r
 
 to-*~^t~^
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 A HUNDRED YEARS AGO
 
 THE 
 
 BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 A HUNDRED YEARS AGO 
 
 AS DESCRIBED BY 
 
 FATHER SANGERMANO 
 
 With an Introduction and Notes by 
 JOHN JARDINE 
 
 JUDGE OF HER MAJESTY'S HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE 
 AT BOMBAY 
 
 LATE JUDICIAL COMMISSIONER OF BRITISH BURMA, AND PRESIDENT 
 
 OP THE EDUCATIONAL SYNDICATE OF BRITISH BURMA .' 
 
 AND SOMETIME DEAN OF THE FACULTY OF ARTS 
 
 IN THE UNIVERSITY OF BOMBAY 
 
 ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE AND COMPANY 
 14 PARLIAMENT STREET, S.W.
 
 DS 
 
 C O N T E N T S 
 
 PAGE 
 
 INTRODUCTION, . . . . . . vii 
 
 LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL WORKS REFERRED TO, . . . xxxi 
 
 PREFACE BY MR. JARDINE, . . . . . . xxxiii 
 
 PREFACE BY CARDINAL WISEMAN, . . . . . xxxvii 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE, . . . .1 
 
 BURMESE COSMOGRAPHY 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 I. Of the Measures and Divisions of Time commonly used in 
 
 the Sacred Burmese Books, .... 2 
 
 II. Of the World and its Parts, . . ; . . 4 
 
 III. Of the Beings that live in this World, of their Felicity or 
 
 Misery, and of the Duration of their Life, . . 8 
 
 IV. Of the States of Punishment, . . . .25 
 V. Of the Destruction and Reproduction of the World, . 33 
 
 VI. Of the Inhabitants of the Burmese Empire, . . 42 
 
 BURMESE HISTORY 
 
 VII. Origin of the Burmese Nation and Monarchy, . . 45 
 
 VIII. Abridgment of the Burmese Annals, called Maharazven, . 47 
 
 IX. Of the present Royal Family, and of the Principal Events 
 
 that have taken place under the Reigning Dynasty, . 61 
 
 CONSTITUTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 X. Of the Emperor, and of his White Elephants, . "' . 73 
 
 XI. Officers of State and of the Household, Tribunals, and 
 
 Administration of Justice, . . . .81 
 
 XII. Revenue and Taxes, ...... 91 
 
 XIII. Army and Military Discipline, . . . .97
 
 vi DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 RELIGION OF THE BURMESE 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 XIV. The Laws of Godama, ..... 
 
 XV. Of the Talapoins, ...... 
 
 XVI. The Sermons of Godama, . 
 
 XVII. Superstitions of the Burmese, .... 
 
 MORAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION OF THE 
 BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 XVIII. Character of the Burmese, ..... 151 
 
 XIX. Manners and Customs of the Burmese, . . . 157 
 
 XX. Literature and Sciences of the Burmese, . . . 178 
 
 XXI. Natural Productions of the Burmese Empire, . .189 
 
 XXII. Calendar of the Burmese. Climate and Seasons of the 
 
 Burmese Empire, . . . . . 208 
 
 XXIII. Of the Currency and Commerce of the Burmese Empire, . 214 
 
 BURMESE CODE 
 
 XXIV. Abstract of the Burmese Code entitled Damasat ; or the 
 
 Golden Rule 221 
 
 NOTE A, ..... 277 
 
 NOTE B, .... 280 
 
 NOTE C (by Mr. JARDINE), . .... 282 
 
 APPENDIX I., . . . . . .' 289 
 
 APPENDIX II. ,. . . . . . . 292 
 
 APPENDIX III., ....... 298 
 
 APPENDIX IV., . ' . . . . . 302 
 
 APPENDIX V. , . . . . . . ... 307 
 
 INDEX, . 309
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 DURING all the past Burma has been a land of attraction to 
 men of adventure, a region of delight to those, like the old 
 travellers, whose eyes sought after what is picturesque and 
 strange. This far-off part of India was, indeed, even in the 
 later centuries, hardly known to the European merchants 
 who had seen the cities under the dominion of the Great 
 Mogul, and the castles and church towers which at Ormus, 
 Goa, and other points along the coasts, marked the rising 
 power of the Portuguese. To the people of India Burma 
 had been known as the Golden Land from remote time, and it 
 may very likely be that this old region was the Golden Cher- 
 sonese of Ptolemy. Here, on the shores where the rivers 
 Sal ween and Sitang join the sea, a number of powerful colonies 
 from India, planted 2000 years ago, were engaged in con- 
 stant struggles with the native tribes. The ruins of Golana- 
 gar, the town of the Gaudas or people from Gour in Bengal, 
 are still to be seen. Here, in the time of the Emperor 
 Asoka (the third century B.C.), came the Buddhist missionaries 
 Sona and Uttara, from the Council of Patna, to preach that 
 faith which ultimately spread among the primitive peoples 
 surrounding the colony. Albeit the Hindu communities fell 
 in the end under the people of the land, they contrived 
 for a time to establish powerful kingdoms, and left a strong 
 impress of their own religions, science, and literature on the 
 minds of these Talaings of Pegu. In that country also, as 
 in India and Cambodia, the conflict between Buddhism and 
 Brahmanism lasted long. Although in the course of centuries
 
 viii DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 the former became the prevalent religion of Burma, gaining 
 converts on all sides, the ancient powers of the Brahmans can 
 be traced in the history as well as in the ruins of old cities, in 
 the popular traditions and on the carven stones, such as those 
 which Dr. Forchhammer saw at Thaton, one of which reveals 
 an early endeavour to compromise disputes, where the Dra- 
 vidian immigrants from the south of India portray Vishnu 
 in his ninth incarnation as Buddha, the Enlightened One. 
 We have in these early facts of history apparent proof of 
 the high antiquity of the influence of India over the various 
 nations dwelling in Burma ; whether or no the legends and 
 traditions which describe an ancient incursion of Indians from 
 Kapilavastu, under a royal leader of the Kshatriya caste, by 
 the landward route through Manipur, and the founding of 
 the dynasty at Tagaung (possibly the Tugma metropolis of 
 Ptolemy), are to be treated as mere fable, or, as Sir A. Phayre, 
 following Lassen, inclines to believe, as enshrining some foun- 
 dation of fact, and accounting for the early use of Sanskrit in 
 names of places and terms of art and law. 
 
 There is now more general agreement of scholars as to the 
 races of men whom these Indians, colonists, and missionaries 
 encountered in Burma. Into the upper region of the Irawadi 
 the dominant race, now called the Burmese, had descended 
 from Central Asia, which tract their physical resemblances and 
 affinities of language with the people of Tibet show to have 
 been the home of their forefathers. The clans became more 
 or less welded into tribes, as among their ' younger brothers " 
 the Chins of to-day ; and in course of time we find dynasties 
 of kings reigning at Tagaung, Panya, Pagan, and Prome, and 
 others ruling the remoter countries of Arakan and Toungoo. 
 The Tibeto-Burman tribes had, however, to contend with the 
 Tai or Shan people, which in its different branches is perhaps 
 the most widely spread of any race in the Indo-Chinese penin- 
 sula, including as it does the Ahoms of Assam, the Laos of 
 Zimme, and the Siamese. Face and language point to racial
 
 INTRODUCTION ix 
 
 connection with China, and the history and tradition of these 
 tribes tell of an earlier home ages ago in Yunnan, of a Shan 
 kingdom in the north of Burma, with its capital at Mong Maw 
 Long on the Sheveli river, and another Shan kingdom of Tali, 
 which fell under the conquering hand of Kublai Khan in A.D. 
 1253. Nearer the sea, along the coasts and in the fertile 
 plains bordering the great rivers and creeks, were found 
 another race, the old dwellers of Pegu and the country 
 round Moulmain, who call themselves Mons. These obtained 
 the mastery of the delta, driving out the Taungthu tribe 
 who originally tilled its soil, and establishing themselves so 
 firmly there as to check for some centuries the ultimate 
 conquest by the Burmans, who in contempt styled the Mons 
 ' Takings, 1 or people ' trodden under foot, 1 and proscribed 
 their language, after Alompra in 1757 had taken Pegu, and 
 the Mons had made common cause with the British in 1824. 
 The Talaing language, which, it is said, is likely to die out, as 
 the nation tends to merge in the Burmese, belongs to the 
 Mon-Annam group of those languages which use tone or 
 variety of pitch of voice, where we employ inflection to 
 modify meaning. Captain Forbes has shown that the lan- 
 guage of the Talaings and the Cambodians was originally 
 one, and that before the intrusion of the Siamese the Mon- 
 Annam monarchy dominated the deltas of the rivers Irawadi, 
 Salween, Menam, and Mekong. There is a theory held 
 by Sir A. Phayre and others that the Talaings and their 
 language came from Telingana, in the south of India. But 
 the researches of later scholars have shown that the Mon and 
 Cambodian tongues are connected with those of China. It 
 is true, however, that the Talaings were in closer touch than 
 the Burman or Shan races with the higher civilisation of India 
 firstly with the Indian colonies where Brahman views pre- 
 vailed, and next with Buddhist missionaries, who began their 
 teaching there, and soon became involved in conflict with the 
 Brahmans. During the first five or six centuries of our era,
 
 x DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 when Buddhism had spread over India, there was constant 
 intercourse between the Coromandel coast and the opposite 
 shores of the Bay of Bengal ; and when the persecutions began 
 to rage in India against Buddhism the victims sailed for refuge 
 to the ports on the Burman side. 
 
 Conquered at last, and ill-treated by the Burmese kings, the 
 trodden-down Talaings can apply to themselves what Seneca 
 wrote of the Jews in the Roman Empire: 'Victoribus vkti 
 leges dederunt." 1 It was to the Talaings of Thaton that about 
 450 A.D. the greatest Buddhist divine, Buddhaghosa, the author 
 of the Visuddhi Magga, or Path of Holiness, brought a com- 
 plete set of the Buddhist Scriptures in the Pali language 
 from Ceylon. It was from Thaton that the ecclesiastic went 
 who converted King Anoarahta of Pagan to the orthodox 
 Buddhist faith ; it was to Thaton that the royal convert 
 sent an embassy to procure the Scriptures, the Tripitaka; 
 and on meeting with a refusal, and invading the Talaing 
 country, and razing this mother-city of Burman Buddhism 
 to the ground with all its pagodas and ancient buildings 
 (A.D. 1057), it was thence he carried off to his own capital 
 the thirty-two elephant-loads of the Scriptures and the 1000 
 monks, and gave that impetus to pure Buddhism in the 
 Upper Valley of the Ira wad i, which some writers treat as the 
 first real planting of the faith in that region. It was a 
 Talaing monk of Dala, opposite Rangoon, Sariputta (obiit 
 1246 A.D.), honoured by the King of Pagan with the title of 
 Dhammavilasa, who compiled the first of the Manu Dharma- 
 shasters known to the Burmese literature, the Dhammavilasa 
 promulgated in Pagan. It was the Talaing or half-Shan king 
 of Martaban, Wagaru (obiit 1306 A.D.), who caused the edition 
 of this famous Code of Manu which bears Wagaru's name 
 to be compiled the same which the Talaing jurist Buddha- 
 ghosa translated two centuries later, and which the King of 
 Toungoo adopted in 1580. It may therefore be said that the 
 Burman races are indebted to India for their religion, their
 
 INTRODUCTION xi 
 
 literature and their law, received chiefly through the Talaings 
 dwelling on the coasts and estuaries, and in close communica- 
 tion with the Hindu colonies which Anoarahta overthrew 
 at last. By these same channels of religion, literature, and 
 law, came also the astronomy, astrology, computation of time, 
 the arts of medicine and divination, and the alphabets known 
 at the present day, all which bear the Indian sign and super- 
 scription. 
 
 Until intercourse with the nations of Europe began in 
 later times, these influences of India were the most powerful 
 that affected the contending Burmans and Talaings, from 
 whom also the foreign civilisation spread to the Shans and 
 other tribes connected with the Chinese a development which 
 still goes on so prominently as to be discussed in the Census 
 Report of 1891. The greatest influence of all was and is the 
 Buddhist religion, with which came into the northern valley, 
 according to Sir A. Phayre's opinion, the simple handicrafts, 
 spinning and weaving, and the cultivation of the cotton-plant. 
 Before, however, dealing with the vast effects of this mighty 
 agency, it were well to estimate the conditions, material and 
 moral, of the peoples before its advent. We wish to know 
 what kind of institutions the Burmans possessed before the 
 great changes of Anoarahta's reign. To this inquiry the 
 learned Dr. Forchhammer gives an answer which is in general 
 agreement with the opinions of our historians, and of those 
 officials who have studied the rules and customs of the 
 wilder tribes now under the Queen's sceptre. The Chins of 
 to-day reflect the Burman as he was of old. We find them 
 divided into many clans, according to occupation; the unity of 
 the family is preserved by the worship of a family ghost. To 
 this manes are made over offerings of rice, beer, pork, and 
 buffalo-flesh in safe-keeping, to be enjoyed by the giver in the 
 world to come. The Chin also propitiates other spirits (not 
 manes) of evil propensities, who dwell in houses, forests, rivers, 
 and trees. These are the real indigenous Nats or demons of
 
 xii DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 the tribes, carefully to be distinguished from the ogres, fairies, 
 and dryads, the rakshasas, devas, and brahmas introduced 
 through Buddhism and the Tantra school of India. Among 
 these Nats is Maung Zein, who in an image-house in old 
 Pagan, is made to kneel before Gaudama Buddha. The 
 Burmans affirm that this Zein was one of their chief Nats 
 before they became Buddhists ; and, as Forchhammer observes, 
 it is an admirable act of religious policy on the part of 
 the Burmans that, after adopting Buddhism, and probably 
 moved by a lingering fear of his power, they began to 
 stultify it by changing him into a devoted pupil and adorer 
 of Gaudama. By a converse process the seven evil spirits 
 appear in a Buddhist law-book as seven kinds of witches and 
 wizards. Like beliefs are found among the wilder Karens 
 and Shans ; and among the Kachin tribes whose rites are 
 described by Mr. George in the Census Report of 1891. 
 These frontier people, he says, worship Nats or spirits, of 
 whom the numbers are endless, for any one may become a 
 Nat after his death. This general worship of the powers of 
 nature was widely common all over Central Asia until the 
 Buddhist religion spread there, as is testified by that learned 
 Orientalist, Rehatsek, in his Essay on Christianity among the 
 Mongols. 
 
 'The powers of nature had from the most ancient times 
 been personified among Asiatic nations, and, according to 
 them, not only the earth and its bowels, but also the sky, is 
 full of spirits, who exert either a beneficent or maleficent 
 influence on mankind ; accordingly, it is no wonder that this 
 belief was current not only among the Mongols, but also the 
 Zoroastrians and Hindus. Every country, mountain, river, 
 brook, tree or any other object of nature was by the Mongols 
 believed to have a spirit for its tenant ; not only violent 
 natural phenomena, such as thunder, earthquakes, hurricanes, 
 and inundations, but also bad crops, epidemics, all kinds of 
 other diseases and evils, such as sudden attacks of epilepsy,
 
 INTRODUCTION xiii 
 
 lunacy, etc., were ascribed to the wrath of these gods, who are 
 divided into many classes, greatly differing in power and 
 effect. 1 Journal of the R.A. Society, Bombay branch, vol. xiii. 
 pp. 152, 181. 
 
 This Shamanism appears not to differ much from Taoism, 
 the belief of the great majority of the Chinese, on which Con- 
 fucianism and Buddhism have been grafted. Rehatsek adds 
 that although the spread of Buddhism and Islam has greatly 
 curtailed this extensive faith in demons, it has by no means 
 entirely disappeared from among the Mongols and Tibetans, 
 with whom it still prevails in the midst of Buddhist tenets 
 and ceremonies, nor have its traces entirely vanished from the 
 wandering Mussalman tribes. According to Mr. Leland, similar 
 beliefs survive among some of the ignorant classes in Italy, 
 pagans in two senses of the word those who delightedly believe 
 in fays and talismans and spirits, and call this creed of theirs 
 the vecchia religione, in spite of the Catholic Church and all 
 the Christian centuries. Bishop Bigandet tells us that although 
 Buddhism has a hold over the imagination and sentiments of 
 the better educated, the Burmans all publicly and privately 
 indulge in the worship of the Nats. Almost every city has 
 its own patron spirit ; and each household is under the 
 guardian care of the family Nat. If calamity overtakes a 
 Burman, he considers it to be the work of unfriendly Nats ; 
 and when he wishes to begin any important undertaking, he 
 propitiates these direct representatives of the old animistic 
 worship, the present cult of the Karens, Chins, and other 
 wilder tribes. Still, we read in the Census Report of 1891 
 that Nat-worship is a decaying and despised religion, and that 
 both Buddhism and Christianity have increased at its expense. 
 Without giving up their aboriginal rites, the tendency of the 
 unconverted races is to pass into Buddhism. The Chins, for 
 instance, are not Buddhists, yet when living among Burmans 
 they join in the Buddhist festivals, in the building of monas- 
 teries, and in the support of monks ; they also prefer to secure
 
 xiv DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 by a visit to the great Shway Dagon Pagoda at Rangoon the 
 blessings of the Tavatimsa heaven. The census returns show 
 a Buddhist population of 6,888,075 persons ; the proportion 
 being 9056 out of every 10,000, that of the Nat-worshippers 
 being only 221. The Nat- worship is contrary to the principles 
 of Buddhism ; and although in Central Asia the Buddhist 
 priests have organised the various kinds of spirits according to 
 Hindu views, and act as exercisers, magicians, and astrologers, 
 in Burma the occult sciences are relegated to the Brahmans, 
 Burma being the only Buddhist country in which the religious 
 order is prohibited from such studies and arts. Gaudama of 
 old classed them with palmistry, fortune-telling, oracles, and 
 charms, as lying practices, and censured those who gain their 
 living by such means, whom, it may be remarked, the law of 
 England treats as rogues and vagabonds. It will, perhaps, be 
 objected by the reader that in Christendom, even so late as 
 the time of Burns, of Walter Scott, and the Ettrick Shepherd, 
 the ancient beliefs in malicious or capricious ghosts and demons, 
 and in the spells and charms of witches, lingered in the land, 
 survivals of opinions which had once ruled the masculine 
 intellects of such eminent Christians as Chief-Justice Hale, Sir 
 Thomas Browne, and John Wesley. Yet it is beyond the reach 
 of doubt that the dogmas, sacraments, and morals of the 
 Christian religion had a constant, penetrating, and weighty 
 force ; and it is to be noticed that writers on Burma impute 
 many effects on character, customs, and law to Buddhism. 
 Mr. Eales in his Census Report does indeed conclude that 
 'the Buddhism of Burma at the present day is but a thin 
 veneer of philosophy laid over the main structure of Shaman- 
 istic belief. 1 On the other hand, Major Temple says with 
 greater caution : ' The Buddhism of Burma, as understood by 
 the laity, may be well compared to the Christianity of the 
 Russian moujik. In both of these countries the imported 
 civilised religion has not yet succeeded in completely ousting 
 the uncivilised Shamanism that preceded it.' The fact appears
 
 INTRODUCTION xv 
 
 to be that the influences of the good and bad Nats are con- 
 fined to the passing events of life, to good luck and calamity ; 
 the conduct of life, the moral sentiments, and the theology of 
 the people are dominated, not by the old superstitions, but by 
 the religion of Gaudama. It seems generally admitted that 
 Buddhism in Burma has been a civilising institution ; and, as 
 Forchhammer tells us, the Burmans have in past centuries 
 been zealous Buddhists; their ways of life, their social and 
 private institutions, are thoroughly Buddhistic, and they would 
 resent the idea of having still the tatters of their former 
 savage condition clinging to them. But I have been unable to 
 find any full estimate of the changes wrought by Buddhism 
 or a summing-up of its elevating results. This desideratum 
 is analogous to the absence of anything like a full account 
 in the histories of India of the effect of Buddhism on laws 
 and social life : scholars have been more fascinated by the 
 theology and the ecclesiastical polity. Bigandet remarks that 
 Gaudama paid little attention to the dogmatical portion of 
 religion, but laid the greatest stress on morals ; and there is 
 abundant proof that the great ethical commands of the 
 Buddhist system, as well as the formulas and creeds, have 
 become familiar to the Burmans and Talaings, and more or 
 less to the wilder tribes. The incessant teaching of the five 
 binding precepts, not to kill, nor steal, nor tell a lie, nor 
 drink intoxicating liquor, nor commit adultery, must have had 
 wide effect. The children of Burma are taught in the monas- 
 teries to read religious books, and the habit is kept up on holy 
 days, and when they bewail the death of friends. 'They, 
 without being aware of it, imbibe religious notions and become 
 acquainted with some parts of the religious creed, particularly 
 with what relates to Gaudama^s preceding and last existence. 1 
 I quote my venerable friend Bishop Bigandet ; and as to the 
 persuasion towards virtue contained in the Life of Gaudama, 
 whoever desires to know more should read his translation of 
 the Burmese Legend, which, as Dr. Rhys Davids states,
 
 xvi DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 adheres very closely to the orthodox books of the Southern 
 Church, introduced into Burma from Ceylon in the fifth 
 century of our era. 1 The learned Prelate"^ notes and essays are 
 on all hands treated as authority about Burmese Buddhism, 
 combining, as they do, long experience of men and things 
 with sagacious and judicial reflections. He describes the 
 sermon preached by Gaudama to a Nat, the specimen given 
 by Sangermano, as a fair sample of similar performances ; 
 and this sermon is a compendium of almost all the moral 
 virtues. Buddhism he calls 'a moral and practical system, 
 making man acquainted with the duties he has to perform in 
 order to shun vice and practise virtue. 1 Again, ' It will not 
 be deemed rash to assert that most of the moral truths pre- 
 scribed by the Gospel are to be met with in the Buddhist 
 Scriptures.' The wonder therefore disappear* that the Legend 
 of Buddha should have been adapted into a Christian form 
 by St. John of Damascus, and the saintly hero canonised by 
 the Pope of Rome as St. Josaphat, to whom, according to 
 Colonel Yule, a church at Palermo is dedicated. Monier- 
 Williams believes the Buddhists to have been the first to 
 introduce total abstinence from strong drinks into India. 
 Rehatsek, after ascribing the civilisation of the Mongols to 
 their conversion from Shamanism to Buddhism, writes: 'It is 
 almost incomprehensible how the savage Mongols, who were 
 accustomed to massacre whole populations in order to secure 
 their rear from enemies, zealously submitted to a religion 
 inculcating gentleness and kindness to all created beings, and 
 how a nation that loved to raze cities to the ground, and to 
 convert cultivated plains into deserts to obtain pastures, 
 should have eagerly built temples, established convents, intro- 
 duced useful institutions, and practised religious duties. 1 The 
 
 1 To those who believe, with Tennyson, that the poets see ' through life 
 and death, through good and ill,' I would commend Sir Edwin Arnold's Light 
 of Asia. No prose descriptions of the varied landscapes of Burma, with which 
 lam acquainted, approach Mrs. Hemans's verses in 'The Better Land.' All 
 the scenes she imagines are beheld in Burma.
 
 INTRODUCTION xvii 
 
 tendency of the religion must have been the same among 
 other savage tribes. Buddhism also supplies the mind 
 with ideas of vastness and solemnity, not without elevating 
 effect. The Burman \voman, with her rosary in hand, may 
 be heard any day repeating the formula about Vanity 01 
 Vanities the words ' Change, Pain, Illusion/ The other 
 sentence of the three gems, wherein the weary soul takes 
 refuge, is equally familiar : ' Buddha, the Law, and the 
 Communion of Saints.' We are told by Bigandet that the 
 fervour and love with which Buddhists speak of the Law must 
 be witnessed to be realised : in conversation regarding their 
 faith they are sometimes moved to tears. This law, discovered 
 by Buddha, governs the whole universe physical and moral, 
 in heaven above and the earth beneath, through the operation 
 of cause and effect. The dewdrop is formed, and the heart is 
 tranquillised, and the practice of virtue is rewarded by means 
 of causes that are alike in the manner of their operation. One 
 must suppose that several generations passed away to their 
 long home before the worshippers of ghosts and demons and 
 tribal gods, people addicted to blood-feuds, and as ignorant of 
 letters as the wilder Karens and Chins and Kachins of to-day, 
 accepted a gigantic philosophical theory like this of Dharma. 
 
