a chiet secretary, revenue secretary, secretary, and two under secretaries ; a Public A\'orks Dejiartment secretary, with two assistants; a railway secretary ; and an independent secretary for irrigation. The revenue administraticm of the y)rovince is superintended by a financial commissioner, assisted by two secretaries, a settlement commissioner, and a director of land records and agriculture with a Land Records departmental staff An accountant-general jiresides over the department of accounts. There is a chief court for the province, with a chief justice and three justices, established in May 1900. Other purely judicial officers are the judicial commissioner for Upper Burma and the civil judges of Mandalay and Moulmein. There are four commissioners of revenue and circuit and nineteen deputy commissioners in Lower Burma, and four commissioners and seventeen deputy com- missioners in Ui)per Burma. There are two superin- tendents of the Shan States, one for the Northern and one for the Southern Shan States, and an assistant superin- tendent in the latter; a superintendent of the Arakan Hill tracts and of the Chin Hills. The police are under the control of an inspector-general, with a deputy inspector-general for civil and military police and for supply and clothing. The Education Department < w X o H M < o K O < a, W A TRANS-SALWEEX SHAX CHIEF IX HKVX DRESS. GOVERNMENT OFFICERS 147 is under a director of public iiistruclion ; and there are three circles — Eastern, Western, and Upper Burma — each under an inspector of schools. The Burma forests are divided into three circles, each under a conservator, with twenty-one deputy conservators. There are also a deputy postmaster-general, chief super- intendent and four superintendents of telegraphs, a chief collector of customs, three collectors and four port officers, and an inspector-general of gaols. At the principal towns benches of honorary magistrates, exercising powers of various degrees, have been con- stituted. There are forty-one municipal towns, fourteen of which are in Upper Burma. The commissioners of divisions are e.r-qfficio session judges in their several divisions, and also have civil powers, and powers as revenue officers. They are re- sponsible to the Lieutenant-Governor, each in his own division, for the working of every department of the public service, except the military department and the branches of the administration directly under the control of the Supreme Government. The deputy commissioners perform the functions of district magistrates, district judges, collectors, and registrars, besides the miscellaneous duties which fall to the p-.incipal district officer as representative of Govern- ment. Subordinate to the deputy commissioners are assistant commissioners, extra-assistant commissioners, and myooks, who ai-e invested with various magisterial, civil, and revenue powers, and hold charge of the townships, as the units of regular civil and revenue jurisdiction are called, and the subdivisions of districts, into which most of these townships are grouped. The township as the unit of ad- ministration is peculiar to Burm.i. In the Indian provinces the tohsil, or subdivision, is the unit. Among the salaried staff of officials the township officers are the ultimate representatives of Government, who come into the most direct contact with the people. Village Headmen. — Finally, there are the village head- men, assisted in Upper Burma by elders, variously designated according to ancient custom. Similarly in the townSj there are headmen of wards and elders of blocks, 148 SURMA In Upper Burma these headmen have always been revenue collectors. The system under which in towns headmen of wards :md elders of blocks are appointed is of comparatively recent origin, and is modelled on the village system. Practically the village is the unit for revenue and administrative purposes. The village head- man is appointed with the consent of the inhabitants, and to enable liim to discharge his functions and to maintain his authority he is invested with substantial powers. He can call upon the villagers to assist him, and if his orders are disobeyed he can punish them at his own instance. He is the village magistrate, and sometimes the village judge, as well as the village tax-gatherer, with a percentage on the collections. If, without reasonable excuse, a village fails to resist an attack by dacoits ; if stolen goods, especially stolen cattle, are tracked to its limits ; if serious crime is committed within its borders, and the offenders are not detected, the whole village is liable to fine. A careful watch is, therefore, kept on out- siders. If a villager receives a stranger as his guest he must report his arrival and departure to the headman. No new settler can take up his abode in the village with- out the headman's permission, and those suspected of evil practices may, on reference to the district magistrate, be ordered to betake themselves elsewhere. The com- munity is thus bound together by common interest as well as by local feeling. In Lower Burma, when Arakan was annexed in 1826, the villages were at first farmed out to the headman, but two years later the revenue was fixed summarily for each village, and was collected by the headman, who received a 10 per cent, commission for collecting it. In the Tenasserim province, annexed at the same time, an average was calculated of tie amount produced by each village, and one-fifth of this total was declared to be the share of Government. Besides this there was a poll tax of five rupees levied on all married men, and half that sum on bachelors. This is still maintained in Lower Burma, except in certain towns, where a land rate has been imposed instead of capitation tax. This went on till 1842, when these different systems VILLAGE HEADMEN 149 were done away with, and revenue was levied by fixed rates, according to the description of cultivated land. In all districts which have been regularly settled by the Supplementary Survey Department annual surveys are made for the purpose of assessing new culiivation and remitting assessment on land which has fallen out of cultjr, ation. A man may retain land which he has ceased to cultivate by paying a fallow rate. In the few districts which have not yet come under settlement the supple- mentary survey work is done by the village headman. Waste land which is reclaimed is granted exemption from assessment for a term which varies with the kind of land cleared and the labour necessary to clear it. In Upper Burma, before the annexation, the main source of revenue was a tax called thathameda, from the Sanskrit »;«/« = one-tenth. The thathameda was a rudi- mentary income tax, levied on all classes, except the inhabi- tants of the capital. The rate varied in different places, but the rule was that each household was required to pay one-tenth part of its estimated annual income to the Crown, and ten rupees was the average sum supposed to be due by each household. The sum demanded from the individual taxpayer, however, depended on his means. The gross sum payable by a village was the rate multiplied by the number of houses, and the whole village was held jointly responsible for the payment of this tenth. Ten per cent, was also usually deducted for those exempted on account of physical incapacity to work, those who by accident or disaster were destitute of means to pay, the aged and widows, ministers of religion, soldiers, sailors, and generally all Government servants. When the total amount payable by the village was determined, the village itself settled the incidence on the individual householder. This was done by thamadix, assessors, elected by the villagers, and sworn at the village pagoda to do justice. The principle was good and simple, and the system is still in force, thougli there are objections to it. One is that no one knows from year to year what he may have to pay. Iir a small village espeiially the death, departure, or failure of a few residents, or the addition of some poor families, may make a material diiference to the individual 150 BURMA assessments. Still, it is well suited to tTie Burman character ; indeed, the people evolved the system them- selves. Land revenue, properly so called, was not levied under Burmese ru'e. Cultivated land was divided into three classes — (a) Royal or State land ; (6) service-tenure land, held under various tenures of a feudal nature ; and (c) private, hereditary, or allodial land. The State land was let out to tenants at will, who had to pay a fixed proportion of the gross produce. Of service lands there was a great variety — lands assigned to soldiers, foot and mounted ; to executive officials, to revenue collectors, to ministers, princes, princesses, and favourites. Private land was not subject to any incidents of service or to the payment of revenue. The Ir.nd system was not very precise. Exactitude is foreign to the Bumian character. Apparently, however, uncleared land could be taken up by whoever willed, and when brought under cultivation became the private property of the farmer. All land in Upper Burma is now either State or private. The right of acquiring ownership by squatting (dkamma- vgi/a) is at an end. All waste land is State land. Service lands have become State or private, according to decision in each case. It has been decided to assess all private lands. The rate of assessment is to be three-fourths of that on State lands. The i-ates are fixed either according to the class of soil or to the description of crop grown. Revenue is only collected on crops which came to maturity on State or non-State lands. A crop which comes to maturity has been defined as any crop in excess of one-fourth of an average crop. In districts where it has been decided to assess private lands the thathameda is adjusted on the understanding that the assessors collect at full rates from those who derive no part of their income from agriculture, and at half rates or lower from cultivators. Up to the time of writing, the whole of Lower Burma, with the cxct'])tion of the unsurvcycd districts of the Salween and the Northern Arakan Hill tracts and Tavoy and Mergui, has been regularly settled. Five districts in Upper Burma have been settled, and two are under settle REVENUE SYSTEM 151 ment. Tlie usual term of settlemeiil is fifteen 3eai-s in Lower Burina and ten years in Upper Burma. The peculiarity of the land revenue system of Lower Burma is that the rates of assessment only are fixed. In Northern India the revenue of each village is settled for a term of years. During that term no account is taken of land freshly brought under cultivation, nor is any remission ordinarily made for land thrown out of cultivation, except in cases of calamity. The Lower Burma system also pre- sents no joint responsibility of village communities for either land revenue or capitation tax. Each person from whom revenue is due is responsible for the amount at which he is assessed, and no more. Joint responsibility is the feature in both Upper Burma and India. The vast majority of Burmese agriculturists are peasant proprietors, but of late years there have appeared quite a number of tenants, a class hardly known under native rule. These tenants are mostly persons who formerly owned the land, but have lost it through their fault or misfortune, and remain on as tenants where formerly they were owners. Other tenants, particularly in the Irra- waddy Delta, are new settlers, or young men married and setting up in life. The assumjjtion of service lauds in Upper Burma has created a large class of Government tenants in place of the previously existing allodial peasant proprietorships. The Shall States. — The Shan States were declared to be a part of British India by notification in 1H86. The Shan States Act of 1888 vests the civil, criminal, and revenue administration in the Chief of the State, subject to the restrictions specified in the sanad, or patent, granted to him. Before the passing of the Shan States Act the only way in which enactments could be extended to the Shan States was by notification under Section 8 of the Upper Burma Laws Act. This section gave no power to modify any enactment to suit the circumstances of the States. The authority and powers of the cliiefs and of their officials were exercised without any legal sanction. The Shan States Act legalised tJiese, and the Act came into force on the 1st February 188!}. The law to be adminisLeretl iu each stale is the customary law of the 152 BURMA state, so far as it is in accordance M-ith justice, equity, and good conscience, and not opposed to the spirit of tlie law in the rest of British India. The superintendents exer- cise general control over the administration of criminal justice, and have power to call for cases and to exercise wide revisionary powers. Criminal jurisdiction in cases in which either the complainant or the defendan? is a Euro- pean, or American, or a Government servant, or a British subject, not a native ot a Shan state, is withdrawn from the chiefs and vested in the superintendents and assistant superintendents. Neither the superintendents nor the assistant superintendents have power to try civil cases, whether the parties are Shans or not, except in revision, or in cases specially called for. In the Myelat division of the Southern Shan States, however, the criminal law is practically the same as the law in force in Upper Burma, and Ngwekunhmus, or petty chiefs, have been appointed magistrates of the second class. In all cases the powers of a High Court are exercised by the Lieutenant-Government sitting in that capacity. Chiefs. — The chiefs of the Shan States are of three classes— (1) Sawbwas ; (2) Myozas ; (3) Ngwekunhmus. Every chief is called a Sao-hpa by the Shans. The lesser rank of Myoza was introduced by the Burmese, but the name was never accepted by the Shans. Sub-feudatories were called Sao- H pa Awn, little Sawbwas. The Ngwe- kunhmus are found only in the Myelat, the border country between the Southern Shan States and Burma. There are fifteen Sawbwas, thirteen Myozas, and fourteen Ngwekunhmus in the Shan States proper. In Karen-ni there are one Sawbwa and four Myozas. Two Sawbwas are under the supervision of the commissioner of the Mandalay division, and two under the commissioner of the Sagaing division. There are five states, all Sawbwa- ships, under the control of the superintendent. Northern Shan States, besides an indeterminate number of Wa states and communities of other races beyond the Salween River. The superintendent. Southern Shan States, super- vises forty -three, of which eleven are Sawbwaships. The headquarters of ihe Nortliern Shan States are at Lashio, of the Southern Shan States at Tau;ig-yyi. :^23i A SAlvnn-A AT HIS HAW (r'.\r,.\CE) DOOK. SHAN STATES 153 Each chief has a number ot Amats, or ministers, many or feWj according to the extent of his territory. The Amats have both territorial and judicial jurisdiction, and are chosen for their capacity. The title is not usually hereditary. The States are parcelled out amongst a number of district officials, called Hengs, Htamongs, HsungSj Kangs, Kes, and Kinmongs. In the Southern Shan States there are tew, except Hengs and Htamongs, and everywhere these are the more important officials. The word Heng means 1000, and the original Heng- ships, no doubt, were charges which paid 1000 baskets of rice to the overlord, which seems also to be the meaning of the word Panna, used in the Trans-Salween State of Kenghung. It is possible that the charges fur- nished 1000 men-at-arms, and that Heng is equivalent to Chiliarch, but the former derivation seems more probable. The word Htamong was anciently written Htao-mong, and means originally an elder. Officials below this rank, Kangs and Kes, were mere head- men of single villages or of small groups ; but many of the Hengs were very powerful, and had charge oi territories more extensive than some existing states. Thus Mong Nawng, until it was separated from Hsen-wi. was merely a Hengship of that state, and the present Heng of Kokang, in North Hsen-wi, is wealthier than many Sawbwas, and possibly wealthier than his titular chief. In the north, however, Htamong has a tendency to be considered the more honourable title. The States vary enormously in size. Kengtung, which is the largest, has, with its dependencies, an estimated area of 12,000 square miles — that is to say, it is about the same size as Belgium, or the four English counties of Yorkshire, Lancashire, Lincoln, and Hertfordshire. North Hsen-wi has an area of 6330 square miles, or only about 1000 square miles less than Wales. South Hsen-wi covers 5000 square miles, and Hsipaw, with its dependent states, 4524. Some states, however, are quite insignificant in size — for example, Nam Tnk is no more than 20 square miles, and K3'ong is only 4' square miles larger. They are thus smaller than very many private estates. Ten states have a less area than 50 square miles, A full list of the 154 BURMA St'ites, with other particiilavSj will be found in the Appendix. Karen-ni. — The States included in Eastern and Western Kareii-ni are not part of British India, and are not subject to any of the laws in force in the Shan States^ or in other parts of Upper or Lower Burmese, but they are under the supervision of the superintendent of the Southern Shan States, who controls the election of chiefs and the appoint- ment of officials, and has the power to call for cases. The Lieutenant-Governor exercises the powers of a High Court. The northern portion of the Karen Hills, on the borders of Taungoo, Pymmana, and Yamethlu districts, is at present dealt with on the principle of political, as distin- guished from administrative, control. The tribes — the Bre, Mano, and others — are not interfered with so long as they keep the peace. The KacMn Hills. — What is specifically known as the Kachin Hills, the country taken under administration in the Bhamo and Myitkyina districts, is divided into forty tracts. Beyond these tracts lie the bulk of the Chingpaw race, in the cn.intry north of the administrative line, which runs east and west through the latitude of the confluence of tire Irrawaddy River ; and there are besides very many Kachins in Katha, Miing Mit, the Ruby Mines district, and the Northern Shan States, but in the latter areas, though they are often the jireponderating, they are not the exclusive population. The country within the forty tracts may be considered the Kachin Hills proper, and it lies between 23° 30' and 26° 30' north latitude and 96° and ,98° east longitude. Within this area the cluma, or petty chiefs, have appointment orders, the people are disarmed, and the rate of tribute per household is fixed in each case. Government is carried on under the Kachin Hills regulation. Since I89I the country has been practi- cally undisturbed, and numbers of Kachins have enlisted. and are ready to enlist, in ttie military police, and seem likely to make excellent light infantry. The Kachins north of the administrative line are dealt with on the principle of political, as distinguished from administrative, control. So long as they keep the peace all interference with them is avoided. GROUP OF CHIXS. o = CHIN HILLS 155 The settling of intertribal feuds due to "dehts" was one of the most troublesome duties of the political officers. Some of these were due to the whole community, some to single individuals. These were settled by payment of compensation to one side or the other, and deliberate refusal to pay the fine ordered by Goverimient was pun- ished as an offence. The CMn Hills. — The Chin Hills were not declared an integral part of Burma until 18,()6j but they now form a scheduled district. The chiefs, however, are allowed to administer their own affairs, as far as may be, in accord- ance with their own customs, subject to the supervision of the superintendent of the Chin Hills. In both the Chin and Kacliin Hills slavery has now been practically abolished. Land Settlement. — It is a fundamental principle of Indian finance that the State should appropriate to itself a direct share in the produce of the soil. The old military and service tenures and the poll tax of Burma show the germs of i-ival or additional systems, but that the land should furnish the main source of revenue has been a recognised principle throughout the East from a time during which the memory of man runneth not to the contrary. The system, no doubt, began, and is coeval, with the primitive village community. The land was not held by petty owners, but by owners under the petty corporation. The revenue was due, not from individuals, but from the community represented by its headman. This remains the system in Upper Burma, but in Lower Burma the individual is assessed. The means by which the land revenue is assessed is known as settlement, and the assessor is styled a settleinent officer. In Bengal the assessment has been accomplished in perpetuitv, and the result is a permanent settlement. In Burma, and in the greater pai-t of India, the process is continually going on. To settle a district is to ascertain the agricultural capacity of the land. The settlement officer is preceded by the officer of the cadastral siu'vey. The first surveys large areas by theodolite, and then smaller areas, whose position and extent are carefully determined and compared ; within these lesser circuits come the /i/w», or local areas of cultiva- L5G BURMA ion, which rarely exceed 2^- square miles in extent. These determine the area of every village ; and inside hese come the fields, which are the unit of survey and he unit of cultivation. In Burma this field is a rect- ingular or irregular - shaped piece of land, suri'ounded md marked off by low ridges, thrown up for irrigation nirposes, for without much water most kinds of i-ice will lot grow. These fields vary from about a quarter of an icre in the drier districts to a full acre in the moist, illuvial plains of the Delta. The cadastral survey in _ower Burma was begun in 1879, and is now finished, n Upper Burma much remains to be done, and thus for he present the unit of assessment is the village, and not he field or kivin. After the survey officer comes the ettlement officer, whose duty it is to estimate the char- icter of the soil, the kind of crop, the opportunities for rrigation, the means of communication and their probable levelopment in the future, and all other circumstances vhich tend to affect the value of the crops. Upon these acts he makes his assessment according to certain general )rinciples, and these determine the Government demand. The final result is the settlement report, which records, ,s in a Domesday Book, the entire mass of agricultural tatistics concerning the district. When a district has been surveyed and settled it is ransferred to the charge of the Supplementary Survey ,nd Registration Department, which makes an annual xamination, or a periodical examination, to determine he changes which affect the revenue. As the land is ree any one can, after obtaining the requisite permission, ake up as much new land as he is capable of bringing mder cultivation. Old fields may be surrendered in ifhole or in part, or may be left fallow, or may be let out o tenants. Government does not interfere in this. The evenue demand depends on the area of land actually ultivated or from which profit is derived. Fallow rates re imposed only on non-agriculturist landholders, for he purpose of checking land-jobbing by speculators. All he chaiisjes are noted, and new assessment rolls are irepared. Settlement operations are conducted by selected junior LAND SETTLEMENT 157 members of the commission, who remain for several years deputed on this special duty. The settlement commis- sioner, who is directly subordinate to the financial com- missioner, controls and administers the operations. At the time of the settlement the holding of each cultivator is registered field by field, and the cultivator's position is shown according to his status as landholder by prescrip- tion, from original squatting rights, as grantee, lessee, tenant, or mortgagee. All these details are entered in the settlement register, which represents the exact state of each holding during the year when the settlement takes place. The supplementary survey registers record the subsequent history of each holding. The rates of assessment are only fixed after careful scrutiny of the greater part of the area under settlement. The character of the harvesting is noted, and the actual grain from several hundreds of fields is measured, so that the direct quality and productiveness of the soil are vei'y correctly ascertained. The system of supplementary survey and registration is in its main features the same in Upper as in Lower Burma. But whereas in Lower Burma one settlement officer deals finally with an area of about 600 square miles in the year, in Upper Burma he has several assistants, he deals with three or four times this area, and his operations extend over three years. During this time the settlement officer and his assistants record tenures, observe the harvests, and measure the crops from chosen sample areas, besides collecting agricultural statistics over the whole circuit. These are renewed in each year, and an average is thus obtained. In Lower Burma rice is practically the only crop, and there is only one agricultural season — from June till December. In Upper Burma there are many varieties of field crops — rice, maize, chillies, peas, gram, onions, and vegetable produce generally — and in most districts farming of one kind or another is carried on throughout the whole twelve months of the year. There are at least three agricultural seasons for rice alone — the Maijin, or hot- weather crop, gi'own on swampy land, and reaped in May ; ^he Kauk-ii, grown on irrigated landSj between 158 BURMA February and June ; and the Kauk-gi/i, or ordinary rains crop^ grown on land watered by rainfall or irrigation, often forming a second crop on the Kauk-li land^ and reaped at the close of the year. The adjustment of the thailmmeda tax on the non- agricultural classes, and on those classes whose inco.Tfie is partly drawn from agriculture and mainly from other sources, is also an important duty of the Upper Burma settlement officer. His i-eport is subjected to very careful scrutiny. It is forwarded by the commissioner of division, with his re- marks, to the settlement commissioner. That officer criticises it very carefully before submitting it to the Lieutenant-Governor, who, in consultation with the finan- cial commissioner, passes final ordei's. Administration Defence. — Burma is garrisoned by a division o^ the Indian army, consisting of two brigades, under a lieu- tenant-general. The military garrison consists generally of between 10,000 and 11,000 men, of whom a little less than half are Europeans. Of the native regiments seven battalions are Burma regiments specially raised for per- manent service in Burma by transformation from military police. These regiments, consisting of Gurkhas, Sikhs, Pathans, and Punjabi Mohammedans, are distributed throughout the northern part of Burma. The Burma command, till lately a first-class district, held under the lieutenant-general commanding Madras, is now a separ- ate command. The total cost of the garrison amounts to about £60,000 — a small amount, due to the tranquillity of the province. The number of volunteers in Burma amounts ordinarily to about 2.500 efficients. They consist of the Rangoon Port Defence Volunteers, comprising artillery, naval, and engineer corps; the Moulmein artillery, the Moulmein, Rangoon, Railway, and Up )er Burma A'olunteer Rifles, including several companies of mounted infantry. The province receives occasional visits from the Indian POLICE 159 squadron, but there are no avmed vessels specially attached to Burma. A number of boats ot the Indian marine act as transports on the River Irrawaddy. Police. — In addition to the garrison there are between 13,000 and 14,000 civil police, and between 15,000 and 16,000 military police. The military police are in reality a regular military force, with a minimum of two European officers in command of each battalion. There are twelve battalion commandants, and twenty-seven assistant com- mandants, whose services are lent, for periods of five and two years respectively, from the Indian army for this duty. The force is practically entirely recruited from the warlike races of Upper India. A small battalion of Karens was maintained for some time, but it proved a failure, and had to be disbanded. More recently, a company of Kachins was enlisted in the Bhamo battalion, and seems likely to do well, and to open up a special and wide field for recruits. A similar experiment is being made with a half company of Shans, which also sliows promise. The Kachins had some experience of active service in 1900, and acquitted themselves well. Until 1905 the Southern Shan States had a military garrison, but since April of that year the country has been held by military police. The garrisons of the Northern Shan States, the Chin and Kachin Hills, have for some years been also military police. For the control and management of the executive duties of the civil police there are district superintendents for each of the thirtj'-six districts of Burma, and fifty-nine assistant superintendents take charge of the more im- portant subdivisions. The district superintendents have certain magisterial powers, but in all essential mutters they are directly subordinate to the district magistrate. Numbers of Kachins, Karens, and Red Karens, and others enlist in the civil police, but the Burmese character is so averse to discipline and control that it is very difficult to get men of good class to enlist as constables. The fact that most of the police are illiterate proves at once that they are not a good stamj) of men. Training schools have been established in most districts, where recruits receive instruction before being drafted into the police force. A great feature of the civil police ad- 160 BURMA ministration is the maintenance of a beat-patvol system. Tile chief advantage of this is that it enables tlie police to licep in toucli with the village headmen in country places and with the headmen of wards and elders of blocks in towns. Information is thus rapidly and syste- matically received and given. Crimes of violence are now singulai'ly few : the rate per mille latterly has been about -05, which is very low for a population of 10,000,000. Cattle theft is very common, but the beat-patrol system is particularly useful in controlling this. Persons suspected of bad livelihood are freely called upon to show cause why they should not be made to furnish security for good behaviour. Special enactments lay down that villages may be fined for harbouring criminals, or neglecting to take pi'oper measures for their arrest, or may have primitive police quartered on them at their personal expense in aggravated cases. The result is that both headmen and villagers now freely assist the police, and anything like organised crime is becoming impossible. The identification of criminals by finger-prints has been practised for some years now, with satisfactory results. Gaols. — There is total gaol accommodation throughout the province for over 15,000 prisoners, distributed over seven central and twenty-five district gaols. The ac- commodation is still somewhat insufficient but is being, enlarged. The Rangoon central gaol holds close on 4000 prisoners, and the gaol at Insein, close to Rangoon, has accommodation for 2000. In Upper Burma there are gaols for 1000 prisoners at Mandalay and Myingyan, and smaller gaols at other district headquarters. The control of the Gaol Department is exercised by the inspector- general, who is at the same time charged with the duties of the Civil Medical Department, and is supei-in- tendent of vaccination and sanitary commissioner as well. The two central gaols in and to the north of Rangoon are presided over by superintendents, who are medical officers, but elsewhere the civil surgeon of the district is also in charge of the gaol. All the gaols in the province are thus superintended by officers of the Indian Medical Service. LAWS 161 The number of convicts has at times been very large. In 1897 it readied the serious number of one convict to every 550 of the total population, but this proportion has been greatly improved upon in later years. A very considerable number of the commitments were of persons charged with bad livelihood and unable to provide security for good behaviour. These are usually natives of India. A reformatory for juvenile criminals is attached to the central gaol at Insein. A garden is attached to each gaol in which antiscorbutic vegetables are grown, to be added to the ordinary prison diet of curry and rice. The Government departments are furnished with furni- ture, clothing, and other articles produced by convict labour, and the articles sold to the public materially re- duce the cost of maintaining the convicts. Laws. — The law administered in the courts consists mainly of — (1) the enactments of the Indian Legislative Councils and of the bodies which preceded them ; (2) statutes of the British Parliament which apply to India ; (3) the Dhammathat, the Buddhist law on domestic inheritances and the like, and the Hindu and Moham- medan laws on similar questions ; and (4) the customary law as regards various races, tribes, and castes. Much has been done towards consolidating individual sections of the Indian law; and in the Indian Penal Code, together with tlie Codes of Civil and Criminal Procedure, there are notable examples of what has been done in this direction. A beginning has been made in 1905 of the separation of the judicial and executive services, but the scheme has not. gone very far. The deputy commissioner still remains a civil and criminal judge of first instance, besides being a fiscal officer. He has also to concern himself with roads, sanitation, dispensaries, education, municipalities, gaols, and police. Besides being a lawyer, an accountant, and a clerk, he ought also to possess no mean knowledge of agriculture, political economy, and engineering. Education There is no Indian province wliich can compare with Burma in the -number of the po2)ulation able to read 1G2 BURISIA and write. The number of literates among the men is^ indeed, almost as high as the number in Ireland, and higher than the proportion in Italy. The proportion of the educated in the census of 1 901 is by no means so favourable as it was in 1891, because a very much larger number of hill peoples was enumerated, but still Burma easily holds the first place. In the whole of India the number of literate persons per 1000 of each sex was 98 males and 7 females. In cities there were 2.59 literate males and 49 literate females. In Burma the figures were for the whole province: .378 literate males and 45 literate females. In the cities the figures were 469 males and 188 females, which is as much as to Say that in the whole province 1 man in 3 could read and write, and in the cities every other man ; while of the women about 1 in 20 were instructed, or in the towns about 1 in 10. There is nothing like this proportion of educated people in any part of India proper. Madras comes second with 1 ] 9 literate males and 9 literate females per 1000; Bombay is close up with 110 literate males and 9 literate females; Bengal follows with 104 men and 5 women. The United Provinces and Hyderabad come at the bottom of the list with respectively 57 and 55 literate males and 2 and 3 literate females. Burma has less than a. third of the population of the Madras Presidency, yet the number of literate persons is very nearly the same. For Madras the figures are 2,4.36,743; for Burma 2,223,962. Of this total'] ,997,074 were men and 226,888 women. This means practically that, on an average, of every 5 persons living in Burma 1 individual would have been found who was able to read and write. It is strange that the proportion of literates should be highest in the rural districts, and particulai-ly in Ujjper Burma. The backwardness of ■Rangoon and parts of the Delta is, no doubt, due to the number of illiterate immigrants from India. Of the races of the province the Burman stands easilv first with 490 males and 55 females per 1000, wlio are able to read and write. The Mon come next with 367 males and 62 females. Then come the Shans with 152 EDUCATION 103 literate males and 9 literate females, and the Karens with II'.'! males and 37 females per H)00. These are the only indigenous lanj^uages in which literacjf is possible, and many of the Karens and Mon are literate in Burmese and not in their own language. Chins and Kachins have no written character of their own. It is, therefore, to their credit that 48 Chin men and 'i wcmtn per 1000 were returned as literate, and 14 Kachin men and 2 women. The fact that the proportion of literates in Upper Burma is higher than in tlie Lower province is a clear proof that, in primary education at least, the credit for the superiority of the Burman over the native of India is due to indigenous schools. There are no caste troubles and restrictions in Burma. The monastery school is open to all — to the poor fisherman's sen as well as to the boys of the local magistrate. No one pa^ s any school fees, and it is not carefully con.sidered who it is that fills the monkish begging-pots in the daily round. Thus every Buddhist boy at least learns to read and write. He also certainly learns the five universal commandments, the five subsidiary rules, the Pali formulae to be recited at the pagoda; but beyond these he learns little in the purely monastic schools, and what he learns later when he puts on the yellow robe does not add greatly to his stock of knowledge.. Sir Ai-thur Phayre made the first beginning of Govern- ment education in 1866. For many hundreds of years before, Roman Catholic missionaries had been at work in Burma ; and at the beginning of last centurj' American Baptists began labouring in the same field, and were joined later by the missionaries of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. These bodies taught children, and endeavoured to convert the grown up, and received grants in aid from Government, but until 1866 nothing had been done to raise the level of education in the Buddhist monastic schools. Sir Arthur Phayre appointed a Director of Public Instruction, ordered the preparation of elementary works on arithmetic, land-sur-s eying, and geography, and created a body of teachers, who were ready to go round to such monasteries as were willing 164 BURMA to receive them, to assist tlie monks in teaching from the new manuals. Lay schools were first establislied in 1868. Assistant masters were trained in Rangoon, and lent where desired, and payments of rewards or grants-in-aid were made according to the result of the inspections or examinations held by the inspectors of schools and their subordinates. The lay and monastic schools did not go beyond primary instruction. Middle- class schools were maintained by the State to give a somewhat higher class of education, and town schools were established in populous places to fill the gap be- tween the two classes, and were supported from municipal town or district cess funds. In 1880 annual provincial examinations were established, under a special depart- mental Board of Examiners, and nine standards of in- struction were drawn up, and classes in the schools were made to correspond with these standards. The schools themselves are classified according to tiie standard up to which they teach. The ninth standard is the Matri- culation Examination of the Calcutta University. Of the standards the fii'st two are lower primary ; tlie next two upper primary ; the fifth, sixth, and seventh are lower secondary, or middle ; and the last two are upper secondary, or high. Schools are correspondingly recognised as high, middle, upper primary, or lower primary, according to the highest standard^ which they teach. Schools are classed as public or Indigenous. A school is public if the course of study corresponds to the standards pre- scribed by the Local Government or the University of Calcutta, or if it is inspected by the Education Depart- ment, or presents pupils at the public examinations held by tlie department, by the Calcutta University, or by the Education Syndicate of Lower Burma. An indigenous school is a school established and managed by natives of Burma or India, and conducted on native methods. It may be a monastic or a lay school. The monastic schools are attended by boys only ; the lay schools are frequently open to both boys and girls, and there are also schools for girls only. The gratuitous monastic schools, for boys only, still form the backbone of national instruction throughout all EDUCATION 165 the nival districts, and particiilariy throiigliout Upper Burma, i'iu-re is a special set of standards for these indigeiioiis vernacular sciiools, none of ■which teaches beyoiui the seventh, or lower secondary, standard. In oni.