 Turning aside from the tendencies to what is known of the 
 practical results of Buddhism in Burma, we find two of great 
 importance a general diffusion of education through the 
 teaching of the monks, and the elevation of the character and 
 position of women. The genius of the religion disregards 
 caste, allows no difference between man and man except what 
 is proved by superiority in virtue, and insists on imparting 
 knowledge to all. The Census Report of 1891, which is the 
 latest official document I have come across, speaks of the 
 exertions of the monks in matters of education in those 
 terms of praise with which we have long been familiar ; they 
 seem willing, even in the newly conquered province, to com- 
 bine the new with the old, to attempt a reconciliation between 
 
 b
 
 xviii DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 science and religion. The elevation of woman is rather more 
 perplexing, as the theology treats marriage from the ascetic 
 point of view : a wise man is to avoid it as if it were a 
 burning pit of live coals, and to wander lonely on the path of 
 life, like a rhinoceros. These counsels of perfection were 
 met in India by the same sort of arguments that Chaucer puts 
 into the mouth of the Wife of Bath in his Canterbury Tales. 
 According to Monier-Williams, they checked the spread of 
 Gaudama's religion. The people murmured and said, * He is 
 come to bring childlessness among us, and widowhood and 
 destruction of family life. 1 All the same, Buddhism admits of 
 nuns and lay sisters ; and its love of equality comes to their 
 aid. On so interesting a subject I am constrained to quote 
 at length from the writings of the learned and impartial 
 Bigandet. * Who could think, 1 he asks, ' of looking upon the 
 woman as a somewhat inferior being, when we see her ranking, 
 according to the degrees of her spiritual attainments, among the 
 perfect and foremost followers of Buddha?' Again, * In Burma 
 and Siam the doctrines of Buddhism have produced a striking, 
 and to the lover of true civilisation a most interesting, result, 
 viz., established the almost complete equality of the condition 
 of women with that of men. In those countries women are not 
 miserably confined in the interior of their houses, without the 
 remotest chance of ever appearing in public. They are seen 
 circulating freely in the streets ; they preside at the comptoirs, 
 and hold an almost exclusive possession of the bazaars. Their 
 social position is more elevated in every respect than that of 
 the persons of their sex in the regions where Buddhism is not 
 the predominating creed. They may be said to be men's 
 companions and not their slaves. They are active, industrious, 
 and by their labours and exertions contribute their full share 
 towards the maintenance of the family. The marital rights, 
 however, are fully acknowledged by a respectful behaviour 
 towards their lords.' 
 
 The reader acquainted with the tendencies and some of the
 
 INTRODUCTION xix 
 
 results of Buddhism will perhaps be perplexed when he hears 
 of the cruelties perpetrated in wars, or in the reigns of terror 
 by some of the absolute monarchs. These atrocities, as well 
 as the corruption and insecurity which despotic government 
 caused, are depicted by Sangermano, and bewailed by our 
 Envoys in their narratives. The King of Burma was the 
 secular head of the religion, and it may doubtless be argued 
 that he ought to have felt the restraining hand of Holy 
 Church. It would, however, be unjust to blame religion for 
 the secular crimes of uncontrolled kings : it is simpler to 
 impute them in Burma to Oriental despotism. Over these 
 tyrants the religion cast its terrors when it proclaimed the 
 unchangeable effect of evil action ; and in the law-books, 
 which were often compiled by men of the sacred yellow robe 
 at the behest of kings, we find long quotations from the Scrip- 
 tures explaining the difference between dharma, or rule accord- 
 ing to law, and the sinful decrees of passion and brute force. 
 These Codes, originally based on the famous Codes of Manuic 
 India, thus became saturated with Buddhist ethics ; and one 
 of the most visible results is the elevation of women in matters 
 of status, marriage, and inheritance. The testimony of these 
 law-books to this great social change is ignored by most 
 writers, although in the general absence of original Burmese 
 literature, except a few lyrics, these Dhammathats are, as 
 Dr. Forchhammer pointed out, the only literary works which 
 disclose to the student the practical effect of a religious system 
 upon the social and political growth of the Talaings and 
 Burmans. It must, however, be confessed that Buddhism 
 did not abolish slavery in Burma or Siam; and our Envoys 
 notice with pity a revolting incident of insolvency, whereby 
 the wife or daughter might be sold at the suit of a creditor, 
 and thus condemned to the public brothel. Turning from 
 these non-feasances of the Buddhist Church, we must put in 
 the other scale the religious toleration noted by Sangermano 
 which allowed the Italian Catholics, and, later on, the American
 
 xx DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 Baptists, to confer benefits on the people, before we had gained 
 any territory in Burma. Sometimes one sect of Buddhists has 
 prevailed on the king to persecute the rival sect : but, as a rule, 
 theological hatred shrank from taking human life, round which 
 the religion sheds a sanctity. The Bishops and Abbots often 
 interposed between the monarch or governor and the people, 
 for purposes of humanity or justice ; and at the present day 
 religious fanaticism is almost unknown among the Buddhists, 
 and rival sects live with each other on friendly terms. To 
 avoid prolixity, I must now conclude my remarks on the racial 
 origins and Indian institutions affecting Burma, and turn to 
 the next great cause which more and more sways life and 
 thought there the intercourse with Europe ending in the 
 conquest by England, and the regulative effects of our law and 
 administration, which may fitly be compared to those of the 
 Romans. It has been no part of my aim to discuss Buddhism 
 in general, and I leave untouched the questions whether the 
 Gaudama of the Legend was a real person or a solar myth, 
 whether Buddhaghosa the divine is a mere name and allegory, 
 and other matters of dispute in religion and philology. 
 
 In his Narrative of the Mission to Ava in 1855, Colonel Yule 
 supplies a singularly full and accurate account of the intercourse 
 of the Burmese countries with Western nations, to which, and 
 also the last chapter in Phayre's History of Burma, I refer the 
 reader, abridging here what otherwise I might have to say. 
 The first European traveller of modern times seems to be 
 Nicolo de Conti, a noble Venetian of Damascus, who travelled 
 by Persia, India, and Ceylon to Sumatra, whence, after sixteen 
 days' sailing, he reached Tenasserim, which district he says 
 abounds in elephants and a species of thrush. He then crossed 
 to the Ganges, and next went up the river Racha (Arakan) 
 to the city of that name. Then he journeyed over ' mountains 
 void of all habitations for the space of seventeen days, and 
 then through open plains for fifteen days more ' to the river 
 Irawadi and the city of Ava, where, he remarks, the king rides
 
 INTRODUCTION xxi 
 
 on a white elephant, and the women, as well as men, puncture 
 their flesh with pins of iron, and rub into these punctures pig- 
 ments which cannot be obliterated, and so they remain painted 
 for ever. The Burman women have now given up this habit of 
 tattooing, which the Chin women retain. The traveller was 
 not strictly correct in saying that all worship idols : it is inter- 
 esting to read about the devotion to the three gems. ' When 
 they rise in the morning from their beds they turn towards the 
 east, and with their hands together say, " God in his Trinity 
 and his Law defend us."' About 1496 we find Hieronimo de 
 Santo Stephano of Genoa in the city of Pegu. War was going 
 on with Ava ; and he had to wait above a year to get payment 
 from the king for his merchandise. In the sixteenth century 
 the Portuguese appear ; and we find them often serving as 
 mercenaries in the wars between the kings of the Delta. One 
 of these military adventurers was the celebrated Ferdinand 
 Mendez Pinto, who mingles romance with his history. Caesar 
 Frederike, a more trustworthy traveller, left Venice in 1563, 
 and spent eighteen years in the East. He refers to the capture 
 of Yuthia by Bureng Naung (A.D. 1569), and the return of the 
 conqueror to Pegu with the spoils of Siam, Frederike being an 
 eye-witness of ' his tryumphs and victorie, which coming home 
 and returning from the warres was a goodly sight to behold, 
 to see the elephants come home in a square, laden with gold, 
 silver, jewels, and with noble men and women that were taken 
 prisoners. 1 He describes the two cities of Pegu, the old and 
 the new : the houses built of cane and thatched with leaves, 
 the magazine or godon of brick, used as a common store by 
 the merchants, the crocodiles in the ditch, the four white ele- 
 phants, the gilded shrines with the four statues of gold, silver, 
 brass, and copper alloy. He got an exaggerated notion of an 
 army, mustering 4000 elephants and 80,000 harquebusses ; the 
 difficulty usually felt in a campaign, the problem of feeding 
 so great a multitude seemed to him nothing great, as these 
 troops would eat anything, ' very filthie or otherwise, all
 
 xxii DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 serveth for their mouthes, yea, I have seen them eat scorpions 
 and serpents, 1 like the King of Cambay in Hudibras, 
 
 ' whose daily food 
 Was asp and basilisk and toad.' 
 
 In 1583 Gasparo Balbi, a Venetian jeweller, visited Pegu 
 with a stock of emeralds. He gives a lively account of all 
 that he saw : of Negrais with its swarms of flies, Cosmin the 
 haunt of tigers, Dala with the ten large rooms full of royal 
 elephants, * the faire citie of Dagon ' [Rangoon] with the long 
 approach to the glorious pagoda, rising high in air like the 
 Campanile at Venice. Then he sailed by Syriam, where the 
 ruined walls showed traces of the war of 1567, and at length 
 reached Pegu, where in solemn audience he gave the king an 
 emerald. 
 
 Ralph Fitch, a London merchant, who after staying at Aleppo, 
 Ormus, Cambay, Goa, and some places on the Ganges, reached 
 Negrais in 1586, confirms many statements of Frederike's and 
 Balbfs. ' Three days after, we came to Cosmin, which is a very 
 pretty town, and standeth very pleasantly, very well furnished 
 with all things. The people be very tall and well-disposed : 
 the women white, round-faced, with little eyes ; the houses are 
 high built, set upon great high posts, and they go up to them 
 for feare of the tigres, which be very many.' He went on to- 
 Pegu, and, like Frederike, who says the king ' far excels the 
 power of the Grand Turk in treasure and strength, 1 he was 
 impressed with all he saw of a pomp and magnificence which far 
 
 ' Outshone the wealth of Ormus and of Ind.' 
 
 In the letters of these old travellers, Pegu stands forth as a 
 right royal abode 
 
 ' Where the gorgeous East with richest hand 
 Showers on her kings barbaric gold and pearl.' 
 
 Rubies were in such quantity, ' that they know not what to do 
 with them, but sell them at most vile and base prices.' ' The 
 merchandises that go out of Pegu are gold, silver, rubies,
 
 INTRODUCTION xxiii 
 
 sapphires, spinelles, great store of benjamin, long pepper, 
 lead, lacca, rice, wine, some sugar. 1 The trade was conducted 
 through brokers, and the practice of selling a debtor's wife 
 and children as slaves is mentioned. There seems to have 
 been a thriving import trade. Sometimes opium came from 
 Cambay; and once a year a ship arrived from Bengal, and 
 another from Madras, with bombast cloth. Martaban traded 
 with Malacca. Wool, scarlets, velvets, opium, and chickinos 
 came from Mecca, and the King of Acheen's ships brought 
 pepper. But the Pegu king was menaced by the naval power 
 of Arakan. Fitch went a journey of twenty-one days from 
 Pegu to ' a very faire and great towne,' where merchants from 
 China came ' with great store of muske, golde, silver, and many 
 other things.' 'I went,' he writes, 'from Pegu to lamahey, 
 which is in the country of the Langeiannes, whom we call 
 langomes.' This remote city is Zimme, or, as our Foreign 
 Office, which has established a consulate there, now spells it, 
 Chieng-mai. Thither the East India Company's factor in 
 Siam sent in 1618 one Thomas Samuel to open up a trade. The 
 place had been captured from Pegu by the King of Siam ; but 
 after the fall of Pegu, the Burman king took possession of 
 Zimme, and carried off' Samuel among other prisoners to Pegu, 
 where he died. During the seventeenth century the Madras 
 authorities of the East India Company started factories at 
 Syriam, Prome, and Ava ; and for a great part of that period 
 the Dutch had establishments at the same places. In the great 
 collection of Dutch archives made by de Jonge, we find a 
 letter of 1608 from the King of Arakan, self-styled Salimscha, 
 Kaiser of Pegu, and traces of contact with the famous Por- 
 tuguese adventurer Philip de Brito, who afterwards ruled at 
 Syriam. 
 
 The 'interlopers,' as the East India Company's servants 
 called the private traders from England, soon appeared on 
 the scene ; and in 1687 the Company sent Captain Weldon in 
 a ship from Madras to drive out the English settlers at Mergui,
 
 xxiv DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 then under Siam, by force. In a disturbance that followed 
 some Siamese were killed ; and seventeen Englishmen who were 
 in the town were massacred in revenge. After this, British 
 subjects were for a long time excluded from Siam. In 1695 
 Mr. Fleetwood and Captain Lesley went as envoys from Madras 
 to Ava, and in 1709 Mr. Allanson was sent there by Governor 
 Pitt. For the succeeding period, including the reign of 
 Alompra and his conquest of Pegu, the parts played by the 
 English and French in that war, the capture of Syriam from 
 the French in 1756, and the massacre of the English at Negrais 
 in 1759, the best authority is Major Michael Symes 1 Embassy 
 to Ava in 1795. In the following year Captain Hiram Cox, 
 our Resident at Rangoon, visited the King Bodoahpra, or, 
 as Sangermano calls him, Badonsachen. The entertaining 
 and thoughtful narrative of Symes throws much light on the 
 period, and in many respects supplements Sangermano's 
 account of the Burman Empire. The next events of im- 
 portance are the war of 1824, which led to the annexation 
 of Arakan and Tenasserim by the British, and the sending of 
 Mr. John Crawfurd on an embassy to Ava in 1826, of which 
 he wrote a journal, which is very good reading. The narrative 
 of Sir A. Phayre's mission in 1855, soon after the second war 
 which gave us the province of Pegu, the city of Rangoon, and 
 all the Delta, was written by Yule, and is in every way of con- 
 spicuous merit. This work stands in point of time between 
 Sangermano and the official Gazetteer of Lower Burma, com- 
 piled by Colonel Spearman. Since this Gazetteer was pub- 
 lished, Upper Burma has been conquered, and the Burman 
 monarchy has come to an end. Great events like these strike 
 those that make them : they have created a new and wider 
 interest in the country, and added to the value of Sanger- 
 mano's work as a description of a state of things now receding 
 far into the past. 
 
 Sangermano's residence in Ava and Rangoon from 1783 
 to 1806, while the Burman monarchy was in full power and
 
 INTRODUCTION xxv 
 
 undismembered, enabled him to understand the Burman and 
 Talaing nations. He was one of the earliest of that type of 
 Christian missionaries who, in order to influence the people, 
 set themselves to study their languages, literatures, and in- 
 stitutions; and who were thus enabled to place at the 
 service of the English officials much information, of the 
 utmost use, first to the administrators, and afterwards to 
 scholars. I may add to what is said of Sangermano's life in 
 the Prefaces to the two earlier editions the notice of him 
 written by Major Symes, to illustrate the above remark. 
 Symes says : ' Among the foreigners who came to pay their 
 respects to the English gentlemen was an Italian missionary, 
 named Vincentius Sangermano, who had been deputed to this 
 country, about twenty years before, by the Society de Propa- 
 ganda : he seemed a very respectable and intelligent man, 
 spoke and wrote the Birman language fluently, and was held 
 in high estimation by the natives for his exemplary life 
 and inoffensive manners. His congregation consisted of the 
 descendants of former Portugeze colonists, who, though numer- 
 ous, are in general very poor ; they, however, had erected a 
 neat chapel, and purchased for their pastor a piece of ground 
 a mile from the town, on which a neat, comfortable dwelling 
 was built and a garden enclosed. He is indebted for his 
 subsistence to voluntary contributions of his flock ; in return 
 for their charity he educates their children, instructs them 
 in the tenets of the Romish faith, and performs mass 
 twice a day at the chapel. From this reverend father I 
 received much useful information.' It seems to be the fact 
 that Symes and Sangermano went into matters of learning in 
 their talks, as appears from another passage where Symes 
 notices the resemblance of a Persian edition of the Arakan 
 Code to the Burman version of the Manu Shaster of India. 
 ' I was so fortunate,' says Symes, * as to procure a translation 
 of the most remarkable passages, which* were rendered into 
 Latin by Padre Vincentius Sangermano.' It only remains to
 
 xxvi DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 add that the reputation of the Italian priest has stood the test 
 of time. He is treated as an authority by Bigandet and every 
 writer on Burma : he is cited also by Dr. Kern and most of the 
 historians of Buddhism. The above considerations appear 
 ample to justify the offer to the public of a new edition of his 
 work. 
 
 The notes I have appended to Dr. W. Tandy's translation 
 of the Italian text will, I trust, not interfere with the charm 
 of Sangermano's story. Many of them are proofs of the 
 accuracy of his observations : others throw side-lights on hi& 
 views of things, especially where I cite the three historians 
 of our embassies Symes, Crawfurd, and Yule, whose interest- 
 ing folios are not easily accessible to the general reader, and 
 are less available for reference because, like Bishop Bigandefs 
 book on Buddhism, they are wanting in indexes. These 
 inconveniences attend some works of research produced in 
 the last decade, Forchhammer's Notes on Archaeology and my 
 series of Notes on Buddhist Law. The Blue-book containing 
 the Census Report of 1891 is full of novel information on the 
 subjects of ethnology and languages, with which Sangermano 
 dealt according to his lights. Since his day, also, the natural 
 history of Burma has received full and scientific treatment. In 
 editing this work I have, where the limits of space allowed, 
 aimed at supplying the results of most recent inquiry ; and 
 elsewhere have stated the source where the student of any 
 branch of learning may find it treated. This aim is rendered 
 more difficult, seeing that on many points where research is 
 recent, the authorities propound varying theories and come to 
 different conclusions. In matters of history I have here and 
 there supplemented the author by reference chiefly to Sir A. 
 Phayre's History of Burma ; and while avoiding the vast 
 questions about Buddhism upon which great scholars like Kern> 
 Oldenberg, Monier- Williams, Rhys Davids, and Senart raise 
 discussion, I have tried to answer those which arise out of the 
 ordinary life of the people of Burma, by quotations from local
 
 INTRODUCTION xxvii 
 
 authorities, e.g. Bigandet, Forchhammer, Forbes, and Scott. 
 The Italian phonetic spelling of Burmese and other names has 
 been retained, as this affords evidence of the pronunciation 
 in Sangermano's time. To assist the student, I have in many 
 instances inserted in brackets the spelling of kings 1 names and 
 technical terms used in Phayre's History and Hardy's books 
 on Buddhism, and have given the names of most places of 
 importance as commonly spelt. An index to the work has 
 been supplied. The reader will also observe that here and 
 there I have endeavoured to show what changes have come 
 over the people, so that he may contrast and compare times 
 present with times past. 
 
 Sangermano dwelt in Burma during the period of the French 
 Revolution, the Reign of Terror, the European wars that 
 followed, and the Irish Rebellion of 1798. In India many 
 things were allowed under British rule, such as 'criminal 
 punishment by lopping off the feet, the sale of slaves, and the 
 burning of widows, which in course of time were abolished by 
 such reforming Governors-General as Lord Cornwallis and 
 Lord William Bentinck. The criminal code of England was 
 extremely sanguinary, as is noticed by such different men a& 
 Yule and Heine ; and the whole condition of society in the 
 United Kingdom, as well as in most parts of Europe then, was 
 far behind what it is now. The crusade against colonial slavery 
 had hardly begun. Facts like these must be borne in mind 
 to balance what Sangermano says of the character of the people. 
 It is only fair to the Burmans and Talaings to record that 
 many competent judges think that the amiable Italian hardly 
 does justice to their better and more agreeable qualities. 
 Happily, two great changes have taken place, let alone the 
 general increase of enlightenment. Slavery with all its cruel 
 opportunities is abolished, and there is no such thing as the 
 sale of a wife or child for debt. Despotism has given way to 
 just rule : the sale of public offices, the favouritism, the cor- 
 ruption, the licentious treatment of women which went on
 
 xxviii DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 under the wilful king whose character Sangermano paints in 
 such dark colours, exist no more. These abuses were far less 
 prominent, indeed, in Upper Burma under the rule of the 
 milder prince to whose court Phayre and Yule journeyed in 
 1855. Security of property and person is now established 
 with the law over the whole land ; and if we compare what 
 the Director of State Education says in the Census Report 
 of 1891, of the order of monks, with the estimate 'of the 
 religious by Bishop Bigandet in 1880, we may fairly hope 
 that the removal of the burden of despotism has infused a 
 freshness of beneficent energy into these common school- 
 masters of the people. Two causes, said the learned Bishop, 
 made the Talapoins incomparably idle : the first a physical 
 one, the relaxing heat of the climate ; the second a moral 
 one, the tyranny of the despotic government which, by 
 making property insecure, destroyed the incentive to work, 
 with all the useful moral discipline that labour affords. ' He 
 who is suspected of being rich is exposed to numerous vexa- 
 tions on the part of the vile satellites of tyranny, who soon 
 find out some apparent pretext for confiscating a part or the 
 whole of his property, or depriving him of life, should he dare 
 to offer resistance. 1 This sentence skims the philosophy of 
 history. A vivid picture of the state of things about Rangoon 
 in 1813 is found in the journal of Mrs. Judson, the wife of 
 the American missionary. ' The country, 1 she writes, ' presents 
 a rich and beautiful appearance, everywhere covered with 
 vegetation, and, if cultivated, would be one of the finest in 
 the world. But the poor natives have little inducement to 
 labour, or to accumulate property, as it would probably be 
 taken from them by their oppressive rulers.' The change from 
 despotic violence to the rule of law must in time elevate the 
 character of the subjects, and the English in Burma cannot 
 reasonably expect the upward progress to be completed in one 
 generation or even two. 
 
 In concluding this introduction I must express my thanks
 
 INTRODUCTION xxix 
 
 to my friend Mr. Taw Sein-Ko, a native of Burma, and at pre- 
 sent Lecturer in the University of Cambridge, for the learned 
 aid I have received from him, and my hopes that he will 
 resume on the spot his researches into the recondite lore of the 
 Indo-Chinese countries when the Educational Board of Burma 
 has, as it now proposes to do, changed itself into a University 
 for all the countries and tribes of that part of the Queen's 
 empire. 
 
 JOHN JARDINE.
 
 LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL WORKS REFERRED TO 
 
 BIGANDET, The Right Rev. P. The Life or Legend of Gaudama, the JUj 
 
 Buddha of the Burmese. 2 vols. Third edition. London, 1880. 
 British Burma Gazetteer. 2 vols. Rangoon, 1880. 
 Burma Census Report, 1891. Rangoon. 
 CRAWFURD, JOHN. Journal of an Embassy to Ava in 1827. London, 
 
 1829. 
 
 DAVIDS, Dr. T. W. RHYS. Buddhism. 
 Early Voyages and Travels. See Hakluyt's Voyages, India in the Fifteenth 
 
 Century, and Purchas' Pilgrims. 
 
 ELPHINSTONE, Hon. MOUNTSTUABT. The History of India. 
 FORBES, Captain. British Burma and its People. 
 FORCHHAMMER, E. Jardine Prize Essay on Burmese Law. Rangoon, 
 
 1885. 
 Notes on the Early History and Geography of British Burma. 
 
 Rangoon, 1883 and 1884. 
 Notes on the Languages and Dialects spoken in British Burma. 
 
 Rangoon, 1884. 
 FRANCKLIN, Major WILLIAM. Tracts on Ava. Compiled from Papers of 
 
 Captain Hiram Cox. London, 1811. 
 GRAY, Professor JAMES. Ancient Proverbs and Maxims, from Burmese 
 
 Sources. London, 1886. 
 GRIFFINI, Father D. M., Delia Vita di Monsignor Gio. Maria Percoto. 
 
 Udine, 1781. 
 HAKLUYT'S Voyages. Vol. ii. London, 1810. The Voyage of Master 
 
 Cesar Frederick into the east India, and beyonde the Indies, Anno 
 
 1563. The long, dangerous, and memorable voyage of M. Ralph 
 
 Fitch, marchant of London. 
 
 HARDY, R. SPENCE. The Legends and Theories of the Buddhists. 
 India in the Fifteenth Century. By R. H. MAJOR. Hakluyt Society, 
 
 1857. Travels of Nicolo de Conti and Hieronimo de Santo Stephano. 
 JARDINE, JOHN. Customary Law of the Chin Tribe. By Maung Tet 
 
 Pyo. Rangoon, 1884. 
 Notes on Buddhist Law, with Translations. Nos. 1 to 8. Rangoon, 
 
 1882, 1883. 
 JUDSON, ANN H., An Account of the American Baptist Mission to the 
 
 Burman Empire. London, 1827. 
 
 KERN, Dr. H. Geschiedenis van het Buddhisme in Indie. Haarlem, 1882. 
 MASON, Dr. F. Burma, its People and Productfc/is. 2 vols. Theobald's 
 
 edition. Hertford, 1882.
 
 xxxii LIST OF PRINCIPAL WORKS REFERRED TO 
 
 MAUNG TET PYO. Customary Law of the Chin Tribe, Rangoon, 1884. 
 PALLEGOIX, Monsignor. Description du Royaume Thai ou Siam. Paris, 
 
 1854. 
 
 PHAYRE, Sir ARTHUR P. History of Surma. London, 1883. 
 PURCKAS' Pilgrims. Edition of 1625, Book 10. Voyages of Gasparo 
 
 Balbi, Caesar Frederike and Ralph Fitch. 
 REHATSEK, E. ' Christianity among the Mongols.' Journal of the Bombay 
 
 Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. Vol. xiii. 1877. 
 ROST, Dr. R. Article on ' Pali. ' Encylopcedia Britannica. 
 SHWAY YOE (J. Scott). The Burman, his Life and Notions. 
 SPEARMAN, Colonel H. See British Burma Gazetteer. 
 SYKES, Lieut. -Colonel W. H. Notes on the Religious, Moral, and Political 
 
 State of India before the Mahomedan Invasion. London, 1841. 
 SYMES, MICHAEL; Major in His Majesty's 76th Regiment. An Account 
 
 of an Embassy to Ava in 1795. London, 1800. 
 
 THEOBALD, W. See Dr. F. Mason's Burma, its People and Productions. 
 YULE, Captain HENRY. A Narrative of the Mission to the Court of Ava in 
 
 1855. London, 1858.
 
 PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION 
 
 IN* nearly every history of Burma, or account of the Burmese 
 people, the reader finds allusions to Sangermano and often 
 extracts from his book. But he is puzzled to make out who 
 Sangermano was and when and where he lived, and is sometimes 
 left in danger of supposing wrongly that Sangermano's remarks 
 apply to the present times. If, attracted by the interesting 
 matter that every author finds in him, the reader goes to the 
 libraries to get Sangermano's book, he learns that there is no 
 copy. If he goes to a private person reputed to have a copy, 
 he returns disappointed, the copy having perhaps been lent long 
 ago to some one else who never returned it. For several years 
 this was my experience. 
 
 A few months ago I discovered that Colonel Spearman, of 
 the British Burma Commission, had a copy, and he obliged me 
 by the loan of it. This is the volume from which the present 
 edition is reprinted by order of the Chief Commissioner, after 
 obtaining the consent to this republication of the Right Rev. 
 _P. Bigandet, Bishop of Ramatha and Vicar Apostolic. It was 
 deemed right to refer to him as being the present head of the 
 Roman Catholic mission in Burma. 
 
 Cardinal Wiseman's preface to the edition of 1833 informs 
 us that Father Sangermano arrived in Burma in 1783, and 
 returned to Italy in 1808. Becoming President of the order of 
 Barnabites at Arpinum, his native city, he employed himself in 
 preparing his work for publication, but was prevented by his 
 death in 1819. Bishop Bigandet informs me that this happened 
 at Leghorn as he was about to sail for !|urma, and that during 
 his stay in Italy he was graciously treated by Joachim Murat,
 
 xxxiv DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 king of Naples. The Roman Sub-Committee of the Oriental 
 Translation Fund undertook to publish and translate the 
 manuscript. The orthography was kept except in a few well- 
 known names : hence the proper names are to be read as in 
 Italian. In this reprint no alterations have been made. 
 
 The Oriental Translation Fund was instituted in 1828 under 
 the patronage of King William iv. In the binding of Colonel 
 Spearman's copy I find a prospectus showing that Sir Gore 
 Ouseley, the Vice-President of the Royal Asiatic Society, was its 
 Chairman, and John Shakespear and Dr. Rosen its Secretaries. 
 ' This copy was printed for the Right Honourable the Earl of 
 Clare, Governor of Bombay, a subscriber.'' The motto of the 
 Fund was * Ex oriente lux. 1 Fifty years have passed and no 
 second edition has been issued. 
 
 During this half century much has been added to our know- 
 ledge of the subjects described by Sangermano. The Burmese 
 legend of Buddha has been translated and edited by Bishop 
 Bigandet. The history of Burma has lately been written by 
 Sir Arthur Phayre ; and before this edition issues from the 
 press the learning of Dr. Forchhammer will have thrown light 
 on the Burmese Dhammathat or Code of Law in his edition of 
 King Wagaru's code and his essay on Buddhist law. But all 
 this increase of knowledge does not detract from the real value 
 of Sangermano's work or lessen its charm. Even when he 
 describes the abstract notions of the Buddhist religion, or the 
 dry rules of law, we feel his contact with the people : we learn 
 how the religion influenced their life, and how the despotic and 
 capricious administration of the law produced results which the 
 Dhammathat would never suggest. Sangermano's thorough- 
 ness is notable. He gets his account of Buddhism from a 
 treatise drawn up by the king's uncle in 1763 : he translated 
 much of the Buddhist canon with the help of a former pongyi 
 learned in Pali. He went direct to the Burmese annals for his 
 history; and his version of the Burmese Code, called the 
 Golden Rule, shows that he used some such Dhammathat as the 
 Manu Sara Shwe Myin, and took much trouble to understand 
 it. Between 1768 and 1780 several new versions of Dham- 
 mathats had been compiled by learned Burmans such as Kyaw 
 Deng ; and it is probable that a scholar eager to get at their
 
 PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION xxxv 
 
 real meaning would have found some of these lawyers or other 
 learned men competent to teach him. Sangermano proceeded 
 to make an abstract of one of these codes ; he seems not to have 
 aimed at precise translation ; but after comparing his abstract 
 with the Wagaru and the part of the Wonnana Dhammathat 
 found in our Notes on Buddhist Law, I would be well inclined 
 to treat this abstract as valuable in suggesting meanings of 
 doubtful passages. There is now little oral tradition to explain 
 the Dhammathats, at least in British Burma : but in Sanger- 
 mano's time there must have been plenty : he was familiar with 
 the king's officials, he had Pali scholars at his elbow, and he 
 noticed the way the Burmese judges applied the law. In these 
 several respects he had advantages which European scholars 
 miss nowadays. Sangermano appends a few notes showing 
 instances where the law was administered contrary to the code, 
 and his earlier chapters on manners must be read in connection 
 with it. I greatly doubt whether Dr. Richardson, who in 1847 
 translated the Manu Kyay Dhammathat (dated A.D. 1760), had 
 seen this abstract. It is the only popular account of Burmese 
 law that has ever been written ; it appears to be a useful 
 manual of that law as understood in Rangoon a hundred years 
 ago ; it fairly reflects the spirit of the Dhammathats, and in 
 these respects seemed to me likely to be of such use -to the 
 officers freshly appointed to the British Burma Commission that 
 I advised that it should be reprinted. On the other hand, I 
 must remark that until it has been thoroughly compared, section 
 by section, with the Dhammathats, it cannot be treated as 
 equal to those originals or as a safe guide to settlement of 
 doubtful questions. It is curious that nearly all later writers 
 on the Burmese avoid mention or statement of the law ; so that 
 information on the simplest questions hardly exists except in 
 judicial decisions. 
 
 At the end of the book are two notes, compiled by the Roman 
 sub-committee, to show the progress of Roman Catholic missions 
 in Burma. I add a third, compiled from an Italian book lent 
 me by Bishop Bigandet, Griffini's Vita di Monsignor Percoto, 
 published at Udine in 1781. 
 
 The reader will time after time remark how some generaliza- 
 tion of Sangermano's seems as true now as in his day. Burmese
 
 xxxvi DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 medicine, e.g., has not advanced ; ' they have themselves no 
 regular surgeons. 1 But the trade in rice, the great wealth of 
 Burma and principal export of the port of Rangoon at present, 
 is not mentioned at all in the account of trade. 
 
 JOHN JARDINE. 
 
 RANGOON^ 5th April 1884.
 
 PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION 
 
 THE following work was drawn up by F. Sangermano, partly 
 during his residence as a missionary in Ava, and partly after 
 his return to Europe. He was sent out as a missioner in 1782, 
 and in the July of the following year arrived at Rangoon, 
 whence he proceeded directly to the city of Ava. But shortly 
 after he was remanded to Rangoon, which was the scene of his 
 future missionary labours. The cause of Christianity was 
 greatly forwarded in this place by his exertions. He completed 
 the church of St. John, which had been begun before him, as 
 well as the college of the. missionaries ; both of which were built 
 of brick. He superintended the college as long as he remained 
 there ; and under his direction it was very prosperous. It con- 
 tained fifty students, who were instructed in several branches of 
 learning and science ; so that besides some ecclesiastics, it has 
 produced skilful engineers, physicians, and even pilots. There 
 is at present a young Burmese practising as a surgeon in Rome 
 who received his education in this institution. 
 
 F. Sangermano was greatly esteemed by the natives of Ran- 
 goon : in particular, the Viceroy and his consort honoured him 
 with many marks of distinction. The latter would often come 
 to his church to be present at the Catholic ceremonies, especially 
 those of Holy-week : and sometimes she would pay a visit to 
 the Superior in his College, and hold long conferences with him 
 on religion ; so that it was thought that she would become a 
 Christian. On these occasions she always came with her guards 
 and her whole court. Her guards remained in the square oppo- 
 site the college, but the rest of her suite entered with her. 
 
 F. Sangermano was also well known to the foreigners who 
 frequented Rangoon, particularly to the English. From one 
 of the latter he had a commission to makea chart of the port 
 of Rangoon, which he executed with so much ability as to
 
 xxxviii DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 receive a pension for life from our Government. He also 
 experienced great attention from the English authorities when 
 at Calcutta on his return home. 
 
 The individual who had given him the above-mentioned 
 commission procured for him a letter of recommendation from 
 the Governor-General, by which all English captains were 
 required to afford him every facility for his return. He arrived 
 in Italy in 1808 ; and after having got through the business 
 which had recalled him home, endeavoured to return to his 
 missionary labours. But the state of the times prevented him ; 
 and he was finally established as president of the college of his 
 order at Arpinum, his native city. Here he employed himself 
 in preparing the following work for publication ; but his death 
 in 1819 prevented the execution of his designs. His manuscript 
 remained in the hands of the Barnabite Fathers, and would 
 probably have never been presented to the public had not the 
 Roman sub-committee of the Oriental Translation Fund under- 
 taken its translation and publication. Although the primary 
 regulations of this Society seem to sanction the publication of 
 none but Oriental works, the Roman sub-committee felt them- 
 selves warranted in proposing this history to the parent com- 
 mittee, on the ground that it is chiefly made up of translations 
 from important Burmese writings, whereof probably copies do 
 not exist in Europe. 
 
 The following note found among F. Sangermano's papers, 
 after the work was partly translated, indicates the original 
 documents he has principally followed. 
 
 ' 1. The Burmese cosmography has been extracted almost 
 entirely from a book expressly composed for the elder brother 
 of the reigning monarch, by a Zarado or master of the Emperor, 
 wherein he succinctly describes the system of the world, as 
 taught by Godama, according to the expositions and opinions 
 of the most celebrated Burmese Doctors. 
 
 * 2. All that is related of the ancient Burmese monarchs, and 
 of the foundation and subsequent history of this kingdom, has 
 l>een faithfully copied from the Maharazaven, that is, the great 
 history of the kings. 
 
 '3. In what I have said of the superstitions, astrology, 
 religion, constitutions of the Talapoins, and the sermons of
 
 PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION xxxix 
 
 Godama, I have not followed the tales and reports of the 
 common people, but have carefully consulted the classical 
 writings of the Burmese, known by the name of Kiam. The 
 chapters on the rules of the Talapoins and the sermons of 
 Godama contain an abstract of all that is worthy of notice in 
 the three Kiam, called Vini, Padimot, and Sottan. I have 
 translated nearly the whole of these books with the assistance 
 of an Ex-Talapoin of the name of Uba, who was one of the 
 most learned of that order in the vicinity of Nabek, where for 
 several years our seminary was situated. He has also taught 
 the Pali language to two of my scholars, one of whom is at the 
 present time labouring in the work of the mission at Rangoon. 1 
 
 Some slight transposition has been made in the chapters, in 
 order to improve the connection between the subjects which 
 they treat. The orthography of the manuscript has been kept, 
 except in a few well-known names : hence the proper names are 
 to be read as in Italian. 
 
 It cannot be necessary to enumerate the difficulties experi- 
 enced in conducting a large English work through a foreign 
 press. Independently of the great labour of correction, it 
 required some courage to think of imitating the beauty of typo- 
 graphy which distinguishes the works printed by the parent 
 committee in London. We flatter ourselves that we have done 
 as much as circumstances would allow us, and that our present 
 attempt will be indulgently received, as an earnest of our desire 
 to forward the useful and noble objects of the Fund. 
 
 N. WISEMAN. 
 
 ROME, June I, 1833.
 
 DESCRIPTION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 THE Burmese Empire comprises the tract of territory bounded 
 on the south by the Indian Ocean, on the east by the Kingdom 
 of Siam, on the west by Bengal, and on the north by the 
 Kingdom of Azen [Assam] and the Chinese Empire. It includes 
 not only the Kingdom of Ava, but likewise those of Pegu and 
 Aracan, together with the petty States of Martaban, Tavai 
 [Tavoy], and Merghi [Mergui]. Before proceeding to give an 
 ample and detailed description of the manners, religion, and 
 laws of this empire, it is not only expedient but necessary to 
 premise some account of the system of the world according to 
 the Burmese, or, in other words, of their cosmography. By 
 this explanation various points relating to their religion and 
 manners, to their theogony and ethics, will be rendered intel- 
 ligible, which otherwise would be very obscure and difficult to 
 comprehend.
 
 BURMESE COSMOGRAPHY 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 OF THE MEASURES AND DIVISIONS OF TIME COMMONLY USED IN THE 
 SACRED BURMESE BOOKS 1 
 
 ACCORDING to these books there are five species of atoms. 
 The first consists of that fluid by which all bodies are pene- 
 trated, and which, though invisible to man, is yet visible to the 
 Nat, 2 superior genii of whom we shall speak hereafter. The 
 second species is that very fine dust which is seen dancing in 
 the air when the sun's rays penetrate through any aperture 
 into a chamber. The third species consists of the dust raised 
 from the earth by the motion of animals or vehicles. The 
 fourth comprises those grosser particles which, unable to rise 
 in the air on account of their natural gravity, remain fixed to 
 the ground. Lastly, the fifth species consists of those little 
 particles which fall when writing with an iron pen upon a 
 
 1 For a full account of measures and the divisions of time the reader is 
 referred to The Burman, his Life and Notions, by Shway Yoe, London, 1882, 
 c. 30. The scales in common use differ from those of the books. ' For astrono- 
 mical purposes, such as the casting of the horoscope, and the calculations for 
 fortunate days and the like, an exceedingly elaborate scale exists, but it is never 
 made use of in ordinary life.' There are twelve months with an intercalation 
 every third year ; and, as among the Hindus, the month is divided into the dark 
 and bright halves. The year begins in April. The seven days of the week are 
 named after the planets. The people define time and distance by terms like 
 the following : When the sun was as high as a toddy palm, when monks go 
 a-begging, children's go-to-bed time, the time it takes to boil a pot of rice, 
 a stone's throw, a musket's sound. 
 
 " These Nats are the Dewas of the six lower heavens. In Burmah the belief 
 in good and bad demons, also called Nats, existed before the spread of Buddhism. 
 They are still as numerous as the fairies and elves were among the Saxons of old, 
 every tree, stream, and town having its guardian Nat. Of the evil Nats, Burmans 
 and other tribes have an extreme dread. Bigandet's Legend of the Burmese 
 Buddha, i. 18, 77 ; ii. 324.
 
 BURMESE COSMOGRAPHY 3 
 
 palm-leaf. Thirty-six atoms of the first class make one atom 
 of the second, thirty-six of the second make one of the third, 
 and so in progression. Seven atoms of the fifth and last species 
 are equal in size to the head of a louse ; seven such heads 
 equal a grain of rice ; seven grains of rice make an inch, twelve 
 inches a palm, and two palms a cubit ; seven cubits give one to, 
 twenty ta one ussaba, eighty ussaba one gaut^ and four gaut a 
 juzena [yojana]. Finally, a juzena contains about six Burmese 
 leagues, or 28,000 cubits. 
 
 Again, twelve hairs are equal to the size of a grain of rice, 
 four grains of rice make a finger, twelve fingers a foot ; the 
 ordinary stature of a man is seven feet. 
 
 The following is the measure of time : that instant in which 
 the fore or the middle finger withheld by the thumb darts from 
 it to give a fillip is called a carasi : ten carasi make a pian, and 
 six plan a bizana. A quarter of an hour is composed of fifteen 
 bizana ; four quarters make an hour, the day consists of sixty 
 hours, the month contains thirty days, and twelve months form 
 a year.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 OF THE WORLD AND ITS PARTS l 
 
 1. THE world is called logha, a word which signifies alternate 
 destruction and reproduction. The Burmese admit a world, 
 not everlasting, but having a beginning and an end ; and this 
 beginning and end they do not attribute to the power and will 
 of a superior being, but merely to fate, which they call Dammatu 
 [Dharma]. The world is divided into three parts, the superior, 
 the inferior, and the middle. In the superior part is situated 
 the seat of the Nat, in the inferior are the infernal regions, 
 and in the middle is the seat or abode of men and animals. 
 Of these beings and their abodes we shall treat lower down. 
 The middle part is conceived to be flat and circular, though 
 somewhat elevated in the centre, and bounded by a chain of 
 very high mountains called Zacchiavala [Sakwala], which gird 
 it all round and form an impenetrable barrier. These moun- 
 tains rise 82,000 juzena [yojana, reckoned at 10 miles by Hardy] 
 above the surface of the sea, and have an equal depth in the 
 sea itself. The diameter of this middle part is 1,203,400 
 juzena, and its circumference is three times the diameter. Its 
 depth is 240,000 juzena. The half of this depth entirely con- 
 sists of dust ; the other half, or the lower part, is a hard, compact 
 
 1 For fuller information on the subjects of this and the next two chapters, 
 the reader may consult Spence Hardy's Manual of Buddhism, ch. i., and his 
 Legends and Theories of the Buddhists, p. 80, which are used by Dr. Kern of 
 Leyden as the most complete review of the mystic cosmology of the Southern 
 Buddhists. Geschiednis van Het Buddhisme in Indie, p. 289, Haarlem, 1882. 
 The Buddhist system of the universe is fundamentally that of the Hindus, as is 
 remarked by Yule in his Narrative of the Mission to Ava, London, 1858, 
 p. 237, in a learned note.
 
 BURMESE COSMOGRAPHY 5 
 
 stone called Silapatavi. This enormous volume of dust and 
 stone is supported by a double volume of water, under which 
 is placed a double volume of air ; and beyond this there is 
 nothing but vacuity. 
 
 2. In the centre of this middle part, above the level of the 
 sea, the largest of the mountains, called Miemmo, 1 rises to the 
 height of 84,000 juzena, having an equal depth within the sea. 
 Two truncated cones, united at their bases, may give an idea 
 of the figure of this mountain. The diameter of the superior 
 plane of Miemmo is 48,000 juzena, and its circumference three 
 times the diameter. Three enormous rubies, 3000 juzena in 
 height, serve as feet to this immense mass, and connect it with 
 the great stone Silapatavi. The part of the mountain looking 
 to the east is of silver, that looking to the west of glass, the 
 side exposed to the north is of gold, and finally that to the 
 south of dark ruby. Seven concentric chains of mountains 
 enclose within them this celebrated eminence, and in their 
 intermediate spaces run seven great rivers called Sita [Sidanta], 
 whose waters are transparent and clear as crystal, and so very 
 light that the feather of the smallest bird, if thrown into them, 
 will sink to the bottom. These mountains are not of an equal 
 height, nor are their rivers of equal breadth and' depth. While 
 the first range, called Juganto, is 84,000 juzena high, and the 
 first river as many juzena wide and deep, the second chain has 
 half that height, that is to say, 42,000 j uzena, and just so wide 
 and deep is the second river. 
 
 3. At the four cardinal points of Mount Miemmo, between 
 the Zacchiavala mountains and the last enclosure of Juganto, 
 in the midst of an immense sea, are situated four great islands, 
 the abodes of men and animals. The eastern island has the 
 form of a half-moon, and is 21,000 juzena in circumference. 
 The western island bears a circular figure like the full moon, 
 and has likewise 21,000 juzena in circumference. The northern 
 island has 24,000, and is of a square figure ; and lastly, the 
 southern one, which is lozenge-shaped, is called Zabudiba 
 [Jambudwipa], and is 30,000 juzena in circumference. In this 
 
 1 The Mount Myen-Mo of the Burmans is the Mount Meru of the Hindu 
 cosmogony.
 
 6 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 island the Burmese doctors place their kingdom, those of Siam 
 and China, the coast of Coromandel, the island of Ceylon, and 
 other parts with which they are acquainted. They likewise 
 say that this island, with 500 smaller ones which belong to it 
 and will be mentioned in the next paragraph, is inhabited by a 
 hundred and one nations. Excepting, however, the Chinese, 
 Tartars, Siamese, Casse [Manipur], and Aracan, the names by 
 which they denominate these nations do not correspond to 
 those known in our geography. These four great islands take 
 their names from certain large trees which grow in them and 
 are considered their sacred emblems. For example, because its 
 sacred tree is the Zabu, the southern island is called Zabudiba, 
 or the Island of Zabu. 
 
 4. Besides these four great islands, they admit likewise 
 2000 of smaller dimensions (allotting 500 to each of the great 
 ones) scattered here and there, but not widely apart, and 
 bearing respectively the same figure as the larger islands. We 
 have observed in sec. 2 that the eastern side of Mount Miemmo 
 is of silver, the western of glass, the northern of gold, and the 
 southern of dark ruby. Now, these four sides communicate 
 their colour to the great and small islands and their inhabi- 
 tants, as well fts to the sea that surrounds them ; and con- 
 sequently the eastern island and its inhabitants will be of a 
 silver colour ; the southern, together with its inhabitants, rivers, 
 trees, etc., will have the colour of the dark ruby ; and the same 
 is to be said of the other islands. In like manner the great 
 ocean is divided into four seas, that is to say, the white, the 
 green, the yellow, and the dark red. These seas, however, are 
 not everywhere of the same depth : that which is interposed 
 between the small islands is shallow and almost always quiet, 
 so that ships may conveniently sail in it ; but the seas in the 
 midst of which the great islands lie have a depth of even 
 84,000 juzena, and their waves rise to the height of 60 or 70 
 juzena. Terrible whirlpools are here to be met, capable of 
 swallowing up large ships. These seas abound with monstrous 
 fishes of the length of 500 and even 1000 juzena. When these 
 merely move in the waters they agitate them to a considerable 
 degree, but when they shake their whole body they excite a 
 horrible tempest to the distance of even 500 and 800 juzena.
 
 BURMESE COSMOGRAPHY 7 
 
 Hence it follows that there can be no communication what- 
 ever between the inhabitants of the different great islands ; 
 and the European ships that arrive in the Indies are supposed 
 by the Burmese to come from some of the 500 small islets 
 which surround the great southern island of Zabudiba. Hence 
 they generally style them inhabitants of the small islands.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 OF THE BEINGS THAT LIVE IN THIS WORLD, OF THEIR FELICITY OR 
 MISERY, AND OF THE DURATION OF THEIR LIFE 
 
 5. ALL living beings are divided by the sacred Burmese 
 books into three classes : Chama, or generating beings ; Rupa, 
 or corporeal but ungenerated ; lastly Arupa, or incorporeal 
 beings. And these three classes are again subdivided into 
 thirty species, each of which has its Bon, or proper seat. The 
 first class, or that of the Chama, contains eleven species, or 
 regions, or states of beings, seven of which are happy and four 
 unhappy. The first of the happy states is that of man, and 
 the other six are those of the Nat, who are corporeal beings, 
 but in every respect superior to man, as will be shown just now. 
 The four unhappy are the infernal states, in which beings, by 
 the painful torments they suffer, pay the forfeit of the crimes 
 committed by them in their antecedent life. The second class, 
 called Rupa, contains sixteen regions or states, and the third, 
 or the Arupa, contains only four. 
 