-r that they may earn .o;rants-in-aid from Government tliey nuist have a woiking session of at least four months, and an average attendance of twelve jiupils, of whom at ' least four must be able to read and write their vernacular according to the second lowest standard. Non-indigenous schools, mostly estaolished by missionary societies, receive grants-in aid only when they comply ■with certain rules as to qualification of teacliers, rates of fees, admission of pupils, accommodation, and discipline, but ill no case is any grant given in excess of the ainount contributed from private sources during the previous year towards the maintenance of the school. An institution is considered to be under public manage- ment when it is under the direct niaiiagenient of Goveru- iTient, or of olficers or committees acting on behalf of Government, or of local committees constituted by law Schools under public management receive no grants-in-aid ; schools under private management may be aided or not ; if they are public schools they are generally aided, but in any given year they may fail to earn grants if the inspec- tion results iinfavourabl)' or if they fail to pass a sufiicient number of pupils in the examinations. In Upper Burma all educational grants are paid from Imperial funds ; there - is no cess, as in Lower Burma, and, with the exception of Mandalay and Sagaing, municipal committees pay nothing to schools. It was not until 1890 that the Educational Department took action in Upper Burma. In the previous year it had been ascertained that there were in Upper Burma 684. public schools with 14,1.?.? pupils, and l664. private sciiools ■with 8685 pupils. It is worthy of remark that of these schools 2y were Mohammedan, and that there were 176 schools for girls, in which upwards of 2000 pupils were taught. The whole of the departmental rules under which Buddhist priests and other heads of schools might look for assistance from Government were embodied in an educa- tion code published in 18yi, Tile policy of Government 1G6 BURMA is rather to ,'issist. reffijlate, anrl inspect solinnl'; maintMined voluntarily by monks, laymen, municipalities, or "other associations than In t'onnd and manage schools of its owr,. The work of the officers of the Educational Department is maiidy concerned with such inspection and regulation. Commissioners of division and deputy commissioners of districts are generally responsible for the state of educa- tion in their res)>ective jurisdictions, and are expected to do all they can for its promotion, but the four insp' itors of schools look after the state of instruction in tljci'- circles and the cliaracter of the work done hy Hu-ir subordinates. For the special supervision and encourage- ment of indigenous primary education in monastic ot m lay schools, eacli circle of inspection is divided iiito sub" circles, corresponding with one or more of the riv il districts, and each subcircle is in charge of a deputy inspector, oi- subinspector of schools, Results grants are given for each jjupil who passes an examination, and salary grants are given to enable in- digenous schools to secure qualified teai hers. They ire not intended to be permanent, but aie given to start the schools. Ordinarily they last for three years, are tlien reduced by half; last for two years more, and are then withdrawn. The special Government schools existing in Burma are the five normal schools where pupil teachers are trained for municipal and aided schools; two Survey schools in Rangoon and Mandalay under the control of the Director of Land Records and Agriculture ; an elementary Engineering School established in Rangoon in 1895; and a Vernacular Forest school for the training of subordinates, opened in Tharrawaddy in 1899. There is a law class at Rangoon College, but those desirous of studying medicine have to go to India. The Dufferin Maternity Hospital in Rangoon, however, trains women as midwives, and has already done much good in modifying the harsh and rude native practices. In 1902 a school for the education of the sons of Shan chiefs was opened in Taung-gyi, the headquarters of the Southern Shan States, and is doing exceedingly good work in improving, mentally and physically, the future rulers of EDUCATION 167 the Staled and the sons of ministers and notables. The jiumiKv oi pupils rapidly mounted to eighty, and continues at that (inure pending the extension of the school buildings. An Kducational Syndicate was established in 1881. It forms a committee appointed by the head of the pi-ovince, aner island or region) was also used in the royal titles, and this, no doubt, was the Chalcitis of Ptolemy. In the time of the Ptolemies of Egypt there was a vigorous Alexandrian trade between the Mediterranean and the Indian Octian. and trading colonies were sent eastward, as the Pliosnicians and Greeks had sent them to the countries of the west. It is certain that in l66 a.d., probably in the lifetime of the great mathematician and geograjjher, an envoy, or mercantile adventurer, purporting to have been sent by one of the Antonine Emperors of Rome, made his way through the Indo-Chinese peninsula to the Chinese Court. TJiatou in the Mon language means the golden region, and Thaton was at that time on the sea-coast. The corrosion of sea- water is still clearly traceable on the numerous boulders which line the base of the hills stretching from Shwcgyin to Martaban, now far inland. Cables and tackle of sea- going vessels have been dug up near Ayetthima, the ancient Takkala, now 12 miles from the sea -coast, and within recent memory the remains of foreign ships have been found near Tunte, not far from Rangoon, buried S feet under the surface of the earth. Tliis is the earliest reference we have to Burma. There is nothing in Chinese history about any Burmese nation until the sixth century of our era, though there are distinct statements that emigrants from India founded king Joins HISTORY 169 in Siunalra, Java, Borneo, and Cambodia, or Cliampa, or Funain, as it was tht-n called by the Chinese. These early arrivals were Brahman and Buddhist missionaries, traders, and military adventurers, and they acquired administrative authority, and founded kingdoms. The Chinese had clearly defined relations with the Ai-lao of Western Yunnan in the first century of our era, and it is mentioned that the Piao were subject to the Ai-lao. These may have been the Pyu, who were one of three tribes, the Pyu, the Kanran, and the Sek — whom, we are told, the Kshatriya princes welded into one race. In the days when China consisted of three kingdoms, K'ung Ming, better known as Chu Koh- liang, carried his arms, about 220 or 230 a.d., as far as T'eng-yiieh ; but still there is no reference to the Burmese, or to any kingdom beyond that of the Ai-lao. Chu Koh- liang is well known in Chinese legend as the originator of the name for dumpling. Instead of sacrificing a man before the passage of a river by his army he offered a head made of dough — whence the name Mcin-t'ou, given to dumplings. The name of Chu Koh-liang is also associated with a deep-rimmed gong, which is identical in shape with the Hpa-si of the Red Karens. This may supply a hint for the original home of the Karens, but it throws no light otherwise on the early history of Burma. The Royal History. — The Burmese Maha-yazawin gives a history which is entirely legendary in its earlier stages, although formal lists of kings of Arakan from b.c. 2666 down to 1784 a.d. are carefully recorded. The lineage of the early kings is traced to the states of the Sakya Yaza, in Northern India, and one of these, Abhi Yaza, is said to have left Kappilavastu with an army with which he estab- lished himself on the Irrawaddy River, and built the city of Tagaung, the ruins of which still exist, covered with primaval forest. Abhi Yaza had two sons : the elder, Kan YJiza-gyi, marched southward, and founded the kingdom of Arakan ; the younger, Kan ^ a/,a-nge, re- mained behind in Tagaung, and was succeeded by thirty- one descendants, when the Tarok and Taret from Gandalarit came and destroyed the dynasty and the town. The Tarok seem almost certainly to have been Tai, and Gandalarit is Y'iinnan. 170 BURMA This was in tile lifetime of the Butldha Gautama, and at the same period another band of Kshatriyas came from Gangetic India, led hy Daja Yriza. They settled at Mauriya, east of tiie Irrawaddy, near the modern village of M weyen ; but before long Daja Yaza married the widow of Beinnaka, the last King of Tagaung, and moved his capital north to that site, which now acquired the name of Old Pagan. Daja Yaza had sixteen descendants on the throne, and then invaders put an end to this dynasty also. The posthumous sons of the King were set afloat on the river, and drifted down to Proiiie, where, in due course, the elder, Maha Thambawa, established a dynasty. He was succeeded by his brother, and he by Maha Thambawa's son, Dottabaung, who built a capital at Tharekettara, east of the modern Prome, which lasted for about five centuries, and came to an end in obscure civil wars, in which the Pyu, the Kanran, and the Bamfi were engaged, about the beginning of the Christian era, when Pagan was built, and called at first New Pagan, with Thamoddarit, the chief of the Pyu clan, as king. The Royal Chronicle is very obscure as to the sequence of events, but it seems most probable that the fighting which ended in the destruction of Tharekettara and the building of Pagan was carried on by settlers from India, who had come by sea to Prome, which was then on or near the coast, with the older Indian immigrants, who had come to Northern Burma by way of Manipur. About 450 .\.D. Buddhagosha came to Tliaton, as it is usually believed, but really to Gola-nagara according to Forchhammer. Gola- nagara is about 22 miles north-west of Thaton, and Forch- hammer thinks that luiln, the name for foreigners, is derived from this town. The settlement and building of Thatnn is placed much earlier: in B.C. 534, when two princes came from Telingana, and after conflicts with the asuraxa, the raksluisn, or hilu as the savage, aboriginal inhabitants were called, in imitation of the Mahabharata, established themselves firmly. Hansa Wadi, or Pegu, was built by colonists from Thaton, but not for more than 1000 years, in 57.'! A.D., probably because meanwhile the sea had receded from Thaton, but, according to the /egea J, because the two prince-leaders uerc expelled from ROYAL CHllONICLE 171 Thaton, on the u,vi)!in(l that tliey were not fit to succeed there, since then- mother was a iiaginiiii, a daughter of tlie land. The Burmese Royal C'hrnnicU' i;ivi'S little more than a nominal list of the kings of Pegu and Thaton, but as this merely represents a restraint on tlieir powers of fancy it is the less to be regretted. The whole of this early history is a mere fantasy of Gorgons and Hj'dras and Chimseras dire. In the early history of Thaton there was a struggle between Brahmans and Buddhists, and it was possibly only on the landing of Buddhagosha with a volume of the Scriptures from Ceylon that this was ended. Tradition as well as induction from references in the Ciiinese annals seems to prove that the northerners were also Buddhist, but their form of Buddhism was probably as corrupt and as full of "devil-worship" as the Buddhism of modern Tibet. About 500 years after the estab- lishment of the Pagan monarchy the King Thenga "i'aza established the Burmese era in a.b. 63y. Thenga Yaza had been a monk, but he re-entered the world, and married the wife of his predecessor. The common era which he established began on the day when the sun enters .tries, the first sign of the Zodiac, about the month of March. The early history of Burma is made up largely of legendary matter, and concerns itself with the petty kingdoms of Arakan, Pegu, and Tavoy, of Prome and Taungoo, besides that of Burma proper in the north. These histories may be disregarded. That of Arakan never concerned the national history. Tavcy was soon absorbed in Pegu, and so was Thaton. Prome merged in Pagan, which came to mean Upper Burma ; and Taungoo never wps of importance, except as the temporary re- ceiver of Peguan strength. There is no real Burman history till the time of Anawrat'a, who succeeded to the throne of Pagan in lOiO a.d., and became the first Burmese national hero. There had been fighting between the Burmese and the Mon I)efore this, but from now on began the struggle between Burma proper and Yamannya, the coast-wise country between the Sittang and the Salwin Rivers, the home of the Mon. This struggle was not finally ended till the capture of Dagon and the founding of Rangoon in ] 755. 172 BURMA Anawrat'a ininierliatflv set himself about putting an end to the serpent-woi'ship which had been establislied in I'.man about 100 years before by a usurper-king, Saw Yaiian. The priests of this worsliip were called Arl. They lived in monasteries, but are represented as being of dissolute life. A missionary, called Arahan in the Royal History, came to Pagan, and ])reached the law. The false Aris were expelledj and orthodox monks were invited to come from Thaton. King Anawrat'a sent an envoy to King Manuha of Thaton to ask for a copy of the Tripitaka, the Three Baskets of the Law. King Manuha refused, so the Pagan King raised an army, and after a siege, wliich lasted long, destroyed Thaton, and brought the Books of tlie Law, the King, and the people in a mass, to Pagan. Fi'om this time dates the construction of the temples which make Pagan so remarkable a place in the dead cities of the world. It is expressly stated that the temples were built on the model of those existing in Thaton. The re- mains there at the j)resent day are so singularly inadequate that it has been suggested, witli some reason, that the capital which Anawrat'a overthrew was not Thaton, but Angcor, whose remains, with those of Boro-bodor, in Java, alone compare with the deserted fanes of the city on the Irrawaddy. This seems partly confirmed by the fact that Pegu was apparently left untouched by the conqueror, though he must have passed close by it on his march and on his return. It seems probable that Pegu was already then a more important place than Thaton. The Mon chronicle says nothing of tlie fall of the city, though it bewails the punishment of the race by the hated foreigner. This might well be if it was the Hkmer kingdom, and not the Mon, which was overthrown. Having got the holy books from tlie Mon, Anawrat'a next desired holy relics from China. He believed, and the Royal Chronicle believes, that lie really reached Chinese territorj'. He marched to Gandalarit, which is the modern Yunnan. That territory was then the independent Tai kingdom of Nan-chao, and it is a practical certainty that Anawrat'a saw few Cliinese, no Cliinese official, and that the '-Emperor" whom he met was the i-iler of Nan-chao. He did not obtain the Budd'ia's tooth, which he sought. BUDDHISM AXD SHRPEXT WORSHIP. (A iV(/;',1 encircling a PagiKJ.i.) ROYAL CHRONICLE 173 but he brought away a golden image, which had been in contact with it. On his return march he married a daughter of the Tai chief of Mong Mao. The vicissitudes of this lady, who was much plotted against by jealous rivals, were dramatised, and the play remains to the present day one of the most popular on the Burmese stage. The visit had several far-reaching results assuredly never contemplated by Anawrat'a. The Court chroniclers duly recorded that the march had resulted in the sub- mission of the kingdom of Pong, with the result that that phantasm joined the company of Prester John, the Wandering Jew, the Holy Graal, the Aelia Laelia Crisj)is, and other intangibilities. Ney Elias was persuaded that the small state of Mao was the kingdom of Pong. Other people have sought to identify it, as if it were a Happy Valley. Further, some golden vessels, which were sent to the real Emperor of the Sung dynasty, were noted as tribute, and in 1106 A.n. a white elephant, which was sent as a present to the Hwang-ti, confirmed the idea, and brought about the grading of the King of Burma on the same footing with the caliphs of Bagdad and the King of Annam in Chinese annals. Anawrat'a is said to have marched as far as Bengal. It is claimed that he made Arakan a tributary state. It is more than j)robable that he actually did receive tribute from the petty Shan princi- palities which were already then established in Northern Burma. At any rate he is the first outstanding and certain figure in Burmese history. Kyanyit-tha, a son of Anawrat'a, who succeeded an elder brother, was the founder of the Ananda Pagoda at Pagan, the earliest, and, perhaps, the most impressive of the great temples still remaining. Several of his suc- cessors also built great temples, and, though many of the kings were parricides and fratricides, the Burman Empire from the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries was pros- perous and powerful, and it is particularly to this period that the temples of Pagan, one of the glories of Asia, belong. The beginning of the thirteenth century was signalised by an invasion of Pegu by the King of Ceylon. The Burmese chronicle ignores this, and the Cinghalese chronicle 174 BURMA probably exapfgerates its magnitude, but the Chinese annals take note of it, and record that a Twan general of Xanchao helped the Burmese to defeat and expel the Ceylon in- vaders. Tlie Burmese claim Nan-chao for a tributary, while the Tai put their relations the other way. The probability is that they were merely allies. It was apparently this relationship which brought, about the first Burmese collision with China. While the last King of Pagan, who is branded for all time as Tayok I'yi-min, the King who ran away from the Chinamen, was building the gorgeous temple which Ser Marco Polo calls a golden tower, the Mongols were over- throwing the Sung dynasty. Kublai Khan, the lieutenant of his brother Mangu, overran Yunnan, and put an end to the Tai kingdom of Nan-chao in 1254. Twenty years later Kublai Khan completed the conquest of China, and himself became Emperor. He sent a demand for tribute from Burma. What exactly happened is b}' no means clear. Phayre proves to his satisfaction that there was only one battle — that at Male. The Royal Chronicle mentions several. The Chinese annals also mention several, but it is probable that the alliance between Nan- chao and Burma has led to much confusion. It seems most improbable that it was the Burmese who fought in the '-'great plain of Vochan " (Yung-ch'ang), as Marco Polo asserts it was. There may have been a Burmese contingent, but the probability is that it was a last Tai effort against Uriang Kadai, the governor Kublai Khan had established in Tali-fu. Marco Polo says the battle took place in 1272. Yule considers that 1277 was the more probable date. The T'eng-yiich annals say that the Burmase attacked Kan-ngai in 1277. Kan-ngai is a Shan- Chinese state which was founded in 1260, and still exists. The Burmese were beaten, and the Mongol general, Nas'reddin, followed them up to the plains, but retired on account of the great heat. In 12S.'3 he came back again, and attacked and stormed the Burmese fortified post at Kiangt'ou, called in Burmese Ngatshaungvan, neither of which names are now known, but the place was apparently not far to the south of Bhamo. Finally, in 12>S(), he overthrew the Burmese army at Male, This is a SHi^N KINGS IN BURMA 175 common Burmese place name ; but the scene of the battle seems to have been 100 miles south of Bhamo. Upon this the King fled from Pagan, and it is assumed that the Mongol armies pushed on and sacked the capital. Mr E. H. Parker was the first to point out that this is ex- tremely doubtful, and that it is still more unlikely that they got to Tayokmaw, south of Prome, as it has hitherto been assumed, mainly on the strength of Home Tooke etymology, that they did. It seems almost certain that the Pagan the Mongol armies got to was Old Pagan, Tagaung, and that the modern Pagan, several hundred miles farther down the river, was sacked, partly by the defeated Burmese soldiery, enraged at the flight of their King, and partly by the Tai forces, who formed, probably, the outer fringe — that is to say, in the case of retreat, the rearguard — of the Burmese army. The only thing that is certain Is that Pagan was plundered and destroyed. Another notable point is that the Chinese histories begin to speak of the Burmese as Mien from this time. The name Mien-tien for Burma does not appear to have been used before 1427. Kyawzwa, a son of Tayok Pyi-min, reigned for a short time as King of Pagan, but the rest of the kingdom broke up. All the littoral provinces except Bassein asserted independence. The north also separated, and fell com- pletely into the hands of the Shans. The exact position of the Shans in Upper Burma up to this time is somewhat obscure. It is probable that the principalities of Mogaung and Mohnyin (Mong Kawng and Mong Yang) were feuda- tories of Pagan, but the common assertion of the Burmese Royal History, and of English historians since, that the Shan States now regained their independence, is mani- festly absurd. The Shans may have been allied; they certainly were not dependent powers. The Shan Kings in Burma. — Tlie Shans settled in Burma were now vastly increased in numbers b)- the Tai, driven from Tali, or migrating of their own accord from there. In a very short time Thihathu took the title of King, and built himself a capital at Panya, north of M^-insaing. A son of his declared himself independent King of Sagaing, and in 136-t this kingdom absorbed Panya, and Thado- 170 BURMA minl)ya. the ruler of the greater part of Cenwal Upper Burma, built himself a capital at Ava. This place, at the confluence of the Namtu, or Myit-nge, with the Irrawaddy, was destined to be capital again and again, and it was given the Pali name of Ratanapura, the City of Gems. His successor, Mingyi Swa Sawke, made himself master of all the country down to Prome, and attacked Pegu. That kingdom had broken up after the fall of Pagan. A Shan, Wareru, had made himself independent King of Martaban (Mottama). He was called upon now to assist Pegu against the Burraan invader. He came, and the united armies drove the Burmese back from Dala, opposite Rangoon, then non-existent. Wareru then quarrelled with the King of Pegu, defeated and killed him, and be- came King of Pegu. He was soon assassinated ; but there were now two kingdoms face to face — Ava and Pegu — and the Burman and the Mon began their long struggle for supremacy'. Arakan meanwhile had become inde- pendent, and, though it had occasional quarrels of its own, generally stood apart, barred off by the huge rampart of the Yoma Range. Pegu and Ava fought for thirty yeai's, first one and then the other assuming the aggressive, and then troubles with the Shans diverted the attention of the Burmese. They were engaged in repeated struggles with the chiefs of Myedu, Mogaung, Mohnyin, and Onbaung (Hsipaw), and in the end, in 1533, the Mohnyin chief became ruler of Ava. During this time Pegu had had a period of comparative peace, though there were rivalries between the princes of Pegu and Taungu, which meanwhile had risen to importance. About this time began the visits of the Portuguese and other adventurers, and many " Portugals" from this time on fought as mercenaries in the wars. De Cruz and Caesar Fi'ederick were dazzled by the magnifi- cence of "the Brama of Toungoo" ; and the floridness of Fernao Mendez Pinto's descriptions of the power and glory of the Kaliminham and the Siamon have so far directed suspicion against his truthfulness that no one has been careful to ascertain who these mighty potentates were. It seems not impobsible that Timplan of Tinagoogoo, INVASION OF SIAM 177 the Kaliniiiiliam's capital, may not liave been in Burma at all, but ma)' have been a Cambojan capital, and it seems not unlikely that the Siamon may have been a Shan ruler in Hsenwi, or the states thereby. Tabinshweti. — Taungu grew rapidly into power while Burma was engaged in its struggles with the Shans. It was nominally a province of Ava, but gave a great deal of trouble, and was frequently in alliance with the King of Prome, in open rebellion against the suzerain power. Many notables from Ava made theii- way to Toungoo, particularly after Thohanbwa (Shan Sao Hanhpa), the Mohnyin prince, ruled there. In 1530 Tabinshweti be- came King. His exploits make him, together with Anawrat'a and Alaungpaya, one of the three great heroes of Burmese history. In liiSO he conquered Pegu, and established himself there as King. Shans, Indian Moham- medans, and a Portuguese galliot imder Ferdinand de Morales, from Goa, took part in the defence of Pegu ; but they were beaten, and the Portuguese commander was killed. In the following year Tabinshweti took Martaban, then a great port, with not a little Portuguese shipping. In 1542 he took Prome, and in the rout of the Shan and Arakanese auxiliary armies there, the guns brought into the field by Tabinshweti, and served by Portuguese gunners, played a chief part. Tabinshweti and his great general, Buyin-naung, marched to Ava, but retired before the strength of the position and the great force of the Shans, and contented themselves with taking Pagan. Arakan was invaded in 1546; and then the King invaded Siam, and reached Ayuthia, but found the position too strong for assault, and retired to Pegu. His artillery had been commanded by a Portuguese, James Suarez, who taught the King to drink, and soon after this Siamese expedition the young King (he was only thirty-six) became a hopeless drunkard. He was murdered in 1550 by a Mon noble who iiad been appointed his guardian, and who for a time figured as the last Mon king of Pegu. He was, however, overthrown within the year by Buyin-naung, brother-in- law of Tabinshweti, who became King, and, after careful preparations, besieged, and took, Ava in 1554, and then proceeded to subdue the Shan chiefs of Northern Burn,a 178 BURMA as far as the Patkoi Range, which separates Assam fmm Burma. Buyiii-naung, notwithstanding his conquest of Ava, retained Pegu as his capital; but in 1558 he had to march on Hsi])aw and Mone, and, after punishing them, went south to Chiengmai, and overcame and received the allegiance of that state, where he afterwards defended the tributary prince against attacks from Linzin, Luang Prabang, or Wying Chan, on the Mekhong River. In 1564' he marched down the Menam, and, after taking three Portuguese ships moored in tlie river, entered Ayuthia, and carried off the King of Siam, his queens, and three white elephants. In the following year his son marched on Wying Chan, on the middle Mekhong, and :;aptured it. The Wying Chan prince himself escaped, but his spouse and many prisoners were carried off to Ch;enginai and Pegu. The King of Siam's life had been spjired, and he was allowed to put on the yellow robe, and become a monk, and even permitted to return to Siam to worship. His son Bramahin, who had been appointed tributary King of Siam, now revolted; but another invasion of Siam resulted in the capture of Ayuthia for a second time, in 1 56S. Buyin-naung then invaded the Eastern Lao country, and reoccupied Wying Chan, but wore out his army in the ])ursuit of an enemy who would not fight. He then returned to Pegu, and, though he had no more great expeditions, had much fighting with the Northern Shans and with tlie Lao, where he appointed one son the Yuva Yaza, Viceroy of the Eastern Lao country, and the other Nawrat'a /aw, tributary King of Chiengmai, under the Yuva Yaza. At last, in 1581, Buyin-naung died, while engaged in an exj)edition for the subjugation of Arakan. Buyin- naung built a ship of his own, v/hich he sent to Ceylon and to ports in Southern India. His reign extended to thirty years, and tlie Venetian traveller, Cffisar Fredericke (" Purchas's Pilgrims"), says of him: "The King of Pt'gu hatli not any army or po\ver by sea, but in the land, for people, dominions, gold and silver, he far exceeds the power of the G]eat Turk in treasure and strength." Buyin-naung, as well as Tabinshweti, assumed the title of King of Kuigs. These two Kings WAR WITH SIAM 179 liad not only united Burma .'iiic! Pegu, but had extended their empire from tlie Gulf of Martaban to the borders of China and Tibet, and from the Arakan Yoina to the Mekhong River. On the death of Buyin-naung his eldest son, tlie Yuva Yaza, succeeded. He is called Nanda Bu3'in in the Mon chronicle. His uncles, the Kings of Prome and Taungu, came to Pegu, and did homage to him as Supreme King, and so did t!ie King of Siam, but another uncle, the King of Ava, first made excuses, and then tried to arrange a co:isj)iracy. Buyin-naung marched on Ava, and defeated the King, who fled to China, and died there. But meanwhile the King of Siam had fallen away. Re- peated attempts to retake Ayuthia resulted in disaster and immense losses of men, including Buyin-naung's eldest son ; and the King of Siam, Bya (or Chao) Narit, even advanced as far as Martaban. Upon this the other tributary kings fell from their allegiance. Buyin-naung was captured by the King of Taungu, taken to that place, and before long secretly put to death, in 15,9.9. The empire then broke up. The King of Siam took Martaban and Tavoy, and appointed Mon notables to hold the two districts on his behalf. The King of Arakan, who had joined with a fleet in the investment of Pegu, left a garrison in Syriam, and instead of a kingdom there was a mere collection of petty principalities. The Arakanese governor of Syriam was not even a native of the country : he was a Portuguese, Philip de Brito, who had formerly been a ship's boy. Ralph Fitch, the first British trader in Bumia, found Pegu and Taungu flourish- ing cities in 1586. In 16"00 the Jesuit Boves describes Pegu as a melancholy mass of ruins. The treasure of 100 conquered principalities had been scattered to the winds. Philip de Brito broke with the King of Arakan, and got lielp from the Viceroy of Goa. He defeated an Arakan fleet sent against him, and captured the son of the King. An alliance between Taungu and Arakan failed to overcome him, and he might have established himself in the deltas of the Irrawaddy and the Sittang if he had behaved with reasonable decency. But he 180 BURMA spoiled Buddhist temples and forced Cliristianity on multitudes. The son of Buyin-naung had remained King of Ava. He extended his authority over the Shans, and down to Yamethin, and when he died his son took Prome after an investment of eight months. The King of Taungu accepted his suzerainty, and for this was at- tacked by Philip de Brito, who took him prisoner, and jilundered the city. Maha Dhamma Yaza, the King of Ava, then proceeded to invest Syriam, forced it to sur- render, impaled Philip de Brito, and carried off many Portuguese as prisoners to Ava, where their descendants are now known as native Christians, and formed artillerj'- nien more than 200 years later. Syriam was taken in ]6l3. The King of Taungu was put to death. The King of Martaban submitted to Ava, and for a brief period the empire of Buyin-naung was almost restored under Maha Dhamma Yaza, who took Pegu for his temporary capital in l6l5. He occupied Tenasserim, and subdued Chiengmai, but did not proceed towards Wying Chan. He had communications with Jehangir, the Emperor of India, and with the Sultan of Atchin, probably with reference to contemplated action against the Portuguese ; and he also exchanged missions with the Vicerov of Goa, to find out his attitude. He hung a bell at his palace gate, with inscriptions in Burmese and Mon directing those who were wronged to strike the bell, and the King would hear their cry. He was, however, murdered because of "an unutterable crime" connnitted by his son. He was succeeded by a brother, Thado Dhamma Yaza, in 1629, who up till then had been King of Prome, and now became King of Kings. He paid a long visit to Chiengmai, and was consecrated at Pegu on his return, in l6,'J2. Two years later, however, he transferred his capital to Ava, and built the huge Kaung-hmu-daw Pagoda, on the Sagaing side of the river. This is the last of Pegu as the capital of all Bunna. The Mon had, however, become to a certain extent fused with the Burmese, largely through the rise of the Tauno-u kingdom and tlie common action against the Shans of the north. The two nations had by no means become friendly — there was, in fact, a sullen opposition to the TRIBUTE TO CHINA 181 neglect of Pegu on the side of the Mon ; but acquaintance had begun, and the races had got to l-;novv one another through the depopulating wars of two centuries. There was a sort of armed truce for nearly 150 years, during which Ava remained the capital. The empire, however, dwindled away. A chief from Manipur occupied the Kubo Valley ; Chiengmai fell to the Siamese ; and other outlying dependencies were lost. This was mainly due to the incompetence of the kings, but also in some degree to the danger which threatened from China. Burma sent "tribute" to China in lC28, the first year of the reign of the last Ming emperor. After this it is expressly stated by the Chinese annalists that no presents came from Burma to Peking until 1750. In the interval the Mancliu Tartars were possessing themselves of the country, and establishing the present Ch'ing dynasty. The last Ming prince, Yung Lei, or Yunhli, as the Royal Chronicle calls him, retired to Yiinnan, and thence fled to Burma, where he had asylum for a short time. But when a Manchu army raarclied on the capital the Burmans promptly surrendered him to avoid war. Phayre says Yung Lei was taken to Peking, and strangled. Mr E. H. Parker says he died of a carl)uncle, and that his son was forced to commit suicide at Yiinnan-fu in ]6()2. In any case the Ming family was ended, and the MaJid Yazairhi is obviously ill at ease in trying to explain Burmese want of chivah'ous hospitality. The punishment came in the dislocation of affairs. A Manipuri army raided down as far as Sagaing, but did not attempt to cross the Irrawaddy. The Peguans became restive, and made several devastating attacks on Burma — fruitless, except for the capture of Prome. A mysterious Gwe Shan colony became prominent about this time. These Gwe Shans were brought down to Burma as prisoners of war by Buyin-naung, and were settled north of Pegu. Who they were does not appear. The name suggests Mong Kwi, the La'liu country to the west of KCnghung town, or they may have been Wa from the country still farther to the west. It is possible that this Gwe Shan colony, which appears now for the first time, and then, after a few paragraphs, vanishes altogether from history, may be the origin ut' the 182 BURMA Riang tribes, or of the Danaw and Daye in the Myelat. If it is not, it supplies a hint as to how these small, isolated colonies may have come to where they now are. However that may be, in the interval of the murdering of Burmese governors of Pegu by the Mon, the Owe Shan appeared; and joined the Mon in killing another governor. One of them, who had been a monk, was elected King of Pegu, and accepted by the Mon under the title, Mintaya Buddha Ke-hti. He led a wild-cat enterprise against Burma, and ravaged the country up to the walls of Ava, but was attacked by Burman armies on north and south, and had to retire with great loss. War went on in an aimless, endless, and wholly random way in both the Iri-awaddy and Sittang Valleys, with no results but con- tinuous loss of life. Then the Gwe Shan King suddenly left Pegu, laid down his crown, and wandered away into the Lao states. Cochin China, and China. He had been a popular King and possibly on this account one of his generals was chosen as his successor. He bore the famous Mon name of Binya Dala, but seems also to have been a Shan. The Mon had meanwhile possessed them- selves of both Prome and Taungu, and so harassed the Burmese, pending the assembling of a great army, that the King of Ava sent in 1750 the ti-ibutary presents to China referred to above. The following year the advance began. The Mon were well supplied with guns from European traders. They had also a number of renegade Dutch and native Portuguese gunners, and a powerful flotilla of war boats proceeded up the IiTawaddy. The army, under a general named Talaban, marched up the west bank of the Irrawaddy ; and in 17.52 Ava fell, aftei a not very formidable resistance. The King of Binma and all his family were taken prisoners, and carried off to Pegu, and the city of Ava was burnt. Alaungpaya. — Binya Dala returned to Pegu, and his brother, the Yuva Yaza, and Talaban were left to subdue the upper countr}'. The Yuva Yilza also soon retired, leaving Talaban with greatly reduced forces. The different local officials submitted over all the north, with the exception of the village of the Mokso-bo, the hunter chief. He slaughtered the Mon detachment which came FOUNDING OF RANGOON 183 to collect taxes. He gathered more and more men round him, and assumed first the title of Aungzeja tlie Victorious, and then that of Alaungpaya, the embryo Buddha. The name is often written Alompra by European historians. Within the year he had captured a great part of the Mon flotilla, and proceeded to the investment of Ava. But Talaban did not stand a siege, and made a rapid retreat by night, and Ava was occupied by Alaungpaya in December 1553. Binya Dalii assembled another army, blockaded Prome, which had not been taken, and proceeded to invest Ava for the second time in 1754, the Yuva Yiiza being in com- mand. A son of Alaungpaya held Ava ; and he himself watched operations from M6kso-bo (Shwebo), and, sud- denly advancing, defeated covering parties, and frightened the Yuva Yaza into retreat on Prome. This town was now invested by the Mon ; but the siege was raised, and the Mon driven from their earthworks, in 1755. The fiercest fighting was between the war boats. Many of the Mon boats were furnished with artillery from the French at Syriam, and a number of these fell into Alaung- paya's hands. He moved on slowly, taking Lunhse — whose name he changed to Myan-aung, " speedy victory " — Hcn- zade, and Danubyu, and in the beginnning of May 17.T5 drove a Mon force from the plain of Dagon, where lie laid out a town, and called it Yangoii, the finish of the war. This is now Rangoon, the great port of Burma. Alaungpaya now made preparations for the capture of Syriam below Rangoon. From 1709 onwards there had been a permanent Bi-itish factory here. British traders had settled before, but had been withdrawn. The main British factory was at Negrais, which had been occupied as a depot by orders of the Governor of Madras, without, apparently, the formality of consulting the Government of the country. The factories at Bassein and Syriam were subordinate to the Negrais island depot, where Brooke was the chief. The French also had a factory at Syriam under Bourno. The war in the Carnatic was over for the time, and there was peace between England and France. Both parties played a deceitful game ; but, on the whole, the French supported the Mon, and the British supplied 184 BURMA the Burmese with arms, and sent Captain Baker on a mission to Alaungpaya at Ava. The King had gone there to arrange for the meeting of the attacks of some of the Northern Shans, and also because little could be done during the rainy season. He left the Burmese army entrenched at, and opposite, Rangoon. During the rains the Mon several times attacked the Burmese works, and Avere on several occasions certainly supported by both British and French ships, but the assaults were unsuc- cessful. Alaungpaya came to direct the assault on Syriam in person in February 17.06, and in July it was taken. The British factory staff had been imprisoned by the Mon, and were now set free. Unhappily for the French, two ships with warlike stores for the Mon arrived immediately after the fall of the works. One of these was decoyed up the river, and when the destination of the war material became evident Alaungpaya put the ships' officers and Bourno and his staff to death. The King now moved on to Pegu, and took it without much trouble. The Mon sovereign was sent through Rangoon to the Burmese capital as a prisoner, and many thousand Mon were sold as slaves. With the fall of Martaban in 1757, and of Tavoy in the same year, the Mon kingdom came to a final end. The common use of the name Talaing seems certainly to date from now. It means the downtrodden, and may, therefore, have been thought specially appropriate ; but it appears certain that the name existed before, and was not an ungenerous nick- name, now first used. A couple of years later the Mon rose in despairing and fruitless revolt. It was proved to Alaungpaya's satis- faction that the British depot at Negrais had supplied the rebels with arms and stores, and there seems no reason to believe that this was not the case. The Negrais settle- ment was attacked. All but a few of the British and Indians in the place were massacred, and the settlement was destroyed in 17 r>0. In the following ^-ear Alaungpaya invaded Siam. He went by way of ^[ergai and Tenasserim. and camped before Ayuthia. He was, however, taken ill, ordered the CHINESE INVASIONS 185 retreat of tlie army, and died before he reached Burma. He was only forty-six yeai's of age, and had reigned eight j-ears. His capital was M6kso-bo, or Shwebo. Naungdawgyi.— Alaungpaya left six sons, of whom the eldest succeeded, and is known by the dynastic title of Naungdawgyi, the elder brother. The general com- manding the army reliii'ned from Siam rebelled, or was forced into rebellion, but was overcome at Ava. Captain Alves, deputed by the Madras Government to secure redress for the Negrais massacre, was received in audience by the Knig at Sagaing. No redress was given, but a grant of land was made to the British at Bassein, and some of those who had been taken prisoners were set free. Naungdawgyi only lived three years, and died at Sagaing in 17()3. Sinbyushin. — He was succeeded by Alaungpaya's next son, the Governor of Myedu, who took the dynastic title of Sinbyushin, the Lord of the White Elephant. He immediately began preparations for the invasion of Siam, and meanwhile marched on Manipur, where he defeated the Raja, drove him to the hills, and carried off many thousand captives. In the second year of his reign he settled at Ava, and made it his capital. One Burmese array ojierated by way of Chiengmai, which was taken without much trouble. The Prince of Lantsan, then re- sident at Muang Lim, submitted, and Lakawn became the headquarters of this force. The southern force crossed over by way of Mergui, and defeated the Siamese at Kamburi. In 1766 the two armies converged on Ayuthia. Tlie siege was ke])t up throughout the rains, and the city fell before a general assault in April 1767. The King of Siam was killed, the city was destroyed by fire, and the whole of the ro3'al family were carried off as prisoners. Chinese Invasions. — It fell at an opportune moment. There were quarrels with China over trade matters. A Chinese army marched on Kengliing, and invested it; but the Burmese force from Ayuthia reached the town in July, drove back the Chinese, and defeated them, with the loss of their gentval. near tlie Mekhong. Another Chinese arm}' marched on Bhanifi, and entrenched itself at Kaung- ton, while a third appeared by way of Hsenwi. Tlity 186 BURMA ■wei'e outmanoeuvvfd by llie Burmese. .Detail, ment.s were cut up ill detail, and the main army retired an (,'liina. Mingjwei, the general in chief command, committed suicide in terror of Kien Lung, the Grand Monarqiie ol China, who had set his heart on the conquest of Burma, when in the following year a mucli larger invasion of the Chinese was driven back, tlirough Taungbaing. A fourth army was sent in 176.9, and established itself in a great stockade at Shwenyaungbin, 12 miles east of Kaungton. That position was attacked by the Chinese, and there was much aimless fighting, the eventual result of which was that the Chinese were liemmed in at Shwenyaungbin. Chinese craft then prevailed, and a written contract of settlement was drawn up, the most important clause ot which provided that " letters of friendship " were to be sent every ten years. This is the origin of the Burmese Decennial Missions. The Cliinese retired. The King Sinbyushin was furious, refused to accept the Chmese presents, and on the return of Maha Thihathura to Ava, banished him and the other Burmese signatories of the treaty for a month. The Barnabite missionary, Fatlier Sangermano, who ai-rived in Burma in 1783, fourteen years after the four campaigns were over, says that the success of the Burmese was largely due to their artillery, which was served by " the Christians " — that is to say, by the descendants of the Portuguese and French captives. War with Siam. — The Siamese royal family had been carried off, but there arose a patriot named Phya Tak, said to have been the son of a, Chinaman, who rallied the Siamese armies. He gradually drove back the Burmese detachments, recovered Wying Chan (now called N'ientian by the French, tlie Burmese Linzin, and the Lantsan of the Chinese), and defeated an army which Maha Thihathura led down to Sukkhotai and Pitsanalok. The Burmese generals quarrelled among themselves, the Mon army rebelled, and attacked the Burmese force, and pursued them as far as the stockade at Rangoon, which, however, they were not able to take. Sinbyushin, while this was going on, placed a new ////, or crown, on Shwe Dagon P.igoda, and then put to death the captive King of Pegu on the charge of ha\ing incited the Men troops , to revolt. CONQUEST OF AEAKAN 187 At the same time also he sent another force to Manipur, which pushed on beyond, occupied Kachar, and even penetrated to Jyntia. Before the Siamese imbroglio was finished Sinbyushin died, in 1776. Singu Min. — He was succeeded by his son Singusa, or Singu Min, who put an immediate end to the Siam enter- prise, and degraded Maha Thihathura. He caused his uncle, Alaungpaya's fourth son, to be put to death, served a brother of his own in the same way, and, in a fit of passion, had a favourite wife of his own drowned. He himself was killed in a palace rising in 1781. Maung Maung. — Maung Maung, a boy of eighteen, the son of Naungdaw Gyi, reigned for eleven days, and then was put in a red velvet sack, and drowned in the Irrawaddy. Bodawpaya. — He was succeeded in 1781 by the Padon Min, a son of Alaungpaya, better known by his dynastic title of Bodawpaya, or Mintaya-gyi. There were several plots against his life, in one of wliich the General Maha Thihathura was concerned, and lost his life. Another, led by Myat Pon, one of the old Burmese royal family, nearly succeeded, but closed in the burning of all concerned on a huge pile of wood. Bodawpaya, who had till now lived in S.igaiiig, built himself a new capital above Ava, on the other side of the Myit-Nge, and gave it the name of Amarapura, the City of the Immortals. He also set about building the vast pile of brickwork, the Mingon Pagoda, which was never finished, but remains the hugest pile of building material in the world. In 1783, the year when he entered his new capital, he effected the conquest of Arakan. This had not been undertaken by Alaungpaya ; but the distracted state of the country, where civil war had been going on for some years, made the task an easy one. Three Burmese armies marched over the hills, and a flotilla advanced up the coast, and Arakan became a province of Burma without any serious struggle. The great image of Buddha, Maha Myat Muni, was brought over the hills, and installed in a pagoda specially built for it, to the north of Amarapura, and a short distance south of Mandalay. The King of Arakan, his queens, and a number of Brahmin astrologers 188 BURMA were also brouGjIit: as prisoncv^ to Avnarapiira. The Siamese who liad driven back the Burmese armies in 1771 were never afterwards subdued; but King Bodawpaya in 1785 sent an expedition against Junkceylon, or Tongka, an island on the coast of the Malay Peninsula, but it was driven back to Mergui. In the following year the King himself led an army against Phya Tak. The column from Tavoy was almost annihilated in the hills east of Mergui, the Chiengmai column met with a little success, and the King's own column from Martaban was little better treated than the Tavoy army, and he fled back to Marta- ban, and thence to Amarapura. The Siamese took Tavoy, and had some success against Martaban, but were driven back, and in 1793 peace was concluded with Phya Chak- khri, who was then King of Siam. The Siamese yielded to the Burmese the whole coast of Tenasserim, with the two ports of Tavoy and Mergui, which had been so long in dispute. Friction with, the Indian Government. — After the con- quest of Arakan many of the people of that province crossed the frontier, and were allowed to settle in British territory at Chittagong. A Burmese general crossed the Na-af River with a force in pursuit of three notable chiefs. A detachment of troops under Major-General Erskine came from Calcutta to oppose this aggression, and after the three fugitives had been surrendered, in somewhat unchivalrous and poor - spirited fashion, the Burmese withdrew. The Indian Government was too cautious and too much oppressed by a belief in the formidable character of the Burmese army. Tiiere was war with Tippoo Sultan, and trouble with the Mahratta, Instead of firm protests and serious warning envoys were sent. .Captain Michael Symes went to Amarapura in 17.