 6. Before we speak of the happiness or unhappiness of these 
 beings, and of the places which they occupy, it is necessary to 
 premise a few general observations. First, the Burmese, like 
 many other nations of India, admit a metempsychosis or trans- 
 migration after death, but in a very different sense from that 
 of Pythagoras, who taught that the soul, after the death of one 
 body, occupied and animated another. The Burmese, on the 
 contrary, say that at the death of a man, animal, or other 
 living being, the soul perishes together with the body ; but 
 then, from this complete dissolution another individual springs, 
 which will be man, or beast, or Nat, according to the merits 
 or demerits of the actions done by its predecessor during its 
 life. Through this successive series of dissolutions and re- 
 generations all beings go on for the duration of one or more
 
 BURMESE COSMOGRAPHY 9 
 
 worlds till at length they have performed such works as render 
 them worthy of the state of Niban [Nirvana, Neibban], which 
 is the most perfect of all states. This consists in an almost 
 perpetual ecstasy, in which those who attain it are not only 
 free from the troubles and miseries of life, from death, illness, 
 and old age, but are abstracted from all sensation ; they have 
 no longer either a thought or a desire. Secondly, we must 
 premise that the Burmese books admit not only one but many 
 or rather an infinite number of worlds. And this is to be 
 understood in two senses. First, besides this world of ours, 
 there are co-existent 10,100,000 others of the same shape and 
 figure that mutually touch each other on three points, thus 
 forming so many equilateral spaces, filled with very cold water 
 impenetrable to the rays of the sun. Each side of these spaces 
 is 3000 juzena in length. Secondly, in force of that general 
 law called Dammata [Dharma], one world succeeds another, and 
 no sooner is one destroyed than another is reproduced of the 
 same form and figure. Nobody, not even the Divinity Godama 
 himself, ever knew which was the first world and which will be 
 the last : and hence the Burmese doctors deduce that this 
 series of successive dissolutions and reproductions never had a 
 beginning and will have no end, and they compare the system 
 to a large wheel, to whose circumference it is impossible to 
 assign any beginning or end. 
 
 7. Before we speak of the duration of life enjoyed by 
 different classes of beings, it is further necessary to give an 
 idea of the duration of a world, which is something truly 
 portentous. The inhabitants of the southern island, and of 
 the 500 smaller islets attached to it, are said perpetually to 
 vary the duration of their life, which increases or diminishes 
 according to the deserts of their good or bad conduct. We 
 speak here merely of the inhabitants of the southern island ; 
 for, as to those of the others, they have and ever will have the 
 same length of life, as will be said in the sequel. The lives of 
 the first inhabitants of the Zabudiba [Jambudwipa] island 
 lasted an assenchie [asankhya]. To give an idea of the pro- 
 digious number of years which compose an assenchie, it is said 
 that, if it should rain continually for the^space of three years 
 over the whole world, which is 1,203,430 juzena in diameter,
 
 10 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 the number of drops of rain fallen in this time would express 
 the number of years that compose an assenchie. The sons and 
 grandchildren of those primitive men fell off from the per- 
 fection of their ancestors, and abandoning virtue gave them- 
 selves up to vice, and hence the length of their life began 
 gradually to diminish until it was reduced to ten years, the 
 term allotted to some very wicked men. But afterwards their 
 descendants, reflecting on the cause of this diminution, began 
 to correct their morals and practise virtue. By this means 
 they merited a new prolongation of their lives, first to thirty, 
 then to eighty, a hundred, and a thousand years, and thus 
 progressively, till they reached the term of an assenchie, as 
 was the case with the primitive inhabitants. Now these pro- 
 gressive variations from an assenchie to ten years, and from 
 ten years to an assenchie, in successive generations, will take 
 place sixty-four times before the final destruction of the 
 world. 
 
 8. We may now proceed to treat of the happiness and misery 
 of living beings and of the Bon, or regions which they occupy, 
 in the three parts of the world : and we will begin by the 
 happy beings, whose first species is man, as was observed in 
 sec. 6. The diameter of the southern island, Zabudiba, is 
 10,000 juzena. Subtracting from this number 3000, which are 
 occupied by forests and deserts, and 4000 covered with water, 
 the residue, or 3000 juzena, contain the Bon, or region occupied 
 by man. The longest term of life which a man can at present 
 enjoy is eighty years. Among the inhabitants of the Zabudiba 
 island some are observed to be rich, others poor; some learned, 
 others ignorant ; some vile and abject, and others noble and 
 elevated to the rank of kings, princes, or mandarins ; some are 
 handsome and others deformed ; finally, some enjoy a long life 
 and others a short one. All these diversities of condition are 
 effects of the merit or demerit gained by each individual in his 
 preceding life. 
 
 9. The inhabitants of the other three islands are not subject 
 to the successive variation of the term of their lives mentioned 
 above ; nor are they exposed to those troubles and that variety 
 of condition which affect the inhabitants of the southern 
 island Zabudiba. The term of life of the inhabitants of the
 
 BURMESE COSMOGRAPHY 11 
 
 eastern and western islands is constantly 500 years. Their 
 faces in shape resemble the figure of the island to which they 
 belong; so that the eastern islanders have their faces of a 
 semi-lunar form, and the western have theirs round like the full 
 moon. Their stature is likewise different from that prevail- 
 ing in the island Zabudiba, as the eastern islanders are nine 
 cubits high and the western six. As to the state of society, 
 sciences, agriculture, etc., these eastern and western islanders 
 are perfectly similar to the southern. Both these islands have 
 their sacred trees, which, by the power of fate, last from the 
 beginning to the end of the world. They are a hundred 
 juzena high, and the spread of their branches is fifty juzena. 
 
 10. But the inhabitants of the northern island differ in every 
 respect from those of the other three islands because they make 
 no use of agriculture or any other art or profession. A tree 
 named Padesa grows in that fortunate island on which, instead 
 of fruit, are seen hanging precious garments of various colours, 
 whereof the natives take whatever pleases them best. In like 
 manner they need not cultivate the soil, nor sow, nor reap ; 
 neither do they fish, nor hunt ; because the same tree naturally 
 produces them an excellent kind of rice without any husk. 
 Whenever they wish to take nourishment, they have only to 
 place this rice upon a certain great stone, from which a flame 
 instantly issues, dresses their food, and then goes out of itself. 
 While they eat their rice, various kinds of exquisite meats, 
 ready dressed, appear upon the leaves of some trees, from which 
 every one takes at will. The meal over, the remains im- 
 mediately disappear. This food is, moreover, so very substantial, 
 that what appears prepared for only one person is sufficient for 
 many ; and so nourishing, that those who partake of it can fast 
 the seven following days without repeating their meal. These 
 islanders are never subject to any kind of illness, nor to the 
 troubles of old age, but live a thousand years, in continual 
 youth. The manner in which they bring up their children, and 
 contract marriage, is very singular. As the women there are 
 not subject to menses nor the pains of labour, when their time 
 arrives, they are delivered without any pain or difficulty, and 
 abandon their newborn babe on the spot,^without its running 
 any risk of dying. For those that pass that way, putting their
 
 12 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 finger in their mouth, extract from it a sweet liquor like nectar, 
 which, wonderful to say, supports the child for seven days. 
 Nourished and brought up in this manner, they are of course 
 unable to ascertain who are their parents ; the more so as in 
 that island all the inhabitants are of the same shape and 
 figure, and of the same golden colour. Hence it is provided, 
 that when a couple, moved by reciprocal affection, wish to unite 
 in wedlock, they should withdraw themselves under a certain 
 beautiful tree. If this lowers its branches, and covers them 
 round with its leaves, it is a sign that they are not near 
 relations, and consequently the marriage is completed. If, on 
 the contrary, the tree does not lower its branches, they consider 
 it a proof of their consanguinity, and abstain from proceeding 
 any further. In general, these islanders have no illicit inclina- 
 tions, and the conjugal act is only exercised by them ten times 
 during their whole life. Some of them live in a state of 
 celibacy, as perfect and holy men, who have bridled the passions 
 and inclinations of their hearts. Sorrow and all kinds of 
 trouble or pain are strangers to this fortunate island, in which 
 there is no cold nor heat, no winds nor storms, no lightning, 
 thunder, nor rain. No ferocious animals nor venomous serpents 
 threaten the lives of men. They have no need of houses for 
 shelter; the island is full of pleasant, gold-coloured trees, 
 which are ever covered with delicious fruit or flowers, of the 
 most grateful odour, or which yield a fragrant liquor, with 
 which the inhabitants are wont to anoint their bodies. Here 
 and there are little rivulets of odoriferous sandal or other 
 aromatic waters, in which they bathe and disport themselves. 
 Although these islanders have a stature of thirteen cubits, they 
 are still proportioned and well made, especially the women, 
 who are endowed with singular beauty and possess great agility, 
 softness, and symmetry of form. After having spent their life 
 of 1000 years, amidst continual enjoyments and delights, they 
 tranquilly expire ; and their bodies are immediately transported 
 to the other side of the island by some large birds, ordained by 
 fate to this office. 
 
 11. The inhabitants of the eastern, western, and northern 
 islands do not pass after death into the superior state of Nat, 
 nor to the inferior, infernal state, as happens to those of the
 
 BURMESE COSMOGRAPHY 13 
 
 southern island ; but they are always born again inhabitants 
 of the same island. And although this seems to be a desirable 
 thing, especially with regard to the northern islanders, on 
 account of their felicity, nevertheless the Burmese doctors say 
 that if the inhabitants of the southern island are endowed with 
 judgment and reason, they should not envy this lot : because in 
 this southern island alone may one rise by the merit of good 
 deeds, not only to the superior states of Nat, Rupa, and 
 Arupa, but, moreover, to the most perfect of all, that of the 
 Niban; and, for this reason, the Burmese poets call the southern 
 island the Niban's ferry. 
 
 12. After man come the six states of the Nat, happy beings 
 who are superior to man. 1 The first seat or Bon is called Zatu- 
 maharit, the second Tavateinsa, the third Jama, the fourth 
 Tussita, etc. These seats are disposed in order, beginning from 
 the centre of Miemmo, and continuing along the Juganto 
 mountains, so as to form the first enclosure of the Miemmo, as 
 far as the last barrier of the world, called Zacchiavala. Here 
 the first seat of the Nat, called Zatumaharit, is situated ; and 
 to this seat the sun, moon, planets, and stars belong. For, 
 according to the sacred Burmese books, these are all so many 
 houses or habitations of the Nat. The second seat, called 
 Tavateinsa, extends from the summit of Mount Miemmo to the 
 Zacchiavala. The other seats are placed, one above the other, 
 at a distance of about 42,000 juzena. Above the seats of the 
 Nat come those of the Rupa as follows : 558,000 juzena above 
 the last seat of the Nat are placed the three seats of the Rupa, 
 called the first Zian, in form like a tripod. Although they are 
 on the same level, one does not touch the other ; but they are 
 distant from each other 558,000 juzena. At an equal distance 
 above are placed the other three, bearing likewise the same 
 figure. These are called the second Zian; and above them 
 again are other three, of the same shape and distance, called 
 the third Zian. At a similar distance succeed the other two 
 seats of the Rupa, called the fourth Zian, which are placed on 
 the same level. The five remaining abodes of the Rupa lie one 
 above the other at the same distance of 558,000 juzena from 
 
 1 The six dewa-lokas.
 
 14 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 one another. 1 And in the same manner and order are placed, 
 one over the other, the four dwellings of the Arupa. This last 
 abode is so far distant from the southern island, that should a 
 stone be dropt from it, according to the Burmese doctors, it 
 would not reach its destination till four years after. 
 
 13. We have now to speak of the happiness of the Nat, and 
 of the length of their life. In the first place, the seat called 
 Zatumaharit is divided among four great princes or kings of 
 the Nat, each of whom possesses, at one of the four cardinal 
 points of Miemmo, a vast city of 1000 square juzena. These 
 cities are all of the same form, and in the midst of each its 
 prince has his large palace of twenty-five square juzena, the 
 columns, beams, and boards of which are of silver. For the 
 magnificence of these cities we must refer the reader to what 
 we shall say later, when we describe the second seat called 
 Tavateinsa. The famous Padesa trees grow over the whole of 
 this region ; and from them, in place of fruit, rich garments 
 and exquisite food are seen hanging, with all that can con- 
 tribute to the splendour and delight of the Nat who inhabit 
 the place. Small rivulets and lakes of the clearest water, de- 
 lightful orchards and gardens, are everywhere to be found. The 
 length of life of these Nat is 500 years, which are equal to 
 9,000,000 of ours. Their height is half a juzena. Both in 
 this and in the superior seats there are males and females, 
 who exercise the duties of matrimony, but whose fecundating 
 principle is only wind or air ; and the children produced are 
 brought to light, not like infants, but as if they were fifteen 
 years of age. Other Nat of an inferior condition, such as 
 giants, great birds, dragons, and other evil genii, who inhabit 
 the declivity of the Juganto mountains, or the forests and rivers, 
 are subjected to the Nat of this seat. 
 
 14. It has been noticed above that to this seat belong those 
 Nat that inhabit the sun, moon, and stars, ordained by fate to 
 illuminate the world, to divide day from night, to distinguish 
 the seasons, and to indicate good and evil to mankind. Hence 
 it will be proper to give a short essay of Burmese Astronomy. 
 
 1 The above sixteen regions are the Rupa-brahma-lokas, where the senses do 
 not exist. In the four Arupa worlds there is no bodily form.
 
 BURMESE COSMOGRAPHY 15 
 
 The Burmese admit eight planets, the sun, the moon, Mercury, 
 Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. From these the days of the 
 week take their denomination ; for the Burmese call the first 
 day the day of the sun ; the second, the day of the moon, etc. 
 Besides these seven planets they suppose an eighth invisible 
 one, by them called Rahu, of which we shall speak just 
 now. The sun, or the abode of the Nat called sun, has fifty 
 juzena in diameter, and 150 in circumference. This habitation 
 is of gold within, and without of crystal ; and as gold and 
 crystal are naturally warm, therefore the rays of the sun always 
 excite a sense of heat. The moon has forty-nine juzena in 
 diameter and thrice that measure in circumference ; it is of 
 silver without and ruby within ; and silver and ruby being 
 naturally cold, so the moon^s light causes a cold sensation. 
 Mars has twelve juzena in diameter, Mercury fifteen, Jupiter 
 seventeen, Venus nineteen, and Saturn thirteen. Of the stars 
 they give no kind of measure, but merely say in general that 
 they are the habitations of many Nat. The sun, moon, and 
 stars all revolve round the great Mount Miemmo, but disposed 
 in parallel orbits, so that, for example, the sun, in one diurnal 
 revolution, illuminates successively the four great islands ; and 
 night is caused by the interposition of Miemmo between it and 
 them. 1 When it is midday in the southern island, in the 
 northern it is midnight ; and when the sun sets to the eastern 
 island, it rises to the western. Besides the diurnal motion 
 common to the planets and stars, they allow the planets 
 another periodical movement, and say, that from the north 
 they pass to the south, and then return again to the north, 
 passing always through the twelve constellations of the zodiac, 
 Aries, Taurus, etc. Hence the sun returns, after a year, to 
 the same point in the heavens whence it set out ; while the 
 moon accomplishes the same revolution in the space of a 
 month. And although they seem to admit that the sun, moon, 
 
 1 ' Major Phayre endeavoured to explain the solar system ; but as the 
 Burmese theory is that of a central mountain called Myen-Mo, several millions 
 of miles high, around which are firmly fixed four great islands, on the southern 
 of which Asia and Europe are situated, the sun which lights them revolving 
 round the central mountain, the Envoy of course did-ot succeed in convincing 
 the Minister of the truth of our view of the case.' Yule, p. 67.
 
 16 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 and other heavenly bodies have a gradual declination, alter- 
 nately to north and south, yet they account for the variety of 
 seasons upon a totally different hypothesis. And here we must 
 notice that the Burmese divide the year, not into four, but into 
 three seasons the hot, the rainy, and the cold. To account 
 for these, they have imagined three distinct paths in the 
 heavens the inner, the middle, and the outward. The inner 
 path is nearest to Mount Miemmo, and when the sun is upon 
 it, it is the season of rain ; when in the middle path it is that 
 of heat; and when in the outward one that of cold. The 
 inner path nearly answers to our summer solstice ; the middle 
 one to our equinox ; and the exterior to the winter solstice. 
 Besides these they admit three other paths, one elevated above 
 the other ; for the Burmese doctors consider the sun to be 
 sometimes nearer and sometimes more distant from us. These 
 three paths, commencing from the highest, they call respectively 
 the paths of the elephant, the ox, and the goat. For, as the 
 goat loves to feed in warm and dry places, and the sun, when 
 nearest to us, or moving along the lower path, causes the 
 greatest heat and dryness, they have given to this path the 
 appellation of the goat's. On the contrary, great cold is felt 
 when the sun is distant, and the highest path, through which 
 it then passes, is called the elephant's ; because this quadruped 
 delights in cold and damp places. The sun is determined to 
 one of these paths by the bad or good conduct of man. Is he 
 good and obedient, it chooses the middle one, which is the most 
 temperate ; is he, on the contrary, wicked and disobedient to 
 the laws, it revolves through the higher or lower path, which 
 is always the occasion of injury to the crops, and is detrimental 
 to the health of man. The sun's motion in all three paths is 
 far swifter than that of the moon. In the inner path it 
 travels more than a million of juzena a day; in the middle 
 one, more than two millions ; and in the outer one, more than 
 three. Lastly, the sun, moon, and all the other heavenly 
 bodies, although they appear spherical, are in reality acuminated 
 like the flame of a candle. It is their distance which gives 
 them a spherical figure. 
 
 15. We must now speak of the eclipses of the sun and moon, 
 of the phases of the latter, and the causes that produce them.
 
 BURMESE COSMOGRAPHY 17 
 
 It has been mentioned above that the Burmese, besides the 
 seven principal planets, admit of an eighth, called Rahu, which 
 is opaque and dark, and, for this reason, invisible to us. The 
 size of this aerial monster is 4800 juzena. Its body measures 
 600 j uzena, its breast twelve, its head 900, its forehead, nose, 
 and mouth 300. The size of the feet and hands is 200 juzena, 
 and that of the fingers fifty. When this monstrous planet is 
 instigated by envy towards the sun and moon, probably on 
 account of their clearness and splendour, he descends into their 
 respective paths, and, opening his horrible mouth, devours 
 them. Should he, however, retain them for any length of 
 time, his head would burst, as both the sun and moon irre- 
 sistibly tend to prosecute their course ; he is therefore obliged, 
 after a short time, to vomit them up. Sometimes he places 
 them under his chin, at others he licks them with his tongue, 
 and sometimes covers them with his hand ; and thus are ex- 
 plained the total and partial eclipses of the sun and moon, 
 together with their immersion and emersion. Every three 
 years Rahu goes thus to meet the sun, and every six months 
 the moon. The eclipses are not, however, always visible in the 
 southern island ; but whenever they are, the same is the case 
 in all the others. The phases of the moon are accounted for 
 by the following hypothesis. It is supposed that, when this 
 planet is in conjunction with the sun, the latter is suspended 
 perpendicularly over it, and consequently it can produce no 
 light : in the same manner as a house at midday has no 
 shadow. But the moon recedes from the sun 100,000 juzena 
 every day ; and, as it thus frees itself from the overshadowing 
 disk of the sun, it increases in light and splendour ; as the 
 shadow of a house increases in proportion to the approach of 
 sunset. 
 
 The cause of cold and heat, at the different seasons of the 
 year, is the following. The Burmese doctors say that the sun, 
 from the vernal equinox to the autumnal, is always in the 
 northern portion of its path, and the moon, on the contrary, 
 in the southern. Hence the rays of the sun, which are by 
 nature warm, prevailing over those of the moon, which are cold, 
 necessarily produce a high degree of iteat. The contrary 
 happens from the autumnal to the vernal equinox ; for then, 
 
 B
 
 18 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 the sun being in the south, and the moon describing the 
 northern part of its orbit, the cold rays of the latter prevail 
 over the warmth of its rival, and thus occasion cold. Lastly, 
 the causes of rain are, first, the influence of the dragons ; the 
 second that of the Galons, a species of enormous birds. Both 
 of these creatures may be classed with the Nat. The third 
 cause is the virtue of Sizza, a word that signifies the faith ob- 
 served in contracts and promises. The fourth that of Sila, 
 which signifies the observance of the laws. The fifth is the 
 power of religious men. The sixth cause is, that it is the 
 time of rain ; the seventh the gathering of the clouds ; and 
 the eighth and last is the influence of those Nat that pre- 
 side over rain, and who, when they leave their habitations, and 
 go running and playing about through the air, dispose the 
 weather for rain. When the sun is in the path of the goat, 
 the Nat do not leave their respective habitations on account 
 of the excessive heat, and therefore no rain falls. For this 
 reason, when the inhabitants of the Burmese empire are in want 
 of rain, they usually flock together in the public streets, and 
 take a great and long rope which they earnestly pull from 
 one side to the other, at the same time sending up loud cries 
 to heaven, to invite the Nat to come forth and play about 
 through the air. The thunder and lightning, that ordinarily 
 precede rain, are supposed to be nothing but the sports of 
 the Nat, as they play with their spears and other weapons. 
 Besides these, they admit of other Nat that preside over the 
 clouds and winds. 
 
 16. After Zatumaharit we have the seat called Tavateinsa, 
 which extends from the summit of Miemmo to Zacchiavala. 
 The supreme prince or emperor of the Nat of this seat has 
 thirty-two other princes subject to him. He resides in a vast 
 city of a square form, the streets and squares of which are 
 paved with gold and silver. Its wall forms a perfect square, 
 each side of which is 10,000 juzena long; it is 150 juzena 
 high, and one and a half thick. Its gates, the height of 
 which is 40 juzena, are covered with plates of gold and 
 silver, and adorned with precious stones. Seven wide ditches, 
 one juzena distant from each other, surround these superb 
 walls ; and beyond the last ditch, at a juzena and half distance,
 
 BURMESE COSMOGRAPHY 19 
 
 follows a range of marble columns, wonderfully enamelled 
 with gold and precious stones. Then follow, at the same 
 distance, seven rows of palm-trees, shining in every part with 
 gold and pearls ; and, in the space between the palm-trees 
 and columns, lakes of the clearest water are scattered up and 
 down, where are boats of gold and silver, in which the Nat 
 of both sexes, with drums and other musical instruments, 
 roam, singing and dancing, through these delightful regions. 
 Sometimes they stop, to contemplate the beautiful birds that 
 fly among the trees on the banks of the lakes, sometimes to 
 gather delicious fruits or beautiful and fragrant flowers. Be- 
 yond the seven rows of palm-trees, the Padesa tree grows on 
 every* side ; upon which, instead of fruit, precious garments 
 and rich ornaments are suspended. At the distance of twenty 
 juzena north of the great city is the orchard called Nanda, 
 100 juzena in length and breadth; in the midst of which is 
 a lake of the same name. It takes its appellation from the 
 crowds of Nat that flock to it, to gather the celebrated 
 flower with which they adorn their heads. It grows in this 
 place alone, and is reported to be as large as the wheel of a 
 chariot. Twenty juzena to the east of the city is situated 
 another orchard of the same size and beauty as the first, in 
 which grows that celebrated species of ivy which, every 
 thousand years, yields fruit of such an exquisite flavour, that, 
 to eat of it, for a hundred years before, multitudes flock to- 
 wards the garden, and there, amid music, singing, and dancing, 
 await the ripening of the wished-for fruit ; and having tasted 
 it, they remain for four whole months in a state of intoxica- 
 tion. Two other orchards of a similar size are situated to 
 the south and west of the city. To the north-west is a most 
 superb portico or terrace, 300 juzena square and 450 high. 
 The pavement is of pure crystal, and a row of 100 columns 
 adorns each range of the building. Gold and silver bells hang 
 from every part of the roof, and the staircase, the walls, and 
 every other part of the building shine with a profusion of 
 gold and precious stones. The street that leads to it is 
 20 juzena long and one wide ; it is shaded on both sides 
 by delightful trees always covered wii$ fruit and flowers of 
 every kind. When the great emperor visits this magnificent
 
 20 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 palace, the Nat that preside over the winds shake down from 
 the trees such a quantity of flowers as to reach to the knees 
 of those who pass ; the trees all the time putting forth new 
 flowers to supply for what have fallen. In the centre of the 
 portico is raised the great emperor's throne, which far ex- 
 cels every other part of the edifice in richness, gold, and 
 precious stones. This superb throne is surrounded by thirty- 
 two smaller ones for the princes of the Nat, and then come 
 all the other Nat, each in the seat and place appointed for 
 him. At this assembly are also present the four princes of 
 Zatumaharit, the seat above mentioned. While the Nat 
 around the great emperor strive to pay him their court, and 
 to amuse him by the sound of musical instruments, by dancing 
 and feasting, the four princes just mentioned, assembling the 
 Nat of their own seat, order them to go and inform themselves 
 whether or no the men in the southern island of Zabudiba 
 observe the laws and holidays, and exercise charity. At this 
 command the Nat, swifter than the wind, transport them- 
 selves in an instant to the island ; and after having written 
 in a golden book all the good and evil deeds of men, they 
 immediately return to the grand assembly, and present the 
 book to the great emperor, who opens and reads it before 
 them all. Even when he talks or reads with a low and soft 
 voice, he is heard at a distance of 22 juzena ; but when he 
 raises his voice and reads in a louder tone, the sound is heard 
 throughout the whole seat of Tavateinsa. If the report pre- 
 sented to the emperor shows that the number is great of those 
 who observe the law and attend to charitable deeds, then do 
 the Nat rejoice, exclaiming, ' Now indeed will the infernal 
 abodes be desert and empty, and ours filled with inhabitants.' 
 But if it be reported that the observers of the law are few, 
 ' Oh miserable creatures ! ' do they say, ' foolish men ! who, for 
 a life of short duration, for a body merely four cubits long, 
 for a stomach the length of a palm, neglect charitable deeds, to 
 indulge in luxury and pleasure ; and thus treasure up demerits, 
 which will be the cause of their unhappiness after death/ 
 Then the great emperor with a loud voice will exclaim, ' Verily, 
 I say, if men are observers of the law, if they bestow alms, they 
 shall become after death great emperors of Nat, as I am.'
 