<)5; Captain Hiram Cox was sent the following yeai\ Sjmes went again in 1802, now a colonel; and in 1809-10, and again in 1811-12. Captain Canning was deputed to put matters on a more satisfactory footing. They were received with dubious courtesy and sometimes with insulting neglect. The only satisfactory result of their missions was the account which Synies and Cox wrote of the country. DESIGNS ON INDIA 189 The Indian Government then, as ollen a Her wards, liad not suHicienl posts on the JVontier. There is little douht that the ISiirmese had reasonable cause of complaint : that the British allowed Arakanese rebels to use Chittagong as a sallying-point as well as a place of refuge. The King of Burma, very natnrally, took British restraint to mean timidity, if not fear. Others have done so since. Move- over, British restraint was very like supineness. Bodaw- paya began intrigues with the Peshwa and other native princes of India. It became clear that he aspired to take the districts of Eastern Bengal. He even formulated a direct claim to MurshiJabad. He also interfered directly in the affairs of Manipur, nominally under our protection, and in Assam, where the old Shans had become Hindus and the old chiefs had come to be dominated by ministers called Gohains, between whom and the chief, and among themselves, there were frequent quarrels, ending in con- spiracies, Before, however, the King's schemes could come to anything, he died, in 1819- He seems to have been a bloodthirsty tyrant from the accounts we have of him ; but he was a man of large ideas, and the Aungpinl6 Reservoir at Mandalay and the Meiktila Lake were both repaired and greatly enlarged by his ortlers. He also instituted a kind of census, and had a complete register made in 1783 of all families in every town and village in the countr)'. Bagyidaw. — He was succeeded by the Sagaing prince, his grandson, who took the title of Bagyidaw. He pre- pared vigorously to continue the policy of Bodawpaya. 'I'he Raja of Manipur neglected to come in to pay homage to the new King. The Kubo Valley had been annexed by the Burmese in 1812, but the Manij)uris continued to cut teak in the forests there. Therefore an expedition was sent to Manipur, and the Raja fled to Kachar. In this expedition Malia Bandula first made a name as a general. Manipur was occupied by a Burmese garrison. Assam was served in the same way, and in 1822 became a Burmese j)rovince. Chandra Kanta, the Raja, had been sup])Iied by the British Government with arms and ammunition to resist the Burmese ; but he made no good use of them, fled across the frontier to Gowhati, and then into BriUbh 190 BURMA territory. The Biinnose generals, Matifi Bandula and Miilici Tiiilavva, sent to Calcutta, and demanded tile sur- render of Chandra Kanta. This waa refused. The Burmese armies, one from A.ssam and the other from Manipur, therefore invaded Kachar in January 1824. This was under British protection, and a battalion of sepoys engaged and defeated one of the Burmese columns. The other column, however, came up, and the sepoys were driven back. The Burmese then pushed on, and en- trenched themselves on the Surma River. They were driven from their works, and Maha Thilawa's column then retreated on Assam. The Manipur army stockaded itself at Dudh{)atli, on the Barak River, and a British force under Colonel Bowen, which endeavoured to dislodge them, was beaten off. Shortly afterwards the Burmese evacuated the position, and retired on Manipur to renew their supplies. There was similar aggression in the south. The island of Shapuri, at the mouth of the Na-af, is close to the Chittagong shore, and had become British by prescription, if in no other way. There was a native guard stationed on it. The Burmese attacked the island, and killed and wounded half of the twelve men, and levied tolls on British boats entering the Na~af. In November 1823 Shapuri was occupied by two companies of sepoys. Bagyidaw tlicicupou sent Maha Bundala to take command in Arakan in January 1824. War declared with Burma. — War with Burma was formally declared on the 5th March 1824. Bandula struck the iirst blow. He sent a column across the Na-afj which attacked a mixed force of Bengal sepoys, Chittagong pDlice, and Arakan refugees under Captain Noton at Ramu. The British force had two guns, but it was driven from its position, with heavy losses, on 12th May 1854. The Burmese force, however, did not follow up its success, and after a week or two recrossed the Na-af. The British Government decided merely to contain the Burmese forces in Arakan, and to drive them out of Kachar, Assam, and Manipur. The war was to be carried on in Burma itself, up the Irrawaddy Valley. Troops were sent from Bengal and Mndras under the coimuand ot WAR WITH BRITATN 191 Sir Archibald Campbell. In the Bengal division were the J'hivteenth and Thirty-eighth Regiments of the Line, and in the Madras division tlie Forty-first and Eighty-ninth of the Line, and the Madras European Regiment. Com- modore Grant commanded H.M. frigate Liffey and the sloops-of-\var Lame and Sophia. There were several Company's warships, forty sail of transports, and one small steamer. Tlie expeditionary force anchored off Rangoon on the night of the 10th May. J'he (lovernor of Pegu had gone to the cajHtal, and died tiiert-, and his successor had not arrived. The Yewuu, commanding the Burmese flotilla, had not been informed of the probability of attack, and was quite unjirepared. The Burmese guns opened fire from the wharf, but were dismounted by fire from the Liffeij, and the troops were then landed, to find the town deserted. The Shwe Dagon Pagoda, which dominates the neiglibourhood, was occupied on the morning of the \'2t\\ May. Some of the nearer stockades were carried in the next few days, in the taking of one of which Lieutenant Keir and twenty-two others were killed. The Burmese sent down fire rafts on the fleet from Kyimyindaing, fortunately without result, owing to the bend in the river. A first assault on the Burmese position at Kyimyindaing failed, with the loss of 100 men ; but on the 10th .June the Burmese works wrre carried, with the assistance of the guns and the fire of the warships, and the stockade was occupied as a British out])ost. Both combatants were at a disadvantage. J'he British had no transport service, and could get no trosli |)rovisions. Moreover, the beginning of tlie rams was tlie worst possible time to commence a campaign The Burmese had not anticipated attack from this side, and had no troops and no prepared positions or artillery. Reinforce- ments were rajiidly sent from Upper Burma, witli a new general, who commenced a formidable stockade at the junction of the Hlaing and the Panlang creek. Before it could be completed the British attacked on the 8lh July by land and water. The works were carried, and destroyed, and the Burmese general was killed. The Burmese were now thoroughly demoralised, but 192 BUEMA Sir Avcliibalcl C:impbell was iin.iblc to follow np liis advantage. Besides liaviii ing the portion of the province of Martaban east of the Salween River, were ceded to the British Government, and the King of Burma agreed to abstain from all interference in Kachar, Jyntia, and Manipur. Provision was also made for the conclusion of a commercial treaty. The British army then retired on Bangoon, wliich was held until the second instalment of the indemnity was paid, towards the end of the year. On the recommendation of the military Moulmein was built to be the headquarters of the Tenasserim division. Amherst had been the previous civil headquarters. The Burman soldiers fought well at the beginning of the war, and never hesitated to attack Indian troops. The officers, with the exception of a few old generals, were hopelessly incapable. With field artillery, which dated from the time of Queen Elizabeth, and muskets which were tied together with rattan, the conditions were hope- less for victory against European troops. The war cost Great Britain £5,000,000 sterling, and the lives of 4000 men, the great majority of whom died of disease. A commercial treaty was signed at Ava on the 23rd November 1826, but it was never of any effect. In 1830 Colonel Burney was appointed the first British Resident at Ava, but it was some time before his presence was re- garded other than as a mark of degradation by the Burmese King. Gradually, however, he acquired a salutary influence. He rescued the Kubo Valley from Manipur for Burma, and he even arranged the despatch of Burmese envoys to Calcutta, and the writing of a letter from the King to the Governor-General. But Bagyidaw brooded over his humiliation, and in 1832 became insane. About the same time Colonel Burney left Ava for Rangoon, and in 1837, when his health had broken down, resigned his post, and left the country. Tharawaddi Min. — A regency administered the king- dom for five years, but in 1837 the Tharawaddi prince marched from Shwebo, and deposed his elder brother. Bagyidaw was merely imprisoned, and lived till 1845, when he died a natural death, only a year before his supplanter and successor. King Tharawaddi at first made Kyaukmyaung his capital, but before long moved to 196 BURMA Amarapiira. His reign of nine years was not marked by any event of importance. There was a rising of the Shan chiefs, which was put down with vigorous fei'ocity. The King also visited Rangoon, and presented a huge bell to Shwe Dagon Pagoda. Colonel Benson was sent as Resident to his Court in 1838, but the King refused to see him, except as a private individual. Colonel Benson, therefore, returned to Rangoon, and left Captain M'Leod to represent British interests, but he also was withdrawn in 1840. King Bagyidaw's attitude towards the British had been merely sullenly hostile ; King Tharawaddi's became offensively contemptuous. In the latter years of his reign he also became insane, and was for some time under restraint. Pagan Min. — He was succeeded by his son, the Pagan prince. Pagan Min was a person of no capacity, and with a taste for low pleasures. He left the local governments entirely to the oHicers in charge of provinces. Maung Ok, the Governor of Rangoon, on two occasions seized and fined the masters of British ships. Commodore Lambert, in the Fox, with the war steamer Tenasserim, came to Rangoon to present a remonstrance and demand an in- demnity. Matters could not be settled with the Governor, so a communication was sent to the King. He sent a reply enclosed in a red velvet wrapper, and with an elephant's tusk for an envelope. It was delivered on board H.M.S. Fox, with an imposing display of golden umbrellas. The royal letter expressed a hope that the friendship between the two Governments would be maintained, and intimated that Maung Ok had been recalled, and that a new Governor was being sent. He came, and with him came 30,000 men. At the same time another array of 20,000 was sent to Bassein, and a third of 30,000 to Martaban. On the 5th January Commodore Lambert went by arrangement to meet the new Viceroy of Rangoon. The Viceroy was said to be asleep, .and the Commodore was otherwise treated with much disrespect. The Burmese rivers were also declared to be under blockade. Com- modore I^:imbert seized and carried off the King's war boat, and tlie Fox and the Hermes were attacked by, and naturally soon silenced, the Burmese batteries. After SECOND WAR WITH BRITAIN 197 fiirtlier con-espondence Lord Dallioiisic seiil, on tlie 15tli March 1852, a formal ultimatum to I'agaii Miii, fixing 1st April as the term when warlike operations would commence, if all demands were not agreed to before then. Second Burmese War. — No reply came. The interval had been occupied in the despatch of 8100 troops, under General Godwin. Commodore Lambert was in command of the naval contingent of about il500 sailors and marines. The Proserpine, which was sent up to Rangoon on the 1st April, to ascertain whether the British demands would be acceded to, was fired on. On the ffth April, therefore, Martaban was taken, and occupied. An attempt was made by the Burmese to recapture it three weeks later, but completely failed. Rangoon town was attacked and taken on the 12th April. 'J'he Bin-mese served their guns pluckily for some hours against the fire of the Sesosliis, Mozuffer, Feme, and other warships, and the fight was ended by the explosion of one of their powder magazines. A stockade, known as the While House, was taken on the 12th April, but only after so determined a struggle that General Godwin did not attack the Shwe Dagon, which formed the main defence, till the 14'th, when he had landed and got heavy guns into position. The British force avoided the stockades of the town, and attacked from the eastern side. The losses of the storming party were considerable, for the Burmese were better armed and better disciplined than in 1 826'. Bassein was taken again, with the assist- ance of the flotilla, on the 19th May. The attack came on the Burmese as a surprise, but they fought stubbornly for a time. A garrison of 500 men was left in Bassein, and the General then returned to Rangoon. Pegu was taken on the 3rd June, after a scrambling sort of a fight, in which at one time the Burmese seized the British boats, and nearly succeeded in carrying them off. The Shwe Hmaw Daw Pagoda, which had been strongly fortified, was carried without serious loss. A Talaing force which had joined the British was put in charge of the town. Early in July Commander Tarleton, in the Phlcgelhon, with the Mnhanuddy and Proserpine, made a reconnaissance by river to Prome. I'e passed by the main Burmese army 198 HURMA between Myanaiing and Prome^ and fnuticl the latter place undefended. Tarletou destroyed the military stores, flung most of the guns into the river, and found only three small brass guns and a mortar worth carrying away. He held I'roDic for twenty-four hours, and then returned, and had a small brush at Akauktaung with the enemy whom he had treated so contemptuously on the way up. This resulted ill the taking of five brass field guns and some war boatSj with arms and ammunition. Lord Dalhousie reached Rangoon towards the end of July, and discussed the situation. The approval of the East India Company's Court of Directors and of the British Goveinmeiit was obtained to the annexation of the Irra- waddy Delta up to and including Prome, besides the Sittang Valley. Before the rains were over an advance was made on Prome, and the town fell, after only a very feeble re- sistance. Maung Gyi, the Burmese general, son of the great Bandula, was shortly afterwards deserted by the bulk of his army and surrendered. Meanwhile Pegu had been taken from the Talaings by the remains of the Martaban army. General Godwin could spare no men till after the taking of Prome. It was retaken on the 21st November, and a garrison of 500 Madras troops was left in possession, under Major Hill. A week afterwards the Burmese, with a force of some thousands, laid siege to the place, and the garrison was in sore straits until relieved by a detachment from Rangoon on the 15th December. Early in December Lord Dal- housie informed Pagan Min that the province of Pegu would henceforth form part of the British dominions, and that further resistance would result in the "total sub- version of the Burman state, and the ruin and exile of the King and his race." The formal proclamation of annexa- tion was issued on the 20th January 1853. No treaty was ever signed, but there were no more formal hostilities. This was due as much to a rebellion at the Burmese capital as to any desire for peace on the part of the Burmese Government. On the 1st January 185"> the troops of the Mindon prince took the suburbs of Aniara- pura ; on the ISth February the city and palace were taken, and Mindon Miu was proclaimed King. BRITISH MISSION TO AVA 199 Mindon Min. — Miudon Mia was anxious tliat llie war should come to an end, and negotiations were carried on with the Government of India, but there never was any formal treaty. The King's assurances of amity and good will were accepted instead. The point of latitude 19° 29' 3" — 6 miles north of the British post of Myede — was selected for the erection of a stone pillar ; and the frontier line ran east and west from this in the same parallel, and was so demarcated by Major Allan, after whom Allanmyo, opposite Thayetmyo, is named. Prome remained the headquarters of the British forces until 1855, when they were moved to Thayetmyo. The formal declaration of peace was not issued till the 30th June 1853. Captain, afterwards Sir Arthur, Phayre was appointed the first commissioner of Pegu in December 1852. Parties of the bi-oken-up Burmese armies and scattered villages gave much trouble, and it was ten years before Pegu was quite pacified. The Indian Mutiny and the troublesome character of the country were responsible for this in about equal measure. There never was reason to suppose that the King of Burma was in any way connected with the dacoities and appearances oi MinJamigs — "embryo kings." In ] 854, indeed, the King sent a mission to Calcutta. They arrived in December, with Phayre as interpreter, and were well received, but when the envoy hinted at the retrocession of Pegu, Lord DalhoLisie left no ground for hope, though his way of expressing his decision was some- what melodramatic in form. In 1855 a complimentaiy mission was sent by Lord Dalhousie to Amarapura. Phayre was the envoy, and the party h.ad the inestimable good fortune of having Yule, the Royal Engineer, scholar, enthusiast, stylist, and gentleman, as secretary. Indeed, his " Mission to the Court of Ava," was nearly the sole outcome of the mission, for the King declined to sign any treaty. In the following year Miiidrin Min commenced the building of the new capital, Mandalay, a little to the north of Amarapura. It is built on the traditional plan, and on the same scale as previous capitals — Ava and Amarapura. He moved there in June 1857, and the whole population of Amarapura had to move also. 200 BURIMA First Chief CommiriSioner. — In ISfi'? Avalcan, Pegu, and Tc-n.issei'ini were amalg.unatecl, and placed under I'hayre as Chief Commissioner, and towards the close of the sanie year a commercial treaty was at last concluded with the King at Mandalay. It did not, however, prove of great value, owing to the King's insistence on the Royal Mon- opolies. Two of the King's sons i-el)el]ed in 1866, and prevented further negotiations. The King had a narrow escape, and his brother, the Crown Prince, was killed. Tlie two rebel princes escaped to Lower Burma, and were later interned in India. One of them, the Myingun prince, has for twenty years lived on a pension at Saigon, in Cochin China. In 1867 Colonel Fytche, Commissioner of Ten- asserim, became Chief Commissioner, and in October 1867 he went on a mission to Mandalaj'. Colonel Sladen was Resident there, having been appointed shortly after the treaty of 1862. A treaty was concluded, imposing a 5 per cent, ad valorem duty on all mercliandise, imported or exported ; but earth-oil, timber, and precious stones were held to be Royal Monopolies. A mixed court was estab- lished for the trial of cases between British and Burmese subjects. British subjects acquired the right to trade any- where, and a Burmese resident was appointed in Rangoon. In 1868 Colonel Sladen went on an expedition, with the object of opening out trade with Western China by way of Bhamo, but the outbreak of the Panthe rebellion pre- vented anything tangible from resulting. In 1870 the King constructed a telegraph line from Mandalay almost to the British frontier, and later another line was carried out to Mone, the headquarters ol the Governor of the Shan States. In 1871 Ashley Eden was appointed Chief Commissioner, and in tlie following year the King sent an embassy to England. Letters were sent in the following year from Queen Victoria, the Prime Minister, and the Viceroy of India, and were received by a fleet of fifty gilded war boats, and carried to the palace, with an escort of elephants and Kathe Horse. The King bought many river steamers and much expensive machinery, and much good might have resulted if he had notcreated constant new monnpolise of trade to cover his e.vpcndiLure. In the Cliicf Com- IVnIli 5- SkcilQ KIXG THIBAW AND QUEEN SUPAYA-LAT ftm KING THIBAW 201 missionevship of Rivers Tliompson, Sir Dnni^lns I'orsylli ■wfiit to Mandalay on a mission in conneclioii with Kavcn-ni, and a treaty was concluded guaranteeing the independence of the Karen-ni States, with the result that they remain to the present day outside the limits of British India. In 1878 the King died. He was the hest king Burma ever had. He had had the best education the Buddhist monasteries could give,and, like all Buddhists, he was tolerant. He built a church for the Royal School, established by Dr Marks, the missionary of the Society for Propagating the Gospel, and several of the royal princes were taught English. King Thibaw. — One of these princes was Thibaw. His accession to the throne was the result of a palace plot, originating in the women's quarter of the palace, and carried out chiefly by the Supaya-lat, the second of three princesses reserved for tiie heir-apparent, and her mother, who was the ablest and the most unscrupulous of the con- spirators. He was proclaimed King on 8th October 1X78, seven days after the death of King Mindon. The Alcnandaw queen, the Supaya-lat's mother, had persuaded the King in his last lingering and debilitating illness to agree to the arrest and confinement of j)rac1ically all the pi'inces of the blood. At first the new King's intention was simply to keep the princes in confinement, and a gaol for their accommodation was commenced on tile western side of the palace. Thibaw was, however, like most Burmese men, easy-going, pliable, and placid, and when the Alenandaw and the Supaya-lat, with the pertinacious determination of their sex, pointed out that the death of the princes was the easiest way of preventing them from giving trouble, and that it was in accordance with ancient custom, and for the benefit of the country, he gave way. The queens, princesses, princes and liigh oflicials, to the number of between seventy and eighty, were put to death, under circumstances of great brutality, in February, 1879. The outburst of horror and indignation which the massacres caused very probably astonished the King as much as it alarmed him. Shaw, the British Resident in Mandalay, addressed a strong remonstrance to the King, and there was a considerable assemblage of naval and niiliiary force 202 BUHMA in Rfingonii in the spring of 1879. King Tliibaw made a, show of niilitaiy preparation, but as time passed an im- mediate apprehension of war disappeared. Tlie King explained in a State document tliat " the clearing and keeping by matter " (the massacres and imprisonment) was undertaken "in consideration of the past and the future, according to custom, in the interests of Church and State." Britain had the Zulu and the Afghan wai-s on hev liands, and the King despatched an ambassador with a letter and presents to the Viceroy of India. The mission never got beyond Thayetmyo, and was eventually sent back, with the intimation that it could not be received in a friendly and honourable way by the Government of India, whose representative had been treated with habitual discourtesy in Mandalay. Mr Shaw died of heart disease in June 1879 and, after his appointment had been filled for a short time by an officiating resident, the whole British agency staff and records were formally withdrawn, earljr in October 1879. No fresh agent was ever appointed. The government of the country rapidly became bad. Bands of dacoits pi'eycd at will on the people. The Shan States were involved in a confused civil war. Bhamo was captured and held by a handful of Chinese marauders, and there were raids by the Kaehins on the lowlands north of Mandalay. Disorder on the Lower Burma frontier steadily increased, and became a standing menace to the peace of the British province. At the same time British subjects, travellers, and traders from Lower Burma, were subjected to insolence and violence by local officials in Upper Burma. Representations made to the King's Government were often absolutely without result so far as redress was coiicerned, and what redress was obtained was always unsatisfactory. The Indian Government was unrepresented at Manda- lay, but representatives of Italy and France were welcomed. The Burmese Government contested the demarcation of Manipur, and threatened to pull down the boundary pillars and a stockade built by the political agent. Two separate Burmese embassies weie sent to Europe, but neither visited I'^ngland, and under the guise of merely couunercial aims they endeavoured to contract NEGOTIATIONS 203 new, and if possible close, alli.nices \vilh sundi-v European powers. Facilities for procuring arms were particularly desired. Negotiations with France in Mandalay were pushed still further. Two bonds of agreement were formally drawn up. The first provided for the construction of a railway between Mandalay and the British frontier at Toungoo, at the joint expense of the French Government and a company to be formed for the purpose. Payment of interest was to be secured by the hypothecation of the river customs and earth-oil dues. The second set forth the terms for the establishment by the French Govern- ment and a company of a royal bank. Loans were to be made to the Burmese king at the rate of 12 per cent, per annum, and other loans at 18 per cent. The bank was to issue notes, and to have the management of the Ruby Mines, and the monopoly of let pet, or pickled tea. It was to be administered by a sj'ndicate of French and Burmese officials. Enterprises of this kind must have been ruinous to British interests, and a strong remonstrance was in course of preparation by the Government of India when the Burmese Government imposed a fine of £230,000 on the Bombay Burma Trading Corporation, and refused to comply with a suggestion of the Indian Government that tlie cause of complaint should be investigated by an impartial arbitrator. An ultimatum was, therefore, despatched on the 22nd October 1885. The King was required to receive an envoy from the Indian Government with suitable respect ; to delay all action against the Trading Corporation till the envoy arrived ; and thirdly, to receive at his Court a British diplomatic agent, with proper securities for his safety and becoming treatment. It was added that the Burmese Government would in future be required to regulate the external relations of the country in accord- ance witji the advice of the Government of India. Failing the acceptance of the three primary demands, it was announced that the British Government would take the settlement of the matter into its own hands. In view of the possible refusal by the King of the terms 204 BURMA jn-oposed, jirepaiMlions were made for the immediate despatch of a miUtary force of 10,000 men. On the 9th November a reply was received in Rangoon amounting to an unconditional refusal. The King on the 7th November i.ssued a proclamation calling upon his subjects to drive the British into the .':ea. Third Burmese War. — Whatever may be the case with the British War Office, the Indian army is always prepared for immediate action. On the 14th November the British field force crossed the frontier, and on the 28th of the month it occupied Mandalay. The only rapid line of advance was up the river over a distance of 300 miles. The King and his country were taken completely by surprise by the unexampled rapidity of the advance. The channel could have been obstructed and the river barred to the advance of the flotilla. If this had been done there would have been a complete check, and arrangements for a land march and land transport would have implied weeks, and perhaps months, of delay. On the very day of the receipt of orders to advance, the Irrawaddij and Kcdhlecn engaged the nearest Burmese batteries, and cut out from under their guns the King's steamer and some barges which were lying in readiness to be sunk. On the 1 6th the Sinbaungwe batteries them- selves, on both banks, were taken by a land attack. A couple of shells were sufficient to drive out whatever garrison there may have been. The Kamyo Fort, opposite Miuhla, was taken in equally easy fashion. Minhla itself was taken after a brush, which developed into an engage- ment owing to the misbehaviour of some Madras troops. One officer. Lieutenant Drury, and three sepoys were killed, and four officers and twenty-three sepoys were wounded. The advance was continued next day, and Pagan on the 23rd, and Myingyan on the 25th, were ])ractically occupied by force of arriving there. A few shells from the naval brigade and heavy ai'tillery silenced all opposition. On the 26th November, when the flotilla was approaching Ava, envoys from King Thibaw met General Prendergast with offers of surrender ; and on the 27th, when the ships were lying off that city, and ready to commence hostilities^ the order of the King to his THIRD AVAR WITH BRITAIN 205 troops to lay down their arras was received. There were thi'ce strong forts, constructed by Italian engineers, full at that moment with thousands of armed Burmans, ahd though a large number of these filed past, and laid down their arms, by the King's command, there were many more who were allowed to disperse with their weapons. These, in the time that followed, broke up into guerilla bands, which became the scourge of the country, and pro- longed the war for four years. Meanwhile, however, the surrender of King TJiibaw was complete. On the 28th November Mandalay had fallen, and the King himself was a prisoner. All the King's ordnance, to the number of I861, and thousands of rifles, muskets, and other arms, were taken, and the whole Irrawaddy River was in British hands. King Thibaw, his two queens, and the queen- mother, with their retinue, were sent to Rangoon immedi- ately, and left there on the 10th December, at first for Madras, and later for Ratnagiri, an old Portuguese fort on the west coast of India. There he has since remained. A land column of all arms marched from Toungoo, the British frontier post in the east of the country, under Colonel Dicken, in November. The first objective was Ningyan, now called Pyinmana. There was a certain amount of scattered resistance, and Ningvan was occupied, without opposition, on the 3rd December. Later, the force marched up the line of the present railway to Yame- thin and Hlaingdet. From Mandalay, General Prendergast sent the flotilla up-river, and by the occupation of Bbamo, on the 28th December, the whole navigable course of the Irrawaddy was in the hands of the British. But, unfortunately, though the King was dethroned and deported, and the capital and the river were held, the bands of armed soldier}', accustomed to no conditions but those of anarchy, rapine, and murder, carried on a desultory armed resistance. Upper Burma was formally annexed by proclamation on the 1st January 1886, and it was only then that the work of restoring the country to order and introducing settled government commenced. 'I'his was a much more serious task than the overthrow of the Burmese Govern- 20G BURMA meiit, partly because of the nature of the country, which was characterised as one vast military obstacle, and partly because of the disorganisation which had been steadily growing during the last six years of King Thibaw's reign. The original field force was absolutely inadequate for the task. Reinforcements had to be poured into the country, and it was in this phase of the campaign, lasting several years, that the most difficult and most arduous work fell to the lot of the troops. It was in this jungle warfare that the losses from battle, sickness, and privation steadily mounted up. By the close of 1889 all the larger bands of marauders were broken up. This was effected by the establishment of an extensive system of small, pi-otective posts scattered all over the country, with small, lightly equipped columns moving between them, and ready to disperse the enemy wherever there was a gathering. Until cavalry was brought over from India, and mounted infantry corps raised locally, very little was effected, and it was never possible to follow up and come to terms with the active enemy. The Shan States were not occupied till the beginning of 1887, and the Chin Hills only in 1889. The Kachins gave trouble from the beginning, and were not broiight to order till 1893. During the decade 1891-1901 the population increased by 19 8 per cent., and cultivation by .53 per cent. With good harvests and good markets the standard of living in Burma has much improved, and seems likely to continue to do so rapidly. The boundary with Siam was demarcated in 1893, that with France in 1895, and that with China in 1900. The boundary with China northward from the administrative line remains unmarked, but as it is constituted by the watei-shed between the Salween and the N'maikha actual pillars are scarcely wanted. PART III INDUSTRIES Fishing. — The cultivation of rice is unclouotedly the greatest industry in Burma, but next to it comes the catching and curing of fish, which occupies considerably over 2 per cent, of the population. Rents for fishery leases and licences for fishing brought in during the years 1902-1903 a revenue of Rs.28,380,846. Fishing is contrary to the cardinal injunction of the Buddha: "Let him not destroy, or cause to be destroyed, any life at all, or sanction the acts of those who do so." Fishermen are promised terrible punishments in a future life for the number of lives they take. Some strict people hold by the doctrine of the Manichseans, who assert that the soul of the farmer migrates into herbs, so that it might be cut down and threshed out ; the baker becomes bread, and is eaten ; the killer of a deer becomes a deer ; and of a fish, a fish. Popular sympathy and the craving for fish finds a loophole of escape for them. The fishermen do not actually kill the fish. Their action, in fact, is sym- pathetic and kindly. The fish are, with the best of motives, taken out of the water, and laid on the bank to dry after their long soaking. If they are foolish and ill- judged enough to die while being dried that is their own fault, and the fisherman should be held blameless. In any case, the most pious, even the members of the Noble Order of the Yellow Robe, do not hesitate to eat salted fish ; and this, with boiled rice, in fact, forms one of the chief articles of food among the Burmese. Fishing goes on everywhere, but the industry is natur- ally much more important throughout the Delta and along the sea-coast than in the inland districts of Burma. Water-logged swamps are being drained, low lands are protected from inundation by embankments, and cultiva- 207 208 BURMA tion is steadily spreading; nevertheless, the fisheries steadily increase, and yield a steadily increasing revenue. The Thongwa and Bassein districts are the chief centres of the fisheries. A Fishery Act in Lower Burma, and a corresponding Regulation for Upper Burma, provide rules for the sale of fisheries and the licensing of nets and traps. The closed fisheries, called by the Burmese In, broads or lagoons, are much the more valuable and profitable, and the right to fish in these is periodically sold by auction for fixed periods of years. Other principal fisheries are the net fisheries along the sea-coast and on the main rivers, which are more uncertain in their yield. Every kind of way of taking fish is practised. Bait fishing with hooks is common, and fly fishing is carried on in many places. A kind of cage trap with a falling door, for the capture of big fish, is to be seen along the Ij.iiiks of every river. This is called hvu/on. The damin is a large, funnel-shajied trap made of bamboo, secured by a rattan rope to a slake fixed in the mud, and placed in the estuaries of tidal rivers. Enormous quantities of small fish are sometimes caught in this form of trap. Fish spearing is practised in many places botli by day and by night, with torchlights. The Intha of the Yawnghwe Lake are particularly expert at this, standing with one foot on the gunwale of the boat, and paddling with the other, so that one hand, right or left, is available for the fishing spear. The spears are 10 feet or more long, and are three-pronged. On the lagoons, lakes, and inland rivers the arrange- ments are much more elaborate. Weirs, called Sc, are formed by stretching bamboo screens or Yin from side to side across the channels, and exits from the lakes, which prevent the fish from escaping when the floods are draining off. These Yin are kept in position by a solid framework, formed of posts strongly driven in, supported by struts, to which longitudinal poles are lashed. The bamboo screens are firmly fastened to these poles, and reach from the surface of the mud to several feet above the surface of the water, to prevent the bigger fish from jumping over. About the centre of the weir. FISHING 209 ox- or wliere tlie main disoliavire is, there is a long trap, tending downward, and floored with split bamboo. This is the only exit, and Avhen the fish get in here they .ire easily secured. ^\ hen the water has gone down con- siderably, and the weather is clear enough for the curing of the fish, the channels are deepened, and the water is drained off from the lagoons, so as to leave scattered shallow pools. The fish all collect in these, and are easily caught in nets, or are flung out with spades roughly made out of split bamboo. In the case of very large sheets of water, sections are often divided off with ridges, made of mud, and the water is bailed oxit. Wliere the water is too deep to be drained by the channels the fishermen form in a long line, and march close together across the lagoon, and the fish are caught in saung-lo, long, conical baskets, with a hole at the top to take out the fish. These saiing-io are thrust to the bottom at every step or two. When the water remains too deep even for this, enclosures, called iiigaung, are made along the edges of the pond, constructed of the ever-ready bamboo. The fish are scared into these by men in dug-outs with bamboo clappers, or they are enticed in the heat of the day by covering the surface of the water with green leaves and twigs, and then caught with cast nets (Jcmi), or in other ways. These kiin are used everywhere in the rivers for catching ordinary-sized fish. Heavy nets for sea or deep-river fishing are made of strong jute twine, tanned with cutch or madama, a species of Dal- heigia, a mordant bark which is also used for the dyeing of sails. Cotton twine is used for the manufacture of light nets, and drop nets, with floats made of the indis- j)ensable bamboo, or of piiw, a kind of cork-tree, are used in sea fishing, in the estuaries, and in the deeper rivers. It seems certain that a considerable number of fish are sunk, or sink themselves, in the mud, and live there all through the dry weather. There is no other way of .accounting for the fact that, when the first heavy rains flood the hollows, wliere cattle have grazed for weeks, the water is immediately full of fish. It is also certain that the spawn is deposited before the waters go down^ 210 BITUMA ami waits .ill tlitoii!