 BURMESE COSMOGRAPHY 21 
 
 At the conclusion of the assembly, the great emperor, ac- 
 companied by above thirty-six millions of Nat, returns to 
 his great city. 
 
 17. In the centre of this superb city stands the great im- 
 perial palace, which is 500 juzena in height. No description 
 can do j ustice to its beauty and magnificence, nor tell of the 
 abundance of gold and silver, the inestimable treasures of 
 jewels and precious stones, contained therein. The chariot 
 upon which the emperor Is drawn is 150 juzena large; and 
 from its centre the great throne rises to the height of three 
 juzena. The throne is covered by a white umbrella, and the 
 whole is drawn by 2000 horses. The great flag, 150 juzena 
 high, is planted in the forepart, and when it waves to and fro 
 in the wind, yields a grateful and sweet murmur. Twenty 
 juzena to the north-east of the great city grows the celebrated 
 tree, the sacred ensign of this seat of the Nat, which vegetates 
 for the whole duration of a world. Under it is placed a great 
 stone, sixty juzena long, fifty wide, and fifteen high, which is 
 exquisitely polished, and at the same time as soft as wool. 
 Whenever the great emperor desires to mount upon it, it 
 lowers itself, and afterwards returns to its natural height. 
 While everything goes on quietly and prosperously in the 
 southern island, half of the great emperor's body sinks into 
 this stone ; but if the contrary be the case, the stone then will 
 remain firm and drawn tight like a drum. Many Padesa trees 
 and other species of fruits and flowers surround the great 
 sacred tree; and the road that leads to it is twenty juzena wide. 
 By this road the Nat of this region pass every year to visit 
 the sacred tree ; and when they see the old leaves falling off 
 and the new ones budding forth, they communicate the joyful 
 intelligence to each other with mutual congratulations. The 
 red colour of the flowers of this tree is spread on every side to a 
 distance even of 100 juzena. As soon as the tree is in blossom, 
 the keepers of it give notice to the great emperor, who, desir- 
 ing to go thither immediately, speaks as follows : ' It would 
 afford me infinite pleasure, if in this moment an elephant 
 should appear:' and no sooner has he uttered the words than 
 an enormous elephant does appear. For^, it must be observed, 
 that animals in the abodes of Nat are ideal, and created by
 
 22 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 the Nat themselves, for a given space of time. This elephant 
 has thirty-three heads : a large one, destined to carry the great 
 emperor, and thirty -two lesser ones for the thirty-two minor 
 princes. Each head has seven teeth, fifty juzena in length ; in 
 each tooth there are seven lakes, and in each lake seven flower 
 trees; each tree has seven flowers, and each flower seven leaves; 
 in each leaf there are seven rooms ; in each room seven beds, 
 and in each bed there are seven female Nat dancing. The size 
 of the head on which the great emperor sits is thirty juzena, 
 that of the others only three. A pavilion, three j uzena in size, 
 is situated in the great head ; under which a throne of ruby is 
 raised for the emperor. This elephant, whose name is Eraum, 
 approaches the great emperor, who mounts upon the greatest 
 head, and then all the other princes take their places upon the 
 remaining thirty-two heads. 
 
 The elephant is followed by all the other Nat in order, each 
 in his proper seat. When this innumerable company arrives 
 at the great tree, all descend from the elephant and from their 
 seats, and place themselves around the great emperor, who is 
 placed upon the great stone, which we have already mentioned. 
 Music, dancing, and feastings immediately commence, and con- 
 tinue four entire months. When these are past, they begin to 
 gather the flowers ; for which purpose there is no need of 
 climbing the tree, for the winds, or the Nat that preside over 
 them, shake the tree, so that the flowers fall off' ; but, at the 
 same time, that they may not touch the ground, other winds 
 support their weight, and hold them suspended in the air. 
 Then the entire body of the Nat is seen covered with the 
 fragrant dust blown from the stamina of the flowers. The 
 stature of the Nat of this region is three-quarters of a juzena, 
 and the duration of their life is four times as long as in the 
 inferior region, that is, 36,000,000 of our years. The Nat of 
 this, as likewise those of the superior regions, need not the 
 sun's light, as they themselves shine like so many suns. 
 
 18. In sec. 2 we have shown how the immense mountain 
 Miemmo is supported by three feet of ruby. In the space 
 between these three feet there is situated another abode of the 
 Nat, called Assura, of the same species as those of Tavateinsa, 
 from which region they were turned out by fraud. The
 
 BURMESE COSMOGRAPHY 23 
 
 Burmese sacred books relate the event in the following manner. 
 Godama, while yet a mere man in the southern island of 
 Zabudiba, with other thirty-two persons of a certain village, 
 performed many good works, among which was that of sweep- 
 ing the streets. By these they deserved after death to become 
 Nat of the region Tavateinsa ; and the name of Godama was 
 changed for that of Maja. In the course of time Maja became 
 ambitious, and, desiring with his companions to occupy the first 
 places in this region, resolved to expel its old inhabitants. 
 With this view, he and his associates drank plentifully of a 
 liquor which they called wine, but which really was not such : 
 the old Nat, hearing of this and wishing to taste the bever- 
 age themselves, drank real wine and were intoxicated. Maja 
 immediately assembled his companions, who, taking advantage 
 of the feeble state of their rivals, dragged them by the feet to 
 the sea, and easily precipitated them into it. But as the term 
 of their reward was not yet finished, another abode was formed 
 for them, among the foundations of Mount Miemmo, between 
 the three feet of ruby. Here the banished Nat betook them- 
 selves, and their new abode was called Assura, from the wine 
 they had drunk. It is similar to the one they had left in all 
 respects, except in its sacred tree. 
 
 Besides the violence just described, the Nat of Assura had 
 to suffer another injury from the new inhabitants of Tava- 
 teinsa, whose emperor once ravished the daughter of their king. 
 Mindful of these injuries, the Assura Nat vowed a perpetual 
 war with those of Tavateinsa; and, whenever they see that 
 their holy tree does not produce the same flowers as that of 
 their enemies, they furiously ascend the high mount Miemmo, 
 and drive away the guard stationed there by the emperor 
 of Tavateinsa, which is composed of giants, dragons, and 
 enormous birds. 
 
 The emperor, roused by the noise, immediately mounts his 
 great elephant, and calling to his assistance the Nat of the sun, 
 moon, and stars, together with those of the clouds and winds, 
 goes out from the great city to resist his enemies. At first 
 their ardour prevails, and he is compelled to retreat ; but when 
 the fury of the Assura is somewhat abated, the great emperor 
 unites his forces, drives the enemy from the walls, and finally
 
 24 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 compels them to take to flight. The Assura, thus seeing 
 themselves unable to overcome, beat their great drum, which 
 is formed from the foot of a large crab, and retreat to their 
 own abode. In these conflicts no lives are lost, only the Nat 
 are oppressed by fatigue and lassitude. 
 
 According to the doctrines of the god Godama, all who 
 honour their relations and reverence old age, all who have 
 veneration and respect for the three excellent things, God, 
 the law, and the priests, and all who are averse to quarrels 
 and dissensions, will pass after death to the state of the 
 Tavateinsa Nat. 
 
 19. The sacred books of the Burmese are silent with regard 
 to the happiness of the Nat, whether superior or inferior to 
 these. With respect to the duration of their life, they make 
 it four times longer than with the inferior Nat ; according to 
 which those of the highest region will live 576,000,000 years. 
 The duration of the life of the Rupa and Arupa differs accord- 
 ing to their order. Of the three orders of Rupa, known by 
 the name of the first Zian (see sec. 12), those of the first live 
 twenty-one durations of worlds, those of the second thirty- 
 one, and those of the third sixty-four; of the Rupa called 
 second Zian, those of the first order live two Mahakap, each 
 Mahakap comprising four times sixty -four durations of worlds; 
 and in the same proportion is lengthened the life of the Rupa 
 and Arupa of the higher orders. 
 
 Since happiness and the duration of life increase proportion- 
 ably to the elevation of each class, a corresponding degree of 
 merit from almsdeeds and good works here below determines 
 to which we shall belong after death.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 OF THE STATES OF PUNISHMENT 
 
 20. HAVING thus explained all that regards the blessed and 
 their habitations, we must now proceed to speak of the 
 damned, of the regions they inhabit, of their states of suffer- 
 ing and the duration of their lives. 1 In sec. 5 it has been said 
 that there are four classes of the unhappy. The first compre- 
 hends animals that live on the earth or in the waters, or fly 
 through the air. The second is that of the Preitta, the third 
 that of the Assuriche, and lastly, the fourth includes those 
 who are punished in the Niria, or what is properly called hell. 
 And first with regard to animals. Some Burmese doctors 
 affirm that the domestic ones, in the duration of their life, 
 follow the lot of the persons to whom they belong; so that 
 when the latter are long-lived, their animals are so likewise. 
 Such animals as are not domesticated have a long or a short 
 life according to the number of sins for which they have to do 
 penance. 
 
 It has been ascertained that the elephant lives sixty years, 
 the horse thirty, the ox twenty, and the dog ten. They assert 
 that the louse and other similar insects live only seven days ; 
 and they argue this from a circumstance related in their books. 
 A certain priest or Talapoin conceived an inordinate affection 
 for a garment of an elegant shape, which he possessed, and 
 which he diligently preserved to prevent its wearing out. He 
 died without correcting his irregular affection, and, immediately 
 becoming a louse, took up his abode in his favourite garment. 
 According to custom, the other Talapoins divided the effects of 
 
 1 For the common notions of the Burmans aboufc future punishment, see the 
 Abstract of the work called Nemi t Bigandet, ii. p. 162, where a virtuous prince is 
 conducted by a heavenly guide through the regions of hell and paradise.
 
 26 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 the deceased ; and would have cut the garment in pieces, had 
 not the louse, running frequently backwards and forwards, 
 showed, by his extraordinary movements, that such a division 
 was displeasing to him. The astonished Talapoins consulted 
 their god Godama, who desired them to wait seven days before 
 they proceeded to the division ; and when they inquired the 
 cause of this delay, he manifested to them the sin in which 
 that Talapoin had died ; and said, that as he knew that seven 
 days after the louse would be dead, he had ordered them to 
 wait six days more, lest, should they proceed to the division 
 before that period, the louse might perhaps allow some expres- 
 sion of anger to escape him, for which he would be condemned 
 to pass into some worse state of punishment. 
 
 Those who do not keep a guard upon their tongue, those 
 who do not repress the inordinate affections of the heart or 
 the vicious tendencies of the body, and those who neglect 
 to give alms pass after death into the state of animals. 
 
 21. The second state of punishment is that of the Preitta, 
 and of these there are various species. Some there are who 
 live upon spittle, ordure, and other filth, and inhabit the 
 common sewers, cisterns, and tombs. Others wander naked 
 through the deserts and forests, continually sobbing and groan- 
 ing, and are consumed by hunger and thirst. Others for the 
 whole duration of a world are constrained to turn up the earth 
 with a fiery plough : some feed upon their own flesh and blood, 
 and with their own hands tear themselves with hooks : others, 
 although they are a quarter of a juzena in stature, have a 
 mouth as small as the eye of a needle ; for which reason, they 
 are ever tormented by cruel hunger : and lastly, there are some 
 who are tormented inwardly and outwardly by fire. 
 
 All those who give alms to the Talapoins that do not wear 
 the proper habit, all who do violence to Talapoins, whether 
 male or female, or who injure the observers of the law, as well 
 as all misers, will pass after death into the state of the Preitta. 
 
 22. The third infernal state is that of the Assuriche. Their 
 habitation is in the base of a certain mountain, situated far 
 remote from the abodes of men. They inhabit likewise the 
 forests and desert sea-shores. Their sufferings are almost the 
 same as those of the Preitta. There is another species called
 
 BURMESE COSMOGRAPHY 27 
 
 Assuriche-preitta, that have a body three-quarters of a juzena 
 in height, and are so squalid and lean that they resemble 
 skeletons. Their eyes project outwards like those of a crab, 
 and they have a mouth in the upper part of the head, as 
 small as the eye of a needle, and are therefore consumed by 
 hunger. 
 
 All such as make use of clubs or arms in their quarrels will 
 become Assuriche-preitta. Those also who offend or despise 
 the observers of the law, or who, on the contrary, honour and 
 advance the violaters of it, will pass to the condition of Preitta. 
 In the states of punishment just described, as well as in the 
 fourth called Niria, there is no fixed or determinate duration of 
 suffering, as this depends on the species of the bad works 
 committed by men in their lifetime. For, if it be heavy and 
 weighty, according to the expression of the Burmese doctors, 
 they will be made to suffer for a longer time. That is to say, 
 according to the greater or lesser enormity of the crimes com- 
 mitted and the bad habits acquired, the punishment will last 
 for a longer or shorter period. 
 
 23. The fourth state of suffering is called Niria, and this is 
 properly the hell of the Burmese. It is situated in the deepest 
 recesses of the southern island Zabudiba, in the centre of the 
 great stone called Silapatavi, and is divided into eight great 
 hells. Each of them has four gates, at the four sides ; and in 
 each gate there are four smaller hells ; and besides these, other 
 40,040 smaller hells surround each great hell, being disposed 
 above, below, on the right hand, and on the left. Every such 
 group of hells has an extension of 10,000 juzena. 
 
 The infernal judges are seated before the gates of the greater 
 hells, and are called Jamamen. These are Nat of the Assura 
 species, as described in sec. 18, and both they and their satel- 
 lites enjoy the felicity of the Nat. They do not, however, take 
 cognisance of very heinous crimes, because the mere weight of 
 these hurls the wicked down to hell, but only of those of lesser 
 enormity. 
 
 It is a custom with the Burmese, when they give an alms, to 
 pour out a vessel of water upon the earth, by which ceremony 
 they think they make all their fellow-creatures participators in 
 the merit of the action. If in performing this ceremony men
 
 28 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 do not forget the Jamamen, these will be propitious to them 
 should they chance to be thrown after death into the infernal 
 regions, and will do everything in their power to procure their 
 release. But if, on the contrary, in pouring out the water 
 they did not intend to share with them the fruit of the good 
 work, they will be received with a terrible aspect, their bad 
 deeds will be, not only not excused or diminished, but rather 
 exaggerated ; and as they are unable to adduce anything in 
 their justification, they will be given over to the infernal 
 ministers to be tormented. 
 
 24. It has been noticed above that, according to the species 
 of their bad works, the wicked are condemned to punishment. 
 These species are four, according to the Burmese sacred books. 
 One is called grievous, the other three are venial. 
 
 To kill one^s own mother or father, to kill a priest or Tala- 
 poin, to strike or wound any God, as Beodat [Devadat, the 
 relative and opponent of Gaudama] did who threw a stone 
 against Godama, and to sow discord among Talapoins, are 
 the five sins that constitute the grievous class ; for which the 
 wicked will have to suffer fire and other dreadful torments, in 
 one of the greater hells, the whole duration of a world. 
 
 This species of sins is called the first, because it is the first 
 to produce its effect : for although the individual who has 
 committed one of these five sins may have done many good 
 deeds, yet he cannot receive the reward till after the first 
 species is expiated by his having paid the penalty of that 
 great sin. 
 
 Still more grievous than these are the sins of the Deitti, 1 or 
 of those impious men who give no faith to the revelations of 
 Godama, who deny the Niban, the transmigration of men into 
 animals, or into other superior beings, and teach that there is 
 no merit in doing charity or other good works, and who adore 
 the Nat or Genii presiding over the woods and mountains. All 
 these, should they die obstinate in such wickedness and irre- 
 ligion, will be tormented not merely for the duration of a 
 world, but eternally. 
 
 Among the minor species of sins, the first merely comprises 
 every offence committed in the last moment of life, and this 
 
 1 See Chap. xiv. sec. 4.
 
 BURMESE COSMOGRAPHY 29 
 
 holds the first rank, as it is the first to take effect. All such 
 sins are punished in one of the greater hells. 
 
 After this class come all sins of habit ; which, although in 
 themselves light, are nevertheless, on account of the evil habit, 
 considered as punishable in the greater hells. The fourth and 
 last species comprises all evil desires, and these are expiated, 
 not in the greater hells, but in the minor ones that surround 
 them. 
 
 25. Before speaking of the punishments inflicted in these, we 
 must remark that, of the eight greater hells, four are called Avizi 
 [Awichi], that is, hot, because there the punishment is by fire,and 
 four Loghantreh, or cold, because sinners are there tormented 
 by cold. It is necessary also to premise that the infernal days 
 and years are not of the same length as ours, for a thousand of 
 our years make but one day in the greater hells. In the smaller 
 ones a day is equal to 500, 700, or even 800 of our years. 
 
 I. All passionate, quarrelsome, fraudulent, and cruel men, 
 all who in their deeds, words, or desires are either dishonest 
 or lascivious, will be cut to pieces after death in one of the 
 greater hells, with instruments of burning iron, and afterwards 
 exposed to the most severe cold ; and the parts cut off', return- 
 ing again to their former state, will be a second time cut off, 
 and exposed to the same cold ; and in these alternate torments 
 they will pass 500 infernal years. 
 
 II. All those who by signs or words insult their relatives or 
 masters, priests, old men, or observers of the law, and all who 
 with nets or snares kill animals, will be condemned to one of 
 the greater hells, there to be tormented upon a fiery bed by 
 continual lacerations with red-hot wire, and by being sawn 
 with fiery scythes into eight or sixteen pieces, for the course of 
 1000 infernal years. 
 
 III. Those who kill oxen, swine, goats, and such other 
 animals, all hunters by profession, warlike kings, and ministers 
 who cause culprits to be tormented or executed, will after 
 death be pressed and squeezed by four fiery mountains in one 
 of the greater hells, for the space of 2000 infernal years. 
 
 IV. Whoever does not assist his fellow-creatures, those who 
 are accustomed to pluck animals or kill th^m by putting them 
 alive into the frying-pan, those who in a state of intoxication
 
 30 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 commit unlawful and indecent actions, they who dishonour or 
 ill-treat others, will have their bowels burnt 'up by a flame 
 entering through their mouths ; and this punishment will last 
 4000 infernal years. 
 
 V. Whoever takes away furtively, or by deception, fraud, or 
 open force, the property of others, such ministers and judges as 
 receive bribes for deciding suits unjustly, mandarins and generals 
 that desolate the enemy's lands, all who cheat by false scales, 
 weights, or measures, or who in any way appropriate to them- 
 selves the goods of others, as well as all who steal or damage 
 things belonging to priests and to pagodas, etc., all such will 
 be tormented in one of the greater hells by fire and smoke, 
 which, penetrating through the eyes and mouth and all the 
 other inlets of the body, will burn them alive for the course 
 of 8000 infernal years. 
 
 VI. Those who, after having slain deer, swine, and other 
 similar animals, do skin them, pluck off their hair, or roast 
 their flesh, the makers of arms, those who sell pork or turkeys, 
 those likewise who sell wines or poisons, or set fire to villages, 
 cities, or woods in order to destroy animals, those who with 
 poison, or arms, or enchantments cause men to perish : all 
 these after death, being hurled headlong from a very high 
 mountain, will be received on the point of a red-hot spit, and 
 cut in pieces by the infernal ministers with swords and spears : 
 and this punishment will last 16,000 infernal years. 
 
 VII. The Deitti, or unbelievers, of whom we have spoken 
 above, will be impaled with the head downwards, on a great 
 red-hot spit, without being able to move on either side, in the 
 greatest of all the hells. 
 
 VIII. Lastly, parricides, and those guilty of the sins that 
 are comprised in the first or grievous class, will have to endure 
 dreadful sufferings, for the whole duration of a world, in the 
 midst of smoke, scorching flames, and other horrible torments, 
 in the hell called the great Avizi, the pavement of which is 
 formed of red-hot iron to the depth of nine juzena. 
 
 26. We must now speak of the minor hells which surround 
 the greater ones. Among these we must specify the hell of 
 ordure, in which immense worms as large as elephants swim 
 and bite the sinners who are there immersed ; that of burning
 
 BURMESE COSMOGRAPHY 31 
 
 coals ; that of swords and other sharp weapons ; that of knives, 
 sabres, and other arms, with which the bodies of the condemned 
 are cut to pieces ; that in which the lungs, liver, and other 
 viscera are torn out from the bodies of the guilty by iron 
 hooks ; that where they are cruelly beaten with fiery hammers ; 
 that in which melted lead is poured down their throats ; that 
 of thorns and briers ; that of biting dogs ; that of ravens 
 and vultures, which tear the flesh with their bills and talons. 
 Again, there is a place in which the condemned are compelled 
 to ascend and descend the Leppan tree covered all over with 
 the sharpest thorns ; and another, in which sinners are forced 
 to drink blood or purulent matter. All who honour not their 
 parents, masters, and old men ; all who drink wine or other 
 inebriating liquors; all who corrupt the waters of lakes or 
 wells, or break up the roads ; all dishonest dealers ; they who 
 speak bitterly and impatiently, or beat with their hands or 
 with sticks ; those who despise the counsel of honest men, and 
 afflict their neighbour ; evil speakers, detractors, the passionate 
 and envious ; such as injure others, or torment them by putting 
 them in chains ; all who in word, deed, or desire are guilty of 
 evil ; lastly, those who afflict the sick with harsh words will be 
 condemned to these minor places of punishment, to be there 
 tortured, in proportion to the heinousness of their offences 
 and evil habits. Besides these hells, there is another consisting 
 of an immense caldron full of melted copper, to ascend and 
 descend which, from one surface to the other, requires 3000 
 years. To this task are condemned the lascivious, that is to 
 say, those who violate the wives, daughters, or sons of others ; 
 and those who through life, despising acts of charity and the 
 observance of holidays, give themselves up to drunkenness and 
 excess. Those equilateral spaces full of very cold water (sec. 6) 
 are also, according to the Burmese books, so many hells, to 
 which are condemned all who offend or insult their parents or 
 the observers of the law. These after death are born anew, 
 three-quarters of a juzena in height, with hooked nails on their 
 hands and feet, and are compelled to climb, like so many bats, 
 through the obscure caverns of the mountains. Here they 
 annoy and ill-treat each other, and, instated by cruel hunger, 
 tear each other's flesh, which, falling into those cold waters, is
 
 32 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 first dissolved like salt, and then, by a fatality attending on 
 their wicked deeds, reunites itself to the body, so to suffer new 
 torments. 
 