>-]) the hot wealher for llio rains. Myriads of Uny little lish make tin ir appearance whenever there is enough water for tlieni to swim in. There are numbers of fresh-water fishes, wliich, like the marine Pediculati, or walking tishes, are able to exist for a long time out of the water, and are able to travel considerable distances over the ground. Such are the Siluridce, or cat- fishes, which are scaleless, and the snake-heads, or Ophio- cephalidce, which have scales, and are often of very con- siderable size. The snake-heads especially are looked upon with awe by the Karens, who will not eat them, and have a legend that tliey were formerly human beings, who were changed into fish for their sins. The fish prefer going over moist ground, but they have occasion- ally been seen crossing roads deep in dust. Connected with this faculty, no _doubt, is the circumstance that not a few species habitually rise to the surface to take in air from the atmosphere, and do not obtain their oxygen from the air suspended in the water. Allied with this also is the habit many fishes have of congregating in tu, or burrows, in the bank. It is assumed that these holes are made in the first instance by eels, but the fish certainly enlarge them when they take possession. Where there are air-holes these tunnels often extend a considerable distance inland. Fishermen often take advantage of these Lu, and help the fishes in their excavations, for capture is naturally very easy when the exit is stopped up. In the foot-hills fish are often caught by poisoning the streams. The river is barricaded by a weir, run across at a suitable place, with exits here and there ending in traps. Then the upper waters are poisoned with lime, or with extracts of various roots and barks, of different kinds of trees and shrubs, frequently climb- ing plants. Just after dark the villagers beat down the river towards the weir, shouting and lashing the water with sticks, and scaring the fish still further with torches made of pine chips, or frayed bamboo saturated with wood oil. The fish are gutted, scraped, split open, salted, and sun-dried ; and often enough fish arc obtained in this way to last a village till the next hot season comes CUTIING THE FISH 211 round, for the operation is naturally carried out when thf water is at its lowest. Curing. — The best fish in Burma is considered to be the liUsa, or ngatludmtk, a fish of the herring genus, but there are many other excellent kinds. The ngallialcuik, and Large fish generally, are gutted, but often not otherwise cleaned. They are then salted, and spread in the sun to dry, after which they are pressed between thin bamboo mats for some days. They are eaten fried or roasted, with the boiled rice, which forms the bulk of a Barman's dinner. The bulk of the salt fish is pre- pared from sea and lagoon fisheries in Pegu and Tenas- serim. The smaller fish, and generally all bony fish, are made into the national condiment, ngapi — fish paste. The main lines of the manufacture of this evil-smelling compound are the same as those for the making of anchovy paste, but the details are carried out in a much more careless fashion. As soon as they are caught, the fish are scaled, and spread in the snn, and then pounded in a mortar. They are again spread in the sun, and then pounded together with about a quarter of their weight of salt. Fermentation naturally results, and is not arrested at the proper stage, or not till a very late stage. Some- times the compound becomes fluid, and then it is stored in jars. Otherwise, according to its consistency, it is rolled into balls, or moulded into bricks, and sent all over the country, and into the Shan states, in enormous quantities. Another way of preparing tigapi is to heap the cleaned fish in a wooden trough. Only the larger fishes are gutted and deprived of their heads and fins. They are treated copiously with salt, and then packed in baskets, which are pressed by the primitive means of a board weighted down with large stones. After a time they are taken out, rubbed with salt again, and then spread out on bamboo mats in the sun to dry. They are then piled up in liuge earthenware jars, with layers of coarse salt, and these are stowed away in a shady place. To prevent the sweating of the salt the powdered bark of a species oi Laurus, called the Ardon-tree, is sprinkled over it. Three main kinds of ngnpi are recognised : the iigapi-gauvg, wliere the whole fish is piescived; (awiglha VQcqii, or fish j)asle j 212 BURMA and sdn-sa iigfipi, wliich is eaten uncooked, and is made of sliviraps and small-sized pivnvas. Towns where tigajn is made may be smelt some miles to the windward, and ships wliich carry it, and there are few vessels that do not in Burma seas and streams, leave an evil trail over the waters that might be expected to make the fish sea-sick. Pearl Fishing. — Fishing for pearls has only been carried out in a systematic way since 1892. Pearls have always been found in the islands of the Mergui Archipelago, and divers were brought over from Madras after the First Burmese War to seai-cli for them. Nothing better than seed pearls were got then ; and the Selungs had the fisheries to themselves for over sixty years, until the services of an expert from Queensland were obtained. The fisheries are now carried on under lease by Manila men and Australians. The pearls found are of fine lustre, and have a good colour, but they are not very numerous, and the stormy nature of the coast prevents diving for about seven months in the year. Propitiation of the Fish. — Mr J. G. Frazer in his '•' Golden Bough," in the chapter on " Killing the Divine Animal," gives instances of the propitiation of fish, by the capture of which they lived, on the part of the Indians of Peru, the Awa Indians, the Hurons, and various tribes of Indians on the Pacific coast. It may be that the ngahlot-pivi, the freeing of the fish, in Burma has some such original idea, but it seems more probable that the leading idea is Buddhistic : the desire to do a good work. When the hot weather comes on great flatlands, which have been seas, dry up, and the fish are crowded into small pools. There in the ordinary course of things they would be embedded in the mud, and lie dormant till the next rainy season ; but in many neighbourhoods the pious organise parties to go out, and collect them, and stow them in huge earthenware jars filled with water. Then after a delay, longer or shorter according to the convenience of the neighbourhood, or the time of the year, the jars are taken in formal procession to the river, with a band and dancers and miscellaneous properties, and a huge crowd of silken-dressed men and maids, and tiic fish are '"i- loose in the water. It is HUNTING 213 possible that there is an idea of propitiating the fish, but it seems more probable that the chief idea is to acquire merit, and do away with some of the blame which may attach to the consumption of too much ngapi, or evil-smelling prawn-head oij. Not much fishing is to be had in Burma proper, but in the hills, especially in the Shan States, excellent sport is to be found, both with bait and fly. Mahsir afford the best play. Hunting. — Hunting can hardly be said to be an in- dustry of the Burmese. The number of openly recognised hunters is exceedingly small. This is chiefly due to the mingled pity and dislike with which professional hunters and fishermen, whose occupation implies the regular taking of life, are regarded by Buddhists. The villains in most plays are hunters. Fishermen have allowances made for them. The fish die of themselves, being taken out of the water. Their death is not due to any direct action of their captors. No such sophistry absolves the hunter, who takes a life in each separate case. Consequently the hunters of a village are usually its wastrels, who find this mode of living the one that gives them least hard work. Among the hill tribes there are no such scruples, and they hunt whenever they get the opportunity, but, since the game cannot be disposed of, they seldom kill more than is required for their own eating. Apart from this, however, game is by no means so abundant, or so accessible, as it is in India. There is far more jungle than clearing, and in the forests the canopy is so dense that graminivorous animals do not get sufficient food to multiply very rapidly. The districts of Meiktila and Shwebo supply the best sport ; and the plains near the sea, which are not very accessible, and not very easy to get about in, are the nearest approach to the condi- tions which make game that preys on cultivated lands as plentiful as it is in the Indian peninsula. This is, perhaps, the only area of any extent where hunting is a recognised occupation. Deer are the animals mostly sought after. Of these there are four principal kinds : the gi/i, or barking deer; the samhliur, or sal; the daijii, or hog-deer; and the Ihaviin, or brow-antlered deer. Tlie 214 BURMA last is foiiml only in the Peguan coast-lantis, on the eastern side of Upper Burma, and some parts of the Shan States. The barking deer furnishes the best venison ; but the brow-antlered deer is by a good deal the handsomest animal, and recalls our red^^ deer. The native way of hunting deer is with lights, by night. A lantern with three dark sides is used, and when the light is directed on the deer they seem to be quite bewildered, and can be approached to within easy striking distance. If there is a herd of them cow-bells are tinkled to cover the noise of footsteps. This plan is adopted chiefly with the sambhur and brow-antlered deer. The smaller hog and barking deer are caught in nets. They follow certain runs in the jungle round cultivated lands, so stout nets^ held extended by bamboo uprights, are stretched across these, and the deer in the fields are then scared by the hunters or their dogs. They run headlong into the nets, and are caught alive or killed there. Next to the deer, wild pig are the chief quarry of the Burman sportsman. lie is not a good shot, and usually has nothing better than a flint-lock, since, in the absence of percussion caps, ammunition is easiest to procure for such a gun. The most systematic hunters of the hill tribes usually kill with the crossbow. They use both poisoned and unpoisoned quarels, and the points are sometimes tipped with iron, and sometimes are only hardened in the fire, like the hiisla prcEusta of the ancients. They are exceedingly good shots, and their shafts can kill at over 100 yards. The poison used most frequently is aconite, but they have a variety of other kinds : two, five, ten, and twenty, minutes, and half-an-houi", poisons. With them they kill tiger, leopards, bear, bison, wild cattle, wild buffaloes — and, in fact, any animal, no matter what its size or ferocity. The tiger is usually shot from a tree over a kill, in the familiar Indian shikar fashion ; or spring guns are set, or stout log traps, with a dog for bait, constructed. But there is no systematic shikar, as it is understood in India, anywhere. The sportsman has to get his own khahar ; a)id he will get sport if he has patience and time to S})are, luit not the kind of sport associated with big bags and bites of a. sandwich between shots. FORESTS OF BUKMA 215 Hare, pavtvitlges, and plieasants of very many kinds, peafowl and jungle-fowl, are to be bad in great numbers in the bills. Wild geese, ducks of many kinds, and snipe are to be bad in Burma proper, on the great rivers and on lakes and lagoons. Tliere are few geese in the hills. On the other hand, there are very many more species of duck and teal, some varieties of which breed, as do the snipe ; while woodcock are to be found pretty generally, but never so abundantly as to deprive the shooter of pride in having got one. The inhabitants of the country seldom shoot these, tliough decoy birds are often used to get them within range or to attract them to gins and snares. Jungle-cocks, partridges, quail, and doves are especially often used as decoys. Elejjhant hunting was never so systematically carried on in Burma as it was, and is, in Siam. There is a kkedda at Amarapura, near Mandalay, but there had been no systematic use made of it for years before the annexation. The Indian Elephant Department has now a branch in Burma, with headquarters in the Katha district. Occa- sionally elephants were caught in pitfalls, but this is not attempted now in the remoter Shan States, where alone it could be successful. Wild elephants now and then make a road dangerous for a time, and then attempts are made to kill them, usually with poisoned arrows, but that is the limit of enterprise in this direction. THE FORESTS OF BURMA By C. W. Bruce De.scriptioii. — Burma, i'rom the point of view of the forests, may be roughly divided into three parts : the Plains, the Dry Tract, and the Hills. A peculiarity of Burma is that, whereas in most civilised countries land under forests is the exception and cultivation the rule, in Burma the reverse prevails, and land under forests is the rule, and cultivation, or rather permanent cultivation, may be said to be the exception. Tiie three i)ai ts can he, and are^ subdivided, but iu the short space at the 21G BURMA disposal of this work broad generalities must be dealt with. 1. The Plains include the deltas and the valleys of the great rivers and their tributaries, draining Burma. These deltas and valleys contain practically all the permanent cultivation of the country. In this division are also in- cluded the littoral, or swamp, forests, peculiar to most tropical countries. 2. The Dry Tract begins practically at the old frontier of Lower and Upper Burma, and continues as a great basin to the border of the Ruby Mines district, on the eastern side of the Irrawaddy River, and up to and including the Shwebo district on the other. It is bounded on the east by the foot-hills of the Shan Escarpment, and on the west by the outlying hills of the Arakan Yoma and the Wuntho Hills. 3. The Hills, the largest division, cover the remainder of the country. The types of forests met with in these divisions are of great variety, and they sh-ide off one into another. These variations are due to soil, rainfall, and other factors of the locality. A slight description of the forests in the first two divisions is all that Is necessary. P\dl details will be found by those who want them in the works of Kurz and Nisbet. The Flatus. — All round the extensive sea-coast of Burma the land is generally low-lying. The ground is more or less water-logged and saturated with brackish water ; hence we have the littoral tidal forests, the mangrove forests of all tropical low-lying coasts, which are of little economic value so far as is at present known. Inland, as the brackish water gives way to fresh, we have the dense swamp forests — the Myaiiig of the Burmans — mostly ever- green, with little or no undergrowth under the dense canopy. In Upper Burma these forests are very local, and are found round marshes, and where the land is subject to inundations for four or five months in the year. They are of no interest commercially. In the hot weather in Upper Burma, where the cover is broken, these forests are very beautiful ; the open glades, carjieted with bright gieeiij lush grass, sprinkled ^\iLh clumps of wild roses and THE DRY TRACT 217 clematiSj backed by the dense shade of the evergreen forests^ present a picture not soon forgotten. The rest of the plains are either given up to cultivation, or, where the ground is not suitable, owing to the presence of too much sand, laterite, and the like, the ground may be covered with forest growth, or, as in the instances referred to above, with dense masses of tall grasses — the popularly called elepliant grass — so striking a feature of a river journey in Burma. The Dnj Tract. — The climate of this portion of Burma is peculiar. It is characterised by great heat from Marcli to the end of May, which is tempered from that month to October, at intervals, by short storms of torrential rain. From November to the end of February the climate is bright and cool, with chilly nights, like the Riviera, with a more powerful sun. There is no true forest left. If any such existed it has long been destroyed, and is replaced by a scrub of euphorbia and cactus. Where the soil is richer the dahat (^Tedona Hnmillonii) and cutch (^Acacia catcclm) are the most typical trees. The only bamboos which grow are stunted specimens oi Dendrocalamus st rictus, found in depres- sions, and sometimes along the margins of the wide, sandy creeks draining the flat country. After one of the sudden storms in the rainy season these change their aspect of a dry river of sand into a raging torrent of yellow water. In other parts there are low, rolling hills, covered with stunted scrub, and broken up by deep gullies, miniature caiions, due to the torrential storms and the fierce sun. In the absence of any protective cover from forests clothing the ground, these deluges erode and carry away the surface soil. Since the water from these rain-storms runs off in a few hours, cultivation for rice depends on irrigation from reservoirs where flat land can be irrigated. In other parts maize, peas, millet, sessamun, and cotton are the crops. The main railway line to Mandalay from Tatkon Railway Station northward passes througli this country. The bluish-tinged scrub, with patches of dry fields, is character- istic, and gives the traveller a good idea of the area. This count)Y now produces no trees of economic im- 218 BURMA portance, though it was once a great cutch-piodiicing avea. It may be so again, for the tree is a fast grower, and re- produces itself freely. Cutch Boiling. — The history of the cutch industry in tlie dry tracts is from a forester's point of view a sad one. On the annexation of Upper Burma the cutch-tree was found widely distributed, often mixed up with more or less permanent fields. Rules were introduced limiting the felling to trees of 3 inches in girth and upwards. Cutch is prepared by cutting the heart wood into chips, whicli are then boiled in cauldrons. The cakes of commercial cutch thus obtained are used as a dye for nets and sails. The licences to boil cost Rs.20 a cauldron per annum. The disturbed state of the country had thrown manj' people out of work. Cutch licences were issued wholesale ; in fact, in many cases the forest officials were ordered to issue licences even when they were convinced that there were not sufficient trees of the requisite size for the numbers of licences issued. There was little supervision, owing to the dearth of forest officers, and, even when con- victions were obtained for felling undersized cutch, the punishments were quite inadequate. Some of the trees, moreover, undoubtedly grew on ancestral land, bo ba-hahig or freehold. The law did not apply to these, consequently- small trees could be felled on such lands, and the result was that a man would fell trees of all sizes on Govern- ment land, plant his camp on what was undoubtedly his ancestral holding, and keep a few trees and stumps stand- ing on this as proof that he was boiling his own stuff. The results were disastrous. The cutch over large areas was exterminated, even the roots being grubbed up, till the disappearance of the trees stopped the industry. This was most unfortunate, for the boiling of cutch is an industry peculiarly suitable as a stand-by in times of scarcity. Small areas suitable for cutch reserves have now been taken up, which, if gr.izing can be controlled, will in time do well. In the foot-hills, and aw.iy from pojiulation, areas containing cutch were, fortunately, reserved in time. From a forester's point of view these dry ti'acts are very intcresting. Such questions as influence of forests on soil and rainfall, on streams and cultixation, can be regularly CUTCH BOILING 219 studied. It is incontestable that, if portions of this zone were reafforested, fodder for cattle, and work for the people in times of scarcity, could be provided. Burma enjoys an immense forest revenue, a portion of which might well be devoted to experiments in this dry zone. The Hills. — These may be termed all forest except where in times past the country has been cleared by the nomadic cultivator, the Taungya cutter of Burma. The system of this method of hill cultivation is as follows : — In January a tract, according to the size of the culti- vator's ftimily, is cleared of all growth, which is left in heaps to dry till April, when, just before the rains, it is fired, the ashes forming manure. Upon the ground thus cleared hill paddy, tobacco, pumpkins, maize, and such-like crops are sown. They are reaped the following December. Some- times the same Ya will be cultivated two years running, and then the same process is repeated elsewhere. The ground thus left turns into a dense jungle of thorns, grass, shrubs : the Ponrjo of the Burmans — literally, ichabod. If this is left alone it slowly returns to forest, when it is cut over again. If the rotation is long not much harm results beyond the waste of good timber for a handful of rice ; but where the rotation, owing to pressure of population, is short the land becomes quickly impoverished, and tall grasses spring up, rendering tree growth impossible. These jiatches of grass are burnt in the hot weather, exposing the soil to the full force of the monsoon, and in time the hills become bare and rocky. Tauiigija cultivation is one of the most serious problems in Burma. All stages of hill forests may be met with, from the virgin forest, waiting to be cut, through a Ponrjo of thoiny scrub and grass savannahs — mixed with wild plantains in the gullies — to the final one of precipitous slopes of boulders and bare rock, dotted with isolated trees. But apart from land given over, or in the process of being attacked by Ya cutters, which, fortunately, is not a large proportion, the hills may be said to be one large forest, divided into many types, ranging from the dry forests of the foot-hills, with cutch as the typical tree, through the deciduous forests up to the evergreen of the higlier and moister hills, and finally to forests of an almost European type — pines and rhododendons being met with. 220 BURMA These forests are greatly modified by rainfall, soil, eleva- tion, and latitude, but particularly by soil, rainfall, and elevation. Indaing Forest. — To take soil as the modifying agent : wherever laterite forms the out-crop one almost invariably finds the In-tree {Dipterocarpus luhcrcaJalvs) growing gre- gariously, intermixed, it is true, with other species — namely, Shoreas, Melanorrhcea (^Usilata, the wood-oil tree), Det/enias, Zizyplms, Stryclinos, etc. ; but still the vast majority of the trees are In, varying, according to the quantity of soil and rocks, from stunted, twisted poles to large, stately groves of forest trees. This type is the Indaing of the Burmans, and covers many thousands of square miles in Burma. There is a large local trade in the timber, which is used in Mandalay and Rangoon for cheap house planks, and also for ventilating boards in rice cargoes. Though the In can hardly be termed the Cinderella of the Burma forests, still it is a more valuable timber tlian has so far been realised. Since it is gregarious, extraction to streams is easy, but this is counterbalanced by the fact that it has to be rafted with bamboos to enable it to float. In forests near lines of export are being rapidly denuded of good trees, and it is time the attention of the Forest Department should be turned to these tracts, and also to making this wood better known. When the soil contains less laterite and more clay another typical forest is found : the 'I'haiidaiv of the Burmans. Whereas typical Indaing has no bamboo, Thandam consists of the Than-tree (T. oliveii), growing gregariously, mixed with the male bamboos (D. slrichts). This class of forest also stretches over large tracts of Upper Burma. The T/ian-tree has secured an evil re- putation, from the fact that an extract of the bark is used as a cutch adulterant. The mahi commercial use of than, however, is for firewood. A large trade in billets of than wood from the Ruby Mines district for the Mandalay market is carried on in native boats. In the depressions of these last two types of fortst, and often aloncc the edg'es of creeks draining them, groiijis of fine teak (7Vr/oH« gi-andis) tovesi are met with. These groups are very well defined, and local, but in the ag- A BANYAN TREE. EVERGREEN FORESTS 221 grcgate contain a large amount of good timber; wliile^ owing to light being plentiful^ in spite of the fierce annual fires the rei)roduction is excellent, the stems, tall and straight, almost looking as if they had been planted. Where these depressions are apt to be water- logged teak gives way to evergreen. Evergreen Forests. — The next class of forests to be dealt with is the evergreen. These grade off from light, semi-evergreen, in which tall forest trees form the canopy, with an undei-growth of canes, bamboos, and evergreen shrubs and creepers, to dense, evergreen forests. Tropical Evergreen. — Two main divisions of evergreen are met with, both dependent, of course, on moisture, but one on moisture and heat : the Tropical Evergreen of Lower Burma and the plains ; and the other, dependent on moisture and elevation, the cold, damp, dense Ever- green of Ike high hills of Upper Burma. (The tidal, or littoral, forests of the plains are evergreen, but have already been dealt with.) The most typical trees of the tropical evergreen are the huge Kanijin [Dipterocnrptis Lceri.s'), Thiiigim (^Hopea odorala), Slerciilicis, Arlocnrpus, different species of figs (^Albizrsias), to mention a few only. Some arc deciduous, and some always in leaf, as, for instance, the figs. In the shade of these trees there is a more or less dense growth, . according to the amount of moisture in the air and soil, of a second storey of palms and screw pines, bamboos, canes, and creepers, adding to the typically tropical look of these forests. Many species of trees, evergreen and shade - bearers, also struggle upward in this riot of vegetation. To mention only a few {Ale.sua J'crreii), the Gcviigaw, with its iron - hard wood, figs, Eugeiiifi.i, and Dipterocarps, and others, re])resenting many hundreds of species. Below these, again, are creeping canes, bushes, and ferns ; while gigantic bamboos, such as the Wabo (^Bamhusa Ihiaidisii), and many others, force their way through the dense growth. Hill Evergreen. — The hill evergreen forest is similar, but the different elevation, and consequent lower tempera- ture, modifies the character considerably. These forests may be said to cover all the country between from 3000 to 5000 222 BURMA feet above sea-level. There is an upper storey of forest trees growing straight and tall, their branches wrapped in mosses and orchids, while below shrubs and bushes completely cover the soil. Wherever there is a break in the canopy canes and hill bamboos form an intermediate stage, while Caladiums and tree ferns flourish below. Of the top storey the most typical trees are figs, different species of evergreen oaks — Castanea, Eugenias, Lauiinea dellenins ; while in the dense shade a yew (Ceplialotaxus Griffithit) is often found. Of the bushes the most typical is a cinnamon and the wild tea (^Camellia ilielfera). It is in this class of forest that the ravages of Ya cutters are so disastrous. Directly the dense cover is cleaved and burnt, the grasses, favoured by the damp nature of the air, take hold of the land, and allow of no return to forest. Where permanent cultivation is present in this type, raspberries (^liuhus jlaviis) and other European wild fruits cover the ground. It must also be borne in mind that latitude and moisture have the same effect as altitude and moisture. Consequently in the north of Burma, as, for instance, in the Upper Chindwin, forest of this type is found at lower elevations, down to 1.500 feet above sea-level. It is in this type, to the north of Burma, that the india-rubber (^Ficii.t elasticci) is found. The country there is under little direct control, and the trees have been overtapped by the wild tribes inhabiting the country, so that the revenue (a transit tax) is swiftly dwindling, and it is only a question of time when the tree will become neai-ly extinct. If the department were strengthened, the formation of rubber plantations in the hill evergreen forest would, no doubt, be taken in hand, and would yield a iiandsomc revenue, as does the Charduar Plantation in Assam. Coniferous Forests. — Above 6000 feet we come to the coniferous forests. In the gullies we find the evergreen as described above, while on the crests and along ridges the i)ine grows in 0]ien groups. The Tim/u, or pine of Burma, is the P. kha.ii/a. On sandstone hills in Tenas- serim, at low elevations, another pine, Merkmii, is iound, but this is strictly local. As the Kliusi/a naturally seeuis HILL VEGETATION 223 to confine itself to ridges it is' seldom found over large areas. The Khani/a grows in Minbii, Pyinmanaj east of the Sittang, in the Upper Chindwin, and in the Ruby Mines district, and generally throughout the Shan States, but the largest group met with contained only about 1000 trees. This fact, combined with the precipitous and out-of-the-way situation of its habitat, renders it of no economic value. One peculiar fact characterises the mountains of Burma — namely, that the summits of most of the highest hills are bare of all tree growth. Evergreens lead into pines, with rhododendrons on rocky ledges, and then come the open crests covered with short grass. This is the case on the Gaungbyndaung in Minbu, on Byingyi in Pyinmana, and on the Shwe-u- daung Range in the Ruby Mines district. Mixed Deciduous Forests. — The last, and most im- portant in every way, of tlie forests of J3urma remains to be described. The chief characteristic of this forest is that it consists of tree growth, mixed with bamboos in clumps — the trees forming the upper storey, the bamboos the lower. The bamboos in one tract are usually of one species only. Thus one may walk, as in Pyinmana, through miles of tree forest and B. poli/morpha ; in the Upper Cliindwin through vast areas of tree forest and Tluinal wa (7'. oliveri), or tree forest and Tin wa (C. pergracile). Some of these bamboos, as, for instance, B. polijmorplui, flower periodically in one great mass, die, and then spring up again from seed. Other species follow this rule to a greater or less extent, but C. pergracile flowers sporadically, in groups here and there, almost yearly. It is at these periodical and sporadic flowerings that the light-demanding trees, such as teak and Pyiti/cado (Xijlia dolabriformis), etc., are able to push upward, owing to tlie bamboo canopy being suddenly removed, and many suppressed, or partially suppressed, trees are enabled to establish themselves. Seeds of such trees also profit by the opening up of light and air to germinate and race upward before the bamboos again form clumj)s and a dense shade. In the rains, from May to November, the trees and bamboos are green and full of growth. This is aricsLed as the 224 BURIVIA colli wf.itlier approaches-, to be followed by a general shedding of all leaves, both on trees and bamboo, in March, as the hot weather grips the country; thus March and April is the winter of this type. Everything is bare of any green, and it is then that jungle fires sweep through the forest, burning up all debris, and effectually preventing the formation of any humus such as exists in the ever- green of Burma, and is so well known a feature of forests in temperate climes. These mixed deciduous forests cover vast areas in Burma, perhaps 20 per cent, of the province, and con- tain most of the trees of economic and commercial im- portance, forming the huge forest wealth of Burma, such as teak (^Teclona grandis), Padauk (Plerocarpus indica and Macrocarpd), and Pyinkado {Xylia dolabrijormis). These are famous. There are many other species which are of value for many different and varied purposes. Conservation. — It has been often said that the English have little historical knowledge and a short political memoiy, but since the days when William the Conqueror created in Hampshire, for purposes of sport, the first Reserved Forest under IWtish rule, the Anglo-Saxon, wherever he has gone, h:.s remembered the tales of the cruelty with which this reservation was accompanied, and has displayed an unfortunate antagonism to forest con- servancy. Thus we find that, while such backward coun- tries as Russia scientifically exploit their forest wealth. Great Britain and her colonies have been content to let disafforestation go on unchecked ; while at home no in- terest can be evoked in such questions as the reafforesta- tion of waste lands useless for other purposes, or in the supply of timber brought from abroad, which could be cheaper raised in the country itself. It has remained for India to show that forests may be maintained under the Union Jack, both as a benefit to agriculture and to the people, and at the same time can be made to yield a gigantic revenue to the State. The necessity of getting and keeping up a supply of teak (T. grandis) for naval purposes first turned the attention of Government to the question, the more readily because, owing to ovci felling in Bombay, it was seen that even FOREST DEPARTMENT 225 apparently inexhaustible forests conld, if overworked, be rapidly denuded of large timber. Hence when the Seccind Burmese War added rich forests of teak to the Empire, the Imperial Government began to feel their way cautiously in \Oiat was a new field. Simple forest rules were formed. Some read quaintly now, as, for instance : " For every teak- tree over a certain girth felled, the feller shall plant five young trees." And the Government cast about for men to control and exploit the trade. Formation of the Forest Department. — It was fortunate enough, in 1856, to find the right man for the work of founding the new department and setting it on the true road to success. Dr Brandts (now Sir Dietrich Brandis, K.C.I.E.) happily still lives, and takes an interest in the stately tree of which he planted the seed. Sir Dietrich Brandis had to collect his own data, ^\'hen he had formed his conclusions from these he had to fight hard to get them cai-ried out. In order to ascertain the amount of teak ready to fell, and likely to be available in the future, linear valuation surveys were made throughout the teak forests. On tliese rough working plans were based to ensure a continuous supply, rather than to meet a sudden demand likely to result in the exhaustion of the forests. The girdling — that is to say, the killing — of the trees, and the selection of trees for that purpose, were to be carried out under the direct control of Government officers ; while the produce was to be brought to Rangoon by Burmese contractors working under direct Government control, and then sold at periodical auctions. This system of Govern- ment agency is still in force in Tharrawaddy and Prome ; while, to show how well the system has answered, it need only be pointed out that these two divisions have ever since, while increasing their annual revenue paid to Government, also increased in capital value of the stock on the ground. Unfortunately, in other portions of Lower Burma the forests were leased out to merchants, and the girdling was not controlled by Government officers. Duty was collected at fixed rates on timber extracted. Under this system the portions easiest of extraction got worked out, while areas farther from lines of export are left un- touched, so that the trees become over-mature, and rot. 22G BUrilNIA For a liistovy of the Forest Department til] tlie annexa- tion of Upper Burma, " Burma under British Rule and Before," by Mr J. Nisbet, should be consulted. Here it is sufficient to say that the activity of the department has been mainly confined to the teak-tree. This was inevit- able. The department was a young one, on its trial, and had to justify its existence. Besides, it has always been, and is still, undermanned, so the teak being the most important tree commercially, the energies of the officers were, and are, rightly directed to its conservation. It has been made a reproach to the Forest Department that its officers confine themselves too much to this one tree, to the neglect of others, but Meliora Spercnims (the motto taken by the department as a Avhole). When the staff is strengthened there will be time to devote attention to neglected species. Forest Reserves. — Roughly speaking, the policy was to select the best tracts of teak forest, and also such as occupied land not suitable for cultivation, and constitute these State Reserves. To constitute State Reserves means to define the rights of the people in these areas, to demar- cate, and hand them over to the Forest Department. It was not possible in all cases to take up the best teak areas, owing to opposition from the district authorities, who, at the commencement of forest conservancy, in many in- rtances displa3'ed great antagonism. However, now it is rare to meet with a deput}' commissioner who does not display interest in the forests, while many render great help to the work of the department. In the reserves, when these areas had been taken up by Government, and demarcated, the amount of produce allowed to the neigh- bouring villagers free for their own \]se was recorded once for all, the rest being looked on as the absolute propertj' of the State. The settlement was intended to be per- manent, but it is in the power of the Governor-General in council, for sufficient reason shown, to declare that any reserve shall cease to be one from any given date. In these reserves Government ordered teak to be planted, and this was the beginning of the extensive, S3-stematic plantations of teak. In suitable localities, where teak was scarce, the jungle was cut down, and the seeds sown in lines at stakes. FOREST RESEHVATION '■I'l Taimgya System. — This system was found to be ex- pensive, and gave ^vay to the Tamigija System. Villagers living in or near the resei'ves were induced to plant teak seeds in their iauiigyas, and were paid a fixed sum per 100 teak - trees found alive in their yas after their crops were reaped. This system has been a great success so far as the villagers are concerned, but it is doubtful, when the cost of fiie protection and weeding, which is very heavy, to ])revcnt the teak from being choked, are taken into consideralion, whether it would not have been better to spend the money on encouraging natural repro- duction. The reserves as soon as possible are mapped accurately, on the scale of 4 inches to the mile, and working ])lans arc then made b}' special oflicers deputed for the jiui-pose. This ensures the economical and scientific working of the teak. Concurrently with the formation of these reserves, revenue was collected on teak and other produce extracted from forests not included in reserves — such as on bamboos, cutch, wood oil, and jungle woods. Forests of Upper Burma. — When Upper Burma was annexed an enormous area of forest was added to the province, and for many years the energies of the under- named department were confined to exploring the forests, mapping them roughly, and taking up the best portions as permanent reserves. This work is even now not com- pleted, and it is not uncommon to hear of areas Avhieh a gazetted forest officer has never been through. Practically all the forests of Upper Burma had been leased by the Burmese King to mercantile companies for a number of years. After the annexation, terms were come to with these companies, by which during a number of years thev were to pay a fixed royalty per ton of timber extracted, while the girdling of green teak was to be under the control of forest oflicers. Administrative Divisions and Staff. — Tlie whole pro- vince was divided into four conservatorships, or circles. These, again, consisted of divisions, each division being- divided into subdivisions, while these were again divided into ranges. The range is the unit, but a range may consist of one or more beats. 228 EURMA Tlie whole province now contains four circles .inrl twenty- nine territorial divisioiiSj besides which there arc one or more working-plan divisions. Tlie personnel of the controlling staff is recruited from two sources — («) officers appointed by the Secretary of State for India, trained in Kurope (since 1887 at Cooper's Hill), and appointed on arrival as assistant conservators of forests, rising through deputy conservators of various grades to conservators ; and (/;) olticers trained at the Imperial Forest school, Dehra Dun, United Provinces, India, who are usually a])pointed as i-angers, and rise to extra assistants, and then to extra deputies. The former are liable to serve in any province in India, while the latter belong to the various provincial services, and work only in the province to which they are appointed. In the lower controlling staff, natives can work their w;iy up from forest guards, or be appointed direct from Dehra Dun. Recently a school to train Bui'mans for the lower control- ling staff has been opened at Tharrawaddy, but as the pay and prosjiects of the Barman in the Forest Department compare most unfavourably with those of subordinates in any other department, while the work is undoubtedly more unhealthy and unattractive, it is most difficult to get a good stamp of man. It must be remembered that the conditions of Burma are totally different from those in India Life in the forests is unhealthier and harder, while living is much more expensive, so what is a decent wage in India may be a miserable pittance in Burma. A Forest Act has lately been passed for the whole of Burma, and rules framed thereunder (5th December 190.')), thus doing away witii the different rules which were before in force in Upper and Lower Burma. Extraction. — From what has been said above it will be seen that the main revenue of the Forest Department is derived from, and its work is concerned with, the teak-tree. There are two methods by which this timber is extracted — (n) by direct Government agency, (6) private enter- prise. Direct Government Agency. — In the former method the Forest Department, after having girdled the trees, and so killed them by cutting through the cambium (the layer of MINOR PRODUCE 22') tisf;ne lietwccn tlie -wood and the bavk), enters into contracts with Burmans owning elephants and buffaloes t'oi- tlie extraction of the timber, at so much per ton^ or log, as the case may be. The timber is then sent down to Rangoon or Mandalay, and sold periodically by auction. This is the system in Tliarrawaddy and I'rome, and also to a certain extent elsewhere in Lower Burma, and in Bhamo, in Upper Burma. Lease. — The other system is the lease or purchase contract. The sole right to extract the girdled trees in certain forests for a term of years is leased to a timber firm on payment of a fixed royalty per ton, calculated by measuring the logs extracted. This system is in force over almost the whole of Upper Burma, and the forests are in the hands of a few large firms, who have a practical monopoly of the trade. These firms extract the timber partly with their own elephants, and partly by means of sub-contractors owning elejjhants and buffaloes. They then float the timber in rafts down to Rangoon, where it is classified, and sold locally, or sawn up for export to Europe according to quality and the demand. Under both systems the girdling is controlled by the Forest De|)artment. The ro3'alty is collected at a station on the river, where the logs are all measured and stamped by an oflicer of the Forest Department. Minor Produce. — Besides teak there is a flourishing trade in what are known as "jungle woods," or unre- served woods, such as In (Dij>leivcarj)ii.<: luhcniihdus), Thit3'a (Sliorea obliisa'), Ingyin (^Pcnlacmc siimiL'n.six'). Tliis trade is mainl)' in the hands of Burmans, who extract the timber by means of buffaloes, and float it to Mandalay or Rangoon, where it finds a ready sale, mainly for local use. The Government royalty is collected by the Forest Depart- ment when the produce reaches a revenue station or points on the lines of extraction notified as such. Besides this trade, which is mainly in the log, fuel and minor produce are extracted by Burmans for sale in the large towns, and also a certain amount of refuse teak and dead padank is cut into spokes and axles for making cart wheels. 200 BURMA Bamboos and canes aix- also exported to the large towns for building native huts. Government collecling a small royalty on the produce. Statistics. — In 1870-71 the State reserved forests covered no more than 133 square miles, all in the Rangoon division. The total receijrts from the forests then amounted to Rs.772,400. In 1889-,90 the total area of reserved forests in Lower Burma was .'5574' square miles, the gross revenue was Rs. 3,1 34,720, and the expenditure was Rs. 1,331,930. In Upper Burma the work of the Forest Department did not beijin till 1891. At the end of 1892 the reserved forests in Upper Burma amounted to 10,59 square miles. In 1896 the reserved area had in- creased to 5438 .square miles. At the close of 1899 the area of the reserved forests in the whole province amounted to 15,669 square miles. In the year l,')0;;-04 this total had risen to 20,038 square miles, and the gross recei]5ts were Rs.8, 51,9,401, with charges amounting to Rs.3, 500,311, showing a surplus of Rs. 5, 019,0,93. Tliis was a consider- ahle increase on the previous year, when the receipts were Rs.6,7.t7,825 and the expenditure Ks.2,963,3l6. In the twelvemonth, therefore, the surplus had risen by Rs. 1,244,584. The largest receijits were from the Pegu circle — • Rs. 3,198,789, which includes the divisions of Thayetmyo, Prome, Tharrawaddy, Pegu, Rangoon, Henzada-Thongwa, and Bassein-Myaungmva. Next came the northern circle, with Rs. 2,281, 484. This circle includes the divisions of Bhamo, Myitkyina, Katha, Mu, Myittha, and the Lo«er and Upper Chindwin. Tlie third circle was that of Ten- asserim, with receipts amounting to Rs. 1,969,005. This includes the West Salween, Sou'" ''^;.,asserim, Thaung- vin, Ataran, Kado, Toungoo, a id Shwegyin divisions. Lowest came the southern circle, with Rs.l, 070,126, including the Ruby Mines, Mandalay, Pyiinnana, Southern Shan States, Yaw and Minbu divisions. The revenue from timber and other produce — ^.jade, by the way, is considered a forest product — removed from the forests by Government agency amounted to Rs. 4,329,28 1, which was an increase of Rs.996,277 on the previous year. The revenue from timber removed by j)urchascrs RESULTS OF RESERVATION 231 aiul consumers amounted to Iis.2,i)f*.'),2l6, an increase on 19U'2-03 of Rs.(jjl,7-1. Tlie revenue from other sources w;ls : firewood and charcoal, Rs. l6l,46,j; from bamboos and canes Rs.1,91,048; from other minor produce, Rs.14'1,529; from confiscated drift and warp wood, Rs.2t.0,774: while the duty on foreign timber and other produce was Rs. 363,377. Tlie number of trees girdled during the year was : in the Pc!j;u circle 17,846 trees; in the Tenasserim circle 9,082 ; in the northern circle 23,809 j and in the southern circle 15,81 3 trees. The total area of unclassed forests was 103,174 square miles, and the area of forests reserved, protected, and unclassed for the whole province was 123,212 square miles. 309 square miles of forest were added to the settled area during 1903-04, and 1185 square miles were in process of settlement. These amounts were well up to the yearly average. Working plans had been completed for areas of 2523 square miles, and to this total 743 square miles were added, while areas extending to 1006 square miles were taken in hand. There were 2556 cases of breaches of forest rules disposed of during the year, in which 3886 persons were concerned. These were vastly more numei'ous in Lower than in Upper Burma. The total area of plantations is now 21,629 square miles. More than half of this area is in the Pegu circle. These were for much the greater part plantations of teak, but there was also a not inconsiderable amount of cutch. In 1904-5 the total amount of teak timber extracted was somewhat less than in the previous year, but there was a considerably larger out-turn of timber other than teak of both reserved and unreserved kinds. The financial results were very satisfactory, both the gross and net revenue being more than 24 lakhs in excess of the revenue of 1903-4. The exports of teak from Burma have during the past few years tended to decline. At the same time the price of teak in the home market has continued to be unpre- cedented, and although for some classes of work teak is indispensable, it is to be feared that the high prices will 232 BURMA have the effect of compelling the use of substitutes. There are indications th.it Java teak, although admittedly inferior in quality to the best Biirraa teak, is more and more finding its way into use. A conference of the four conservators of the Province is considering the questions involved, but their report has not at the time of writing been made public. An expert chemist from England is at present (1906) engaged in investigating the possibility of establishing a manufactory of wood pulp in Burma. MINES There is nothing that a Burman so cordially dislikes as systematic hard work, and digging is probably the form of labour which he looks upon with the greatest distaste. The tools available for mine digging are certainly very far from satisfactory, but, no doubt, if there had been any inclination to dig, suitable tools would very soon have been evolved. The Chinese, in various parts of the Shan States, and elsewhere, carried on vigorous and, in some places, fairly skilful works ; but wherever the digging was left to the Burman it was of the most primitive kind, and with very few devices that would not come by the light of nature. The only digging that has been carried on systematically has been that for rubies and for petroleum ; and in neither case, though rubies have been sought after for something like 500 years, and petroleum for cer- tainly not less than a century, are the pits much more extensive than wells would be, oi' the other workings much beyond erratic quarries. Kuby Mining. — It is difficult to ascertain how long the Ruby Mines have been in operation. It always was the policy of the Burman kings to wrap the mines round with mystery and seclusion. It is stated that the Mogok mines, 90 miles north-east of Mandalay, were first heard of in Europe in the fifteenth century. Burmese histories say that Mogok, the Shan Miing Kut, was taken in exchange for Momeik, the Shan Mong Mit, in .<)i)9 Buriuese era — that is to say, in 16'37. Mines, it is added. RUBY MINING 233 were then in operation^ and had long been in operation, in the valley. Three forms of excavation were recognised in Burmese times : twin-Ion, hmyaw-dwin, and hi-dioin. At one time there were quarry mines in a bed of calcspar, a coarse variety of limestone, but these were discontinued because the miners were not allowed to possess gunpowder. Twill-16n. — The Iwin-lon are square j)its sunk in the alluvium, through a stratum of loam and clay, to the sand and gravel layer, which contains the rubies. The pits vary in size from 2 feet to 9 feet square, and are worked by four men in the smaller, and ten in the larger, pits. After a few feet have been dug, strong posts 12 feet long are driven down in each corner of the square ; and in the case of a 9-foot pit three more, at equal distances apart, along each side. Short slats are wedged across between each post to keep them apart, and at every 2 feet or so light, flat timbers are wedged across between each post each way, into notches in the posts, to hold them firmly apart, and thus support the sides. The miners then pro- ceed to dig out the clay with small, short-handled, spud- like spades, and load it into small bamboo baskets, which are hoisted by balance poles to the surface. When some 4 or 5 feet have been sunk another similar set of cross-beams is put in, and half way between the two a double set of round poles in the same fashion, and these are lashed to those above and below by twisted rattan canes. Wattling and dry grass, or leaves, is filled in at the back of the spaces between the posts, to support the clay walls and prevent pieces from falling in. When they have dug to the bottom of the first set of posts they proceed to drive down a second set inside them, and when these have been driven through the 'ruby-bearing sand they continue to sink and timber as before. When a pit is finished, and all the ruby sand has been extracted, they take out all their timber, for use in the next iwiit-lwi. Round pits are few in number, and seem to be mostly trial pits to ascertain the presence of the hyon, or ruby-bearing sand. This may be considered the invariable method adopted by the Burmese in shaft sinking. The balance or well poles, used both for hoisting the 234 BURMA matt'i-i.il (111'.;- nnd the water which accumuhites in the pit, are strong- bamboos supported on bamboo posts, spHt at the top to receive the pole, which is pinned down with a wooden peg. A large basket filled witli stones is used as a balance weight at the butt or siiort end, and to the longer end, which overhangs the pit, is attached a rope, or a thin pole, provided with a double wooden hook at the end to hang the basket on. Some pits have five of these balance poles, each worked by one man, who lowers the basket to be filled, hoists it, empties the contents a few feet away without detaching the basket, and then lowers away again. During the night the pits fill up with water to within 8 feet of the surface. This has to be bailed out every morning, and takes two or three hours. Some of the shallower twin-Ions are emptied by rude but ingenious bamboo pumps, placed on a slant. When the rub}- soil, which is called hyon, is taken out, and has been placed in a heap, it is washed in a basket made of close-woven bamboo. In shape it is a very flat, hollow cone, like the batea used by Mexican and Cali- fornian miners for gold washing. The washers whirl these about in the water, and give them occasional jerks, which bring the larger pebbles to the back of the basket, and get rid of all the clayey matter, so that the sand and pebbles are left quite clean. The baskets are then handed to other wen, who spread out the contents, pick out the rubies and spinels, and drojj them in a small, upright bamboo tube filled with water. When the washing for the day is done this tube is emptied, and the rubies are sorted according to quality. The best are put in little cotton bags. The sand is carefully gleaned by women and children, who sell what particles of ruby and spinel they find to the owner of the pit. As soon as one pit is finished another is dug close by. A large pit takes eight to ten days' work, a small one four or five. Hmyaw-dwin. — The him/aw-dii'in is the most common kind of mine. They are long, open cuttings, with the lower end opening on a gully-side, and the whole on a slope. It is necessary to have capital to work a hmyaiv- dioiit, because water has to be brought to the head of the RUBY MINING 235 working, and to ni.niage this long trenches have some- times to be dng along the mountain-side. Aqueducts of bamboo troughs, supported on cross-pieces and staysj have occasionally to be carried across ravines. The water is introduced at the top of the cutting by bamboo runlets, and flows away through a trench at the bottom, which forms a ground sluice. Long and short handled spuds are used for digghig, and no washing is done till a fair heap of hjjon has been accumulated. As the face is undermined below, the clay slips down, and is washed away. The sluice is advanced tow ards the face of the woi'king as the digging progresses. The water laid on at the head of the cutting is discharged from troughs at as great a height as can be arranged, and the miners throw the heap of ruby sand under its stream. The ends of the discharge troughs are partially closed, so that the water descends in a shower, and so the more easily softens and carries oft' the clay down the sluice. The larger stones are picked out, and thrown away, and what remains is raked with hoes to the u})per end of the sluice, and puddled there. Two or three riftles, made of slats of wood, with narrow chinks, and 2 feet or more high, keep back the sand and gravel holding the rubies. This is taken out in the batea-shajied baskets, and washed in them, as at the twin-Ions. The ordinary rule is one day's digging and one day's washing, unlesj there are enough men to do both. Riffles cover the entire length of the sluice to catch whatever bijon may have escaped, and this is washed from time to time. The chief washings, however, are in the first li feet. Some- times the sluices are very long, when a /miijaiv-dniii has been worked for a considerable time. Deep cutting into the slope usually results in a collapse of the surface clay. Lu-dwin. — The lu-dwin are caves and cavities in the granular limestone. These fissures run in every direction, and often go to great depths. They are filled with brownish clayey loam, and it is in this that the rubies are found. The miners climb down with small oil lamps, short-handled spades, and baskets. If possible, the baskets are hoisted up by balance poles ; but this is not often the case, and l^liey luue to be carried up. The limestone is so porous 236 BURMA that everything has to be taken to the surface to be washed. The Ruby Mines Company obtained a lease in 188<) to mine for rubies by E^uropean methods and to levy royalty from persons working by native methods. Owing to heavy expenses in getting plant up into the hills the first divi- dend of 5 ])er cent, was not paid till 1898. As first mines were bored into the hill-sides, but this was given up in 1895 in favour of open quarries, from which the hyim is extracted. Under this method the whole of the surface soil down to the ruby-bearing stratum is removed, and then the bipn is dug up, carried on trolleys to the steam- cleansing mill, washed, passed through sieves, and finally examined for the rubies and spinels. The machinery used in washing is siitiilar to that employed in the South African diamond mines. The pumjjing machinery is worked by water power, and the same power generates and stores electricity, so that the central mill can work day and night. When the stones have been picked out they are sorted according to size in shallow trays, and then the rubies are separated from the spinels. This is not easily done, for the spinels often have a perfect ruby colour and the proper octahedral combination. At the Ruby Mines Company office the separation is reduced to a certainty by an Ingenious contrivance. The stone is placed in a little instrument, so that a ray of light passes through it, and is polarised. To the eye, therefore, the ruby shows a pure red ray, whereas the spinel shows a slight tinge of blue. The most valuable stone yet found by the company seems to have been one of 77 carats, priced at £26,f)66. Tourmaline. — Tourmaline, rubellite, or schorl, is found in Mong Mit, north of the Ruby Mines, and in Mong Long, south of them. The mines at the latter place, worked years ago by Chinamen, are on the hill-side, and are, in fact, open cuttings, just like the hmijnw-d)rin at the Ruby Mines. Tourmaline has the disadvantage of being rather soft. It has also a very easy cleavage, parallel to the jirism, which makes it unsuitable for cutting. It is not, therefore, much purchased in the European market, and the demand for Chiuii is very fitful. TETROLEUM 2G7 Petroleum. — The petroleum industry is now undoubtedly the most valuable in Burma. From a production of just 19,000,000 gallons in 1897, the output rose in 1903 to 86,000,000 gallons. Besides the export of a considerable quantity of ji.wafliu wax, tlie illuminating oil and petrol refined in Burma at last show signs of definitely displacing foreign supplies in the Indian market. The sinking and timbering of the wells is carried on in much the same w.iy as the pits to the ruby stratum at Mogok. The same chisel-shaped sinid, or iron shoe, called a ta-ijirin, is used for digging. \\'i)ere hard strat.i have to be got through, which do not occur at Mogok, the crude method is adopted of dropping a pointed lump of iron, weighing about 140 or 1,50 pounds, from the mouth of the shaft. They run to a depth of from 1,50 to 2.50 feet, and the hoisting up of the oil buckets and the lowering of the men is done by a wooden cylinder, which revolves on an axis supported by two upright posts. Over this is passed a rope. Two or more men take the end of the rope, and run down a declivity. Some, how- ever, nowadays have windlasses. The miners pass their legs through two slings attached to the rope by which they are lowered. No light can be taken down, on account of the explosive gases. The fumes, moreover, render breathing difficult, so that few can stay below for more than four minutes. In order, therefore, to make the most of this time the miners tie up their eyes while they are at the pit head. In this way their eyes are in focus immediately when they reach the bottom of the shaft. This is the more necessary since it appears that the total amount of time spent at work below does not reach more than from 10 to 18 per cent, of the time occupied in descending and coming up to the ))it mouth again. Acci- dents from choking do not seem to be common, though the diggers very often come up exhausted and streaming with perspiration. Before going down they put a hat of palm leaves on the head, as .i protection .igaijist stones or the like falling from the sides of the shaft. From observations extending over four and a half years Dr Notling ascertained that the out-turn of oil fluctuates regularly throughout the year. The minimum of pro- 238 BUKMA tlnction is in the first quarter of llie year, iisiifilly in February. From March to May there is a slii^iit rise. From May to Aiij^ust is the maximum flow, which is liighest in August, and tliere is a general fall in the last four months of the year. From this it appeai-s that the minimum of production is in the dry season, and the maximum in the rains. Dr Niitling even thinks that he has established a cciincidence bet\veeii the quantity of production and the level of the Irniwaddy River. In the months when the river is at its lowest the flow of oil is at its lowest, and when tiie river rises tlie production rises, and reaches its maximum with the greatest height of the river floods. Similarly, tlie Minbu salses appear to be indisputably controlled in their acti\itv by tlie river level. The drilled oil wells show exactly the same fluctuation as the pit wells. It is one of the peculiarities of the Yenang^aung oil- field that it was worked by a corporation from the earliest times. The joint right to dig for oil near the villages of Beme and Twingon was restricted to twenty-four families. These families were called Yoya, or hereditary, and every member of them was entitled to dig for oil. Formerly no outsider could become a well owner. The wells could only be owned by one of the 5'oyrt families. The head of such a family was called a Tivin-sa-yo ; and in Burma as might be expected, women were not excluded. There were eighteen male Yi>ya and six female. The title and rights of these families descended strictly according to primogeniture. The male rights vested in the male, and the female Yoya rights strictly in the female, line. The Yoya right could never be sold to a stranger, but if a '^win-sa-yo had no direct issue he could, with the consent of the other Tnnn-sa-yo, sell the title to a remote member of his family. At the time of the annexation there were four Yoya rights which had been purchased bv junior members of the family from the elder branch in wiiich issue had failed. The rights of a Yoya were as follows : — When a member of the family wanted to dig a well he had to apply to the Tnnn-sa-yo for the well site. In return for jiermission, the Tivhi-sa, the well digger (literally eater) had to pay o D y. < w w o BORING FOR OIL 239 a small monthly rent to the Twin-sa-yo corresponding to the quantity of oil extracted from the well. Accortling to the number of working wells, therefore, the Tniii-sa- yo'.s income rose and fell. The Tiiiii-giii-min was president of the 'J'li'iji-sa-i/o, and it was he who settled all disputes and gave final permission to dig. In all such cases he received a small fee ; and no one^ not even a Twhi-sa-yo, could sink a. well without the I'liiii-gi/i-miiis permission. In 1S.56 or 18.t7 King JMindon introduced the monopoly system, under which oil was sold to him alone, and at tlie fixed rate of one rupee eight annas the 100 viss (;i()5 ])0unds). Otherwise the customary rights of the hereditary families were confirmed in a general way. A good many laxities seem to have crept in, but when the country was annexed the British Government treated the well owners generously. They received free permis- sion to sell their oil on payment of eight annas for every :'>()o pounds. An area for reasonable extension was set aside, and each well was all< ,"ed 2 square cliains, or one-fifth of an acre. Every well owner received the right of dis- posing of his well, by sale or otherwise, and he was permitted to use improved machinery if he chose to set it up. In the Twingon reserve 23'55 acres, out of a total of 29t) acres, were set aside as State wells ; and in the Beme reserve, out of a total area of 153'8 acres, 7'."7.') were set aside for State wells. The Twin-sas sell all their oil to the Burma Oil Compan}', who pay a royalty to Government of eight annas for every 100 viss, or 365 pounds weight. The oilfields were surveyed and demarcated into blocks of 1 square mile each in 1890 : Yenangyaung 90'15 square miles, Minbu 20'15 square miles, and Yenankyat 2-34 square miles. Boring for oil was started in 1887, but it was not till 1889 that much in the way of results was attained. The system of drilling adopted was chiefly the American or cable system, rather than the European or rod system, but in either case it took a long time to get the requisite plant to the ground, and to get it set up there. These drilled wells draw the oil from strata untouched by the native pit wells. In the early stages oil was found at 240 BURMA a depth of 500 feet, and the yield was ijcnevally from five to twenty burels a d;iv, but latterly the di-illings have gone much deeper, to depths of 1000 to 1200 feet. The strata are very apt to cave, and, therefore, casing is required, the cost of which necessarily increases with the depth. It has not been proved that the yield of a well increases proportionately with its depth. The total daily average per well amounts to about thirteen barrels. Ac- cording to this the average yield of a well in Burma is equal to any well in Canada, but consideiablv below the wells of America, or Baku, where an out-turn of ein"hty- six barrels a day is not considered rich. Tlicre appe.irs to be no probability of striking spouting wells. Occasional wells have flowed for a short time, but the gas pressure has invariably very soon diminished, so much that pumping has to be resorted to. The production of the Burma oilfields was 2,33,5,205 gallons in 1887. In 1890 it had risen to 4,310,955 gallons, and in 1898 to 2I,f)84.,963 gallons. Since then the production has been as follows : — in 1899, 32,309,531 gallons; in 1900, 3(),97i','-'H8 gallons; in 1901, 49,41.1,736 gallons; in 1902, 54,848.080 gallons; and in 1<)0.'!, 85,328,491 gallons. Besides tliese Upper Burma oilfields, the islands of the Arakan coast, noted for their mud salses, have also been known for many years to contain oil deposits of uncert.un value. The chief operations were carried on in the Eastern Baronga Island, near Akyab, and on Ramri Island, in the Kyauk- pyu district. During the six years up to 1904 the average output of the Baronga area has been 42,926 gallons, and of Ramri during the same period about 100,000 gallons, but there is a distinct tendency- to decline. The main factor which has contributed elsewhere to the recent great advances in oil production, the general adoption of the bulk system of transport and distribution, lias not been neglected in the development of the Burma oilfields. The Burma Oil Company have laid a pipe line from Yenankyat, through Singu, to the Yen.ingyaung area, and are 'now j)reparing to connect all the fields in a similar manner with their refineries in Rangoon, a distance of 275 miles. The number of tank steamers is being regularly increased, and storage tanks are put up at the JADE 211 cliief Indian ports. So far there are no signs whatever of exhaustion of the supply of oil. Jade. — Jadeite, rather than jade, seems to be the character of the stone mined in Burma, though analysis seems to show that some true nephrite occurs amongst a very greatly preponderating amount of jadeite. Since, however, it is of the colour chiefly desired by the Chinese, the matter is of the less importance. It is in connection with China that jade has its chief value. It has been known in the Middle Kingdom from a period of high antiquity, and appears first to have come from Khoten and other parts of Central Asia. The jade fi-om these mines was of a brilliant white, and was very costl}'. It was adopted as symbolical of purity in private and official life. For years the green variety was very rare, but was not unknown, for it is recorded that attempts were made to tinge the stone by burying white jade and copper alongside of one another in the ground. The green jade of Northern Burma was found by a small Yiinnanese trader in the thirteenth centui'y, and for years expeditions went from China to get more of it. Few ever returned, for the jade country is very deadly to natives of the Yunnan highlands, and the Chingpaw were as hostile to strangers then as they are still beyond the adminis- trative line. Moreover, Burma and China were in a state of perpetual hostility. When the wars came to a final end, in ITSi, a regular jade trade began, and by the beginning of the nineteenth century the Burmese established a military guard in Mogaung to maintain order and to protect the trade and the tax collector. The stone has always been regarded as the property of the Kachins. Their right to mine and their ownerbhip of the stone produced, was never called in question by the kings of Burma. King Mindon, who was a confirmed trader, determined to buy all the jade from the Kachins himself, and appointed a high official to act as his agent at the mines. This was, however, highly unsatisfactory to the Kachins, who first protested against the exclusion of all other purchasers, and then, when they found their protest of no avail, resorted to the much more effectual method of curtailing the suppl}' of stone, and producing Q 242 BURMA only pieces of indifferent quality. The older system of levying an ad vn/omri duty of .';." pir cent, on export wa.s resumed, but not before the King had made i-epeated attempts to act as middleman. The ChingpaWj however, eventually triumphed ; and the Chinese view w;»: that the scheme was foredoomed, " owing to the inherent impropriety of a sovereign descending into the arena of trade, and taking the bread out of the mouths of his own subjects." Since the annexation the British Government has farmed out the right to collect the jade duty of 33} per cent, to a lessee. The workings remain in the hands of the Chingpaw as of old, and there are no signs of interruption of thu old traditional methods. Jade mining is essentially speculative, and the demand and the value of the stone produced vary from year to year. The output ranges about 3000 cwts., and the value varies from a lakh and a half to twice that amount. Some twenty or thirty years ago Sanka, on the right bank of the Uyu River, just opposite its junction with tlie Nanthan stream, was celebrated for its outj)ut of fine jade; but the supply is nearly exhausted, and the place is now almost deserted. It was found there chiefly in the shape of boulders, mixed with other rocks in the alluvial deposits of the river. These were found eitlier by digging holes along the banks of the stream or by diving to its bottom. Thousands of pits may be seen dug along the sides of the low hills and in the small intervening valleys. The diameter of the pits rarely exceeds 10 or 12 feet at the mouth, and the average depth is about 12 feet. Latterly the jade is obtained from the "new mines" at Tawinaw, in the Mogaung subdivi- sion of the Myitk3'ina district. Tawmaw is about 7^ miles from Sanka; and there are other mines close at hand, called Pangmavv, Iku, Matienmaw, and Mienmaw. The road passes through fine forest scenery, with the kanyin, gangaw, and the cotton wood as the prevailing trees, and gradually ascends to a broad plateau, hundreds of acres in extent, all of which are cleared for mining purposes. The mines arc all in the form of open-cast quarries, and immense quantities of stone are produced. EXTRACTION OF JADE 243 and tons upon tons lie about, valuable in China, but not sufficiently valuable to repay tlie cost of transport and the changes by the way. Tiu- Kachins do all the mining work ; and the stone occurs in immense blocks, which cannot be quarried out by any tools which tlity possess. The method of extraction is very primitive, and also veiy slow. The surface of the rock is heated by large fires, and the fall of temperature during the night is sufficient to crack the jade without any necessity for pouring cold water on it. Crowbai's and wedges are then driven into the cracks, and large blocks are obtained, which are broken up with forehammers and large mallets to shape them to a size convenient for transport. Some of the deeper quarries are rendered difficult by the quantities of water which oozes from the fissure separating the serpentine from the jadeite. To combat this the Kachins cover the whole surface of the quarry with a network of bamboo, like a gigantic spider's web, whicli su])ports bamboo runnels to carry off the water. This is hoisted up by a lever pump, with an old kerosene oil tin as a bucket, and scores of these are at work in the quarries. Quarrying cannot be carried on in the rains, and the season, therefore, lasts from November to May. The un- healthiness of the climate then compels the traders to go away, and the flooding of the mines suspends the operations of the Kachins. In the wetter quarries the floor can often only be kept dry enough for a fire to be lighted during the months of February and March. The Chingpaw quarrymen protect themselves from the fierce heat by fastening layers of plantain leaves over their bodies, arms, and legs. The heat is almost in- supportable for onlookers at the top of the quarry, and the mortality among the actual workers is very con- siderable each season. During the dry weather about 700 men are steadily employed. The jade at the mines is purchased by Chinese traders, and an expert, or middleman, is nearly always employed to settle the price. These middlemen are without exception Burmese, or Shan Burmese, and have from early times been in- dispensable to the transaction of business at the mines-. 244 BURMA They charge the purchaser 5 per cent, on the purchase money. The Kachins of the jade mines have the reputation of being the most superstitious of the Cliingpaw tribes. In their search for stone they are guided by indications furnislied by burning bamboos. When the stone is found favourable omens are anxiously awaited before tlie dis- covery is announced to the community. Then at a meeting called by the chief duma sacrifices are made and signs looked for to determine whether the mine should be worked at once, or be allowed to remain un- disturbed for a period of years until the colour matures. Tiie Kachins firmly believe that the colour of the jade improves with age. If the auguries are favourable to the immediate opening of the quarry the land at and round about the out-crop is marked off by ropes into small plots, a few feet square, which are then parcelled out amongst all the Kachins present. No Kachin be- longing to the same family is refused a share, no matter how far away he may live. A new quari-y is opened with elaborate ceremonial, and a similar ceremonial is held at the beginning of each digging season. Apparently any Kachin can get a digging lease for a small fee. This is paid to the Kansi duwa, who claims to be proprietor of all the mines. If a very valuable block is found anywhere half of the price received goes to the chief. The value of jade varies to an enormous extent. The Chinese value a really good piece at its weight in gold or more. A small fragment, of a size that would fit a signet ring, might fetch £30 or £40, though in Europe it would be worth no more than a cairngorm, if so much. The demand for jade is universal throughout China, with its population of 450,000,000, and the j)rice of the best stone shows no tendency to fall. Burma is practically the only source of supply, and there is a nearly inex- haustible quantity of jade available. It does not, however, seem probable that European ajipliauces and systematic mining operations are at all likely to be introduced. Amber. — The Burmese amber mines are situated in tha Hukawng Valley, an extensive flat basin, surrounded BURMESE AMBER 245 on thi'ee sides by lofty hill ranges, wliicli are nearlj' im- passable, and rise in the Patkoi Range on the west to about 7000 feet. The valley is flat in the centre, but all round, except on the south, low, isolated hills and short ridges rise abruptly from the plain. It is on these low ranges, in the south-west corner of the Hukawng basin, that the mines are found, in about 26° 15' N. and 96° 30' E. All the existing mines, or all that are known to exist, are found in nine different localities on a single range, the Nango Taimaw, near the tillage of Mong Hkawn. The ridge is about 150 feet only above the plain, and the top is so nearly on one level that it would appear to have once formed a terrace skirting the higher ranges. The whole ridge is covered with such dense, impenetrable vegetation that proper examination is only possible after extensive clearing. The tertiary blue clay of which the hill is formed is superficially dis- coloured, and turned into a dull brown, by the oxydising influence of organic acids, p-oduced by the luxuriant vegetation. The same causes afl'ect the amber in such positions. It loses its colour, becomes dull and brittle, and a crust of decomposed amber often covers only a very small second kernel. The fossil resin occurs in irregularly distributed pockets, some of which are much larger than others, and the amber consists usually of flat pieces, which suggest that it is much travel-worn. The native mode of extraction, as may be supposed, is very primitive. After the harvest is over the diggers set to work. No principle or traditionary rule guides the choice of a site. The ordinary method is to sink as near as possible to a spot where amber has been found before. If none is found another place is tried. All the tools are home-made. They consist of a pointed pick, a wooden shovel, and a basket made of split bamboo. The basket is drawn up by a length of cane, with a piece of root left as a hook. Occasionally a well-to-do digger has an iron shoe on his hoe or pick. The hoe loosens the soil, which is shovelled into the basket, and a man at the top of the hole pulls it up by the cane-root rope. The shaft is square, and is just big enough to let the man have room to do the digging. He climbs in and out by means of steps cut on 246 BURMA opposite sides of the shaft. The clay is so slifF that ^\n\^- iulanl, and is peculiarly liable to injury from insects, wind, hail, or unseasonable rain. The crop is, therefore, always a very hazardous one, and the produce seldom a<;rees with the true average, but commonly runs in extremes. While one cultivator is in despair, another makes huge gain. One season does not pay the labours of the cultivation, a fortunate season enriches all the cultivators. If this is tlie case in Patna, Malwa, and Benares, it is much more so in the Shan States, where the plants seldom grow to more than 3 feet in height, and the capsules average the size of the Indian bazaar egg rather than that of the dorking, to say nothing of the human fist, variable in size though that is. The seed is sown in November, the plant sprouts early in January, and flowers at the end of the month, or in the beginning of February, and the sap is collected in March or April. This is gathered in the usual way. The pods are gashed with a double or triple bladed knife (the nushhtr of India) in the early morning, and on the following morning the sap is scraped off, and stored on plantain leaves. The cultivators, especially the \Va poppy farmers, are fond of using old kelts for this purpose instead of the scooj), the sillnha of India. The kelts are said mostly to come from Yiinnan, where also they are used for the same purpose in the huge poppy fields near Tali-fu. None of the tribes, so far as is known, prepare or inspissate the opium in any way. It is smoked as it is gathere.d. The La'hu and Wa use a pipe, which, if not exactly the same, is very like the ijen-Uiang, the orthodox '''^ smoking pistol " of the Chinaman, and they smoke reclining on a mat. Many of the Shans, Kachins, and Palaungs smoke opium in ordinary metal or clay pipes, sitting up, or even walking about. In such cases the opium is always mixed with, or rather saturated into, chopped, dried plantain leaves. In every case, however, the opium is nuich milder than even the " black commodity," or " black earth," grown 2G8 BURMA })y the Cliinese, Avliicli is far below the "foreign medicine" of Malwa or Beuares both in potency and flavour. The average return in Kokang appears to be roughly from four to five pounds to the acre. This compares badly with the thirteen pounds said to be regularly obtained from the Patna, Benares, and Malwa fields, but they are pre- pared, and the only preparation in the Shan Hills is the clearing and burning of the jungle. Very little crosses the Salween westward, almost all goes to Westei'n China, but a certain amount makes its way to Kengtiing and beyond. In ordinary years a viss, 3.65 pounds, of opium may be bought in the Kokang poppy fields for six rupees. The same rates prevail, so far as is known, in the Shan States, but there the transactions are all by way of barter for salt, rice, or guns. The character of the harvest has also a very great deal to do with the prices. In Kokang and the Wa States the out-turn runs to tons. West of the Salween, Loimaw is the only place where opium is systematically grown for profit. The cultivators are all Chinamen, and the amount produced in a season reaches about 4000 pounds. The price ranges from twelve to fifteen rupees for three and a half pounds. No doubt a very great deal is smuggled into Burma by opium roads — tracks only passable by coolies, and not known to many. It is to be noted that there are no victims to opium in the opium-producing districts, any more than there are in Ssu-ch'uan, where the people are the wealthiest in China, and half the crops are poppy. It is onl}- in places where opium is prohibitive in price that there are victims to opium. If a man is accustomed to take opium he must have it to soothe his nerves under excessive fatigue ; if he lives in a malarious district it is necessary to kill the bacteria. When such a man is poor, and comes to a place where opium duty is high, he has to starve himself to get the anodyne for his muscles, quivering under the weight of loads which no white man could carry, or to soothe the wracking fever in his bones. He dies of want, and opium is denounced. Where opium is cheap the people are healthy and stalwart, and the women are fruitful. East of the Salween the univei'sal opinion of opium is that of the Turk who stamps on his ODium lozenges Mash Allah, COTTON-GROWING 269 the gift of God. Some of the Wa eat as well as smoke opium ; but, so far as is known, regular opium eating is rare, and none of the races drink it in the form of an emulsion like the Kiixmiiha of the Rajputs. West of the Salween the European cant about opium has penetrated. A Shan either tells deliberate lies or says he only smokes when he has fever. The Rumai is pious and hypocritical, and says his opium is intended for his ponies or for cases of malarial fever. There are, of course, cases of excess, but the opium victim is never the hideous spectacle of tlie man sodden with alcohol or the repulsive bestiality that the man becomes who takes food to excess. Cotton. — Cotton is not nearly so much grown as it was in former days, particularly in Lower Burma and in the more accessible parts of Upper Burma. The yearly increasing import of cotton goods is responsible for this. In the hills very many tribes still grow their own cotton, and the women still clean, dye, spin, and weave their own and the menfolk's clothes, and a great deal of raw cotton is exported to China. But, as a whole, cotton cultivation cannot be said to be in a thriving state. The Burma cotton is the same as that grown in most parts of India, consequently the objection that it is too short in the staple is a defect that is much exaggerated, for it has been found very possible to use Indian raw cotton when the American supply has failed. The further drawback that it is very badly cleaned is one which is very cajsable of amendment. Though cotton has been cultivated in Burma so long that legend says it was brought down by Brahmas from the skies, who fostered it for the purposes originally assigned to the scriptural fig leaf, the cultivation cannot be said to have had a fiiir trial. Cotton is still sown principally on hill clearings, on the poorest class of soil, and as often as not mixed up with paddy. If the ground has been manured at all it has been in the most cursory and in- effective way, and the ploughing of the ground does not extend far beyond mere tickling. But the gathering in is still more unbusiness-like. Tiie cotton hangs often long after it is mature, and when it is plucked is often left for days on the ground, accumulating all sorts of impurities. '270 BURMA The afl\if e of an expert is not wanted to remedy this. The cotton is sold raw, by weii^ht; and it is to l)c feared that rudimentary trade instincts foster the notion that sand and stones are so much profit, which is far from being the view of the purchaser. Spinning and Weaving. — Spinning and weaving are in the most primitive possible state, and, therefore, very slow and laborious, which further tends to promote the purchase of foreign piece-goods and yarns. The cotton boll is separated from the pod, and picked by hand ; the seeds are got rid of by pressing the boll between two small wooden revolving rollers worked by hand. The cotton is pressed, and put in a funnel shaped basket. This is turned round and round, and the cotton thread is caught on the string of a bow. The cotton fibres are thus separated, and made ready for preparing thread. They are wound round small stocks, and united into thread on a small spinning jenny, and made up into small balls. The thread is then soaked in rice-water, ])ressed on a flat board, and dried in the sun. It is then wound on a frame made of two horizontal barS; and is combed fine with the inside of the skin of the fruit of the sal-t/iwa, a species of screw pine. After this it is transferred to a circular frame, and thence on to hand-reels, when it is ready for the loom. This is worked by a small pedal attached to each of the two bars. The shuttle is a hollow piece of wood, which holds the ball of thread, and is thrown between the two lines of thread composing the warp. The Karens, and many of the hill tribes, have a much more primitive method of weaving. There is no loom. The two ends of the warp are fastened to anything convenient, and the loops in the middle are passed round a stick about 1 inch in diameter. The threads are arranged one by one to the full breadth of the warj), which is usually about 18 inches. The stick is fastened to the body of the weaver by a cord fastened to each end and going round the body. The weaver sits on the ground, and pulls one warp tight towards her, and throws the shuttle through in the ordinary wa}'. The process is ver3' slow, but the cloth made is very Ihiik and durable. From the point of view of art, the cotton fabrics, w hcther SILK WEAVING 271 of Burma or the hill states, have not much to recommend them. The patterns are mostly strijus or checks, but the tints are usually skilfully bknckd. The most elaborate desiajns are seen in the curtains, or kulagd, used for screen- ing off rooms or hanginfr on walls. Here the art advances to the pictorial stage. Some of the Shans make curious sleeping mats, or coverlets, and pillow covers. The patterns are often zigzag or diamond-shaped, in red or black on a white ground. Silk. — Silk weaving is also not nearly so much practised as it was. It was once a gre.it and lucrative industry, and the weavers of S.igaing and Amarapuj'a were especially noted. The importation of foreign machine-made silks is responsible for this, and it is to be noted that Japanese silks have of late years been steadily sujiplanting those of English m.anufacture. Silk is still grown in the country, principally by people calling themselves ^ abein, but it has never been a very poj)ular industry. Since the taking of life is involved in getting the silk from the cocoons, rigid Buddhists have always avoided it, and the \ abeins are con- sidered outcasts. For the same reason, most Burmans will have nothing to do with the sticklac trade, because they "fear hell." The insect must be killed to get the lac. Still, there is no Burman who does not wear silk, if not habitu- ally, certainly on fete days. There is alwa3'Sj therefore, a good sale for Chinese and other raw silk, and fabrics are still made, some of them so elaborate as to require 100 shuttles. Loom. — The loom consists of a frame, with four small per- pendicular posts forming a rectangle, measuring about 6 feet by 4. These are connected by bars at the top, in the middle, and at the bottom, a few inches from the ground. Upon these bars rest a pair of rollers. The nearer of the two is for rolling the finished fabric on ; the r,rthcr is for the threads which form the warp. To separate these into two rows, between which the shuttles may be passed, are two comb-like frames, closed by a bar at the side where the teeth would be. The teeth of this comb are made of stout cotton threads. The combs hang from the longi- tudinal bars of the m.iin frame, to which they are attached by looped cords. Below the combs are two pedals for the 272 BURMA weaver, which are connected by cords with the combs, so that the weaver by alternate pressure of the pedals may alternate the two series of threads of the warp. In front of the combs is another frame, made on the same pattern, but with fine strips of bamboo instead of the cotton threads of the combs. This, which is called the Yathwa, is to press the threads of the weft close together. The shuttles are usually made of hard, black wood and the spindle of hard bamboo. The threads for the warp are arranged near the weaver's seat, and are looped on the roller. After the threads have been passed through the pressing comb they pass alternately through the lifting and depressing combs, and then pass over the top bars of the frame, and are gathered in a bunch, and secured, so that the worker can pay out the warp threads as the fabric grows. Four main classes of designs are recognised : the Ba/d, with thirty-seven patterns ; the Achcit, with thirty ; and the Gai/f and Sat, with one pattern each, but varied according to the number of colours employed. These patterns are much more elaborate, and the fabrics are more durable, than those of the imported silk fabrics now so universally bought and worn. They were also much more expensive, and are, therefore, nowadays confined to the well-to-do, and to those who are content to have one good article and do not seek for constant changes. Pottery. — This, like weaving cotton or silk, is an occupa- tion pursued only in the dry-weather months, when there are no agricultural operations going on. In a very few places there are villages which are entirely devoted to making pottery, but this is the exception. Perhaps on account of this fitful character the pottery nowhere rises to the very highest rank ; and there is no such thing as porcelain made, and it does not appear even to have been attempted. Possibly Burmese potters' work is as good now as ever it was, but it is quite certain that it has not improved, and that the work of hundreds of years ago was as fine as that of to day. The old Sawankalok pottery of Siara is greatly prized ; but there is nothing like it made now, and it does not ever seem to have been emulated or imitated in Burma. Apparently, however, the makers of Sawankalok pottery were Chinese, and, no doubt, immi- rOTTERY 273 grants fiom the great establisliments of the Mi(hlle Kingdom. Doubtless pottery as an art came to Burma from China, and it is, perliajis, for this reason that tlie best potters in the country are Shans. 'J'hose of Papun are, perhaps, the most noteworthy in Burma proper, and the Slian potters of Lawk-sawk and Mong-kiing still turn out very characteristic and elegant work. 