 27. Before we pass to other matters, we must observe that 
 not only in the southern island, but also in all these places of 
 torment, beings may gain merit or demerit, according to their 
 works, and so pass to a superior or inferior situation. It is, 
 however, only in this island that the perfect state of Niban 
 can be attained : because for this it is requisite to see some 
 God, and listen to his exhortations and revelations ; which can 
 happen in this island alone. In sec. 6 we have explained what 
 the state of the Niban is : this cannot be said to have any 
 specific seat ; for it is a perfectly incorporeal and spiritual 
 state of being, and deserves the name of annihilation rather 
 than of existence.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 OF THE DESTRUCTION AND REPRODUCTION OF THE WORLD 
 
 28. To conclude this treatise on Burmese cosmography we 
 have only to describe the way in which their sacred books 
 explain the end of one world and the commencement of 
 another. 1 They suppose the remote and moral causes of the 
 world's destruction to be three lust, anger, and ignorance ; 
 from which, by the power of fate, spring three other immediate 
 and physical causes fire, water, and wind. When lust prevails 
 in the world, it will be destroyed by fire ; when anger, by 
 water ; and when ignorance, by wind. They suppose also that 
 this destruction and reproduction does not take place in a 
 moment, but very slowly ; so that for the world to be entirely 
 destroyed an assenchie will pass, and another before it be 
 reproduced : and there will be the same interval of time 
 between the total end of the old and the beginning of the 
 new world. 
 
 29. Before describing the destruction of the world, it is 
 
 1 Once a world is constituted, the law of merit and demerit is the sole principle 
 that regulates both physical and moral things. Bigandet, i. p. 23, where the 
 subject of this chapter is treated. Similar ideas lie at the roots of earlier Indian 
 philosophies, of which a list will be found in Sykes' Notes on the State of India 
 before the Mahomedan Invasion, pp. 20, 21, London, 1841. 
 
 ' Buddhism does not attempt to solve the problem of the primary origin of all 
 things. . . . Buddhism takes as its ultimate fact the existence of the material 
 world and of conscious beings living within it ; and it holds that everything is 
 subject to the law of cause and effect, and that everything is constantly, though 
 imperceptibly, changing. There is no place where this law does not operate ; 
 no heaven nor hell, therefore, in the ordinary sense. There are worlds where 
 devas live, whose existence is more or less material, according as their previous 
 lives were more or less good ; but the devas die, a?.d the worlds they inhabit 
 pass away. . . . The whole Kosmos, earth and hellfvens and hells is always 
 tending to renovation or destruction.' Buddhism, by Dr. Rhys Davids, p. 87. 
 
 C
 
 34 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 necessary to refer to what we have said in sec. 7, that in each 
 world there are sixty-four successive diminutions and augmen- 
 tations of age in the generations of men ; and hence the life of 
 man will be sixty-four times reduced to the term of only ten 
 years. At these periods there will be a general scourge and 
 extermination. Should lust be predominant, then will men, 
 worn away by hunger, thirst, and misery, to so many moving 
 corpses, almost all perish. Should anger be the reigning vice, 
 then men will turn their weapons against each other, and in 
 furious combats labour for their mutual destruction. If, in 
 fine, ignorance, as is generally the case, prevails over the world, 
 then will a horrible consumption waste mankind away to mere 
 skeletons ; and thus will they die. After this almost universal 
 mortality a heavy rain will fall, which, carrying off all the 
 impurities of the earth, together with the unburied corpses, 
 will discharge them into the rivers ; and this will be succeeded 
 by a shower of sandal, flowers, and every kind of garments. 
 Then shall the few men who have escaped the extermination 
 we have just described come forth from the caverns into which 
 they had retired, then shall they begin to do penance for the 
 sins they have committed, and thus deserve a prolongation of 
 their life beyond the period of ten years. 
 
 30. A hundred thousand years before the world's destruction, 
 some Nat of the superior seats, descending to this southern 
 island with a sad and lugubrious countenance, with their locks 
 dishevelled and dressed in mourning, will proclaim in all the 
 public streets and squares with a loud and lamentable voice 
 that the destruction of the world is approaching. They fore- 
 see it in the same way that the birds of the air and the fishes 
 of the sea, by a certain natural instinct, foresee the approach- 
 ing storm. After this they will admonish and strive to excite 
 mankind to the observance of the laws, and to those works 
 which may elevate them after death to the abodes of the Rupa 
 and Arupa. The good works on which they will principally 
 insist are alms-deeds, the honouring parents and old men, the 
 observance of justice, and the mutual love of each other. They 
 are earnest in exhorting men to these works that they may be 
 raised to the state of Rupa and Arupa ; because these abodes 
 will remain untouched when the world is destroyed by fire.
 
 BURMESE COSMOGRAPHY 35 
 
 Upon hearing this terrible presage, all will be struck with 
 fear, and will use every endeavour to practise the four good 
 works recommended to them. The Nat inhabiting Mount 
 Miemmo, and those of the mountains, rivers, and forests, will 
 then be transported to the states of Zian and Rupa. The 
 infernal beings also, having now expiated the species of sin 
 for which they had been condemned, will again become men, 
 and strive to practise the same good deeds in order to deserve, 
 together with the others, the state of Zian. For the impious 
 alone and for the unbelievers there is no chance of relief, as 
 they will be eternally tormented in the equilateral spaces full 
 of the coldest water, which are placed without the world. The 
 irrational animals likewise must perish with the world. 
 
 31. When the world is to be destroyed by fire, as soon as 
 the Nat have finished their proclamation, a heavy rain will fall 
 from heaven, by which all the lakes and torrents will be over- 
 flowed ; and men, conceiving strong hopes of an abundant crop, 
 will sow their richest seeds. But this rain will be the last to 
 descend upon the earth ; and from this time, for the space of 
 100,000 years, not a single drop of water will fall from heaven. 
 All plants and vegetables will now perish through the long 
 drought ; and men, dying with hunger, will be transported to 
 the abodes of the Nat, or the Zian. The sun and moon having 
 lost their Nat, who have become Zian, will cease to shine ; and 
 in their stead two other suns, not inhabited by Nat, will per- 
 petually succeed each other ; so that there can be no longer 
 any night ; and hence the heat will be such that the small 
 rivers, lakes, and torrents will be dried up, and no vestige of 
 plants will be seen on the surface of the earth. After some 
 time a third sun will appear ; and then the Ganges, with the 
 other four great rivers, will dry up. After many ages a fourth 
 sun will make its appearance, by whose heat will be drained 
 the seven great lakes which, as the Burmese books relate, lie to 
 the north of the southern island, and give rise to five great 
 rivers, whereof the Ganges is one. After another long period 
 a fifth sun will rise, and then all the seas will be laid dry. At 
 the appearance of a sixth sun, all the islands of this and of 
 every other world, to the number of 10^100,000, will open ; 
 and from the apertures smoke and flames will burst forth.
 
 Finally, after a lengthened term of years, at the appearance of 
 the seventh and last sun, Mount Miemmo, with all the abodes 
 of the Nat, will be consumed by fire. And, as in a lamp when 
 the oil and wick are consumed, the flame goes out of itself, so 
 when the fire shall have devoured all that exists in this or any 
 other world, it will spontaneously cease. The whole time 
 occupied by these events, from the last rain that fell to the 
 final ceasing of the fire, will fill up the interval of an assenchie. 
 32. When the world is to be destroyed by water, at the 
 beginning a small shower of rain will fall, which, increasing by 
 degrees, will become so heavy and horrible that each drop of it 
 will be of the size of a thousand juzena ; and thus the abodes 
 of men and the Nat, together with some of those of the Zian 
 and the 10,100,000 worlds, will be dissolved and destroyed. 
 So likewise when the world is to be destroyed by wind, as soon 
 as the Nat have finished their admonitions, the heavy rain will 
 fall ; and 100,000 years after, a wind will begin to blow, which, 
 increasing by degrees, will at first raise the sands and small 
 pebbles, and afterwards the heavy stones, the tops of moun- 
 tains and the trees, and then shaking and breaking up all the 
 earth, with all the abodes of the Nat and many of those of the 
 Zian, will disperse everything in the immense vacuum of 
 heaven. The annexed table shows the order and method of 
 the destruction of the world, by fire, water, and wind :
 
 BURMESE COSMOGRAPHY 
 
 37 
 
 T3 C 
 C 43 
 
 g S *3 JH E .g 
 
 , en O <-> .P -: 
 
 53 O -2 g 
 
 * o 
 
 ills 
 
 m i^. 2 5 
 
 M 
 
 -., a 
 
 ! 
 
 M CB 
 
 * 43 3^ s g 
 
 5SII1I4 
 
 
 a 
 
 0) 
 
 to 
 
 _e S ."t. 
 
 ^I-H 2 "^ 
 
 -> ^3 , 
 
 Jl 
 
 1 SS 
 
 O 43 rS
 
 38 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 33. Having now shown how the world will be destroyed, we 
 must speak of its reproduction. Fire, water, and wind are the 
 three agents in its dissolution, but water or rain alone acts in re- 
 producing it. An assenchie after the end of the world, this begins 
 to fall, at first slowly, but increasing by degrees till its drops 
 successively reach the size of one, two, a hundred and a thousand 
 juzena. Yet it still continues falling without intermission, 
 while the wind, by which it is continually beaten about and 
 compressed, condenses it precisely in the place where the pre- 
 ceding world was situated. On the surface of this condensed 
 body of water, by the action of the sun, a kind of crust or 
 greasy scum is formed, from which those abodes of Nat and 
 Zian that have been destroyed will be reproduced. Afterwards 
 Mount Miemmo and the other seats of the Nat placed in its 
 vicinity, will be formed ; and as the water successively decreases, 
 from its sediment will arise the four great islands, Mount 
 Zacchiavala and all the 10,100,000 worlds, in the same order 
 and symmetry as before. 
 
 34. The new world is then repeopled in the following manner. 
 Immediately after the formation of the islands, a kind of crust 
 appears on their surface, having the smell and taste of butter. 
 The odour of this substance ascending up to the abodes of the 
 Rupa fills their inhabitants, who before the destruction of the 
 last world had become Zian, with the desire of eating it. For 
 this purpose they assume human bodies, endowed with great 
 agility and splendour, and so descend upon the island which we 
 inhabit. At first they pass their lives happily and quietly with 
 this supernatural food for their only sustenance ; but avarice 
 and the thirst for private gain springing up amongst them, 
 give birth to quarrels and disputes. Thence it happens that 
 in punishment of their sin, the nectareous crust that had 
 nourished them disappears, and their bodies, losing their 
 original splendour, become dark and opaque. This loss is 
 instantly succeeded by darkness and black night, for the sun 
 and moon have not yet shone out : which fills them with the 
 greatest consternation. But the sun now rising in the east, 
 dispels their fear, and fills them with satisfaction by its un- 
 hoped for appearance. Yet is this universal joy and content 
 succeeded by a new cause of perturbation and trouble, when the
 
 BURMESE COSMOGRAPHY 39 
 
 sun, after its diurnal revolution is hidden by Mount Miemmo. 
 Then do men in affliction and consternation begin to lament 
 and exclaim ' Oh ! how soon has the light which came to illumi- 
 nate us disappeared.' Whilst they are thus ardently desiring 
 a new luminary, behold, in the same quarter of the heavens, at 
 the beginning of the night, the moon and stars shine forth. At 
 the appearance they are greatly comforted and exultingly 
 exclaim : ' Truly this is a welcome sight.' It is on a Sunday, 
 in the month of Tabaun, which corresponds to our March, that 
 the sun, moon and stars first give light. 
 
 As in preparing rice, some grains are perfectly cooked and 
 others remain raw or half-dressed : so the Burmese Doctors 
 say, that by the power of fate part of the earth remains flat, 
 part is elevated into mountains, and part is depressed into 
 valleys. 
 
 35. The crust of butter, which, as we have said, had dis- 
 appeared on account of the sins of mankind, having penetrated 
 into the bowels of the earth, is changed into a large stone 
 called Silapatavi : and instead of that crust a kind of ivy-tree 
 springs up having likewise the flavour of butter. Men feed 
 upon this for some time, until avarice arising again among them, 
 this plant also disappears ; and in its place a kind of rice with- 
 out husk, of an excellent quality, grows up from the bowels of 
 the earth. At the same time earthen vessels appear, which 
 they fill with the rice ; and having placed them upon stones, 
 fire spontaneously comes out from them by which the rice is 
 instantly cooked. Different kinds of food also present them- 
 selves, according to each one's desire. In the beginning, when 
 their nourishment is the crust and ivy which we have described, 
 as this food is all converted into blood and flesh, men have no 
 need of the different organs and channels, for the excretion of 
 that part of their food, which contributes nothing to their 
 nutriment. But now that they have begun to feed upon rice, 
 these various organs are formed in the human body to suit the 
 coarser quality of the new food. This nourishment also pro- 
 duces the first sensations of passion, which are instantly 
 followed by the division of mankind into the two sexes, each 
 individual being in this respect as he was before the destruction 
 of the world. This distinction, at first, gives rise to illicit
 
 40 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 desires, but ends in establishing the matrimonial state. A 
 great many, however, preserving their virginity, become men of 
 great virtue and holiness, and are called Manussa-Biamma. 
 These do not exercise commerce, agriculture, or any other 
 mechanical art, but solely employ themselves in the sublime 
 ministry of making oblations and giving alms. For a length 
 of time they preserve their celibacy; but afterwards seeing 
 their race diminish considerably, many contract marriages in 
 order to perpetuate it. Upon hearing this, the other Manussa- 
 Biamma are highly scandalised ; and detesting their deprava- 
 tion, declare hatred against those who have contracted such 
 marriages, and separate themselves from their society. And 
 hence the Burmese Doctors derive the custom of the modern 
 Bramins, who pretend to be descendants of the Manussa- 
 Biamma, of not bathing, eating, nor cohabiting with persons of 
 a different caste. Although, according to the law of the god 
 Godama, matrimony is lawful, yet still, as the Niban cannot be 
 obtained without the observance of celibacy, the men learned 
 in this law repute marriage as a less perfect state. Those 
 Biamma who have entered into the married state begin to 
 build houses, villages and cities ; and the more they multiply, 
 the greater and more frequent are the quarrels and ruptures 
 among them ; because, through the predomination of avarice, 
 every one attends to his own interest and convenience. In 
 order to remedy these disorders and put an end to quarrels, 
 in which the most powerful always prevails, they agree by 
 common consent to elect a king, who may administer justice 
 and bestow rewards or punishments according to desert. 
 Having found one among them who excels the others in stature 
 and graceful shape, as also in the observance of the natural law, 
 they choose him for prince of the earth, and call him Mahasa- 
 mata, as also Cattia, which signifies Lord of the earth, and 
 Hazu, because he has the power of rewarding and punishing 
 according to merit. From this first king forty-four others 
 descend, the tenth of whom is named Godama. 
 
 Thus is the human species renewed, and from these different 
 orders the four castes or races of men descend. The descen- 
 dants of Mahasamata constitute the royal race. The other 
 castes, that of the Bramins, of the rich, and of the Suchoie, in
 
 BURMESE COSMOGRAPHY 41 
 
 which are comprised merchants, artisans, and husbandmen, are 
 derived from those Biamma who contract matrimony. 
 
 36. In the supposition that all mankind are descended from 
 the same stock, a Burmese Doctor asks why the languages of 
 men, their customs and religion, the shape and colour of their 
 bodies, are so various. To this question he answers, that the 
 primitive inhabitants of the world, having greatly increased in 
 number, were obliged to disperse themselves into various coun- 
 tries and regions, in which the difference of climate, water and 
 products gave rise to different customs, languages, and religions. 
 And as children born from the same parents are not all called 
 by the same, but by different names, so, among the descendants 
 of the Biamma, some were called Burmese, some Peguans, 
 others Sciam [Shan], etc. The same Doctor also derives the 
 difference of name from the fact that a person may be con- 
 sidered in different lights, as Godama takes various names, 
 according to the different divine attributes and properties with 
 which he is endowed. Again, our author inquires what gave 
 rise to the various species of herbs and trees ; and answers that 
 they sprung from the seeds of the preceding world, which had 
 been deposited by the reproducing rain. The same cannot be 
 said of the mines of gold, silver, and precious stones; which were 
 not to be found at the beginning of the world, and were only 
 produced by the merits and good works of men. He then adds, 
 that when just and upright princes reign in the southern island, 
 or when men illustrious for holiness and virtue flourish there, 
 then Padesa trees will grow ; and the showers of gold, silver, 
 and precious stones will fall from heaven : the sea also will 
 deposit on its shores various kinds of treasures: and what- 
 ever is sown will wonderfully fructify. On the contrary, when 
 the princes are unjust, and men observe not the law, not only 
 will riches not increase, but rather diminish : the ancient gold 
 and silver mines will disappear ; and for want of moisture the 
 sown lands will be dried up, or yield fruit of a pernicious 
 quality.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 37. THE extensive territories which constitute the Burmese 
 empire are not inhabited by one nation alone, but by many, 
 differing essentially in language, manners, and customs. The 
 principal of these are the Burmese, who occupy the tract of 
 land called the kingdom of Ava, which extends from the city 
 of Pie or Pron [Prome], in 19 north latitude, as far as 24, 
 and from 112 to 116 east longitude, from the meridian of the 
 island of Ferro. 
 
 38. Next in importance are the Peguans [Talaings, Mons, 
 Muns], anciently their competitors. They once formed a 
 powerful monarchy, whose sovereigns were for a length of time 
 masters of the kingdom of Ava. They inhabit the country 
 called Pegu, extending, from west to east, from the island of 
 Negraglia [Negrais] to the kingdom of Siam ; and from north 
 to south, from the city of Pron to that of Martaban. The 
 Peguan language is totally different from the Burmese. 
 
 39. The third nation is that of the Aracanese. Not many 
 years ago, this likewise was an independent state, under the 
 name of the kingdom of Aracan. The language of this country 
 likewise differs entirely from that of the other two. 
 
 40. Beyond the point of Negraglia, as far as Azen [Assam], 
 and even farther, there is a small chain of mountains that 
 divides Aracan and Casse [Manipur] from the Burmese. All 
 these mountains are inhabited by a nation called Chien [Chin, 
 Khyeng], part of which is independent, and part subject to the 
 Burmese emperor. In the latter, besides a particular language 
 and a peculiar manner of dress, there prevails a strange custom 
 which deserves to be mentioned. It is that of tatooing with 
 black the faces of the women. The origin of this custom is as 
 follows. During the time that the residence of the Burmese
 
 BURMESE COSMOGRAPHY 43 
 
 kings was in the city of Pagan, they were accustomed fre- 
 quently to despatch their soldiers into the country of the 
 Chien to carry off the most beautiful women and girls. It was 
 in order to free themselves from this disgraceful oppression 
 that the Chien adopted the practice of thus disfiguring the 
 features of their women. 1 
 
 41. To the east of the Chien mountains, between 20 30' 
 and 21 30' north latitude, is a petty nation called Jo [Yaw]. 
 They are supposed to have been Chien, who in progress of 
 time have become Burmese, speaking their language, although 
 very corruptly, and adopting all their customs. These Jo 
 generally pass for necromancers and sorcerers, and are for this 
 reason feared by the Burmese, who dare not ill-treat them for 
 fear of their revenging themselves by some enchantment. 
 
 42. All that tract of land which extends from 25 to 20 
 north latitude, between the Chinese province of Junan 
 [Yunnan], Siam and the kingdom of Ava, is inhabited by a 
 numerous nation called Sciam [Shan], who are the same as the 
 Laos. Their kingdom is divided into small districts under 
 different chiefs called Zaboa [Sawbwa], or petty princes. 
 From the time of Alompra, the present king's father, till the 
 beginning of the present reign, all these Zaboa were subjects 
 and tributaries of the Burmese ; but the cruel despotism, the 
 continual vexations and oppressions of their masters have 
 forced many of them to rebel ; all of whom have leagued 
 themselves with the Siamese, as we shall have occasion here- 
 after to relate. In language, manners, and customs these 
 Sciam bear a nearer resemblance to the Siamese than to the 
 Burmese. 2 Other tribes of the Sciam inhabit the forest to the 
 north of the city of Miedu, and are otherwise called Konjen. 
 These, although situated within the kingdom of Ava, still 
 retain their own language, together with customs peculiar to 
 themselves. 
 
 43. Casting our eyes upon the map of the Burmese empire, 
 we shall see, that besides the nations already mentioned, there 
 
 1 The practice existed in Arakan and Thayetmyu wh^n I was in Burma. 
 
 2 The form Siam is nothing but a corruption of the French method of writing 
 Shan or ' Sciam.' Census Report, 1891, p. 201.
 
 44 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 are also included in it the Cadu [Kadu or Kudo], the Palaun 
 [Palaung], the Koes and the Cachien [Kachin, Kakhyeng], 
 who are descended from the real Chien, nations, all of whom 
 speak a peculiar language, and have customs different from 
 the Burmese. 
 
 44. We must not omit here the Carian [Karen], a good and 
 peaceable people who live, dispersed through the forests of 
 Pegu, in small villages consisting of four or five houses. These 
 villages, upon the death of any inhabitant, are thrown down 
 and destroyed in a moment by the survivors, who suppose the 
 devil to have taken possession of the place. It is worthy of 
 observation that, although residing in the midst of the 
 Burmese and Peguans, they not only retain their own language, 
 but even in their dress, houses, and everything else are dis- 
 tinguished from them ; and what is more remarkable, they 
 have a different religion. This indeed only consists in adoring, 
 or rather fearing, an evil genius whom they suppose to 
 inhabit their forests, and to whom they offer rice and other 
 food, when they are sick, or apprehend any misfortune. They 
 are totally dependent upon the despotic government of the 
 Burmese. 
 
 45. But it is not so with the other Carian who inhabit the 
 neighbourhood of Taunu [Toungoo, Toung-ngoo, Taun-gu], 
 and are called Red Carian [Karenni], to distinguish them from 
 the former. These, retired in their mountains and inaccessible 
 forests, have very often defied the Burmese, to whose yoke 
 they have never submitted. The Red Carian, who live to the 
 east of Canton about 24 north latitude, consider themselves 
 as descended from these; because, when the Burmese seized 
 upon the country of Taunu, many of the inhabitants took 
 to flight. 1 
 
 1 See Appendix i. for more recent classifications of the peoples and languages 
 of Burma.
 
 BURMESE HISTORY 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 ORIGIN OF THE BURMESE NATION AND MONARCHY 
 
 1. WHEN I enumerated the nations subject to the Burmese 
 dominion, it was not my intention to convey to my reader any 
 idea of their origin, of the country whence they came, nor the 
 time and manner of their emigration to their present position. 
 Not to say that this would be irrelevant to my present design, 
 which is to treat only of the Burmese and their kingdom, it 
 would be truly a difficult or rather impossible task, not only 
 because the different languages of those nations are unknown, 
 but also because they have no historical books nor authentic 
 traditions, from which any true records might be gleaned. In 
 fact, some of them have no knowledge of writing or of books, 
 especially the Carian and Chien. I shall therefore confine 
 myself to the origin of the Burmese, as they are the ruling 
 nation, and have consequently introduced their customs and 
 laws into Pegu, Aracan, and other countries which they have 
 subdued, and will commence with a brief sketch of the origin 
 and subsequent history of their monarchy. Even on this the 
 reader must not flatter himself that he will receive accurate 
 information, since the Burmese histories and traditions are 
 filled with strange hyperbolical accounts and fabulous nar- 
 ratives. 
 
 If you ask the Burmese what was their origin, they will 
 reply : ' Our name alone demonstrates at once the antiquity 
 and nobility of our race, and our celestial origin.' In fact, in 
 their own language their name is not Burmese, which we have 
 borrowed from the Portuguese, but Biamma, the very name, 
 as we have seen above,* borne by the descendants of those 
 
 * See Cosmography, sec. 34, 35.
 
 46 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 beings who once occupied the blessed regions of the Rupa. 1 
 Nevertheless if we notice many peculiarities of the Burmese, 
 and especially a certain fierceness of character not possessed by 
 other Indian nations, we shall be led to conclude that they are 
 of Tartar origin, being probably descendants of some tribe of 
 Tartars, who, as we are informed by history, spread themselves 
 over every part of Asia, especially in the expeditions of the 
 famous Gengis-Khan. 
 
 Even on the origin and progress of the Burmese monarchy, 
 the reader must be prepared to meet nothing in their annals 
 but marvellous tales, mixed up with a very little truth. Before 
 my arrival in India, some missionaries made it their particular 
 study to compose a faithful history of the Burmese kings, but 
 in vain. I myself, while residing in the kingdom of Aya, 
 asked one of the wisest and most learned of the natives, whose 
 intimate friendship I enjoyed, whether there were any book 
 from which I might learn the true history of the founder and 
 perpetuators of their monarchy. He candidly answered, that 
 the task was difficult, or rather impossible ; and endeavoured 
 to persuade me to give up the study as useless. To satisfy the 
 curiosity of my readers, I have, therefore, nothing better to 
 offer them on this subject than an abridgment of the Mahara- 
 zaven, that is, the great history or annals of the kings. It is 
 only towards the conclusion of this work that anything like a 
 glimpse of truth appears. 
 