'J'he characteristic of Burmese art is boldness and free- dom of design and a just eye for proportion, and this appears in their pottery Avork. There is nowhere the finish in detail that is to be found in China and in India; but, on the other hand, the Burmese make both glazed and unglazed ware, while the art of glazing is not known in Bengal, and is not commonly practised in the Punjab. The jars of Pegu were formerly famous, and are often referred to by old writers as " Martabans." They are still made, and some of them are capable of holding 150 gallons, but they are not now the monopoly of the province. Some are made in Uj)per India, where, curiously enough, they bear the old name of Martabans. Pegu is nowadays noted for its domestic pottery, cooking pots, water jars, goblets, flower jiots, and lam))s of curious shape, nowadays not much used. Twante, near Rangoon, is noted for its glazed ware. The goblets of Tavoy have a great name throughout Burma for keeping water cool. They are very porous, and are coloured black. Many have to be filled with water from the bottom, so that insects and dust are kept out. There is a funnel-shaped opening which runs up inside the goblet, and the water is decanted through a horn-like spout. The fancy flower jars and stands and flower pots of Papun and of Pyinmana are worth noting, and some of the same work from the Shan States is remarkable for the clever blending of colours. Bassein work also has some artistic merit. Flower pots, recalling somewhat the tiisul emblem of Buddhism, arc made in Bassein town, where the double potters' wheel is in use. Much care and ingenuity is everywhere bestowed on the manufacture of flower vases for the pagodas, alms-bowls for the monks, and the little circular lamps, lighted at the end of Buddhist Lent, and on festival days generally. The vases and lamps are usually red. The alms-bowls are s 274 BURMA made blaclc by smearing the freshly moulded pots with sessamum oil and baking them in huge jars. In the Shan States the slag, called Clunv, or Bwef, from the argentiferous lead mines, is used for glazing. It is yellow, and has as much as .90 per cent, of lead in it. A vitreous glaze is obtained by smearing green pots — that is to say, unfired pots — with a liquid mixture of this sub- stance pounded up, and clay, or water in which rice has been boiled, and firing the pots in a kiln. To obtain a green glaze, blue-stone (sulphate of copper) is pounded up, and mixed with the Bioet and rice-water. The pottery is sold for very low prices. It is, therefore, not surprising, perhaps, that the manufacUne is only carried on as an occupation in the slack farming-time. Glazed pottery is slightly more profitable, because there are not so many breakages in the firing. Miscellaneous Crops. — Other supplements of the main occupation of growing rice are the planting of betel gardens or groves of areca palm, the growing of sugar- cane, tobacco, toddy palms, plantains, and occasionally orchards, besides a great variety of garden crops. A betel plantation, with the vines trained on bamboo lattices, looks not unlike a hop garden. Trenches run between the rows, and are periodically flushed with water. The labour of constructing a betel-vine garden is considerable, but when it is laid out it is permanent. Leaves are not plucked till the second year, and sometimes the vines last seven years. When the plant ceases to bear it is cut down, and new plants are obtained by bringing down branches to the soil, and earthing them over till they strike new roots. Immense quantities of leaves are con- sumed by betel chewers, who wrap the areca nut, with lime and cardamoms, in the vine leaf. The areca palms are grown in nurseries, and planted out in from one to three years' time. The nurseries are shaded by pineapples, limes, plantains, or cocoa-nut palms, planted for the purpose. The palms fruit in ten years, and last a lifetime if properly tended. They thrive best in ground made marshy by natural springs. There are usually about I'^OO trees to an acre. Sugar-cane, tobacco, and plantains in most places are TRADE 275 grown only in small plots, lor local consumption only. It seems certain that very good tobacco could be produced in Burma if experts took the cultivation in hand. The Burman is satisfied with drying the leaf in the sun. TRADE Burma has been visited by traders as far back as Ave can find historical writers. Indeed, there is not wanting the usual enthusiast who identifies the country with the Land of Ophir, whence Solomon obtained his gold. The high-flown descriptions of Hieronimo di Santo Stefano, Fernao Mendez Pinto, Cassar Fredericke of Venice, and even of Marco Polo, may have led up to this idea. In any case, it is certain that Arab dhows and Chinese junks came from very early days, and were succeeded by Portuguese galleons and Persian sailing ships. But in those days the trading towns were rather Akj'ab, or Bassein, Martaban, or Syriani. Moulmein is entirely a British creation, and Rangoon, though it was begun by Alaungpaya, dates its prosperity from the British occupa- tion in 1852. Yet it is now the third port in British India. Only Calcutta and Bombay surpass it, and this is the growth of little more than half-a-century. At the present day nearly every commei'cial flag in the world may be seen in Rangoon harbour, and in the streets are to be seen natives of every country — from Japan to Russia, and from Sweden and Norway to the Pacific coast. Ralph Fitch, in 1586, was the first British trader to visit Burma. He went to Pegu, and mentions the Shwe Dagon Pagoda as having near it a monastery "gilded with gold within and without " ; but in those days Dalfv, on the other side of the river, was the only secular village, and the trade went cither to Pegu or to Syriam. Fitch describes Pegu as a place of great magnificence, and the streets as "the fairest I ever saw." He spent most of his time, however, in Chittagong, then subject to Arakan. Martaban and Syriam were opened up to European trade by the Portuguese. The Dutch obtained a footing in the island of Negrais, on the extreme western verge of 276 BURMA tlie Irrawaddy Delta, Later they established a factory at Bliamo — not the present town, but the old one, at the confluence of the Taping with the Irrawaddy. The East India Company establislied factories and agencies in the early years of the seventeenth century at Syriam, Prome, Ava, and Bhamo. The different European traders, how- ever, quarrelled among one another, and with the Burmese, and they were all expelled about the middle of the seven- teenth century. The British did not come back till 16.98, when they rebuilt a factory at Syriam and established agencies at Bassein and Negrais. The Dutch and Portu- guese never returned ; but the French settled at Syriam, and became powerful rivals of the East India Company traders. Alaungpaya put a final end to Syriam, razed it to the ground, and would not permit foreign factories in any part of his dominions. But in the time of his suc- cessors the British merchants came back again to all the old places, except Syriam, whose place was now taken by Rangoon. No shipping statistics are to be obta-ned of an earlier date than the beginning of the nineteenth century. From 1801 to 1811 the average number of vessels that cleared out was from eighteen to twenty-five yearly. In 1822 it was calculated that the utmost amount of tonnage likely to find employment annually between Calcutta and Rangoon was 5400 tons. After the First Burmese \\'ar, from 1826 to 1852, the average number of arrivals and departures was only 125, of which no more than twenty were European vessels, the rest being from the Madras and China coasts — coasting schooners, and junks and prahus from the Malay States, and kalliis, native Indian craft. Heavy duties in kind, vexatious i-egulations, and the conduct of the Burmese authorities generally, acted as a great hindrance to enterprise. After the annexation of Pegu in 1856, when the whole coast of Burma fell into our hands, trade increased rapidly, and has gone on doing so with hardly any perceptible check. The teak trade may be said to have begun with the establishment of the port of Moulinein. Saw mills were built, and shipbuilding yards came into existence, and 123 vessels were launched at Moulmein during the quarter of a century between THE EXCHANGE QUESTION 277 1830 niid 1855. The rice trade may be said to liave licgnn in 1830. AU3'ab was al first the main rice port, thoiinh a great deal was shipped from Moulmein also. But since 1852 the growth of Rangoon has been assm-ed, and it has completely overshadowed all the other ports both in the shipment of rice and teak. In the old days the exports were very different. Accord- ing to Ralph Fitch they were principally the precious metals, gold and silver, rubies, sapphires, and spinels, benjamin, musk, long pepper, lacquer, wax, tin, rice, and some sugar. Caesar Fredericke speaks of Mergui as a place where every year ships went for " veizine, sappan wood, nyppa, and benjamin." According to Fitch: "In India there are few commodities which serve for Pegu, except opium of Camhaia, painted cloth of Saint Thome, or of Masulipatam, and white cloth of Bangala, which is sent there in great quantity. They bring thither also much cotton yarn, red-coloured with a root they call saia, which will never lose its colour. It is very much sold, and very much of it conielh yearly to Pegu. By your money you lose much." The exchange question seems thus eai'ly to have been a trouble. Later, arms were, of course, the principal im- port. San Germano says boats from China brought wrought silk, paper, tea, and various kinds of fruits, and took away cotton, raw silk, salt, birds' feathers, and wood oil to make lacquer, looking-glasses, pottery, muskets ; and articles of iron and brass, with woollen cloths of various colours from the Isle of France, had the best sales, and returned the highest profits. Already in his time a teak trade had begun, and there were two or three English and French shipbuilders established in Rangoon. One reason of this was the prohibition against carrying specie out of Burma. Merchants, when they had sold their cargo and taken in another of teak wood, had to spend the remainder in building a new ship. Cotton, sandal wood, porcelain, and other waves also came from China, camphor from Borneo, and pepper from Achin, in Sumatra. European goods were sent from Mecca — woollen cloths, velvets, scarlets, and the like. Exports — Whatever may have been the case formerlyj 278 BURMA there is now no manner of doubt as to the fact that rice and teak timber are the cliief articles of export from Burma, and the vahie of the rice exported is more than ten times that of the teak. It was not so in the early days ; in fact, in the beginning of last century the ex- portation of rice and of the precious metals was absolutely prohibited. Trade in those days was seriously handicapped. Up to a few years before the First Burma War of 1824-25 all square-rigged vessels were obliged to unship their rudders, and land their arms, guns, and ammunition. Ultimately they were relieved from the necessity of un- sliip])ing their rudders on payment of 32 ticals (Rs.41) to the local authorities. At this period the duty charged on all imports was 12 per cent. On all exports except timber the duty was 5 per cent., and on timber it was ] per cent. In the year 1805 the articles of export reached a value of Rs. 653,602, of which timber represented a value of Rs. 461, 153 and treasure lls.57,87'i. Orpiment to the value of Rs.38,788 was the next item. In the same year the imported articles reached a value of Rs.24.'5,232, of which piece-goods, with Rs. 126,202, was the most im- portant item, opium being the next with Rs.15,110, and woollens Rs.5176. Trade steadily declined till the First Burma War. In 1820-21 the exports from Rangoon were only valued at Rs.244,54'8, including Rs.23,555 of treasure. The imports in the same year were worth no more than Rs.95,443, and it is curious to find that 17,845 bags of rice were actually imported from Calcutta. Upon the close of the first war Akyab immediately became a large rice port, while Moulmein then, and until 1893, remained the chief teak port. It was passed by Rangoon in 1894, which now exports more than three times the amount, and, in fact, roughly 90 per cent, of the gross trade of the province. But in the interval between the First and Second Burma Wars, when Akyab, and especially Moulmein, were growing rapidly, vessels trading to Rangoon were subject to many vexations. A royal present of one piece of cambric, one piece of Palampar, and one Pulicat handkerchief, was made by the master of each ship on his arrival. The port charges varied from 10 rupees to 500, and were VEXATIOUS CHARGES 279 levied according to the tonnage of the ships. The local governor took these. The anchorage dues went to one of the queens. The pilotage fees were 10 rupees the foot of draft, but vessels were not obliged to take pilots. Customs dues on imports were levied in kind, at the rate of 10 per cent, for the king, and 2 per cent, for the customs officials. When a ship arrived the cargo was landed at the customs house, and the cases were opened in the presence of the owners or the consignees. 12 per cent, was taken, and the remainder was stamped to show that duty had been paid. The amount annually remitted to the capital on account of customs dues was about Rs.21 1,000. In the period between the two wars the average number of arrivals and departures was no more than 125, of which English vessels between 100 and 1000 tons numbered no more than 20. During the same period the number of clearings from 'Moulmein was con- siderably over 300 vessels, and from Akyab considerably over 200. Ill ] 8()2 the three provinces were united to form British Burma, and from that year onward the figures showing the trade of all ports were amalgamated into one set of returns. The total value of the imports in that year was Es. 26,300,227, and of the exports Rs.26,017,088, or Rs.52,4.70,315 in all. This is entirely sea-borne trade, and includes both foreign and coasting. Under foreign trade is included all trade with countries not under the Government of India, while coasting trade means trade with India. Inland trade is quite distinct. In 1866-67 the value of exports was Rs. 23,140,620 and of imports Rs.2.5,553,850. Ten years later, in 1876-77, the value of exports had risen to Rs. 55, 166,540 and of imports to Rs.47,094,040. In 1883-84 the figures were respectively Rs.87,302,560 and the Rs.73,134,510. In 1887-88 the value of exports was Rs.89,135,440 and of imports Rs. 101,351,450. In 1893-94 exports had risen to Rs.114,058,201, when imports had fallen to Rs.98,504,075. In 1899-1900 the sea-borne trade in exports was Rs. 186,434,445 and in imports Rs. 125,865,435. Since the British occupation rice has been the characteristic export, and in value amounts to about 280 BURMA two-tliirds of the gi-oss total. Te.ik represents in value about one-sixth ; next come raw cotton, pulse, and a variety of gums and resins, cutch and lac. Hides and horns form a considerable item, and latterly the export of petroleum has been increasing very notably. At first, when the means of transport were not so rapid as they are now, the mills in Ran;>oon confined themselves to only rough-husking the paddy. It was found that " white rice " — that is to say, perfectly husked rice — would not stand the long sea-voyage to England in sailing ships. Consequently for many years tJie grain set out was in by far the greatest quantity what is known as "five parts cargo rice." The gi-ain had still on it an inner yjellicle, and was mixed with about 20 per cent, of unhusked rice. The opening of the Suez Canal, and the much more general employment of steamers, has, however, put an end to this, and most mills have changed tlieir machinery, and tlie proportion of white rice to cargo rice is now practically the inverse of what it was a quarter of a century ago. The rice in tlie husk, invariably called paddy, is brouglit down in the cultivator's boats, and measured at the wharves as it is discharged, and is then stored in the mill. There it is winnowed, carried up to the top storey, and there passed between tlie grinding stones : if foi cargo rice, revolving just sufficiently far apart to remove the outer husk ; if for wliite rice, close enougli to take off both the outer and inner pellicle. Then it is re- winnowed by a blast, wliich carries off the loosened husk, sent in a cataract down a funnel, and shot into bags, which are sewn up by bevies of Burmese girls. Everything excejit the sewing is done by steam machinery ; and latterly the mills have been lighted by electricit3'j so that work may go on day and night. Each firm lias its brokers and buyers. The former, as a rule, live on tlie mill premises. Tiie rice season begins roughly with the beginning of the j'car. Each firm advances money to its buyers, and takes a mortgage on his boats as a security. The broker also frequently stands security for the buyer. The buyer then goes out to the fanners, and buys uji grain. He either brings it REGRATING 281 down to the mill or arranges Avith tlie cultivators to bring iL tlit-uiselves. In the former case he sells it to the mill owner at current rates, and is paid in cash. The brokers meet the cultivators' boats in the Rangoon or Pegu Rivers, and take over the cargoes. They are paid by a percentage on every bag, whether bought by themselves or by those for whom they have stood security. Competition yearly becomes keener, and, since the rice mills have only a limited amount of frontage on the river, there has been for years a custom of taking delivery in cargo boats moored in the river. These barges belong to the mil], and can remain anchored until there is room for them to come alongside the wharves. This saves time for sellers who are anxious to return to their homes. Some firms have also a number of small light-draught steamers which go out to meet the rice boats coming down, and tow them in. This re- grating is good neither for buyer nor seller, but tlie difficulty of communication prevents its disappearance. Few merchants' assistants know Burmese, and practi- cally no cultivators know English, so it will be long be- fore middlemen disappear. Latterly the system of " buy- ing against advances" has become more and more com- mon. The brokers go up-country dui-ing the rains, before the crops have ripened, and make large advances of the firms' money to the cultivators on the mortgage of the growing crops. The rice grower is bound to sell his har- vest at current market rates to the firm which has made the advance, and he has also to pay interest on the money advanced. When the system first began there was generally a stipulation that a certain proportion of the crop was to be sold at a fixed low rate for the 100 baskets : but the Burman is a hopelessly improvi- dent person, and usually gets into the hands of the chetties, the money-lending caste from the Madras coast, so chaffering and haggling is forced upon him. The Rangoon rice merchants are, moreover, a most cosmo- politan body. It might be hoped that they would be scrupulously honourable if they were all British, but they are not ; and in some places, unhappily, scruples do not existj and honour is lamentably inconspicuous. The 282 BURMA largest and richest firms do their best to crush out the smaller^ and the smaller cultivate every form of craft. Eastern and Western, to preserve their existence. The Burma ports lie off' the beaten track of commerce. Con- sequently vessels have to be chartered long before the rice begins to come down to the mills, and before the character of the harvest — heavy, middling, or poor — is known. With the charters forwai'd sales are also made. If there is a bumper harvest, and paddy is cheap, all goes well, but if the crops are bad from scanty early rains, or too abundant late rains, and paddy is dear, then matters are serious, for the more bags of rice the shipper sends home the more money he may lose. The difference of a few pence the stone of rice at home may mean the gain or loss of hundreds of pounds on a single ship's cargo. With the prosi)erity of Burma the price of paddy has grown enormously. In 1819 the price of ten baskets of unhusked rice — a basket is roughly a bushel, a little more than nine gallons — was a rupee, more or less. In 1855-56, about three years after the annexation of Pegu, paddy reached three times the price that it was before the war, and the price has gone on rising ever since. In 1848-4'9, when Akyab was already a rice port, and a certain amount was sold in Moulmein, 100 baskets of unhusked rice fetched 8 rupees, cargo I'ice was 22 rupees, and fully husked rice 31 rupees 8 annas. In the year of the Second Burma War, 1852-53, prices had already risen to 35 rupees the 100 baskets for paddy, 65 for cartfo rice, and 100 rupees for husked rice. In 1872 paddy averaged 55 rupees the 100 baskets, and in 1878, after several violent vicissitudes in intervening years, the price in January was 93 rupees and in April 130. This was the first heavy rise — from 72 in the previous year and 55 for the 100 baskets in the year before that ■ — and was due to the great famine in Madras and the consequent great demand for rice. The rupee was worth more in those days. Of late years the average price for 100 baskets of unhusked rice has ranged from 100 to 110 rupees, though it has always been cheaper at Akyab and Moulmein than in Rangoon and Bassein. EXPORT OF RTCE 283 With the rupee at Is. 4(1. this means £('<, 13s. 4cl. to £7, 6s. 8d. the 100 bushels of unmilied grain. Heavy or light harvests produce considerable fluctuations, and outside causes, such as the Indian famine of 1896, or heavy shipments for Japan just before the war with Russia, raise the demand and the price. Again, in 1900 over 1,000,000 tons of rice were shipped to India owing to the famine, and prices at the opening of the season began at from 110 to 115 rupees the 100 baskets. The area under cultivation has been expanding through all those years, but the prices do not fall. There is simply a larger turnover of money, for it cannot be too often repeated that the Burman is not a saving man. What he gets he spends, with all convenient rapidity, and it is usually directly or indirectly for the benefit of the im- porting merchant. Therefore the old Scottish saying : " May the free hand always be full," might well be a Rangoon merchant's toast. The area of rice cultivation in Upjier Burma, now close on 2,000,000 acres, is not enough for tlie wants of the people, and rice has to be brought from Lower Burma. At the present time close on 6,500,000 acres are cropped with rice in Lower Burma. The area increases so steadily that exact figures are of no use, except in an annual report, and 25,500,000 acres are ready for the plough when cultivators can be found. In 1873-74, twenty years after the taking of Pegu, the amount of rice exported was 483,904 tons. An exceptional amount of rice was sent to India that year, and in the following year there was a drop to 385,622 ; but in 1877-78 the amount was 456,374 tons, with a value of 30,203,390 rupees, against the 22,571,297 rupees of 1874. In 1889 the amount of tons of rice sent to Eui'ope was 708,930 ; to India, China, and Singapore 245,129 tons ; and to Upper Burma 58,504 tons. In 1894, 729,965 tons went to Europe and America ; 59^,504 tons to India, China, and the Straits Settlements; and 36,531 tons to Upper Burma. In 1899 the tonnage sent to Eui-ope and America was 867,415 ; to India, China, and the Straits 684,016 ; while that to Upper Burma has latterly not been recorded ; but apart from this, the total tonnage exported for the year was 1,551,431 tons, against the 1,012,563 tons of 1889. In 1902-3 the export 284 BTTRMA was imicli l)c]ow the normal, and between llie 1st January and the SOLli June of that year 1,423,000 tons were ex- ported. The greatest export in any one year was in I'JOO, when in a period of ten montlis l,i)06,738 tons were exported. By far the greatest amount of Burma rice goes to England, but great quantities go to Bremen and Hamburg, and France, Gei-many, and Holland also take a great deal. Rice of a specially fine quality, with a glaze on the surface, is manufactured for Italy. 1,000,000 tons of rice is worth a little more than £.5,000,000 sterling, and brings in a revenue in the shape of export duty of about £400,000. Rice dust is swept up in the mills, and is used by Chinamen for fattening pigs. For a long time the paddy husk was useless, and had to be shot into the river to get rid of it. There were many schemes for utilising it as fuel, but none of them were very successful. Latterly a great deal of rice bran, i-esulting from the much greater manufacture of white rice, has been exported Teak. — Teak-trees were always the property of the Crown in Burma, and the ownership in all forests, reserved and unreserved, whether in Burma proper or in the Shan States, still vests in the British Government. The export of teak was never forbidden as that of rice was, but at first it went out mainly in the shape of ships built in the Rangoon River. It was the French who first instructed the Burmese in shipbuilding, and apparently the Gimpaia, of 680 tons, and the Agnes, launched in 178(), were the first vessels built. From the beginning of the nineteenth century ships were built regularly, and ranged from 1000 tons burden down to 50 tons, or occasionally even less. In the period between the First and Second Burma \\'ars twenty-four vessels, with an aggregate tonnage of 5625, were constructed in the Rangoon River. The largest was the Maiicnii, of .'iOO tons. Teak in the form of planks, with an export duty of 5 per cent., was also exported, and the value reported in 1805 was 461,15;! rupees. Systematic teak trade, however, first began in Moulmein. It took some years to build a port there, for Moulmein was merely a small fishing village at the time of the Treaty of Yandabu. In 1836 the amount of timber revenue realised TEAK EXPORTS 285 was Rs.20,804. In 184.6 this had risen to Rs.88,8fi<) and in 1856 to Rs.'206,.''59. From tliat year on the export of teak in tons is recorded. In 1856 it was '28,779 tons. Ten years later it was l'8jl90 tons, having been 118,976 the year before (1865-66). In 1877-78 the export was I'i,'i,212 tons. Shipbuilding was also begun in 1830, when the Demi, a schooner of 51 tons, was built, and from that time on till 1856 the industry was fairly brisk, and 123 ships were built. The largest was launched in 1856. This was the ship Co.y>ahick, of 1418 tons, which was eventually burnt on a voyage with emigrants from England to Australia. Others were the steamer Malacca, of 1300 tons, built in 1853 ; the ship Canning of 1022 tons, built in 1854 ; and the ship Copenhagen, of 1017 tons, built in 1855 From the rise of Rangoon onwards the importance of Moulmein de- clined, and the shipbuilding industry dwindled, and has now quite disappeared. Until nearly the end of the century, however, the exports of teak from Moulmein were in excess of those from Rangoon. This was because vast quantities of teak came down the Salween River from the forests of the Southern Shan States, from Karen-ni and froiTi Siam. But these forests have gradually become exhausted from reckless felling, and Moulmein is never likely again to equal its former shipments. The forests in the Irrawaddy drainage, on the contraiy, are strictly conserved, and the export may be expected to steadily increase. In 1893-94 the shipments from Moulmein were 85,722 tons and from Rangoon 85,623 tons. In 1896-97 Rangoon exported 207,405 tons and Moulmein 65,986. In 1899-1900 the figures were : for Rangoon 209,303 tons and for Moulmein 62,983 tons. The average value per ton of teak in 1893 was £4, 18s. 2d., in 1897 £5, lis. 3d., and in 1900 £5, 12s. The value of the 272,286 tons exported in 1900 was, therefore, £1,524,797. The teak logs, after being killed by girdling, are dragged by elephants to the forest streams, and float out in the time of the rains. Sometimes two or three years, some- times five or even more, pass before the log completes the journey from the forests to the collecting stations, where the logs are gathered together, pay tribute, and are sorted out according to the marks of the various contractors and 286 BtlRMA lessors wii^ on,i cdetn. These hammer marks are put on in the forests, and each timber trader pays a fee for his hammer, which has to be regularly renewed. At the collecting stations the logs are rafted, and taken down to the timber yards. In the forests practically all the hand- ling of timber is done by elephants — "the huge earth- quaking beast that hath between his eyes a ser[)ent for a hand." In the saw mills much is done by machinery, but much also is done by elephants, and the intelligence exhibited by the great animals in the piling of stjuared logs and the stacking of sawn planks is still one of the sights of Rangoon. The working of the forests is dealt with in the section on that subject. On the first occupation of Burmu tlie system which prevailed was to lease the forests to different private firms, who paid a royalty to Government. These leases have now almost all fallen in, and the system now adopted is to extract the timber by direct (Juvernment agency, through contractors of the Forest Dej)artment. The great collecting station is that of Kado, not far up the Salween from Moulmein. There the logs as they come in are stored until they are sold by their owners, and cleared from the depot on payment of the Government royalty, or after the levy of a duty of 7 per cent, ad valorem on all such teak timber as has been floated down the river from foreign territory. Monthly public auctions of timber are held at the Government Timber Depot in Rangoon ; but the best logs are always put aside for the use of the Bombay dockyard, for Calcutta, and Madras, and for Government requirements generally in every part, where- ever they may be required. Cutch. — Next in value to rice and teak comes cutch as an export. This is the substance formerly, and still to a certain extent, known as Terra japonica. It is a dark substance obtained by boiling down chips of an Acacia called by the Burmese the Sha-tvee. This grows best in the dry zone ; but excessive boiling has ruined many of the plantations, and the trade, though it is recovering, is not by a good deal of the importance it was some years ago. In 18,Q6 the export amounted to 7827 tons, of a value of 33,550,000 rupees. The trade is beginning to revive again. RUBBER EXPORTS 287 but it is still from 1000 to 1500 tons less than it was in that year. Cutch is largely used for dyeing sails, fishing nets, yarn, and the like, and it gives a rich dark brown colour. Other Exports. — A considerable amount of india-rubber, both from the Finis elaslica and from various tree creepers, is exported, and the amount may be expected to increase. Raw hides and horns also form a fluuri'-hing export. The value ranges over twenty lakhs of rupees, while rubber aggregates twelve to thirteen lakhs. A very considerable amount of raw cotton is also exported, to a value of over twenty lakhs, and this is a cultivation which might be immensel}' increased and improved. Lubricating oil and paraffin wax are also a rapidly increasing export, though the supply of refined oil from the petroleum wells is not enough by 2,000,000 gallons for the illuminating needs of the province. Inland Exports. — The value of the inland export trade to Western China, Siam, Karen-ni, and the Shan States amounts now to a value of over £'-2,000,000 sterling, and is steadily, though not very rapidly, increasing. With better communications, and especially with a railway connection with, or to the borders of, China, it might be expected to increase with a rapidity which would make Rangoon the chief of the Indian Government ports. At present the chief exports are raw cotton, piece-goods, yarns, oil, jade, betel nuts, and petty articles, such as candles, soap, and matches. Impoits. — Just as rice and teak are overwhelmingly the largest exports, so cotton, silk, and woollen piece-goods and textures, and cotton twist, and yarn, are by a long way the most important imports. Till comparatively recent years Manchester silks, to the value of twentv-five to thirty lakhs of rupees, had the market to themselves ; but there is now a very rapidlj' increasing import of silks from Japan, and it seems probable that this supplanting of English manufactures is likely to continue. Raw silk, to the value of fifteen lakhs, is also imported, though a con- siderable amount of silk of a somewhat coarse but str57.050 I77,!S.SS,I44 129,725,954 Coasting Trade — Imports 90,307,220 112,221,505 94,998,958 Exports 89,446,749 160,450,857 184,193,403 Orand Total of Trade 420,284,139 568,972,019 540,829,162 Customs. — The Sea Customs Department was not estab- lished in Burma till after the Second Burmese War, when there were separate establishments in Akyab, established in 1855, and in Moulmein established in 1856. In 1862 the three provinces were united to form Lower Bui-ma, ami T 290 BURMA from that year on the figures showing the trade of all the ports were amalgamated into one set of returns. By 1878-79 the value of the trade had trebled in value, and reached a total of Rs. 167,658,245. The tonnage of vessels which entered from and cleared for foreign ports was 381,130 and 525,636, and the tonnage of vessels employed in the coasting trade was 1,347,017. The great bulk of the carrying trade then, and still, is in British bottoms. Practically the whole of the coasting trade between Burma and the rest of British India, which amounted in 1899- 1900to a total of 2,571,926 tons, of a value of Rs. 1 40,603,460, went under the British flag. To foreign countries 734,850 tons were cleared, and of this British ships carried 629,967 tons and German vessels only 37,328. It would be well if the same proportions held in other British possessions. In 1889-90 the total value of Burma sea-borne trade was: imports £6,375,001, exports £6,776,800 — a total of £13,151,801. In 1894-95 imports fell to £5,551,259, but exports rose to a value of £9,11,3,847, with an ag- gregate value of £14,665,106. The figures for 1899-1900 were, imports £8,291,029, exports £12,428,963— a total of £20,819,992. The chief Customs authority is the financial com- missioner, under whom the chief collector of Customs administers the port and Customs at Rangoon, with an assistant collector and a superintendent of preventive service. Moulmein, Akyab, and Bassein have collectors in charge of the ports. At Rangoon also, with its great preponderance of trade, there are a port officer and assistant port officer, whose duties in the other ports are performed by the Customs collectors. The proportion of imports to exports remains fairly consistent : imports amount to two-fifths and exports to three-fifths. The value of the exports which go to Europe has passed £4,000,000 sterling, and is steadily increasing. The report on the maritime trade of Burma for the official year 1903-04 shows that the aggregate was the largest on record. Excluding Government transactions, 61 82 per cent, of the trade was with foreign countries, and the balance coasting trade. The foreign imports were valued at Rs. 82,625,707, as against Rs.59,554,645 during CUSTOMS 291 tlie preceding year — that is, an increase of 38'8 per cent. Tlie foreign exports of Indian mercliiiiidise were Rs. 158/209,018, as against Rs.154.,737,035 tlie preceding year — tliat is, an increase of 2'2 per cent. ; and tlie foreign niercliandise re-exported Rs.479,689, as against Rs.28'l',87'i tlie preceding year — that is, an increase of 68 '4 per cent. In coasting trade the imports of Indian produce were Rs.65,141,402, as against Rs. 60,949,315 the preceding year, an increase of 6\9 per cent. ; and the imports of foreign merchandise Rs. 12,743,352 against Rs. 11,624,075, an in- crease of 8\9 per cent. Tlie coasting exports of Indian pro- duce were Rs.53,l.'!6,482 against Rs.58,670,354, a decrease of 9'4 per cent. ; and the exports of foreign merchandise Rs.9,030,769 against Rs.8,452,020, an increase of 6-8 per cent. Exclusive of Government transactions, but including gold and silver, the total foreign trade was Rs.244,023,767 against Rs.217, 774,983, an increase of 12-1 per cent.; and the aggregate coasting trade Rs. 155,991,103, a de- crease of 34 per cent. The total maritime trade was thus Rs.394,670,251,or roughly £26,250,000 sterling, as against Rs.373,766,086 — that is, an increase of 5'6 per cent. The great increase was partly due to bumper crops and an accommodating money market, but the growth i-s un- checked. The most notable increases were in consign- ments from the following countries in lakhs of rupees : — the United Kingdom 131 lakhs, Austria-Hungary 6, Belgium 9, France 6, Germany l6, Holland 7, Russia 2, United States 6, China and Hongkong 6, Japan 22, Java 5, and the Straits Settlements 8, lalihs of rupees. Taking the whole foreign import trade, the United Kingdom contributed 5867 per cent., as against 59'39 per cent, the preceding year. The Straits Settlements came second with 11-72 pev cent, against 1479 per cent.; Japan third with 602 per cent, against 4-6l ; Germany fourth with 588 per cent, against 540; Belgium fifth with 374 per cent, against 364. Holland with 3'il6 per cent.; the United States with 306; France with 223; China with 2; Austria-Hungary with 1-66; and Java, with -79, came next. It is increasingly evident that the Japanese silk piece- goods are steadily ousting the European-made goods from 292 ]BURMA the market by their f^veater durability, superior histre, and better vakie generally. The iinports of matches from Japan also increased iVom Ks.9-18, grammes, 4 yue-gyi make 1 pe-gyi, which is the sixteenta 324 BURMA of a tical, and weighs ro6 grammes. 2 pe gyi make 1 mu- gyi, 2 mu-gyi 1 mat, 4 mat 1 tical, or kyat. The kyat, or tical, weighs 255 '64 grains, or 1696 grammes. 100 kyat make 1 beit-tha, or viss, which weiglis 3'652 pounds avoirdupois, or 1-696 kilogrammes. 10 beit-tha make 1 kwet, 36-52 pounds, also called kwet-tase. The viss, tical, and its submultiples are the only weights in common use. In native times the standard weights were shaped in the form of the Hentha, or Brahminy, goose, or sometimes with the animal representing the royal birthday. Tiie Hentha weights are the only form seen nowadays, and British weights are steadily supjilanting them. PART IV ARCHEOLOGY— ARCHITECTURE— ART— MUSIC There are practically no archfeological or architectural remains, or any buildings of any interest, in Burma except those connected with religion. Ruined cities there are in abundance ; but the royal buildings were of teak, and these have absolutely vanished. The palace of Manuha at Pagan, mentioned below, is practically the only non- religious building existing that is of exceptional interest. The Indo-Chinese custom was that for every new ruler, at any rate for every ruler of note and energy, there was a new capital. Old sites were often taken up again. Ava was a notable example in various dynasties. Some of the cities were ruthlessly razed to the ground, and some have actually been ploughed up. But there are many ancient cities still, and in the Shan States they may be counted almost by the score. In the recesses of a dense forest, which it Avould hardly be an exaggera- tion to call primeval, one comes upon a vallum, on which ti'ees 8 feet, 12 feet, and 15 feet in girth are growing. The rampart may enclose a square of half-a-mile, a mile, a mile and a half to the side ; and round the outside there is an obvious moat, 15 or 20 feet wide and 10 feet deep, but now choked with cane brake, or filled with huge forest gi'owth instead of water. The wall of sun- dried brick has long since mouldered away into scarp and counterscarp, but still it is from 10 to 20 feet high; and the work of thousands of men is not altogether thrown away, since it still arouses curiosity, which is not always gratified, for many of tliese monuments to the vanity of human wishes have not even names among the local villagers. Inside there is usually noLhing to be seen except blank jungle, unless, perhaps, other ridges show that there was an inner city, or that the whole was 325 32G BURMA divided into three strips, as seems quite commonly to have been the case. Here and there a tumuhis suggests that there may have been a brick building, a pagoda or a harem, a library or a refuge tower, but the banjan- trees have strangled it, and the white ants have made it a. simple cone of earth. It is possible that some ot these may have been like the woodland or mountain fastnesses of the Celts, which Csesar describes in Britain, and some of which may still be seen in the Carnarvon neighbourhood and elsewhere, designed to afford the people a retreat, and protection for themselves and their flocks in times of excursions and alarms ; but it seems more probable, in the absence of all reference to such works, that they were once really cities, and now remain merely as texts to point a moral or adorn a tale. Nothing can be more complete than the effacement of all trace ot human dwellings in Chieng-hsen and Selan, which we know to have been powerful capitals. It is practically much the same with Tagaung and Pagan, on the Irrawaddy, which in tlieir time were far-famed centres, but now, with a scanty sprinkling of casual huts, have not much more life about them than the mosses on an old wall or the saxifrages that variegate a ravelin. Nothing remains but the temples and pagodas. There is, therefore, a great tendency to call Pagan with its self- asserted ,9999 shrines, a religious city, and to compare it with Mecca, Kieff, Lhassa, Benares, but it was no more a purely religious city than Ava or Amarapura. If Mandalay were abandoned, or Rangoon, or Pegu, nothing would be left within the generation but the religious buildings. The same thing is characteristic of all Indo- Chinese cities. Pagan is frequently compared to the ruins at Angkor, north of the Tale Sap, on the borders of .Siam and Cam- boja, and to the stupendous structure at Boro Bodor, the great Buddhistic ruin in the Kadu district of Java ; with the Chandi Sewu, or Thousand Temples (really 238), not far off at Brambanan. It is very certain, hov ever, that there is little or no resemblance between the existing Pagan temples and those now cleared at Champanagara, Angkor. Both palace and temples are much more Indian ARCHAEOLOGY 327 in cliavacter in tlie Cliiampa capital. Boro Bodor is more Biiddhislic, and has terraces and corridors like those of the Pagan shrines, with scenes from the life of Sakya Muni and the Jatakas. The'' whole three undoubtedly have the same inspiring spirit, but each has its individual cliaracter, and shows the influence of the people on the original Indian architects. The common story is that Anuruddha, or Anawrat'ii, the King of Pagan (whose classical name is Arimaddanapura), swept down on Thaton (Saddhamma-Nagara) in the year 10.50 a.d., and carried oflt' everything — king, monks, sacred books, and the people, whom he employed to build temples at Pagan on the model of those which had existed in their old home. No remains whatever, or only of the most indistinguishable chai-acter, now exist at Thaton ; and it has been suggested that the capital Anawrat'a sacked was not Thaton, but Angkor. It has also been thought that the city of the Calaminham, Timplan, of which we are told by Ferniio Mendez Pinto may be Champanjigara, and the Temple or Pagoda of Tinagoogoo, one of the prototypes of the fanes at Pagan. Mendez Pinto's account of the route to Timplan is beyond the comprehension of any geographer or of any sane man ; but he lost all his notes and papers many times over, and he wrote his book in his old age. In the same way, the builders whom Anawrat'a carried off are not likely to have taken j)lans with them into captivity, and they constructed the Pagan temples, doubtless, on the sclieme of a mingling of confused memories and the sug- gestions of a diflTerent kind of landscape. As if to prove that Pagan was really the capital of the country, and not a mere holy town, there may still be traced the ramparts and gates of the walls which en- closed it. Near the Shwe San-daw Pagoda, also, is to be seen a cromlech, or dolmen (figured in Yule's " Mission to Ava "), which may be a relic of the old serpent-worship, that the Royal Chronicle tells us was put an end to by Anawrat'a more than 1000 years after the fabled founding of Pagan. The pagodas and temples, no doubt, outnumber, as they have outlasted, everything. Never- theless, it is a mistake to say, as Forchhammer does, that "the history of Pagan is essentially a history of religion. 328 BURMA With the exception of Manuha's palace, there is not at present a building left in Pagan that has not been erected in the service of the most powerful Buddhist hierarchy that existed since the time of Asoka." This suggests, though, no doubt, not intentionally, a compai-ison with Lhassa, and nothing could be further from the fact. The monks were, doubtless, as respected, or perhaps more respected, than they are now, but they were not riders. Tliey had no temporal power, and it is the names of kings, not of monks — of Anawrat'a, Kyanyit-tha, Nai-apati- sithu, and Kyaw-zwa — that live in the Ananda, Shwczigon, Bodhipallin, and Kyaukku Temples. The city was full of monks ; but there were 30,000 wearers of the yellow robe in Mandalay in King Mindon's time, and no one has dreamt of calling Mandalay a religious city. Pagan extended hospitality to the scattered bands of Biiddliists, fugitive from all parts of India. From the tenth to the thirteenth century it was the most celebrated centre of Buddhist religious life and leai-ning in Indo-CIiina. Fraternities came from Ceylon, called Sihaldipa, fiom the conquered Hamsavati (Pegu), from Ayuttara (Siam), Kampoja (the Shan States), from Nipal, and from ChiiiH, and the King, Narapatijayasiira, gave each sect or fraternity separate quarters to live in. But they lived and wrote and wrangled, and excommunicated one another, after the manner of other religious sects, without claiming any temporal power or thinking that the city was theirs. Burma is constantly called the land of pagodas, and the name inevitably suggests itself to the traveller on the Irratvaddy. But there are at least three distinct types of buildings, all of them religious, which may be classified as follows : — 1. Solid pagodas, or topes enshrining relics, such as the Shwe Dagon Pagoda, Rangoon. 2. Carved and ornamented wooden monasteries {{lovgiji Ici/aungs), including the royal palace at Mandalay, rest- houses (gayals), wooden shrines, Hieins, tazaungs, and the like. S. Masonry temples, such as the Ananda and others, peculiar to Pagan and other old sites in Upper Burma. !