 1 ' Only a few of the names by which the indigenous tribes were called in 
 the remote past are now known ; but the Indian settlers gave to them, and 
 adopted themselves, the name of Brahma, which is that used in Buddhist sacred 
 books for the first inhabitants of the world. This term, when used to designate 
 the existing people, is now written Mramma, and generally pronounced Bama. 
 Hence have been derived the words used by Europeans for this people.' 
 History of Burma, by Sir Arthur P. Phayre, p. 2. 
 
 Bigandet, however, derives Mrammi from Mian, meaning man ; and this 
 view is adopted in the Census Report, 1891, p. 194.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 ABRIDGMENT OF THE BURMESE ANNALS CALLED MAHARAZVEN 
 
 2. DURING the period that the age of man is increasing from 
 ten years to an assenchie, there is no king in the world ; but 
 when, on the contrary, it is on the wane, then there are kings, 
 and the first that reigns during this diminution of age, is 
 always called Mahasamata. In every world the ages decrease 
 sixty-four times, so that in each there must be sixty-four kings 
 of the name of Mahasamata. 
 
 In the present world there have existed only eleven. Begin- 
 ning to count, therefore, from the eleventh, the Burmese reckon 
 252,256 kings to Uggagarit ; 8210 from him to Zejasena, the 
 grandfather of Godama ; and twenty-nine from Azadasat his 
 son, to Siridamasoga. This is the series of kings that have 
 flourished in the kingdom called Enga, Meggada [Magadha], 
 etc. We must next speak of those who have reigned in 
 Baranasi [Benares], Sautti [Thawattie, Sravasti], etc. 
 
 Whilst the god Godama was living upon the earth, he re- 
 ceived an assurance that his laws would be observed in these 
 kingdoms for the space of 5000 years. This induced him to 
 accept of a magnificent convent of sandal wood, which a 
 celebrated rich man named Maunzala had built for him in 
 these regions. During his residence there, and whilst for seven 
 whole days he was practising every virtue, he obtained as a 
 reward for Maunzala, that he should acquire great sanctity, 
 should be free from the passions of anger, covetousness, and 
 lust, and should,' moreover, have a title to the Niban after his 
 death. 
 
 One day that Godama had ascended a mountain, and was 
 looking towards the sea, he beheld some cow-dung floating 
 upon the waters; and at the same time^a Poe, which is a 
 species of mole living under ground, approached, and to show
 
 48 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 him respect, took in its mouth a small quantity of earth and 
 presented it to him. Seeing it, Godama smiled; and being 
 asked the reason of his smiling by one of his disciples, by 
 name Ananda, replied prophetically: 'Know that 110 years 
 after I shall have obtained the Niban, five great prodigies 
 will happen in this place ; and a great kingdom will here be 
 established, of which this little mole, having assumed the name 
 of Duttabaumen, will be a king.' We must now see how 
 this prediction was fulfilled. But first it may be well to pre- 
 mise that this kingdom, as well as those of Enga, Meggada 
 [Magadha], etc., have no existence, save in the fancy of the 
 compilers of these annals. 
 
 3. Twenty years after Godama had obtained the Niban, the 
 mighty monarch of the great Kingdom of Tagaun [Tagaung], 
 lord of the white and red elephant, died, and his son suc- 
 ceeded to the throne. He gathered together a numerous 
 army, and marched against his own brother-in-law ; whom 
 having conquered, he pursued to the place where the Kingdom 
 of Sarekittra [Tharekhettara] was to be founded, and there 
 killed. 1 
 
 After the death of his adversary, the king did not return to 
 his realm of Tagaun, but having laid aside his royal ornaments, 
 
 1 For a more critical account of the early dynasties, the reader is referred to 
 Sir Arthur Phayre's History of Burma, and his Appendix, containing the lists 
 of kings taken from the Great History of Kings or Maha Rajaweng, the 
 work used by Sangermano. Phayre holds that the Burman nation was 
 formed many ages ago by the union of Mongoloid tribes, under the influence 
 of Aryan immigrants, chiefly Kshatriyas from Gangetic India, who introduced 
 the softening influences of the Buddhist religion in its simplest form, probably 
 2000 years ago. The Maha Rajaweng knows not the kinship of the Burmese 
 with the Indo-Chinese people J but as the Buddhist religion has led the 
 people to link their line of descent with that of their first teachers, or those 
 referred to in the legends concerning Sakya Muni, so these annals open 
 with an account of the first formation of the earth according to Buddhist 
 cosmogony. The Maha Rajaweng then ' describes the small states of the Sakya 
 Rajas in Northern India. Prince Siddhartha, destined to become Buddha, 
 was the son of a Raja of one of those States. Long before his birth, in conse- 
 quence of wars among the Sakya clans and between them and their neighbours, 
 a chief to whom tradition gives the name of Abhl Raja, left Kapilavastu, 
 and came with an army to the country of the Middle Irawadi ; there he 
 established himself and built the city of Tagaung, the ruins of which still exist. ' 
 History of Burma, by Sir A. Phayre, p. 7.
 
 BURMESE HISTORY 49 
 
 devoted himself to a solitary life in this place ; and was re- 
 nowned for sanctity and virtue in the village of Piudi [Prome], 1 
 where he had fixed his abode. This holy hermit having one 
 day made water, a hind drank of it, and shortly after con- 
 ceived and brought forth a female called Bedari, who was 
 afterwards carried home by her father the hermit. About the 
 same time, in the year 40, the queen of the kingdom of 
 Tagaun brought forth two blind sons, whose names were 
 Mahasambava and Zulasambava. In the year 59, she exposed 
 them both in a small boat upon the river, the current of which 
 carried them to the exact place where the kingdom of Sare- 
 kittra was to be founded. Hence the hermit-king having 
 carried the two blind boys to his abode, educated them, and 
 in due time married one of them, Mahasambava, to his own 
 daughter ; in consequence of which he became prince of the 
 village Piudi. Shortly after Bedari conceived the renowned 
 king Duttabaun. Three months later Mahasambava died, at 
 the age of twenty-six. He was born on a Monday, and at his 
 death were heard seven horrible noises. 
 
 4. In the same year Mahasambava's younger brother Zula- 
 sambava, marrying his deceased brother's wife, became prince 
 of Piudi. He lived sixty-one years, of which he reigned 
 thirty-five. He was born on a Monday, and at his death the 
 sun was eclipsed for seven whole days, during which time it 
 seemed a continual night. 
 
 After the death of Zulasambava, a hermit and six Nat met 
 in a vast plain, and there built a most magnificent city, similar 
 to one of the capitals of the abodes of the Nat, with walls, 
 gates, ditches, battlements, and everything necessary for its 
 ornament or defence. This city was built in the following 
 manner : The king of the Nat ordered a Naga or Dragon to 
 take a rope a juzena in length, and therewith describe a circle ; 
 and in this circular plain was the city built, having thirty-two 
 great gates and as many smaller ones, with a very superb 
 palace of gold in the centre. This magnificent work was 
 finished in only seven days, and the city called Sarekittra. 
 
 1 Tharekhettara or Shrikshatra is a ruined place a few miles east of Prome, 
 and still called the town of the hermit.
 
 50 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 After this the king of the Nat, taking the celebrated Dutta- 
 baun by the hand, placed him on the throne, and gave to him 
 a portentous spear which had the power to wound and kill 
 any of his enemies. He gave him likewise a prodigious wand, 
 which, being thrown from his hand, would beat and lacerate 
 those it was aimed at. To these he added a white elephant 
 and a horse, a drum and a great bell, with seven Nat to serve 
 him as satellites; wherefore Duttabaun became absolute lord of 
 all the great southern island Zabudiba. This king had two 
 wives, one was the daughter of his father Mahasambava, and 
 was named Zandaderi, and the other was the daughter of a 
 certain Naga or Dragon, and was named Bezandi. The first 
 was the prior wife, and had a son called Duttran. Finally 
 Duttabaun, after having reigned seventy years, died in the 
 hundred and fifth year of his age. He was born on a Tuesday, 
 and at the time of his death the water of the rivers changed 
 their natural course, and ran upwards to their source ; the 
 shade of the sun being towards the north, was instantly 
 turned to the south ; and seven great noises were heard in 
 the heavens. 
 
 5. In the year 171 Duttabaun was succeeded on the throne 
 by his first-born, named Duttran, who reigned twenty-two 
 years, and died in the fifty-seventh year of his age. He was 
 born on a Wednesday, and at his death seven thunderbolts fell. 
 From the year 193 to 637 there were eighteen kings ; but in 
 these annals no mention is made of any memorable adventure 
 of any of them, but merely the day of their birth and the 
 prodigy that was seen at their death are recorded. From this 
 it appears, as well as from what we shall relate hereafter, that 
 on the day of each king^s death some prodigy must happen in 
 heaven or on earth. 
 
 The king who reigned in the year 637 was the son of 
 Samanda ; his reign lasted only seven years. Under this king, 
 as something unlucky was apprehended, the prince of the Nat 
 struck out of the era 642 years, and ordered that the 644th 
 year should now be called the second. Ever since this time it 
 has been the custom of the Burmese monarchs to order similar 
 corrections whenever, according to the prejudices of their 
 judicial astrology, any year was considered as ominous of
 
 51 
 
 misfortune. The present king has once made this abbreviation 
 of the era. 
 
 6. In the second year of the new era, Ahiedia son of the 
 preceding king began his reign. It lasted three years, and in 
 the year 5, he had for successor his brother, who reigned 
 eleven years, and died in the fortieth year of his age. On the 
 day of his death it happened that a countryman's corn-sieve 
 was carried away by an impetuous wind. . The countryman 
 followed it, crying out, ' Oh ! my corn-sieve ! oh ! my corn- 
 sieve ! ' The citizens, disturbed by this clamour, and not 
 knowing what had happened, began likewise to cry : ' Army of 
 the corn-sieve, soldiers of the corn-sieve.' A great confusion 
 consequently arose, and all the citizens divided themselves into 
 three parties, who afterwards formed three different nations, 
 the Biu, the Charan, and the Burmese. 1 The first took up 
 arms against the second and was victorious ; but afterwards, 
 being agitated by intestine discord, was again divided into 
 three parties ; one of which put itself under the government of 
 the prince Samudritmen. He led them to a place called 
 Mungno, from whence the Peguans expelled him three years 
 after. He then took shelter in Menton, but was driven thence 
 also by the Aracanese ; upon which he passed into the great 
 kingdom of Pagan, which contained nineteen cities. Pagan 
 still retains its name, and is situated at the distance of four 
 days' journey from the capital. While he there reigned, as he 
 was destitute of virtue and power, he was compelled to feed 
 swine, tigers, great birds, and other animals of the forest, 
 which had rebelled against him. In progress of time the 
 daughter of a prince of Dragons, having married the son of 
 the Sun, bore him a child called Biumenti [Pyu-mengti], who 
 lent his assistance to the king of Pagan, and tamed all his 
 rebellious animals. After this he took in marriage the 
 daughter of Samudrit [Thammudarit], and succeeded him in 
 his kingdom. Samudrit, after having reigned forty-five years, 
 died in the seventy-seventh year of his age. He was born on a 
 
 1 Phayre calls these tribes the Pyu, Kanran, and Mramma. He takes the 
 story to mean that Thare-Khettara was conquered by 4fce Talaings of Thahtun, 
 where an Indian dynasty from Telingana reigned in the first centuries of our era. 
 Phayre, pp. 18, 19.
 
 52 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 Sunday, and at his death a great fiery globe, of the diameter 
 of a large waggon-wheel, fell from heaven. 
 
 In the year 89 a hermit succeeded to Biumenti ; between 
 whose reign and the year 535 there were eighteen kings. No 
 action of theirs of any note has been recorded ; the day of their 
 birth and the prodigy at their death are alone mentioned. 
 
 In the year 535 the reigning king was Poppozorahen 
 [Puppa-tsau-Rahan], 1 who was famous for his skill in the 
 Beden, a book on judicial astrology. Having from this 
 derived information of some impending calamity, he struck off 
 all but two years from the era 535. He reigned twenty-seven 
 years, and died the same year in which he had altered the era. 
 He was born on a Sunday, and on the day of his death seven 
 enormous vultures alighted on the great roof of the royal 
 palace, a circumstance ever looked upon as a bad omen. 
 
 7. From the second year of the corrected era to 450, 
 twenty-two kings reigned. 2 In this year Alaunzisu succeeded 
 his grandfather on the throne. On the day of his birth the 
 great drum which is kept in the royal palace beat of itself; 
 also the great palace door of itself flew open. This king, on 
 board a most superb ship belonging to the Nat, and accom- 
 panied by 80,000 smaller vessels, sailed to the place where 
 grows the sacred tree of this island, Zabudiba, and there for 
 seven entire months held high festivity. The prince of the 
 Nat went to the same place, and in the following manner 
 saluted Alaunzisu : ' Oh king ! most powerful, most wise, 
 most excellent, oh king of kings ! etc. 1 He then made him a 
 present of the statues of two ancient Deities. This most 
 puissant prince died in the eighty-fifth year of his age, after 
 having reigned seventy years. He was born on a Thursday, 
 and at his death Jupiter fought with Saturn. From the year 
 
 1 This is the Thenga Raja who reformed the calendar. ' The common era 
 which he established commenced in A.D. 639, on the day when the sun is sup- 
 posed to enter the first sign of the Zodiac. This era is now observed in Burma. 
 The reformation of the calendar was probably brought about by the assistance of 
 Indian astronomers. The Burmese systems of astronomy and method of com- 
 puting time are essentially those of the Hindus.' Phayre, p. 21. 
 
 3 Our author omits to notice Anoarahta, in whose reign in the first half of the 
 eleventh century, the territories taken by the Shans were recovered, and the 
 Talaing King of Pegu conquered. Anaorahta restored orthodox Buddhism.
 
 BURMESE HISTORY 53 
 
 520, in which the last mentioned king ended his reign, to the 
 year 682, eleven kings are numbered. At this year we find 
 the throne occupied by a king called Zunit, 1 whose reign 
 lasted forty-three years. With him the series of the princes of 
 Pagan ends, there having been fifty -five in all. 
 
 8. In the year 662, three brothers of the true stock of the 
 kings of Pagan disputed among themselves the possession of 
 that kingdom. After several intestine wars, the eldest brother 
 obtained the quiet possession of the province called Mienzain 
 [Myinsaing], in the vicinity of Pagan. The second brother 
 made himself king of Maccari ; and the third established 
 himself in Penle, a city existing at the present day. 
 
 In the year 666, the king of Mienzain built a palace of gold 
 and became very powerful ; but, fifteen years afterwards, was 
 poisoned by his younger brother. Three years before his 
 death he had built the city of Panja [Panya], which is at 
 present three days' journey from that of Ava, which latter he 
 had four times in vain attempted to rebuild. His wife was a 
 daughter of the Emperor of China called Poazo, by whom he 
 had a son named Uzzana, who was the founder of seven great 
 convents of Talapoins. He had also another son named 
 Chiozoa, lord of five white elephants. By another queen, the 
 daughter of a musician, he had a son, who was afterwards lord 
 of Chegain [Sagaing], and two daughters. After having 
 reigned twenty-two years, he died in the fiftieth year of his 
 age. He was born on a Monday, and on the day of his death 
 the planet Jupiter was seen in the lunar circle, and the 
 Pagoda worked many miracles. 
 
 In the year 685, Uzzana succeeded his father, and reigned 
 twenty years ; after which his younger brother Chiozoa, having 
 bought five white elephants, dethroned him, and in 704 began 
 to reign in his stead. He had, by his queen, sister of the 
 king of Penie, a son named Uzzanabiaun, who succeeded to 
 the throne in the year 726 ; and with him finishes the series of 
 the five kings that reigned in Panja. 
 
 1 Zunit appears to be the King Tarukpyemeng, in whose time the army of the 
 Mongol Emperor of China," Kublai Khan, defeated t/^] Burmese and took Pagan, 
 A.D. 1284, as related by Phayre. After the fall of Pagan kings of Shan race 
 reigned at Myinsaing and Panya and at Sagaing. Phayre, ch. vi.
 
 54 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 9. Zajan, who was lord of Chegain in the year 680, having 
 converted that place into a city, by surrounding it with brick 
 walls and ditches, established there a new kingdom, in which 
 he concentrated the best forces of the country. This city is 
 situated opposite Ava, on the western side of the river. Zajan 
 had three sons and a daughter, of whom the eldest was named 
 Chiozoa. After having reigned eight years he died at the 
 age of twenty-eight. At his death Saturn fought with Venus. 
 After Zajan's death his brother Trabia seized the reins of 
 government, but three years afterwards was surprised and 
 imprisoned by his own son, Sciocdantek, who, however, did not 
 long enjoy the fruit of his perfidy ; for his body-guards killed 
 him in a mutiny, after he had reigned only three years. The 
 throne was restored to Trabia; but he also enjoyed his re- 
 acquired dignity but a few days, being unexpectedly murdered 
 by one of his prime ministers, who placed Chiozoa, eldest son 
 of Zajan, on the throne in his stead. This prince reigned five 
 years, and died at the age of twenty-one. He was succeeded 
 in the year 714 by his brother Trabia, lord of the white 
 elephant, who reigned two years, and died in the twenty- 
 fourth year of his age. He was born on a Monday, and the 
 day of his death was remarkable for the appearance of a comet. 
 In the year 716, Menpiauk, grandson of the Emperor of 
 China's daughter, succeeded Trabia in the kingdom of 
 Chegain ; and at the same time his step-son Satomenchin 
 [Thadomengbya], held the government in the kingdom of 
 Tagaun. Narassu king of Panja, having conceived the desire 
 of conquering these two kingdoms, sent ambassadors to Sokim- 
 pua, lord of Mogaun, a district in the country of the Sciam, 
 demanding assistance in his enterprise. Sokimpua accordingly 
 despatched a great army against Tagaun, by which Satomen- 
 chin was conquered and made prisoner. But afterwards 
 escaping, he fled to Menpiauk his step-father, who received 
 him with reproaches for his cowardice, and banished him into 
 a forest. From the conquest of Tagaun, the army of the 
 Sciam advanced and laid siege to Chegain. The resistance 
 was short, the town was given up to the enemy, and Menpiauk 
 constrained to take refuge in the same forest to which he had 
 sent his step-son. From Chegain the Sciam passed on to
 
 BURMESE HISTORY 55 
 
 Panja, where they spent some days. During this time, taking 
 advantage of the false security of Narassu, they one day forced 
 an entrance into the palace, made themselves masters of the 
 person of the king, and carried him away prisoner into their 
 own country. After their departure, the chief ministers placed 
 upon the throne Uzzanabiaun, the brother of Narassu. In the 
 third year of his reign, Satomenchin, having first put to death 
 his step-father Menpiauk, invaded Panja with a powerful army : 
 and having killed Uzzanabiaun, possessed himself of the king- 
 dom. He reigned there for the space of a month. 
 
 The following is the order of the events just narrated. In 
 the month of May of the year 726 Chegain was destroyed, and 
 in June the same was the fate of Panja ; in the following 
 month Uzzanabiaun ascended the throne, and in September 
 lost it, giving place to Satomenchin. 1 In October this king, 
 in his progress through Navara, founded the city of Ava, and 
 011 the sixth day of the moon of March gave to it the name of 
 Radanapura, that is, the city of gold and precious stones. 
 Thus was he at the same time master of three kingdoms, 
 Panja, Chegain, and Ava. He died at the age of twenty-five, 
 having reigned in Panja seven months, and three in Ava. 
 
 10. To him succeeded, in the year 729, his brother-in-law 
 Aminmenchoke, who, after a reign of thirty-three years, died 
 in the seventieth year of his age, and had for successor his 
 son Tarabia, called the lord of the white elephant, because one 
 of that colour was born on the same day with him. He died 
 at the age of thirty-two, having been betrayed and murdered 
 by his own tutor. At the time of his death a comet was seen. 
 
 His brother succeeded him on the throne, and, after reign- 
 ing twenty-one years, bequeathed the kingdom to his son 
 Siahassu. His reign lasted but three years, when he was 
 killed by the Sciam. His successor was Menlane, his son, who 
 ascended the throne in 787, but was shortly afterwards 
 poisoned by his wife. To him succeeded a stranger, whose 
 name and pedigree are unknown. But after him, in the year 
 788, Saddamaraza obtained the crown ; under whom the era 
 was abbreviated, and only three years of the old computation 
 
 .. 
 1 Satomenchin is the King Thadomengbya, who in A.u. 1364 founded a new 
 
 city at Ava.
 
 56 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 retained, on account of some omen portending misfortune. 
 He reigned twenty-three years and expired in the sixtieth year 
 of his age. 
 
 11. In the third year of the new era, Menrekiozoa, son of the 
 preceding, mounted the throne ; and to him succeeded Sciassu, 
 his brother, who assigned to his numerous sons and daughters 
 by various queens the revenues of many cities and provinces, 
 together with a number of elephants ; and raised them to the 
 rank of princes and princesses. In the sixty-fourth year of his 
 age he was murdered by his own nephew. At his death many 
 Pagodas fell down, and a large fissure opening in the breast of 
 the statue of Godama, sent out a stream of water. 
 
 In the room of Menrekiozoa, his son Mahasihassu was placed 
 upon the throne ; and he was succeeded, in the twelfth year of 
 his reign and fifty-fourth of his age, by his first-born son ; to 
 whom again succeeded his son. The last-mentioned prince, 
 after a reign of twenty-five years, was taken prisoner, and put 
 to death by the Sciam of Zemme [Zimme, Chiengmai, spelt 
 lamahey or Jangomai by Fitch and other old travellers] ; and 
 with him finishes the series of the kings of Ava, who were in 
 all fourteen. 
 
 12. After the death of this king, in the ninetieth year of the 
 new, but the 888th of the true era, a certain Sohansua, a 
 Sciam by birth, obtained the kingdom of Ava, and kept pos- 
 session of it for fifteen years, when he was killed by the illus- 
 trious Ranaon.. He, however, did not seize upon the crown, 
 but made it over to another, whose reign lasted but four years. 
 This king upon his death in the year 908 of the true era was 
 succeeded on the throne by his son Pinarapati ; but he, after 
 having reigned five years, was taken prisoner by the lord of 
 Chegain, who, assuming the name of Narapatizisa, ascended the 
 throne of Ava in the year 953. He rebuilt the city of Che- 
 gain and surrounded it with a wall of brick, and reigned there 
 for six years, when he was killed by the lord of many white 
 elephants, Barasinmendraghipra. He had likewise reigned 
 three years in Ava, and his death took place in the sixtieth 
 year of his age. His throne was given by Barasinmendraghipra 
 to his son-in-law Sadomenzo. This prince, after a reign of 
 thirty-two years, hearing that his brother-in-law, the lord of
 
 BURMESE HISTORY 57 
 
 Taunu, was coming against him with a numerous army, fled 
 towards China, but died on the way in the fifty-second year of 
 his age. 
 
 13. Having now to speak of the origin and progress of the 
 kingdom of Taunu, 1 we must turn back to the year 614, when 
 one of the royal family of Pagan, of the name of Saun, built 
 this city. From the year 614 to 872 twenty-nine kings 
 reigned here, and in the last-mentioned year, the one who then 
 occupied the throne, built the city anew, and surrounded it with 
 a wall. Having reigned forty-five years, this prince died, 
 leaving his crown to his son Mentrasvedi, who, after the space 
 of twenty years, was killed by Zotut, lord of Cittaun, a city 
 lying to the south of Taunu. 
 