^J^¥^ PAGODAS AT M(jXG HENG. PAGODAS 829 Pagodas. — Probably the Pagan temples interest visitors most. Architecturally they are much the finer, there is far greater variety, and one at least reminded Archibald Forbes of " Milan Cathedral strayed out into the waste." But from the point of view of numbers, importance, historically and in the eyes of the religious, and in antiquity, they cannot compare with the pagodas. The word pagoda is a puzzle. Yule hesitates between dagoba, shaken up between the teeth, and bhagavol, mean- ing divine. But when one thinks of the old voyagers who wrote "rodger" for rajah, "upper rodger" for upayaza; and converted mantri into mandarin, it is hardly possible to hesitate. It must be a hurried shot at dagoba, a relic shrine, or at any rate it must be by bhagavat out of dagoba. However that may be, the word pagoda denotes the same class of buildings as are known in India as topas, or slupas — that is to say, the solid brickwork relic shrines, or monuments raised over relics of the Buddha Gautama or some other Buddhist saint. The essential point about a pagoda is that it is solid, and, therefore, the common name given to Maha Myat Muni, in Mandalay, of the Arakan Pagoda (which is, doubtless, the building meant by Mr Kipling when he sings of "the old Moulmein Pagoda") is wrong. It would more correctly be called the Arakan Temple. The Burmese word for pagoda is zedi, and the Arakan Temple would never be called a zedi. The common classification of pagodas, or zcdis, is as follows : — 1. Dat-datv Zedi, those containing relics of a Buddha or Rahanda. 2. Paribawga Zedi, those containing implements or gar- ments which have belonged to the Buddhas or to sacred personages. 3. Dhamma Zedi, those containing books or texts. 4. Vdeiksa Zedi, those built from motives of piety, and containing statues of the Buddha or models of sacred buildings. The last two classes are by far the most numerf)us, and might almost be called the private pagodas, since they are most often put up by individuals or bands of relations. 330 BURMA The erection of such a shrine is considered a work of the greatest possible merit. The pious founder receives the title of paydlagd, and is assumed to be sure of the most favourable trans-incorporation in another existence. By far the greater number of Burmese pagodas are built of brickwork, covered with stucco, though stone is also used here and there, as in tlie case of the laterite pagodas of Thaton, in Lower Bu::na, ;ind here and there in the Shan States. The outside is usually whitewashed, and in the case of rich founders, or where the pagoda is looked upon as village property, or has become widely noted, it is gilt either all over or only the spire. Gilding is a favourite way of acquiring merit among the Burmese. Their most sacred pagodas, images, and monasteries are all heavily gilt, not always to the advantage of the details. In most cases it is quite impossible to ascertain the exact age of a pagoda. Noted pagodas always have a thamcdng, or palm-leaf chronicle, but the details and dates are not always convincing. It seems probable, however, that shrines of this kind were erected in Burma and the Shan States as far back as the time of King Asoka, called Dhammathawka by the Burmese. He reigned in the middle of the third centurj^ before the Christian era, and sent missionaries far and wide, besides causing over 80,000 relic shrines to be built. Nothing earlier than this can be expected, for even in India nothing has been discovered which can be placed further back with any degree of certainty. The Shwe Dagon P.sgoda is possibly the most interesting example of the growth of these buildings. It began by being a simple, humble, relic shrine, and gradually grew to its present noble dimensions. After the annexation a passage was cut from the niche facing the eastern entrance to the centre of the pagoda. It was found to be through- out of solid brickwork, and the first pagoda was found to have had seven casings added to it. The original relic shrine is said to have been 27 feet high, and to have been erected in 585 b.c. This mnv be, but the date of the successive casings is not recorded. It is this peculiar method of construction which makes t so difficult to study the development of pagoda-building HOW A PAGODA IS BUILT. ARCHITECTURE S31 in Burma and to determine their original dates of erection, for tlie oldest and most interesting remains are all hidden from view by successive shellSj almost certainly of different styles. The modern Burmese pagoda is unquestionably the direct lineal descendant of the ancient Indian Buddhist slupas, and through them of the sepulchral tumuli of the Indo-Chinese,, or Turanian, races, although it now bears no resemblance to the low, round mounds from which it originally sprang. In India and Ceylon there are, how- ever, fairly complete series of topes and dagobas, dating from the third century b.c. to about the time when Burmese architecture may be said to begin, with the rise of Pagan in the ninth century of our era. The chain is continued in Burma up to the present day, and we can, therefore, follow the evolution of the pagoda over the immense period of over 2000 years. A few of the older forms of pagodas unmistakably show their Indian origin, and would cause hardly any surprise if met with in 'India. These older forms are much more massive and simple in outline. In process of time they fined away, and became more elaborate and slender, so much so tliat one can gener- ally fiiirly accurately .judge of the modernness of a pagoda by the degree of attenuation it has attained. The Shan pagodas are much more slender in the spire than the Burmese. They retain the hti, oi umbrella, which the Siamese pagodas discard. The style is decadent, though it is impossible to deny that the modern pagoda has gained in elegance what it has lost in grandeur. The date when the present shape began is not yet known. It is only by breaking into old pagodas that we could really find out anything about them. This is, of course, impossible in the case of those which are still revered and looked after by the people. But there are ancient pagodas in out-of- the-way places which are quite neglected, and might be explored without giving offence. There is an especially great field for this in Pagan, and scientific investigalion there would settle many obscure and disputed points in the ancient history of Burma. All the larger pagodas stand on a wide, open platform. On this, surrounding the main shrine, are a number of smaller pagodas, shrines, or iazauiig-pyathats, packed full with images of the Buddha ; 332 BURMA rest-liouses, or zayats, for the convenience of wovsliippers from a distance; altars for lights, incense, and flowers; bells of all sizes ; flagstaffs carrying metal-work crowns or Mis ; sacred birds and nals ; drinking-water stands, or ye-o-zin ; and many other things placed there by those in search of kutho — merit against another existence. On the four sides of the pagoda, facing the cardinal points, porch- like image shrines are usually erected. The entrances opening on to the saung-dan, or staircase approaches, occa- sionally very long, are generally guarded by a couple of chjnthe, grotesque leogryphs, and the parapets flanking the steps are sometimes formed into the image of nagas, with long, scaly bodies and tails. The Buraians divide important pagodas, such as the Shwe Dagon, into twelve parts : (1) The base, with the surrounding pagodas, called the shoe; (2) the three terraces, called pickai/a: (3) the bell; (4) the inverted thabeik, or alms-bowl ; (5) the baung-yit, or twisted turban ; (6) the h/alan, or ornamental lotus flower ; (7) the plantain bud ; (8) the brass plate for the hli, or umbrella; (9) the hti; (10) the seinhnin, or artificial flowers; (11) the vane; (la) the seiiibu, or bud of diamonds, A less elaborate division is into four distinct parts . (1) The square masonry or brickwork terrace. At the corners are frequently found the strange, winged human- headed lions, with double bodies, known as manussiha, or man-lion, and recalling the ancient Assyrian winged lions. At Pegu there are two such terraces round the Shwe- hmaw-daw, with a double ring of miniature pagodas. (2) A high plinth of a boldly moulded stepped contour, generally of elaborate polygonal form in plan. (3) The hell-shaped body of the pagoda, divided into two portions by an ornamental band. ("4.) The spire, consisting of a number of rings ; a lotus- leaf band, with a bead moulding in the centre, and leaves above and below, pointing in opposite directions ; a ter- minal carrot-shaped cone, surmounted by the gilt metal- work crown, or hit, indicating the sanctity of the building. The hti, or umbrella, is made of pierced iron-work, gener- ally of beautiful design, and richly gilt. It consists of THE MODERN ORXATE STYLE OF PAGODA. MONASTERY-BUILDING 88S several rings rising in diminishing stages, and finished off with a long iron rod. It has a superficial resemblance to the Pope's tiara, or triple crown. Small bells of every kind of metal are usually hung to these rings, and tinkle with the slightest breeze. Several old litis (which have been rej)laced by others at difierent times) may be seen on the Shwe Dagon platform. Monasteries. — Next to pagodas the monasteries are the most numerous and characteristic buildings in Burma. They are all built of wood, and have, therefore, neither antiquity nor special architectural value, for the material does not admit of it. The buildings also frequently suffer from an excess of ornamentation, and thus lose dignity, besides bewildering the eye. One of the finest puvgyi kyaungs is that of the Queen Supayalat at Mandalay, properly called the Myadaung kyaung, which exhibits all the beauties and all the defects of the style. The light pavilions, with their profusion of gabled roofs, and the graceful spire rising in diminishing stages, make a highly picturesque group, but the wealth of ornamentation lavished on gables, ridges, eaves, finials, and balustrades scatters the attention, and is tar from the chaste canon of Japanese art. The wood for a kyaung is usually selected from the best and most seasoned logs. The posts are sometimes ex- cessively large. They are planed round, and painted, or lacquered, red, and in some cases are wholly or partially gilt. The staircase is generally of brick and stucco work, and the steps, according to a long-established custom, must be in odd numbers, which are supposed to bring luck. There is a verandah, called zingyan, on thiee sides of the kyaung, in which the monks walk about when they are wearied with silent meditation. On the eastern side a small building, a little higher in the flooring than the main structure, is attached, and an image of the Buddha Gautama is placed there. Over this separate hpaya kyaung is placed the pyalliut, n. tiered spire, with an umbrella, or hti, on the top, both of them marks of sanctity. The pyalhal has either three, five, or seven roofs, according to the dignity of the building. It was onlv used for royal pHlaoes, monasteries, the haw, or m uuhma palaces, of Shan chiefs, who had a tiiple tier, and occasiotl- a)ly in the houses of the highest officials by special rescript of the king. Technically there sliould be no more rooms than two in a monastery — one at the corner of tlie south-west part of the building and another on the west side. The former is used as a storeroom, and the latter for the younger members of the house to sleep in. The puugyi, prior, or head monk, sleeps (Jcyeiii-tln is the honorific word) at the corner of tlie south-east of the building — that is to say, in the part closest to the hpaija-ki/aung. The north- eastern part is used as the schoolroom and for the recep- tion of visitors, and has the appearance of, but is not really, a separate room. Outwardly a monastery looks as if it had several storeys ; but they are in reality never more than one storey high, since the national, and still more the monkish, feeling is strongly against having any one's feet over his head. The open, pillared hall underneath is for this reason never utilised, except as a playground by the schoolboys, who have not yet arrived at an^' notions of personal dignity. The Burmese monastery style so strongly resembles that of the wooden temples of Nepaul that there can be little doubt that they have a common origin. Although the Burmese monastic buildings are, owing to their material, of quite modern date, they are particularly interesting, because they never vary in design, and there is little reason to doubt that they reproduce the traditional forms of ancient wooden architecture in India, Assyria, and else- where. They may represent to us the wooden palaces of Nineveh, and hint at the architecture of King Solomon's Temple, built of the cedars of Lebanon. The p6ng>/i kyaung always occupies the best and quietest site near the town or village. It stands in a spacious com- pound, called the hparaivaing, shaded by immemorial trees, and often planted with fruit and flowering shrubs, or rare and curious plants. The monastic library is always separate from the main building, and almost always built of brick, as a safeguard against fire. The whole demesne and curtilage is marked off by a fence, sometimes a brick wall, sometimes a ridge of earth planted with shrubs, sometimes o o < Q < o y. s o y. < o s MASONRY TEMPLES 805 a hedge of cactuses, or occasionally a mere railing. But it is scniiiulously respected, and within a cerbain distance of this, usually marked by pillars, the taking of life of any kind is forbidden. The Burmese monastery is never very large, and does not accommodate more than three or four monks with their superior, besides a few novices and lay scholars. There is never any approach to the rabblenieut that dwells in the Tibetan lamaseries. Masonry Temples. — In this class are included the large, square brick temples of Pagan, such as the Ananda, the Tliapinyu, the Gawdapalin, and many more peculiar to Pagan. These are admirably described in Yule's " Mission to Ava in 1855," a book which every visitor to Pagan should read. Unlike the pagodas, their purpose is to contain not relics, but huge presentments of the Buddha. This influences their form, and they all rise up in gradually diminishing terraces, like the huge bulk of Omi Shan in Ssu-ch'uan, and are capped by a swelling spire, very like that of the ordinary Hindu Siviilaya, and still more re- sembling the sikras of the Jain temples of Northern India. They are of very considerable size, and the larger reach 200 feet in height. The Thapinyu has only one cell in the centre of the building right under the silcra, but the Ananda has four, representing all four Biiddhas of this world cycle, standing square to the four cardinal points. Shafts of light from cunningly placed slit windows illu- minate the features with a singularly striking effect. Nothing quite like the Pagan temples is to be found anywhere else. They should be seen by every visitor to Burma. The buildings are mostly cruciform in plan, the details of ornamentation may almost all be traced to Indian art, but the arches and vaults resting on their pilasters, with base, capital, and cornice, and the construc- tion generally, are quite foreign to Hindu architecture, and rather recall the architecture of Rome, and yet so blended with original designs to be found nowhere else, that it can only be said that vastly more study, for which as yet no funds have been forthcoming, is required. Temples, in the strict sense of the word, have always, even from the earliest times, been rare in Buddhist countries. ''"be only Buddhist structure of the kind 836 BURMA still existing in India is the Malia Bawdi at Biulligaya. It is believed to have been built about a.d. 500, and a model of it is to be seen at Panan. The adoration of images is, of course, no part of the Buddhist faith, and, so far as is known, no representations of the Buddha are to be seen in the older Buddhist sculptures. It is thought that the general use of images, and the construction of temples to hold them, did not appear in Buddhism till some time after the commencement of the Christian era. In this connection it may be remarked that the last Buddha, Gautama, is canonised by the Romish Church under the name of St Josaphat. Images. — Now, Burma abounds with images of Gautama, and Mandalay is a great place for their manufacture. So also is Birmingham. They are ordinarily made of brass, alabaster, and wood ; or, in the case of the larger ones, of brick and plaster, and the smaller of silver, gold, amber, and precious stones. Only three kinds of images are recognised : 1. Seated images, called by the Burmese Tiiibm/cive. In these Gautama is represented sitting cross-legged, with the left hand open on his lap, and the right hand resting on the right knee, with the fingers pointing downward. This is the conventional attitude of Gautama sitting in meditation under the bodhi-tree, when he attained to supreme wisdom. The original of this class of images is probably the one which once stood in the temple at Budhgaya, a temple erected near the very pipal - tree under which the Buddha is said to have attained the divine enlightenment. The oldest and most sacred of this class of images in Burma is the Mahamuni image in the Arakan Temple, near Mandalay, which is said to have been cast under the Buddha Gautama's personal supervision. This form is by far the most common. 2. ^landing images, called Mayat-taiv, representing the Buddha in the attitude of teaching, with his right hand raised. This is the class to which the huge images in the Pagan temples belong. 3. liccumbenl images, known as Shinhinthalyaung, of the conventional attitude of the Buddha at his death, when lie attained to the blissful state of Nirvana, or Nckban, TINIAGES 387 the eternal rest. In these images Giuitama is represented as resting on his right side, the head supported on the right hand, while the left arm is lying at ftdl length on the left leg. An example of this is the colossal figure, 181 feet long, near Pegu. These standing and lying images are both far from common. These are the only types found in Burma, and the con- ventional attitude never varies. The face is usually well formed, of a calm, dignified expression, especially in the older images ; the quite modern ones have not infre- quently a disagreeable simper. The lobes of the ear are long, reaching down to the shoulders. The hair is tied in a knot on the top of the head, and represented in peculiar little curls, or points, all close together, and somewhat resembling tlie rough exterior of a jack-fruit. Some of the Pagan images have faces which are more Aryan than Mongoloid. The same type is seen in the Eastern Shan States. Want of time and opportunity prevented Yule from seeing the Kyaukku Temple and Manuha's palace. The Kyauklcu Onhmin is the oldest and the most interesting of the ancient historical buildings at Pagan. It is not often seen, for it stands in the extreme northernmost point of historical Pagan, between one and two miles from the present town of Nyaung-u, where the Irrawaddy Flotilla steamers stop. The approach is difficult from all sides. The gorge which holds the shrine runs due east for half-a- mile, and then bends north till it reaches the Irrawaddy. The temple stands on an elevation, so that its base is a little above the high-water mark. It has three distinct storeys and lateral terraces, all built against the south side of the gorge. The lowest storey, with the exception of the upper tiers, which are of brick, is built of blocks of stone, a greenish, fine-gndned, hard sandstone which is quite distinct from anything in the geological forma- tion of Pagan or its neighbourhood, and may have been brought from Popa Hill. The blocks are well hewn and joined with mortar, closely fitting, but not polished, and the dry air of Pagan has so preserved them that the fine chisel marks are still visible. There is only one door, which stands in the centre, and huge blocks of stone 338 BURMA mark the approach to it. This part of the temple has suffered mucli from earthquakes, and the rents have been repaired witli bricks, whose red hue contrasts curiously with the tender green of the stone wall. The upper retreating storeys are built of brick, and partly intruded into the excavated side of the gorge, so that their weight rests only in part upon the substructure. They differ in style from the lower, and are supposed to have been additions made between 1187-92 by King iVarapati-sithu. The first two storeys have no outer south fa9ade, and are built on to the side of the gorge. The topmost storey rises a little above the edge of the banks of the ravine. The fa9ade of the lowest storey runs 52 feet due east and west, and has a height of 40 feet. The central door is 6 feet wide and 12 feet high. The arch of the porch appears to have been semicircular, but only the western part remains. A beam of fossilised wood forms the archi- trave. The steps leading up to the enti-ance are immense plain stone slabs. About 3 feet from the ground a scroll of the leaf-and-tongue design, cut in low relief, runs along the three sides of the temple. On the face of the two sides of the porch, just above the lintel, there is a scroll showing an ogre disgorging festoons of a pearl design. Above the porch a scroll of the same pattern runs round the three sides of the shrine, and is followed by a strip of moulding, ovolo and band. In the tier above, quad- rangular equidistant holes, with remains of wooden beams, seem to show a vanished portico, protecting the entrance against rain, for the sun never touches the fa9ade. On each side of the entrance is a perforated window of peculiar style and ornamentation. Both jambs of the central door are minutely carved. At the base on either side is the figure of a nude female and two clownish-look- ing men. A sheepish grin of tongue-tied affection appears on the face of both, and both have their eyes bashfully lowered. One sits, and the other stands, with his hands folded across his chest. All three figures have abundant wavy and curly hair, quite unlike that of modem Burmans. In the involutions of the arabesques above the woman's figure sits a royal personage in full court dress. Then IISIAGES 339 follow griffins, peacocks, ducks, and many more repre- sentations of avatars of the Buddha, all in low relief. Inside is a dark, vaulted hall, with two immense plain stone pillars on each side, supporting a groined ceiling. This hall measures 42 feet from east to west and 1!.5 feet from north to south. In the centre of the south side is a colossal stone image of Buddha, 22 feet high, in the usual sitting posture. The right shoulder is uncovered, and the robe falls in graceful folds over the body and knees. The eyes are horizontal and half closed, the nose is straight and fairly large, the jowl square and heavy. It rests on a throne 9 feet high, constructed of well-hewn stone slabs, set up in a succession of bars, showing an outline of band, ovolo, and astragal moulding. Three sides of the interior wall, north, east, and west, have three equidistant rows of niches one above the other, and seven niches to each row. The stone sculptures which, no doubt, filled them lie ruined on the floor. They represent Gautama in the calm rejiosc of parinirvana, with adoring monks above and laymen below,some praying,some dancing. On the south side — that is to say, the back of the hall — are the passages to the caves which tunnel through the hill. They are dug out of a coarse-grained sandstone, and formerly went right through the hill, and opened on the southern slope. They are all now blocked up by land- slips. The passages wind round in elliptic curves to the caverns, and are from 4 to 6 feet wide, and from 5 to 6 feet high, and the chambers along them measure about 6 feet every way. There are traces of paintings and inscrip- tions on the plastered walls of the hall, faint and defaced, but there are none in the caves — nothing, in fact, except votive clay tablets showing the Buddha seated under a trefoil-headed pagoda, with the Buddhist creed formula written in an ancient Pali character, somewhat like those of Asoka. The terraces M-hich rise on the western side, from the base of the gorge to the summit, are supposed to be really defences run up against tlic Chinese-Shan invasion, and to have nothing to do with the Kyaukku Temple. This temple, like the famous Mahamuni Shrine on the Sirigut- tara Hill, near Payagyi village in Arakan, is undoubtedly 310 BURMA a remnant of North-Indian Buddliisni, wliich existed in Burma before the introduction of the Southern Buddhist school from Ceylon and Pegu. Buddhism as it now pre- vails in Burma is decidedly an offshoot of the Southern Buddhist school. In and round the Kyaukku Temple lived the Burmese monks of the old school — the Maramma- samgha, after they had been excommunicated by the zealous M6n monk Chapada, who had returned from Ceylon, where he had obtained the Upasampada ordination from the monks of tlie Maha-vihara. All historical mention of the Kyaukku Temple ceases with the death of the renowned monk Ariyadhamma, who inhabited the cave temple till the year 998 b.e., which is a.d. 1637. The prison-palace of King Manuha, the last of the Thaton kings, wliom Anawrat'a brought captive to Pagan in A.D. 1057, has many features in common with the curious first storey of the Kyaukku Temple, and was, no doubt, built at the same time, and by the same architects, as also was the PUakulaik, or library, set up to receive the five elephant loads of palm-leaf manuscripts which Anawrat'a brought with Manuha from Thaton. Manuha's palace is at Myinpagan, and is built of the same greenish sandstone as the Kyaukku Temple, but the stones cover only 10 inches of the exterior wall. The side facing the interior is of brick, but the four pillars supporting the roof of the central chmiber, the thro:ie-room, are stone, and have minute c.irving of the same character as that seen in the Kyaukku Temple. The palace has also per- forated windows, with ornamental designs similar to those of the Kyaukku Onhmin. The architectural style of the Pilakataik differs in a good many respects, prompted by the use to which it was to be put, but there are the same sandstone windows, with like designs. The orna- mentation of the later huge temples is more grandiose, but less delicate in detail, and the features of the Buddhas in particular are more grosse tete, with flat noses, short necks, and a heaviness in the features and figure generally. Notable Pagodas. — Tlie pagodas which ought to be seen in Burma, besides the Sln\e Dagon and the temples at Pagan, are the Shwe-hmaw-daw at Pegu ; the various shrines at Ava, Sagaing, and Mandalay ; the Kaung- NOTABLE PAGODAS 341 hmudaw^ near Sagaing, once celebrated througliout all Indo-Cliina for its sanctity, and still held in great rever- ence ; tlie huge, incompleted mass of the Mingon, witli its enormous bell; and the Sliwe-zet-taw, in Minbii district. The annual festival of the last is a good example of the country religious fair. So is tliat of Shwe-yin-hmyaw, in the Thazi subdivision of Meiktila, not very far from the railway. Farther afield, and especially interesting owing to the varied races of the visitors, are the pagoda festivals ot Pindaya, with its caves crammed with images, and of Mong Kiing, also in the Southern Shan States. Bawgyo, or Maw-hkeOj near Hsipaw, in the Northern Shan States, is very easily accessible by the railway, and has a great annual festival. It is one of the blots on our administration that not enough money is devoted to archaeological research. There are many secrets hid below the debris in Pagan- Tagaung, the ancient Hastinapura, the oldest Indian settle- ment in all Burma. If money were forthcoming for exca- vation, light would almost certainly be thrown upon many dark points in the earliest history of India and Burma, and upon a civilisation that appeared when new Pagan was founded, but then steadily declined. The few finds are merely tantalising. At Tagaung terra-cotta tablets, bearing Sanskrit legends in Gupta characters, have been rescued from tourists, who came from "west of the Mississippi" and thought the "bricks" would be cute things for a rockery. The oldest inscription yet found is that in Sanskrit on a large stone slab from Tagaung. It records in the Gupta alphabet of .Sanivat 108 (a.d. 41 6) the fact that GopJila left his original home at Hastinapura, on the Ganges, and, after various successful wars with the Mlech-chas, founded New Hastinapura, on the Irrawaddy. Two red sandstone slabs now lying in the courtyard of the ancient Kuzeit Pagoda are the oldest in Pagan. The oldest is dated Gupta Samvat l63 (a.d. 481), and records the founding of a pagoda. The other is dated in Saka Samvat 532 (a.d. 610) and records, in the North-Indian alphabet, the presentation of an image by two sakya mendicants from Hastinapura. There are very many other tablets, ranging from the eleventh century onwards. 342 BURMA mostly in the Square Pali alphabet^ and others of unknown date bear legends in Cambojan, M6n, Burmese, and Nagari characters. They are of great value and interest, but insignificant compared with what excavation at Tagaung might reveal. The palace at Mandalay is being repaired and conserved. It is absolutely modern, like everytiiing in Mandalay, which dates from 1856, but it is of interest because it was built in scrupulous adherence to ancient models and traditions, both as to scale and as to the relative position and number of the buildings. The arrangement of the Public Audience Hall and the Private Audience Hall and of parts of the private apartments have resemblances with the Diwan-i-am and the Diwan-i-khas of the old Moghul palaces at Delhi and Agra, and further point to an Indian first home for the Burman race rather than a Mongolian. Burman domestic architecture is of the most primitive kind, and no more permanent than the life of an insect whose existence spreads over the short compass of a summer's day. The houses all stand on piles, and consist of a few poles, walls of bamboo matting, a thatched roof and floors of thin j'lanking, or, more commonly, of split bamboo. Houses of timber are growing commoner, but they are on the same general model. There are brick- built houses with tiled roofs, also of the same pattern, but the true Burman does not like them : they are usually a concession to an ambitious wife — dux femina fadi. ART Sculpture, Wood Carving, Lacquer, Silver and Gold Work, Drawing, Painting, and Embroidery It is not merely with gin that the European demoralises the primitive races. European art of a certain kind has a no less cankering and disastrous effect. The art which starts with the theory that everything must be sym- metrical and orderly and geometrical seems to be purely European, but it is as infectious as cholera and as deadly as the ph\giie. The chief feature of a design, according SCULPTURE 343 to this scheme, must be invariably in the centre : a rose oil one side must be balanced by a rose on tlie other and the posies on cither rim must correspond. If there is a nymph posing on the left hand facing inwards, the nymph on the right dare not pirouette, and must face her back again. Of all artists the Japanese have shown us that this mechanical symmetry has no charm, and yet even the Japanese artists have fallen under the blight, and some people seem to love to have it so. Objects seem to be manufactured or musurais painted by the gross, and wherever things are turned out by the gross, art pines away and dies. The Burmese craftsman of any kind was never the equal of the Japanese, but still, in wood carving and in silver- work, the forms of art which have most suffered from the Western taint, there was a directness of scheme, a facility of detail, a strength of conception, and a sort of bold dash, which resembled Japanese workmanship more than any other. Sculpture. — Probably everywhere, and certainly in the East, all forms of art were in the beginning intimately associated with religion. Architecture, sculpture, painting, drawing, and probably also music, and even poetry, have all been at one time or another principally devoted to the honour of supernatural beings, imagined to have power over mankind for good or for evil. Almost all forms of Burmese art are still mainly devoted to the service of religion. It has been so in almost all Buddhist countries, where culture almost invariably settles round the monas- teries. The result is cramping in a v, ay, for the subjects are restricted and cramping, and the field never strays fai'ther from the legendary and the traditional than is implied by individual boldness and freedom of design. It is genius inside a pill-box. This is especially the case in Burmese sculpture, ot rather, as in the vast majority of eases it is, in moulding. The Buddha of the conventional type enormously pre- dominates as the chief subject, and other eiforts go little beyond being accessories, such as the leogryjihs which foim propylaea to the temples, the dragons which coil up stair- ways, the ogres and davas which stand on guardj and the 344 BURMA mythological or heraldic birds and beasts that keep them company. In the moulding and carving of elephants, however, no nation except the Siamese can compare with the Burmaiis. The modern type of the Buddha is not striking to the foreigner, and is chiefly remarkable for the mechanical skill with which placid contemj)lation is unfailingly produced. In the Pagan tem|)les there is more variety, on account of the Indian influence. In Manuha's temple Trimurti reigns supreme — the insejjarable unity of the three gods, Brahma, Siva, and Vishnu, in one person. Separate altars and images of Vishnu and Siva ai'e also met with, not only in the temple of the Hindu masons, west of the Thatpinyu Pagoda, but also on the Buddhist Shwe Zigon, Nagayon, and the smaller temples of Chaukpalla. A knowledge of the occult art of old Indian cheiromancy would be necessary to interpret the curious signs engraved on the tips of the fingers and the palm of the Buddha's hand in the old M6n stone images. Brick statues, covered over with moulded plaster, and 100 feet in height, are often met with, but they can hardly be said to be triumphs of the sculptor's art. Some of the clay tablets exhibit vei'y neatly impressed representations of the Buddha and interesting events in his life. The carved wooden images of Pagan kings in the Kyaukku Temple are of no particular interest. The pantheon of the thirty-seven nats, or spirits, of Burma is very interesting, but the images are extremely crude as works of art. Specimens of rich ornamental carv- ing in stone, especially on the perforated stone windows, are very numerous. The Pataodawgyi Pagoda at Amara- pura, one of the largest and most handsome of all modern pagodas in Upper Burma, rises in a series of five successive teri'aces to the slender pinnacle, and white marble panels with inscribed bas-reliefs are let into the three lower terraces. They illustrate partly humorous grotesque scenes and ])ai-tly stories from the Jalakas, and are not without merit. The Sinbyuyin Pagoda at Sagaing is also worth seeing. It is surrounded by a high brick wall, from which elephants' heads, formed of masonry, protrude in such a manner as to give the wall the appearance of being supported on the backs of the animals. Practically a reproduction appears in the pagoda built by the con- WOOD CARVING 345 quering Biivmese at Miiong Nan, in the Siamese Slian States, and it may very well have been the work of the same mod- eller, possiblv a soldier in the army, for it can hardly be said that such a lliing as the (jrofessicm of a sculptor exists. All these show skill, but it has very narrow limitation, and, except in the figures of elephants, which are altogether admirable, whether in action or repose, it cannot be said that Burmese sculpture is a form of art which shows the undoubted skill of the race at its best. Wood Carving. — In wood carving they show to gi'eater advantage; in fact, it is probable that in this craft the Burmese art workers excel more than in any other. The designs are of the same type as in the stone-carved panels, or in the silver bowls and betel-boxes, but the relatively greater ease with which the design can be worked out, the larger surface, and even the grain of the teak wood, all combine to give scope to the characteristic Burmese talent in this direction. The same hereditary designs appear and reappear ; they have the same religious or legendary char- acter ; in fact, these run through all Burmese art. There is the san :; figure carving of nat-dewas, celestial spirits, bilus, ogres, princes, and princesses, and clowns, and grotesque animals, with a wealth of ornamental scrolls. But there is a boldness and freedom of design which raise the work far above the toilsomely elaborated black wood carvings of Southern China or of Bombay. These have far greater finish ; but teak wood has not a grain cap- able of permitting painful elaboration of detail and excessive ornamentation, and neither are the Burmese designs suited to mere fineness of workmanship. Formerly this carved woodwork was only seen in the open air, on the gables, ridges, eaves, finials, and balustrades of monasteries, religious buildings, or royal j)alaces. Now the same designs appear on the cramped space of music- stands, easels, sideboards, screens, even on the arms and legs of chairs, and the result is not always pleasing. It is the European canker again, and the injury to the artistic sense is made greater by the manufacture of hundreds of articles of the same kind, till all pleasure in the work is gone, and there is only a sense of task work and mechanical labour. 346 BURMA In all the important pieces of national carving — the eaves-boards of monasteries, the gable ends of roofs with ornamental finials, the open cut-work at the entrances of monasteries, the fringes of royal thrones, or thrones of the Buddha — it will be noticed that the outer wings invariably point, in one piece or in wave-like sections, inward towards the centre, and thus form a characteristic feature of Burmese design. Around the eaves the skirting-boards are always cut in undulations, the broadest parts being at the corners and in the centre of the building. The sections are all complete in themselves, but blend into one another, and the finials rise in graduated flamboyant spires and horns of a character quite peculiar to Burma. The foliation which separates and surrounds the figures of ogre or saint, of tiger or peacock, is exceedingly graceful in design and very rich in etfect. Some of the figures have the appearance of stiff old apostles in stained-glass windows, but the honeysuckle and tendril foliation has all the grace of nature, with all the fancy of the impressionist. The Burmese artist works from memory, not from models, and his arabesques, his anthemion moulding, astragal, and acanthus fretwork and tracery, have a corresponding freedom and co-ordination. Like most idealists, too, who record the feelings called forth by the memory of the graceful, he is equally strong in the grotesque and the beautiful. The Jajjanese artist is strongest in detail, the Burman in breadth of view. Allied to the wood carving is the coloured glass and mirror mosaic, frequently found both inside and outside religious buildings. This, with the red paint, lacquer, and gilding, gives an appearance of barbaric splendour, which many people call tawdry. It reminds one of the Indian shish, or mirror-woi'k, to be seen in the shishmahals of Agra and Lahore, and is undoubtedly very effective if not looked at too closely. But it is not intended to be looked at closely ; no Burmese art work is, any more than one would examine a croton leaf with a magnifying-glass, or a lotus frond with a microscope. Ivory carved work of very great delicacy is produced in Moulmein. Entire elephant tusks are drilled and scooped out, and bored and perforated, until more LACQUER 347 than half their substance is gone, and placid images contemplate the world from the centre of the tusk, or grinning ogres peep through the maze of foliation. The designs are of the same character as in the wood carving. Lacquer. — The gold lacquer-woi-k so characteristic of Jajjan, and so excellent, used to be made in Burma, but it has now all but entirely disappeared. Lacquer ware in colours is, however, a great industry in several parts of the country. The chief centre is at the village of West Nyaung-u, near Pagan, and in many of the villages round about. Much is also made in Prome and in Laihka, in the Southern Shan States. The system followed is entirely different from that of Japan, and is, in fact, peculiar to Burma. The framework of the articles manufactured is composed of thin slips of bamboo neatly and closely plaited together — all the plaiting being done by women. A mixture of cow dung and paddy husk is rubbed in to fill up the interstices, and a coat of thick black varnish, called 'I'liit-si (wood oil), is put on. The article is then put out to dry and to let the varnish set. This takes about four days, even with a sun of a temperature of 140° F. or more. When the varnish is quite fixed an iron style is used to grave the lines, dots, and circles forming the pattern on the outer portion of the box. This is naturally the opera- tion requiring most skill, and though the patterns are all traditional, and often handed down in families, and almost copyrighted, still the man who wields the style well always commands good pay. A coating of body colour is applied, and allowed to dry, and then the process is re- peated according to the number of colours which it is intended to use. From a week to a fortnight often elapses between the application of the different layers of colour, for the varnish must set perfectly hard. After each coating the box or bowl, or whatever it may be, is turned on a primitive lathe to rub off the colour which may not be required in the pattern. After each coat of colour has been put on the article is albo polished with husks, or a siliceous bamboo, or a pumice of sand and lac, and after- wai'ds rubbed with cloths dipped in oil, and with the palm of the hand, to perfect the polish. Some of the 348 BURMA colours used are so delicate that the articles are placed in underground chambers for several weeks after the applica- tion, so that they may not fade before setting. All this lengthens the manufacture so much that often three or four months elapse before the different processes are finished. Practically only three colours are used — red, yellow, and green, in various shades — besides the black varnish of the groundwork. Chinese vermilion supplies the red, orpiment the yellow, and the green is j)roduced by adding indigo to the orpiment. Varnish is always added to the colour, both to make it adhere, and because it sets and hardens more quickly in this form. The work Is only a little less unhealthy than lead or mercury mining. The oil of the lacquer-tree has particularly penetrating qualities, and the workmen who rub on the different colours are usually short-lived and liable to disease. Their gums are always spongy and discoloured. West Nyaung-u and Pagan are the headquarters of the industry', and the finest work, bowls, and betel-boxes with compartments, are produced there. Sale, a little farther down the river, is a colony from Pagan, and is more noted for boxes. I'he Laihka work is much less delicate, and the framework is often coarse, but the pattei'ns are novel and very effective. The supreme test of excellence in a cup, or the cap of a betel-box, is when the sides can be bent in till they touch without cracking the varnish or breaking the wicker-work frame. Connoisseurs can discriminate between Nyaung-u, Sale, Shan, and the lacquer ware of other places b}' the character of the shadow thrown on the inside, which is varnished plain red or black, when the cup or box lid is held at an angle of 45°. Silver and Gold Work. — Burmese silver-work is, after wood carving and lacquer ware, perhaps the most ciiar- acteristic of the arts of the country. Formerly the articles made were chiefly bowls, and betel and lime boxes, with others a trifle larger to hold the betel vine leaf in which the chewing quid is wrapi)ed. Of late years a great deal of silver-work is made for sale to Europeans, and tea-pots, milk jugs, tumblers, and a variety of boxes, spoons, and salvers, are made, all in the old traditional style, but suffering from the same faults which have afiected the SILVER AND GOLD WORK 019 otner forms of art that attract the attention of foreigners. Many of the larger vessels liave scenes from plays, re- ligious or legendary, represented on them, as in the apjdiqiic work of room curtains or taf)estry-worlc, or in the more ambitious nieces of wood carving. The other smaller articles have, perhaps, more frequently animals and scroll tracery in lower or higher relief. The elephant is not often seen in wooden carving. His figure does not lend itself to flowing design, but he appears to advantage in metal-work. The most common design of all, however, especially on cups, is the twelve signs of the Zodiac, each embossed on its panel, and surrounded by the usual stippled ornamentations. The cup, bowl, or box is first of all c.".st perfectly plain, and is then filled with melted lac to give firmness to sup- port the relief-work, and at the same time to be ductile under the action of the chaser. The work is first of all outlined Avith a bronze punch, and when it is completed the lac is melted out and the silver annealed. Several successive annealings may be necessary if the relief is to be veiy high. Broad zones of repousse work are relieved by fillets and headings, and there is almost invariably a line of chased ornamentation running along the top and bottom to represent the leaves of the lotus, the sacred flower that the Buddhist loves. Bowls very often have representa- tions at the bottom of the sepals of the water-lily bud. The finer chasing is done with quite simple graving tools. The silver worker's whole stock-in-trade is not very great. He has some anvils of bronze and iron, and some punches of the same materials, a few clay crucibles, and a bamboo blast, a blow-pipe, solder and flux, wire plate and beading plate, aquafortis and mercury, and a few hammers of different sizes. He never has any bullion in stock. That is iuvai'iably supplied by the customer, in the shape of rupees, which are melted down to the amount of the weight of the article to be made, a varying number of rupees being retained as an advance for the workman- ship. Gold is alloyed with copper, though sometimes plain gold cups are of metal so pure that they bend with the weight of the water put in them. Silver is alloyed with coj)per or zinc. 350 BURMA Many Burmese women carry practically all the wealth in their possession on their persons, in the shape of plain gold bangles, ear-cylinders made of repous.se work and studded with precious stones, or frequently made of a simple coil of sheet gold rolled to the thickness of a finger. Red - coloured gold with a dflU sm-face is particularly fancied, and the colouring is obtained by boiling the metal with tamarind seeds. The deeper red in the hollows of the ornamentation throws up the relief, and enhances the general effect. The characteristic necklace is the dillizan, a sort of apron-shaped filigree, with heads of peacocks and birds, and delicately worked pendants, all joined together with filigree and tiny chainwork. Other women's orna- ments are jewelled combs, hair-pins, and rings, but these are often coarse and clumsy. The Thayetmyo silver workers used to be especially good, and so, of course, are those of Mandalay, but they show signs of being spoilt b}' too steady work, of which no Burman is ever fond. The finest work of all is probably that of the Shan workers. Niello and cloisonne work is carried on here and there, but not to any great extent, and mostly always by Shans. Specimens may be had at Pyawbwe and Yamethin. Drawing and Painting. — In drawing and painting the Burmese do not excel. There is a most extraordinarily widespread skill in the drawing of flowers, scrollwork, and the common form of princes and ogres, griffins and heraldic beasts. Almost any boy or girl can draw them quite creditably ; but they never go further, and the paintings are mostly lamentable. The coloui-ing is of the crudest possible character, gold leaf is put on freely, and there is not the most elementary knowledge of the simplest principles of perspective. Nevertheless, in some matters of detail great skill and taste is shown, as in the repre- sentation of a silk waistcloth glimmering through a gauze coat, or the skin hinted at through the same medium. The favourite representation is the torments which will be inflicted on the wicked in the various hells. They are most realistic, and vigorously drawn, but the execution of details is very much wanting, and the technique is grotesque. Examples may be seen on the covered way EMBROIDERY G51 lip tlie south approach to the Shwe Dagon Pagoda from Rangoon town, and still more elaborately at the Arakan Temple, MahamunJ, between Mandalay and Araarapura. The kalnga, or tapestry, referred to above is char- acteristically Burmese, and exhibits all the faults and good points of their paintings. Some are embroidered elaboi'- ately in gold, with figures of peacocks, birds, and beasts, but the majority are mere applique work. Figures are cut out of coloured or black cloth, and sewn on to a. groundwork of cloth or silk, or sometimes even chintz. These are adorned with spangles, and a scene is taken from some event in the life of Gautama, and the figures are arranged accordingl}^, usually from top to bottom in a zigzag, with dolls' houses, trees, and rocks scattered about to represent scenery. The chase or a general marching out to war are favourite themes. Every Burmese house- hold has several of these, for they are used for screening off sleeping-rooms in public rest-houses, or even in private dwellings. They can hardly be called artistic, even those embroidered in gold, but some of them are highly effective and striking forms of barbaric decorations, like the mosaic- work in the monasteries and shrines. Embroidery. — The Burmese have practically no em- broidery of any kind, but many of the hill tribes have very interesting specimens of this kind of work. The dresses of the Kachin and Palaung women, the shoulder bags worn by the men, and the stitched sleeves of some of the remoter races, such as the Miaotzu, have admirable examples of embroidery, with very complicated stitching. The herring-bone stitch is of frequent occurrence, and there are others which could only be dealt with by the expert in such work, and puzzle the average English embroiderer. The Hkon and Lii do a great deal in this way, and the older work is very interesting and attractive. Unfortunately, the evil blight of aniline dyes has stretched far into the most uncivilised places, and the crude colours and meretricious general effect detract from the value of what was quite admirable when the people were content with their old national vegetable dyes of sober and sub- dued colouring. 352 BUIlMi\ Burmese Music and Musical Instruments By P. A. Mariano The Burmese are the most musical people in the East. rUeir music, although not reduced to a written system, is well established on a sound basis. The gamut, on the European system, is perfectly understood and practised. Their melodies are mainly composed of the five notes — - namely, C, D, E, G, A. It may here be remarked that the melodies of all the Mongolian races are composed of the same five notes. But decided progress in the art has brought on the introduction of the 4th and 7th tones of the gamut. The Burmese do not affect semi- tones, so the chromatic scale is unknown amongst them. Their scales are founded on the natural notes, consisting of three major and two minor. The major scales begin at C, F, and G respectively, the minor scales at E and A. From what period they acquired and used the system is not known. The musical student immediately recognises a similarity with the Gregorian system used in the sixth century of the Christian era. Their system of harmony is strictly confined to the tonic and its fifth. The com- bination of the 3rd to the tonic, and 5th and 8th to form a major chord, never occurs in tlieir system. In this the Burmese system differs from the Indian, which uses only the tonic, invariably sounding monoton- ously throughout the piece, like the performance on the Scottish bagpipe. With no knowledge of thorough bass, and the entire absence of the 7th flat, they intuitively resolve into the 4th, or subdominant, when altei'nating into a different pitch from the tonic or keynote in the major. Although harmonj' is not practically used they h.ave a fair knowledge of counterpoint, and they make pretty and simple variations on many of their songs. Strict time is observed, never in |^ or |^, which is the time generally observed in Indian music, but invariably in ^ and i-. Music being univei-sally associated with the drama, the Burmese plays are operatic in character. They have no drama pure and simple. Tiieir songs are, therefore, SAMPLES OF BURMESE MUSIC WRITTEN BY P. A. MARIANO Andante. 1. Nga-bouk-kyu than j^^-Ji jhu :i. r^i^^^3V'^J ^ ivnuTTj n?X^^^Jl|rr'^ | V^lJ1| 1 ^ ^ijJIJi^^^ Andante 2. Bay- da EJ7I Irr '=]^^^J^Jj\f2j\\lS^ I JJMJJ. ^^i jOli:^ .il^'i yjJj ;-j lr J-' ■z- In March tirrr 5. Empress Vicfofia's Golden Jubilee Anthem. 4>H ^ 1 ym ^ g^ ^^^^ ^p ^^mf^F0m ^^^M^^^=ms ^ 3^1 J r | |il1|iT.1l1.]lJl^JhV^ ^ - ^ p^tn^^^ ^^^ m^^^ ^^ f^^^Tg^Tfnrn'":^^^^ ! r M ^^ ^ l^ iV^ r-^ ^ ^^j^ S2\ y\ ^^ ^ Andante, 4. Yama -kyo from the Opera Ramayana ^ ^nn^TT jj Trn-JjJi'j i JJ rji-g n — p — 1 > gp=fl ^ [* — 1 — M=fl-f=^f=ti ' M^t-- tS — =m m J Ji J J hJ'^fflJ^^Jl -■JJJJJ JJr.;: £ TO= 5^ _r i-— -JJ Lj *^* * — JJ LJ ^_^* ^-*—i -4J !5L_^ U-J^-VJ * This was sung during the Queen's Golden Jubilee Celebrations in 1887. It was also sung for many years on occasions of welcome to the Chief Commissioner on his tour to district towns. Alleoretto 5. KOUNG - GIN - KyO 1 ,1 j^ jjjl inm^hmsiipiin: iM 6. ToUNG-SOBOO-BYNE Andante 1 JJ-%v rntrT^^^ \i i^sy J r -^ H- rn 1 — |i**j^M*^> J ' JJ Jj *L-* F~n — 1 — r ''} 1 — ®i — h~^ — ^ — a — ■1 1^-^ ~ 1 al 1 ~ 1 -1- n * 1 — ~ * ' ^=^ ^'' JJ 1 jj jl j jJVjJl^ ^ # rrjj I j JjJUVnJNJJ^h^-^^^ Jr^Tlli^^Urii lOll^lijjl J r -, 1 ** Composed in honour of the foundation of Mandalay by King Mindon. Allsgre-rro 7. PAN-ZONE-KYINE-THIN. rromfl,eOper."RomB^din»' ^9T^M-L\3J^lr ^ g^i^^^jJ^ T ^J'3hjjiJI/J/T J"^|J'3 jJ^T^lJjhr vr3jvh^/ | j:33^ ^ ^^^ Fg^ ^fe? ^^^ 8. The Royal Boat Song. Allegretfo V\s sung by the Burmese King's Boafmen when rowing in State occasions. ^ ^ini ^n^^^o^^j^ ^ ^^ ^ ^^^S ^^^^-^^F^^^ Andant- -e- 9. Pa N-MYAIN-LE -M44^*Ui4- ±Fdi^ o y^ — ==p= r r y u ^ULJl^. J-«i JUDDIIISM AND SPIRITS 381 tile mountain, and the fell. In his everyday life, from the day of his birth to his marriage, to his old age, even to the point of death, all the prominent rites and forms are to be traced, not to the teaching of the Baskets of the I-aw, but to the traditionary whims and fancies handed down from admittedly Shamanist forefathers. If mis- fortunes fall upon him he makes offerings to the evil nals, ■who, lie thinks, have brought it upon him. When he wants to build a house, launch a boat, plopgh or sow his fields, start on a journey, mnke a purchase, marry a wife himself, or marry his daughter to another, bury a relation, or even endow a religious foundation, it is the spirits he propitiates, it is the nats whom he consults. His Pali prayers and invocations, lauds, and doxologies avail him nothing then, and are not even thought of. Even the monks themselves are often greatly influenced by the strong basis of animistic religion. It is not uncommon to find spirit shrines almost in the monastic compound, and altars to the viewless spirits of the air are often actually in the shadow of the pagoda. It is the heritage of an immemorial past, it is the core of the popular faith. Buddhism is merely a sounding brass and tinkling cymbal, an electro-plating, a bloom, a varnish, enamel, lacquer, a veneer, sometimes only a pargeting, which flakes off, and shows the structure below. In the time of native rule spirit feasts were formally recognised by the State, and there were occasions when the ceremonials were attended by the king and the chief ministers in their official capacity. The ritual to be ob- served is set forth scrupulously in various treatises on court etiquette Moreover, there is a categorical list of " The thirty-seven iHits of Burma,'' and their history is given at length in a book called the "Maha Gita Medani," which has a large sale. Further, rude images of the whole of them are carefully preserved in the enclosure of the Shwe Zigon Pagoda at Pagan. One of them is the Thagya Min, who has a recognised place in the Buddhist Olympus, and has a shrine to himself He is the King of Tawadeintha, the not country, which has a religious festival all to itself at the end of Lent ; and it is the descent of the Tliagya Min 382 BIIUMA to eai'tli once a year which marks the beginning of the Burmese new year, wlien tlie water feast takes place, the most familiar and obvious of all Burmese festivals to the foreigner. The Thagya Min, however, stands apart, and has the supernatural character of an angel oi the skies rather than the earthy connection of the others, who are more notably spirits in the ordinary acceptation of the word. The most conspicuous, and the most universally known, of these is the Mahagiri, or Magayi Nat, in whose honour a cocoa-nut is hung in the house of every Buruian in the country. The spirit when he was on earth was a black- smith, who was put to death at the stake by a king of Tagaung, or Old Pagan, who feared that he was going to raise a rebellion, A sister of the blacksmith was queen of the palace, and she threw herself into the flames, and perished with her brother. They became spirits, and after various adventures had a suitable temple built for them on Popa Hill, near Pagfin. They were of great service to King Kyanyit-tha, both before and after he suc- ceeded to the throne of Pagan. In recognition of this he issued an edict that all his subjects should honour these two nats by suspending a cocoa-nut to them in their houses. The brother has the main credit in most houses, and figures as the lar familiarls — the guardian spirit of the house. The cocoa-nut is usually placed in a square bamboo frame, and over the top of the cocoa-nut is placed a red cloth which represents a turban. When there is any sickness in the house or in the family the cocoa-nuts are inspected. The special points are that the water, or milk, should not have dried up, and that the stalk should still be intact. If anything is amiss a fresh cocoa-nut is hung up. On the occasion of the annual festival special odes are recited by nat mediums. These, with a description of the accompanying music and the character of the dance, are carefully set forth in the spirit-book. The spirit-dancers, who often appear to be really possessed, or hypnotised with frenzy, are dressed, in the case of the Magayi nats, in satin skirts with flowing girdles, and a muslin cloak with wide sleeves, holding a fan in the right hand, and on ANTHROPOMORPHIC SPIRITS 88'^ the head a. pahn-leaf crown gildetl all over. These sjni-it-daneers are always women. The mu.sic and danc- ing are often corj'bantic, and the paces more like those of Bacchantes than the demure weaving of paces that is seen in the country plays. None of the nats have particularly estimable histories. It is the old story — the good may be neglected because they are easy-going and harmless ; the vigorous, and especially the vicious, have to be made much of and cajoled. At the same time Adonis, Thammuz or Osiris, Bacchus, Pluto, and other familiar mythological figures are suggested by some of these thirty-seven nats. They are all anthropomorphic, but they are unlike the gods of the Vedic mythology, from which they might be supposed to be borrowed, for they are by no means glorified. The Rig Veda has numerous hymns, but they have little to do with witchcraft, with spirits, or with life after death. The Brahmanas introduce devas (gods) on the one hand, and asuras (demons) on the other, and they also introduce terrestrial gods, the vasus, but there is a strong tendency to Pantheism, and the invoking of gods in the mass. The Atharva Veda has a great deal to say of domestic and magic rites. But in the Vedic mythology personification never attained to the individualised anthropomorphism characteristic of the Hellenic gods. The Vedic deities have but very few distinguishing features, while many attributes and powers are shared by all alike, partly because their anthropomorjjhism is comparatively unde- veloped. Thus, though these spirits of the Burmans here and there suggest the Vedic gods — the Thagya Min, for example, may well be paired with Dyaus, Zeus, Jupiter — as do some of the greater spirits of the Karens and Ching- paw, yet it seems most probable that they have come down from the common remote stage in the mental development of mankind which deified first the pheno- mena of nature, and afterwards the passions of mankind. Indian influence is certainly very slight. Notwithstand- ing that the most conspicuous of Burmese literature comes from India, yet the tales of the Ramayana do not intro- duce themselves into the national religion. The names, the ideas, and the incidents are purely of the people. 08 1 BURMA The Pantlieon i'; much move like that of the Gieel-cs or of the Scandinavians, but with all the difference that is Implied in the working out of the same original idea by a poet, by a Vikingr, and by a farmer. The Burmese deities are very materialised indeed, but they never sink to such evil plight as to be turned up and iirched, or to be stood on their heads, or doused in a pond, as happens to some savage gods. They may rather be compared to the patron saints of Europe — the St Georges, St Denises, St Crispins, St Sebastians, St Cecilias, still more to the St Tammany of America, and most of all to such tutelary deities as the Flemings still create — for the town of Termonde, in Belgium, actually adopted Giant Polydore to commemorate Mr de Keyser, once the Lord Mayor of London. Moral elevation has not so high a position with these gods as power. Epithets such as "kind and true" are far less common than such as "great and mighty." The nals can do whatever they will, and on them depends the fulfilment of desire. They have dominion over all crea- tures, and no one can tliAvart what they have predeter- mined. Nothing farther from the spirit of Buddhism can well be imagined. But to live up to the spirit of Buddhism is beyond the power of human nature, even the most pure and spiritually minded, and it is difficult for a nation of cultivators of the soil to be saintly. It is a proposition, which might be maintained, that all Orientals are more religious than the Western peoples. Yet the primary religion of cliildish superstition remains strongly rooted. Hence it comes that in Burma, notwithstanding the alms given to the monks, and the genuflections to them as they walk along the streets, the multitude of pious foundations, the ceaseless telling of beads by the elderly, and the regular devotions of all at the shrines, the wor- ship of nats remains the most important and necessary thing. Not merely the house-posts of the dwelling-house have cloths put over their heads ; ever3' monastery has these also carefully disposed as a covering for the vats who live in the pillars. No rest-house, no remote jungle bridge, is without them. The monks take part in super- stitious rites to secure rain or what not. It is against the BUDDHISM AND BRAHMANS 885 direct teaching of the Law, mid yet they are often the most expert tattooers and astrologers and fortune-tellers. The Burman has much more faith in the calculation of lucky and unlucky days, and in the deductions from his horoscope, than in the virtue of almsgiving and the efficacy of worship at the pagoda. It is true that the Burman court astrologers and astronomers were all Brahmans, mostly descendants of captives from Manipur, Assam, or Arakan, and of those foreigners who were in the country from the time of the Pagan dynasty, but their calculations determined the beginning of the year, and their prophecies as to the character oi' the year were unhesitatingly accepted even by the brethren of the Yellow Robe. Even now, under British rule, broad-sheets, prophetical almanacs, are jearly published, and implicitly believed by every one, even by those who are willing and eager to break one another's heads on abstruse questions as to Free Will and Pre- destination. The Sanskrit and Bengali works used by the Ponnas, the court astrologers, belong to the Tantrasastras, Jyotl- sastras, and Kamasastras of Gangetic India, according to Forchhammer, and their chief study is the Samaveda. 1 heir methods were entirely based on the Hindu system of astronomy, and they seem to have been fairly skilled, and quite on a level with their instructors. For example, they certainly knew, what was discovered by the as- tronomers who came before Hipparchus, that after a period of 22S lunar months, or 18 years and 10 days, the eclipses of the sun and moon return in the same order and magnitude. It was they who worked the clepsydra, or water clock, in the palace, and who cal- culated the incidence of the year and the intercalary months. Besides this, they drew up the horoscopes in the capital, and calculated lucky days from the stars, and told fortunes, as Indian Bralimans have done since the days of Strabo and Fa Hian. Much of their lore, together with their methods and mysteries, are incorporated in the Burmese book called "Deitton," of which a summary is given in Father Sangerman's "Burmese Empire." They had imitators throughout the countr)', most of v\ liom n80 HURMA liad iiciLlur tlieir learning nor their skill, such as these were, and were mostly the merest charlatans. The Hindu system is now largely replaced, or super- seded, by the Shan Hpewan, which is simply the system of counting time by revolutions of sixty years, founded on the Jovian cycle. It is the original Indo-Chinese form of chronology, and is now largely used for less useful pui-poses by the Chinese, Siamese, Cambojans, Annamese, and other races in the Farther East. Almost all the Burman superstitions about the Nagalde, the path of the dragon, which regulates lucky days, and the Mingala livga, which control marriages, are taken direct from this Shan table. The origin of both systems, that of the Ponnas and of the Shan cycle, no doubt, was with the Chaldees. As the nats, the spirits, are to ghosts and spooks, in whom there is a robust belief, so are the astrologers to the spirit mediums — people who are able to invoke and exorcise or placate the nats. There is an abundance of these. In Mandalay there were regular professional Niiisai/as, Nalolcs, and Nalsaivs, male and female, who officiated at the annual State spirit feasts and sung the proper chants and recited the proper prayers. In the country such people exercise their skill, such as it is, in addition to their ordinary vocations — usually tilling the soil. They are most commonly called in in cases of sickness where ordinary methods and medicines fail to restore health. Tiiese Natwuns, as they are also called, are in the great majority of cases women. They usually wrap a piece of red cloth round their heads, and limit their mysteries to hysterical chanting and wild, whirling dances, which suggest Mr Andrew Lang's theory of obsession as the foundation of religion. He compares the sorcery, magic, and enchantments of the savage with clairvoyance and telepathy, and maintains that many of the phenomena of mesmerism and hypnotism are sur- vivals, or recrudescences, of spiritual or abnormal inci- dents of savage life. The modern medium, he thinks, is merely working back to the primitive diviner. In various parts of the northern division, when such a spirit medium is called in to cure sickness, a bamboo alcar is constructed in the house, and various ofTerings, SACRIFICES 887 STicli as boiled fowls, povk, plantains, cocoa-nuls, and rice, are placed on it for the val. The celebrant then takes a bright copper or brass plate, stands it up on edge near the altar, and begins to chant, keeping at the same time a close eje on the polished copper, where the shadow of the not is expected to appear. When this appears the medium begins to dance, and gradually works herself into a state of ecstasy. The state of tension produced fre- quently causes the patient to do the same thing. This, naturally, has definite results, either in the way of recovery through excitement or collapse through exhaustion. If, as sometimes happens, the invocation of the possessing spirit is carried on for two or three days, it is very certain that something must happen, one way or the other. When children are ill little altars are built, or, if the village is on the Irrawaddv, little boats are fashioned. On these an egg, some of the child's hair, and some sweet- meats are placed. Prayers are offered for speedy re- covery, and the altar is left where it is or the boat is consigned to the river. The latter is called a sacrifice to the Chaungzon not, the spirit of the junction of the waters. Sometimes formal sacrificial services are conducted by the whole village, except the women, who seem to be always excluded, except when frenzied gambadoes are required. On such occasions the offering is made to the spirit of the village, who usually lives in a particular tree in the spirit grove, which is carefully preserved near the hamlet, and intruded on as seldom as possible. The officiating priest is commonly an old man, not differing in occupation from the rest of the population, but supposed to be skilled in canti'ips and conjuration. The occasion is usually when there is a deficient rainfall or when the rains are unusually delayed. Altars are frequently erected to the other spirits of the grove besides the one directly invocated. This is to prevent them from becoming jealous. Proceedings are usually commenced by the offering of a goblet of kauiigi/e, rice spirit, to the outside spirits, and a bottleful to the nat specially to be exercised. This is usually followed by a libation of water, in Uie same order 388 BURMA and to the dame amount. Then little packets ot pickled tea^ placed on large leaves as salvers, are deposited with the same genuflections as are customary at the pagoda. This is done by the entire body of villagers, and while they are occupied in this way the officiant sprinkles water round both shrines, and scatters rice in handfuls about them. Each household in the village contributes to this rice, and each also supplies a fowl and an egg, which they bring in person to the grove. The spirit priest then offers up a long prayer, asking for rain from the north and from the south, for peace and deliverance and plenty, and for im- munity from evil generally. When this is over the will of the iiats is sought for, and this is supposed to be re- vealed by the fowls and the eggs. The fowls are cut open with a da from the tail upward. There is no thought of the primary commandment : Thou shalt not take any life at all. The entrails are extracted, and they are examined one after the other by the officiating spirit priest. The chief signs are the length and thickness of the intestines and the size of the stomach, the greater the more promis- ing. The larger side of the bowels should be turned upward, and there are many niceties, known only to the presiding Natsmja. The eggs are next examined. They are all hard boiled, and their whiteness is the first test. Any discoloration is bad, and the greater it is the more unfavourable is the omen. Detection of the ly changed the sound of many of the letters. Pali is polysyllabic, but Pali words are pronounced as if every syllable formed a separate word, and many of them have been adopted in everyday talk, and are not merely used in theological works. There are thirty-two consonants in the Burmese alpha- bet, and of these six exist only to be used in the writing of Pali words : and at least four more very rarely occur in vernacular words. The consonants are divided into groups of gutturals, palatals, cerebrals, dentals, and labials, with five liquids, a sibilant pronounced th, and an aspirate. E ich of the first five groups consists of five letters : the first is the simple consonant, the second its aspirate, the third the hardened or rough form of the consonant, the fourth the aspirate of this, and the last the nasal be- longing to the group. Thus h leads off the gutturals, s the palatals, t the cerebrals, only occurring in Pali words, t the dentals in Burmese words, and p the labials. The vowel a is inherent in every consonant, and is pronounced in every case, except where it is "killed" hy the that mark, when the consonant itself is also killed, and the effect produced is a short, sharp, abrupt termination to the word, as if the letter were strangled in the attempt to pronounce it. Thus k dominates the gutturals, and the series is ka, k'a, ga, g'n, nga ; s the palatals, s, '.?, ~, 'z, ni/a ; d the cerel>rals, jiractically all d, with the great 'na; t the dentals, with two aspirated 'la and t\v<^ una^pirated, and the simple iia; while the labials are pa, pa, ha, b'a, ma. OEDER OF WOEDS 415 Besides these five groups there ,irc seven liquids, or aspir- ates, in a sixth series, including two /'s — a threat and a small one. These are ?/«, ra, la, n-a, ilia, ha. With the inhcroit vowel a there are ten vowels in Burmese, and fifteen of what may be called diphthongs. The vciwels are a, a, i, T, u, fi, e, e, aw, aiv, and the diphthongs are formed by combinations -wf these. i he letters of the alphabet have all names more or less descriptive, beginning with ka-gjii, ka-give — " great ka " and " curved A-«." Some of the others form a picture to the little boy when he is first learning them, such as " elephant shackles t'a, "bottom indented da," "bridle za," "supine ya," "big-bellied ta," "hump-backed ba," " steep /;«," and so on. Consonants are also combined with consonants, when the inherent vowel is always modified. Thus ka combined w ith ka becomes kel ; ka with sa, kit ; and ka with nga, kin. ^^'ith 7ia it becomes /««( ; with i/a, ke ; ^\ith ra, ki/n, and so on. There are also compound consonants. Thus ka, ra, and wa make kjjwa ; ma, wa, and ha make limwa ; and wa, ra, wa, and ha make hmyrva. In such words the y is never pronounced separately, but is sounded with the preceding vowel, so as to form a monosyllable. The order of words is not a distinguishing feature of the Indo-Chinese languages as a whole. There must once have been a time when it was not fixed as it is at present. With the disappearance of prefixes and suffixes the v/ant was felt of some method for defining the relation which each word bore to its neighbour in a sentence. This was partly done by fixing its position, but the different families did not all adopt the same system. The Siamese-Chinese and the M6n-Hkmer families adopted the order of subject, verb, object, with the adjective following the noun quali- fied; while in the Tibeto-Burman family we have subject, object, verb, and the adjective usually, but not always, following the noun. Again, in the Tai and M6n-Hkmer sub-families and in Nicobarese the genitive case follows the noun bv which it is governed ; while in Tibeto-Burman and Chinese it precedes it. This order of words is im- portant in judging the relationship of these families with one another and with other branches of human speech. 416 BUKMA such as the Dravidi.in, or Munda, with wliich compariEon has been made. The monosyllabic roots, or radicals, forming the ground- work of Burmese and of most of the languages of the province are either nouns or verbs. Vowel prefixes or affixes added to these build up the language, and by means of them the verbal roots can be converted into nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. Verbs form their tenses by their aid, and alone or in combination they make up the prepositions, conjunctions, interjections, and the like, of the language. The root nouns have no gender whatever, and to indicate the gender, help words — nouns generic, as they have been called — must be added, Di or tho is usually added to indicate the masculine gender of animals ; ha, or bo, of birds. Ma expresses the feminine gender univers- ally, except for a few cases where different words are used for the masculine and feminine Sa-ho is a cock sparrow, sa- ma a hen sparrow, ,?P!7-c?i is a billy-goat, seit-ma a nanny-goat, and so on. The numerative affixes are a special feature of the Indo-Chinese and Chinese languages. They express the nature of the object denoted, and connote its physical attributes. It is not correct to say in Burmese, as one baldly does in English, "two boats" "four pice," ''thx-ee pots." To be correct one has to mention first the article spoken of; second, the number or quantity of objects; and third, the genus or class they belong to. Thus one would say in Burmese: "boats, two elongated things"; "pice, four flat things"; "pots, three round things." There are great numbers of these generic nouns, and a Burman never omits them. He speaks of hairs or threads as so many " plant tilings," or "tree things"; schools as so many "buildings"; books and letters as so many "writings" ; mats, planks, or sheets of paper as so many "flat things " ; sticks as so main' "long and stiff things" ; horses and carts as "things to be ridden on"; coats and waistcloths as " things to be worn " ; and so on, in great variety. F-ven the numeral auxiliaries ^ipjilied to human beings vary. Thus Buddhas, pagodas, images, and native books take the form .m, as it were a cluster, or bevy. Kings, pongyis, and persons of high rank generally take the polite numerative ha; werthy people to whom it is desired PICTURESQUE EXPRESSIONS 417 to be civil take the form ta-n, "so many foreheads " ; and in ordinary conversation human beings generally, male or female, are called ta-yuuk. Foreigners are not looked upon as entitled to rank as human beings at all, since they have never worn the yellow robe, and rude people occasionally apply to them the numerative used to number animals, buffaloes, or pigs. Thus kala hni gaung — " two animals of foreigners," or "two beastly foreigners," as we should say " two head of cattle." This form is, however, very seldom heard nowadays, and was always considered more graphic, or perhajis pedantic, than civil, though it was frequently used in the times of native rule. It is now confined to savage tribes, when referi'ed to by conceited native officials. The language is fall of picturesque expressions. To marry is to "erect a house"; a gun is the "demon of death " ; a percussion cap is "hell fire " ; a breech-loader is a " shove-behind gun"; a revolver is a "horse-gun," or a "six-round whites"; to die is merely to depart, or to attain the Eternal Calm, but to break off friendship is to separate so completely that if one were to die the other would not visit or even inquire after him; to faint is to die a little death, and the phrase " little death " is poeti- cally applied to sleep — "downy sleep, death's counterfeit." When a man gets grey the King of Death it said to plant his flags. Deathly exact is a most vigorous phrase for precise. A funeral is merely "the unpleasant thing"; a man retired from work, and living on his pension, is called an eater of repose; and a pei'son of independent income is one who sits and eats. A gossip is the tongue of a bell, and youth is the dawn of manhood. There are hundreds of phrases of the kind. There is no medium in the literature ; it is either Scripture or it is opera - bouffe — devout, mystic, and solemn, or popular, unregenerate, and frivolous. A great part of the religious literature is entirely written in Pali, with patristic commentaries and glosses of mixed ver- nacular and Pali. Then there are the nat histories, the legendary lives, or avatars, of the Buddha in previous states of existence, embellished with romances of later date, introduced to flatter patrons or attract alms. These run to enormous length, and, if the palm leaves on which they 418 BURMA ave incised were spread out, would carpet a large liall, and would assume encyclopaedic size if they were reproduced in print. These works are naturally entirely written by the monks, and fully bear out the popular idea of what is conveyed by the name patristic literature. The secular works, on the contrary, are almost invariably the production of actors, or of the people who write with actors in their eye, or they are folk songs. The genera! character is that of primitive man. It would be unfair to call the love songs indelicate, but they are frequently not decorous. They are certainly the erotic outpoui-ings of an inflammable race, and equivoque sometimes sails perilously near ribaldry, but it is the wantonness of a full-blooded race, not of a dissipated community which loves prurience for itself. Formerly all manuscripts were made by graving with a sharp steel style on the leaves of the pe, or Talipot palm. The fan leaf is split up into strips, which are gathered into packets, and dried under pressure, so that they may be quite flat. Then they are trimmed, and cut into seg- ments, about 18 inches or so in length, and 2i inches broad. Lines are drawn on the leaf with turmeric, and all the writing is done under these lines, not above them, in the usual-upside down Chinese fashion. The stylus easily cuts throuj;h the hard fibrous surface to the spongy texture below. Both sides are written on, and when the whole is finished the faces of the leaves are rubbed with crude earth oil, which serves the double purpose of toughening and preserving the leaves, and bHnging the characters into relief by darkening, or, if the phrase is preferred, by dirtying them. This oiling is repeated at intervals, and old manuscripts get a deep, warm brown. Even with this, however, they become very brittle with years ; and palm leaves over a century old have not only to be handled with great care, but are very rare. Fre- quent oiling preserves them longer, but the whole sheet becomes so dark that it is extremely difficult to read the text. When the work is finished the edges of the leaves are gilt, and the whole are fastened together by drilling a hole at one end, through which a bamlioo pin is passed. Wooden covers are added to; protection. These are LEAF-MANUSCRIPTS 410 sometimes cai-vetl, almost always lacquered^ and frequently- gilt. Tlie whole is then wrapped up in cloths, often elaborately worked, sometimes merely coarse linen, dyed the monkish yellow with jack-fruit-tree juice. Some monastic and very many private volumes are fastened with a long ribbon, called a sa-si-gyo, not quite tvo fingers' breadth, and knotted or crocheted in a peculiarly close fashion, which has the great advantage over Berlin wool that the patterns are quite admirably clear. On this sa-si-gi/o are worked the name of the owner, his titles and distinctions, and whatever pious aspirations he may choose to add, or the lady wlio executed it may see fit to devise for him. They usually fasten the wrapper, but are sometimes used alone. The wrappers, or Kapalnc also have frequently inwoven scenes from the sacred books, or portions of the Law, and the formula2 used at the pagoda, and to give stiffness to them have narrow slips of bamboo worked in. The regular scribes are always laymen, or almost always, for saintliness and learning do not seem to imply neat writing. They usually work where they are employed, not in their own houses, and the pay is at the rate of a rupee for every iiiga, or ten sheets, which takes a day or more, according to the skill of the copyist. Erasures are never made by scratching out, but when a passage has to be deleted a heavy dot is marked in the centre of each letter to be omitted. The Shans do not use palm leaves, but write with tlie stem of a fern, and ink made of sessamum-oil soot, on native-made paper. A double leaf is used, and only one side is written on. The Buddhist Scriptures should be deposited in brick temples. For safety's sake the library in almost every monastery is detached from the main building, and is, in part at least, of masonry, so as to prevent danger from fire. There are not many that possess complete copies of the Tnpitaka, the Baskets of the Law. The late King Mindon had copies of the most carefully revised Pali text carved on marble slabs 4 feet by 3 feet in size, and these, to the numlier of 729, are set up, each in its own shrine, round the pagoda under Mandalay Hill, known as the 420 l3tJRMA Kuthodaw, the Royal Woi-k of Merit. The Bilaghat, as the Burmese call the Three Baskets of the Law, is written in metre, and has no less than 84,000 versieles. The first portion, the That, or Thullan, contains instructions for laymen ; the second, the Wini, concerns itself with the conduct of the religious; and the third, or Abidiimma, launches into the metaphysics pondered over by those who seek the higher path. The Burmese religious romances are also metrical, and there are no less than 550 of therfi, each illustrating some particular moral lesson to be drav/n from some existence of the Buddha. Ten of them are especially noted : the Temi, Nemi, Mahaw, Buridat, Zanekka, Sanda Gomma, Thuwunnashan, Narada, Widura, and Wethandaya. The last is the most popular, and has been frequently trans- lated and summarised in English. The Pali texts are supposed to have been in gi-eat part dictated by the Buddha Gautama himself. Only an in- significant portion is credited to his Indian disciples. The Zat are no less of Indian origin. The only formal national works which can be said to belong to Burma are the Malta Yazawin, the Royal Chronicle, and various city chronicles and histories of temples. These are mostly a mixture of fabulous tales, mythical imaginings, pedi- grees, dry records of fightings, with an occasional excursus in the shape of tales about the doings of some special prince who had the individual character to give occa- sion for such things. The doings of most of them would not extend beyond a list of the wives they took and put away, and the wars they embarked on, or had forced upon them. Here and there are recorded leading cases in Buddhist law, which usually exhibit the judicial methods of King Solomon rather than what might be called strict logic and judicial sense. There is a special volume of such scbdillw juris in the "Decisions of Prin- cess Thudammasari," which have the merit of being written in quite popular language, with no admixture of the Pali, which pervades all the standard literature of the icountry. The modern Fi/arMt, which may be rendered stage play, displays tlie real national literature. It sprang from the STAGE PLAYS 421 Zats, or avatar tales, and, like the drama of most European countries, began in passion and mysteiy plays, and it has not even yet shaken off' the traces of its origin. The plots are all taken from the stories of the avatars, or from the lives of princes supposed to have ruled in the countries near where the Buddha began his teachings. The clowns have taken the place of the devils of the morality plays, and they are very essentially modern, in the up-to-date sense of smartness. No music hall topical singer is quicker in bringing his patter into line with current events. But the gag of the clowns is not incor- porated in the written text of the play. For that matter neither is a great part of the solemn platitudes of the kings and their ministers, which are interspersed between the songs of the princes and princesses and the facetia; of the clowns. These may be taken to be survivals from the time when there was no literature but religious stories and chronicles. So that the modern play gives a sort of compendium of Burmese letters, the stately language of the court — which had a vocabulary all its own, just as much as the proper phraseology to be used in addressing a monk differs from the everyday talk of the people — alternating with the clown's references to steam boats, locomotives, and motor cars, and the im- memorial erotics and transports of the lovers, who are always princes and princesses, but use the language of the sweethearts of all time, with Oriental gallantry of phrase and the coquetry of the burning sun. There are other books, of course. There are the Laws of Manu, reduced to Burmese in 1775 from the old Pali text said to have been written down by Manu in tlie fifth century before Christ, during the reign of the legendary King Maha Thambawa, a sort of Mongolian King Cam- buscan old. Manu began as a cowherd, and ended as a sort of absolute lord chancellor. There are also many books on magic and astrology — works treating of the significance of dreams and signs ; tracts on the merits of the rival schools of medicine, the Druggists and the Dietists ; collections of proverbs, and so forth — but they belong to the class of books which cannot be considered literature, and are at any rate not national literature. 422 BURMA The plays show the real genius of the people for letters, just as the play is the great delight of the Burmese. The form of the dramatic performances is changing more and more. Twenty years ago such a thing as scenery was never thought of. A br.mch of a tree stood in the middle of a flat piece of ground, usually the street, covered over with mats, and round this the circle of spectators formed the only banier. Now plays, in the towns at any rate, are being held in buildings, more and more commonly prices are being charged for admission, a thing that was never heard of in the old days, and, above all, scenery is being introduced. In the same way the music is being affected by reminiscences of Chinese or European airs. Burmese dramatic art is being no less prejudicially affected than other Burmese arts are by Western influences. The Mingnla-ikut, the Sermon on the Beatitudes, is, per- haps, the most favourable specimen of the religious litera- ture. It is the favourite with the Burmese themselves, and there are few who cannot repeat the Pali text from memory. The discourse is said to have been delivered by the Buddha Gautama himself, and was reduced to writing by Ananda, his favourite disciple. It has been praised by many of other creeds, including the late Vener- able Bishop Bigandet, who spent so many years working in Burma. It is as follows : — Praise be to the Buddha, the Holy, the Allwise. When the most holy an