 In the year 900 flourished a great and powerful king, lord 
 of the white and red elephants. He had many queens and 
 many children, to whom he gave cities, villages, and provinces 
 for their maintenance. His eldest son having taken a wife, had 
 a son, who was afterwards king of Martaban. Of his other 
 
 1 Many Burmese families of high rank,, unwilling to remain under the Shan 
 King, settled in Taungu under a dynasty destined before long to become 
 supreme in the land of the Irawadi. Tabeng Shwehti, King of Taungu, in 
 A.D. 1538-39, took the city of Pegu, and annexed the kingdom, of which it was 
 the capital, defeating Takarwutbi, the son of the Pegtian King, Binya Ran, who 
 died A.D. 1526, and whose magnificence impressed two of the Italian travellers. 
 Phayre, pp. 83, 89, 94. ' For the first time Europeans now took part in the wars 
 of Burma. The Portugese Viceroy had sent from Goa a galliot, commanded by 
 Ferdinand de Morales, to trade in Pegu. A battle was fought between the 
 Burmese and the Talaing flotillas, in which the former were victorious, and 
 the Portuguese commander, who had fought with the Talaings, was slain. The 
 capital then surrendered.' For the reigns of Tabeng Shweti's successors Bureng 
 Naung and his son Ngyaung Ram Meng, who died A.D. 1581 and 1599 respec- 
 tively, see chap. xiii. and xiv. of Phayre's History. In chap. xv. the capture of 
 Syriam, near Rangoon, by the Arakan King, Meng Rajagyi, alias Salim Shah, 
 with the aid of the Portuguese adventurer Philip de Brito is described. The 
 latter held this port for about ten years on account of the Portuguese Viceroy of 
 Goa, until it was retaken in A.D. 1613 by the Burmese King Maha Dhamma 
 Raja when ' De Brito, the sacreligious wretch who destroyed Pagodas, as is re- 
 marked in the Burmese history when his punishment is related, was impaled on 
 a high stake before his own house, and so lived for three days in dreadful agony. 
 Most of the leading Portuguese were executed, and the remainder, as well as de 
 Brito's wife, and many of mixed race, were sent as slave^o Ava.' Phayre, p. 129. 
 See also the account in The Portugese in India, by Manuel de Faria de Sousa, 
 translated by Stevens. London, 1695.
 
 58 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 children, one became king of Chegain, another of Ava, and a 
 fourth of Pron. Among his wives may be reckoned the 
 daughters of the king of Pegu, of the prince of Mochaun, of 
 the lord of Lezan, of the prince of Bamo, and of the prince of 
 Seime. Finally, after a reign of thirty-one years, in the sixty- 
 sixth year of his age, he died, and was immediately transported 
 to the happy abodes of the Nat. He was born on a Wednes- 
 day, and on the day of his death the great Pagoda fell into 
 ruins, an inundation covered the whole city, and a shower of 
 rubies fell from heaven. His son Mahauparaza succeeded him, 
 and reigned seventeen years, dying in the sixty-third year ot 
 his age. 
 
 In the year 961 the kingdom of Pegu was destroyed, and 
 laid waste ; upon which the king Mahasihasura gathered to- 
 gether the people, who had been scattered over the country, 
 into the city of Taunu, where, after a reign of some years, he 
 died at the age of fifty-eight. To him succeeded his son, with 
 whom finishes the race of the kings of Taunu. 
 
 14. In 959 Gnaunjan, son of the lord of the red and white 
 elephants, was king in Ava. His principal queen was his own 
 sister, and besides her he had twelve inferior ones, all daughters 
 of kings or princes, by whom he had ten sons and twelve 
 daughters. He was transported to the abodes of the Nat, in 
 the eighth year of his reign, and the fiftieth of his age. On the 
 day of his death a thunderbolt set fire to the gate of the 
 palace. 
 
 In the year 967 his first-born son Mahauparaza succeeded to 
 his throne. He took for wife his own sister, but had besides 
 many inferior queens. After a reign of twenty-four years, he 
 perished by the hand of his own son Menredeippa, in the fifty- 
 first year of his age. 
 
 The parricide followed up his crime by making himself king, 
 and establishing his throne in Hansavedi [Hansawadi] or Pegu. 
 But Dammaranza [Thado Dhamma. Raja] l and Menrekiozoa, 
 two brothers of the late king, had no sooner heard of his 
 
 1 For Dhammaranza or Thado Dhamma Raja's reign, see Phayre, ch. xvi., 
 where an incursion of Chinese, A.D. 1659-62, and succeeding events are related 
 up to the taking of Ava by the Takings of Pegu, and the fall of the Burmese 
 monarchy, A.D. 1752.
 
 BURMESE HISTORY 59 
 
 tragical death, than they collected a numerous army in the 
 kingdoms of Tampi and Kianzi, and immediately marched to- 
 wards Ava, making, however, a halt at Panja. At this news 
 the ministers of the parricide deprived him of his dignity, and 
 despatched an embassy to Dammaranza^ inviting him to take 
 possession of his deceased brother's throne. Accordingly he 
 marched with all his army into Hansavedi, and in the year 995 
 was proclaimed king. The next year he went with an immense 
 army to Ava, where he built a golden palace, and in the year 
 997 took the title of king. He had many sons and daughters 
 by his various queens, and after a reign of nineteen years, in 
 the sixty-fourth year of his age, passed to the happy state of 
 the Nat. 
 
 15. In the year 1010 his eldest son, Menrerandameit, 
 mounted the paternal throne. After a reign of thirteen years, 
 in the fifty-fourth year of his age, he was put to death by his 
 own brother, the king of Pron, who succeeded to his crown. 
 The son of this prince, having rebelled against him, was by his 
 orders enclosed in a sack and thrown into the river ; for this is 
 the punishment of the princes of the blood-royal when guilty 
 of any crime. His reign lasted ten years, and he passed to the 
 happy abodes of the Nat in the fifty-third year of his age. His 
 eldest son and successor reigned sixteen years, and was followed 
 by his brother, who, in the year 1035, washed his head and 
 assumed the title of king. He died in the fortieth year of his 
 age, after a reign of sixteen years. 
 
 In the year 1076, his son Sirimahasihasura took possession 
 of the golden palace. There were borne to him by different 
 queens many sons and daughters. His death happened in the 
 sixteenth year of his reign and fortieth of his age ; the day of 
 his departure was signalised by a violent earthquake, which 
 overthrew several Pagodas. 
 
 In the same manner that the Nat wait with impatience for 
 the flowering of their sacred tree, which takes place every 
 hundredth year, that they may gather its blossoms ; so did 
 men expect and desire the birth of that great king, whom fate 
 was to bestow on the southern island, for the greater good of 
 both God and man. This monarch at length appeared in the 
 person of Mahauparaza, the son of the preceding king. He
 
 60 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 was a Pralaun [Phra-alaong], or aspirant to divine honours, 
 which epithet is given by the Burmese to all their kings, as an 
 augury of their apotheosis, as in the case of Godama. This 
 great king was adorned with wisdom, prudence, and fortitude ; 
 and in the whole course of his reign ever had nearest to his 
 heart the advancement of his kingdom, the happiness of his 
 subjects, and the observance of the divine law. His life and his 
 reign lasted for the space of a hundred years. 
 
 16. The source from which the foregoing narration has been 
 drawn is the Maharazaven, or history of the kings ; what 
 follows I have in part received from the oldest inhabitants 
 of the country, and in part have myself witnessed during my 
 long residence in the Burmese empire. 
 
 From Mahauparaza to Alompra [Alaungh-pra embryo 
 Buddha], the i-estorer of the kingdom, there are reckoned six 
 kings, the last of whom was called Chioekmen. Under him the 
 Peguans made an irruption into the Burmese empire, and took 
 by siege the city of Ava. The king and queen with all the 
 great officers of the court were made prisoners and carried to 
 Bago or Pegu, then the capital of the enemy's kingdom. At 
 first the captive king met with humane treatment, but being 
 afterwards detected in divers conspiracies, was made a spectator 
 of the cruel murder of all his wives, and then, being tied up in 
 a sack, was thrown into a river.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 OF THE PRESENT ROYAL FAMILY, AND OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS 
 THAT HAVE TAKEN PLACE UNDER THE REIGNING DYNASTY. 
 
 17. THE first who ventured to make any resistance to the 
 Peguans, after they had taken and sacked Ava, was a country- 
 man of the village of Mozzobo [Moksobo, Shwebo], who, after 
 having assumed the title of king, was known by the name of 
 Alompra. He put himself first at the head of a few friends ; 
 but having in a short time formed a powerful army from the 
 people that flocked to him, he speedily drove the Peguans, not 
 only from the city of Ava, but out of the whole territory of 
 the Burmese. Peace being thus restored, and all disturbances 
 quieted, he caused himself to be proclaimed king in Mozzobo, 
 which place he surrounded with fortifications, and raised to the 
 dignity of capital of his kingdom. It is situated to the north- 
 west of Ava, at the distance of about twenty leagues. His 
 next care was to take vengeance on the Peguans by carrying 
 the war into their own kingdom, where he overcame them, and 
 dispersed their army over the neighbouring countries. He then 
 laid siege to Siriam, the principal sea-port of the kingdom, and 
 took it, as well as the capital city Bago [Pegu]. Here an 
 end was put to the war by the capture of the king. At the 
 same time he made himself master of the two districts of Tavai 
 and Martaban, which had hitherto been subject to the king of 
 Pegu. Alompra now determined to undertake a war against 
 the Siamese, whose king had refused him his daughter in 
 marriage. He was soon in full march against this monarch, 
 but on the way was seized with a mortal distemper which 
 forced him to return to Pegu. There it quickly put an end to 
 his life, after he had reigned six years in the midst of a con- 
 tinual war. Before his death he declared Ms will to his nobles, 
 that his seven sons should successively occupy the throne after
 
 62 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 his decease a most fatal disposition, as it was the cause of the 
 many troubles and civil wars that shortly arose. 
 
 18. According to this regulation, the eldest of the brothers, 
 Anaundopra ascended the throne, which he held but for three 
 years. Yet in this short space he had to contend with two 
 formidable rebellions. The first had for its author one of the 
 generals of the deceased Alompra, by name Nattun, who, re- 
 turning from Siam with the army, made himself master of the 
 city of Ava, and maintained himself in it for some time. An 
 uncle of the king was the leader of the other rebellion. He 
 attempted to make himself king inTaunu[Toungoo], a city lying 
 about forty leagues to the north-east of Rangoon, but was 
 taken prisoner, and paid with his head the forfeit of his crime. 
 
 19. To Anaundopra succeeded the second brother Zempiu- 
 scien [Hsengbyusheng, Sinbyushin], that is to say, lord of 
 of the white elephant ; his reign lasted twelve years. In the 
 first and second years of his government he carried his arms 
 against the Casse, a barbarous nation occupying the country to 
 the north-west of Ava. This he did to revenge the frequent 
 irruptions they had made into the Burmese empire, previous to 
 the coming of the Peguans. Their country was devastated with 
 fire and sword, and numbers of the inhabitants carried prisoners 
 to Ava ; but they were never entirely subdued, on account of 
 the secure retreats which their mountains and forests afforded 
 them. In the third year of his reign, Zempiuscien abandoned 
 the new city of Mozzobo, and transported the court to Ava, 
 the ancient residence of the Burmese kings. At the same time 
 he despatched his army against the Siamese, who had refused 
 to pay the tribute promised to his father Alompra. Jodia 
 [Ayuthia, Ayodhia, and in Fitch's Voyage Odia], the usual resi- 
 dence of their kings was taken and sacked ; more perhaps 
 through the cowardice of the Siamese, or rather the dissensions 
 that distracted the court, than by any valour on the part of the 
 Burmese. After a short time, the conquerors abandoned the city, 
 carrying with them an inestimable booty, together with an 
 innumerable multitude of slaves, among whom were most of the 
 members of the royal family. In this expedition the Burmese 
 also obtained possession of Merghi [Mergui], and its district oh 
 the coast of Tenasserim. Besides these exploits, Zempiuscien
 
 BURMESE HISTORY 63 
 
 had twice to oppose the Chinese, who from Zunan [Yunnan] 
 had poured down upon his territories, with the design of sub- 
 jecting them to a tribute. He discomfited their numerous 
 armies ; principally perhaps by the aid of his heavy artillery, 
 served by the Christians who had established themselves in 
 these parts. 
 
 The prince of Zandapori [Chandapuri, Viang-chang], a pro- 
 vince situated near the country of Laos, having been attacked 
 by Patajac [Phaya Tak], the new king of the Siamese, implored 
 the protection of Zempiuscien, sending, with many other pre- 
 sents, one of his daughters as a concubine. The Burmese 
 monarch immediately despatched a large army against Siam, 
 which speedily so reduced its king that the city of Bancok 
 alone remained in his possession. This too he would have lost? 
 had not the unexpected news of the death of their emperor 
 recalled the invading army to their own country. 
 
 After the storming of Jodia in Siam, and the expedition 
 against the Chinese, King Zempiuscien resolved to declare his 
 eldest son the heir to his throne, although this arrangement 
 was expressly contrary to his father's will. The lord of Amiens, 
 younger brother to the king, finding himself thus excluded from 
 the succession, conspired against his life. The plot was dis- 
 covered, and he was doomed to die ; but the tears of their 
 mother, who yet lived, saved him from his fate. Besides this 
 conspiracy there were two rebellions, which, but that they were* 
 speedily suppressed, would truly have wrought much turbulence 
 and harm. Of these one was raised by those Casse whom 
 Zempiuscien had brought prisoners into Ava; the second by 
 the inhabitants of Martaban, of whom many served in the royal 
 armies. For these, while absent from home on the king's 
 service, heard that their families were vexed and oppressed by 
 the governor : whereupon they mutinied, and having elected a 
 chief, came to lay seige to Rangoon. The city could have made 
 no long resistance, but a Dutch vessel, which chanced to be 
 there, beat off the assailants with its guns, and discomfited 
 them utterly. 
 
 Then did Zempiuscien hasten hither, and place on the great 
 Pagoda its crown of massive gold, the ttteight whereof is eighty 
 of our pounds. While this great ceremony was performed with .
 
 64 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 much pomp and rejoicing, the last king of Pegu was beheaded, 
 in order, by this bloody execution, to crush entirely the power 
 of that realm. 
 
 20. Upon the death of Zempiuscien, the nobles of the king- 
 dom raised to the throne his eldest son, whose name was 
 Zinguza. His uncle, the lord of Amiens, to whom, as we have 
 said, the succession of right belonged, remained a quiet spec- 
 tator of his elevation, because at the moment he was destitute 
 of a party and of sufficient forces : but the lord of Salem, his 
 younger brother, made an attempt to grasp the crown. But 
 the conspiracy was discovered, and its author paid the penalty 
 of his rashness by being enclosed in a sack of red cloth and 
 thrown into the river. The lord of Amiens underwent a similar 
 fate, upon attempting, eighteen months later, to dethrone his 
 nephew. After this Zinguza banished from the royal city all 
 his uncles and near relations : and, thinking himself thus secure, 
 he passed all his time in hunting and fishing, almost always 
 intoxicated, so that he was called by the opprobrious name of 
 the drunkard or the fisher king. But this conduct led to his 
 final ruin. For his cousin, the only son of Anaundopra, taking 
 advantage of his absence, advanced by night to Ava, in company 
 with about forty inhabitants of a village called Paonga, and, 
 without experiencing any resistance, made himself master of the 
 palace. Upon which the youth of Ava and the neighbouring 
 places came eagerly to be enrolled, and take up arms in favour 
 of the new king, who, in the space of five days, was in posses- 
 sion of the person and kingdom of Zinguza. But the usurper, 
 whose name was Paongoza, from the long abode he had made 
 in Paonga, by these rapid and successful advances, only served 
 as a means to Badonsachen, the reigning sovereign, to mount 
 upon the throne. For, scarcely had he taken possession of the 
 palace, than he called together his uncles, and made them an 
 offer of the kingdom ; saying, that according to the disposi- 
 tions of Alompra, to them it of right belonged. But they 
 suspected this ingenious declaration of Paongoza to be 
 nothing more than a malicious contrivance to pry into 
 their secret thoughts, and, upon their accepting his offer, 
 to give him a pretence for their destruction : and, therefore, 
 not only declined to receive it, but declared themselves, by
 
 BURMESE HISTORY 65 
 
 drinking the water of the oath, his subjects and vassals. And 
 here we may observe that the oath of fidelity is taken by drink- 
 ing certain water upon which have been pronounced sundry 
 false incantations, and which the king gives to drink to the 
 mandarins, ministers, generals, and military officers, and to all 
 others from whom he exacts an oath of fealty. Paongoza then 
 raised them to their former state, and restored all the honours 
 whereof they had been deprived by Zinguza. But they a few 
 days later took that by force which, when peacefully offered, they 
 had not dared to accept. For on the 10th of February 1782, they 
 suddenly entered the palace, seized Paongoza and placed on the 
 throne Badonsachen, 1 third son of Alompra. He, according to 
 custom, caused the deposed monarch to be thrown into the 
 river, calling him in scorn the king of seven days. Paongoza 
 at the time of his death had only reached his twentieth year. 
 On the following day the unfortunate Zinguza underwent the 
 same fate in his twenty-sixth year ; and all his queens and con- 
 cubines, holding their babes in their arms, were burnt alive. 
 
 21. No sooner had Badonsachen ascended the throne, than he 
 had to defeat two great conspiracies, by which he stood in no 
 small jeopardy of losing his kingdom and his life. Of the first 
 was head a certain Nassa, first a famous general under king 
 Zempiuscien, then deprived of his command by Zinguza and 
 afterwards restored by Badonsachen to his former rank, and 
 by him graced with many honours and dignities. Yet he 
 repaid with ingratitude the kindness of his benefactor ; for he 
 attempted to thrust into his place an illegitimate son of 
 Alompra, intending so to open a way for his own accession to 
 the throne. The conspiracy was, however, brought to light ; 
 and so terrified and troubled therewith was the new king 
 Badonsachen, that never after did he put trust in man, no, not 
 though he were his nearest of kin. Then also did he begin his 
 practice of changing daily his chamber and bed. 
 
 Still more dangerous was the other conspiracy, headed by 
 Miappon, son of the last king of Ava, who was taken prisoner 
 by the Peguans and thrown into the river. In consideration of 
 
 1 Badonsachen, the Badun Meng, now usually known as Bodoahpra or Bho- 
 dawbhoora, reigned from A.D. 1781 to 1819. For tnlfc reign see Phayre, ch. xx.
 
 66 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 his tender age, his son was fortunately saved from this miserable 
 doom, and lived an unknown wanderer until the time of Zin- 
 guza. Having then retired into the territories of a tributary 
 to the king of Ava, he began to form designs upon the crown. 
 Upon being informed of this, Zinguza despatched an armed 
 force to apprehend him, from which he fled into concealment. 
 One of the principal inhabitants of Paonga, who had been 
 mainly useful in elevating Paongoza to the throne, finding that 
 all his hopes had been foiled by his death, resolved to make 
 a second attempt by abetting the well-known pretensions of 
 Miappon- To him therefore he repaired, accompanied by a 
 friend, and easily persuaded him to place himself at the head of 
 their party. This proposal exactly tallied with his long- 
 cherished plan ; so, without loss of time, followed by fifty men, 
 mostly natives of the same village, and twenty others who 
 joined him on the road, he set forward towards Ava. After 
 midnight of the 4th of December 1782, he scaled with his 
 party the city and the palace without meeting with any resist- 
 ance ; when his friends raised the following cry, ' Behold the 
 true branch of the royal stock ! ' Of the royal guards, who 
 were alarmed by this clamour, some fled from their posts and 
 concealed themselves, others feigned themselves asleep. Mean- 
 while the king and his more immediate attendants, awakened 
 by the uproar, closed the doors and guarded the avenues to the 
 interior of the palace. Although the conspirators had possessed 
 themselves of the cannon and powder, yet could they not 
 effect their purpose from want of balls : notwithstanding which, 
 they obliged the Christian cannoneers to discharge blank car- 
 tridge against the palace, and hereby caused their own destruc- 
 tion. For the noise of the cannonade brought together the 
 Mandarins with their guards, who, lighting immense fires, en- 
 camped without the palace. As soon as it was day, Badon- 
 sachen having discovered that the number of conspirators was 
 only about sixty, and these mostly without arms, had them all 
 seized by his guards, and cruelly put to death. Three also of 
 the cannoneers were beheaded for their conduct. Miappon 
 alone escaped, but was the same evening dragged from his 
 concealment, and paid with his life the forfeit of his audacity. 
 Still was the fury of the king unsatisfied, for he now gave full
 
 BURMESE HISTORY 67 
 
 scope to that cruel and inhuman disposition, of which he had 
 already discovered sufficient signs. Notwithstanding the inno- 
 cence of the great majority of the inhabitants of Paonga, he 
 caused them all to be dragged from their dwellings, not excepting 
 even the old men or tender infants, nor respecting the character 
 of the priests and Talapoins, and then to be burnt alive upon 
 an immense pile of wood which had been erected for the pur- 
 pose. The village was afterwards razed to the ground, the 
 trees and plants in its gardens cut up and consumed by fire, its 
 very soil was turned up with the ploughshare, and a stone 
 erected on the spot as a mark of perpetual malediction. 
 
 This cruel execution done, Badonsachen next turned his 
 attention to securing the succession to the crown in his family, 
 after the example of his brother Zempiuscien. And judging 
 that to set himself up as the founder of a new dynasty would 
 be one of the best means to accomplish his purpose, he resolved 
 to abandon his present capital and to build another, thus the 
 more easily to obliterate the memory of his predecessors, and 
 fix the eyes of the multitude upon himself alone. Pretexts 
 were not wanting to give a colour to this proceeding. It was 
 said that the city and palace had been defiled by the human 
 blood shed within its precincts, and therefore it no longer 
 became the monarch to inhabit it ; and hence it was ordained 
 that a new imperial residence should immediately be con- 
 structed. To this proposal none dared to object, and all the 
 Mandarins and royal ministers strove who should best give 
 effect to the orders of the king. As in this country all is 
 regulated by the opinions of the Brahmins, so that not even 
 the king shall presume to take any step without their advice, 
 therefore was counsel taken of them, and thereupon a site 
 selected for the new city, on an uneven spot three leagues from 
 Ava, upon the right or eastern bank of the river. Here the 
 work was commenced by the erection of the walls. These form 
 a perfect quadrangle, each side a mile long, within which is 
 another line of fortification somewhat inferior in height. In 
 the centre was raised the royal palace, almost entirely of teak- 
 wood. The walls are built wholly of brick, cemented with an 
 argillaceous earth tempered with water. , ^ They are protected 
 on the north by the river, and on the south by an extensive
 
 68 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 pool ; on the other two sides was sunk a deep fosse. When 
 the work was completed, the king went in solemn state to take 
 possession of the city and palace, on the 10th of May 1783, 
 observing many superstitious rites and ceremonies prescribed 
 by the Brahmins. After seven days he returned to Ava, in 
 order personally to urge the removal of all his subjects to the 
 new capital, which he effected on the 14th of the next month. 
 Thus were these miserable inhabitants compelled to quit their 
 home with all its comforts, and exchange a delightful situation, 
 salubrious in its air and its waters, for a spot infected with 
 fevers and other complaints, from the stagnant waters that 
 surround it. Badonsachen gave to his new metropolis the 
 name of Amarapura, that is, city of security and peace. Of 
 the new inhabitants some took up their abode within the 
 walls ; and these were for the most part Burmese and persons 
 attached to the royal family or to the Mandarins : to others 
 were allotted dwellings without the city, whence arose various 
 suburbs, or, as they are called by the Portuguese, campos. 
 Besides the Burmese, the principal foreign nations who occupy 
 special districts are the Siamese and Casse, who were brought 
 captives to this country in the wars of Zempiuscien, and have 
 greatly multiplied in number. Perhaps still more populous is 
 the suburb of the Mohammedan Moors, who have settled in the 
 Burmese capital, as in every other part of India. Their pro- 
 fession is mostly traffic, and they enjoy the free exercise of their 
 religion, having many mosques. To these must be added the 
 suburb of the Chinese, whose industry is peculiarly remarkable, 
 and that wherein the Christians dwell. The entire number of 
 the inhabitants of Amarapura amounts to about 200,000. 
 Vain would it be to describe the sufferings and fatigues, the 
 oppressions and exactions, which this transmigration caused, to 
 those whose eyes have not witnessed the extreme rigour with 
 which the royal orders are here executed. No sooner was 
 Amarapura inhabited, than Ava, famed not only as the resid- 
 ence of so many kings, but also for its pleasant and convenient 
 situation and the magnificence of its public buildings, was 
 instantly abandoned. Indeed Badonsachen caused its total 
 destruction, by giving general permission to overthrow at will 
 the superb Bao, or convents of Talapoins, some of which were
 
 BURMESE HISTORY 69 
 
 gilt all over, within and without, with the finest gold, the 
 magnificent wooden bridges, the public halls and porticos. 
 All the cocoa-trees, which, planted along the interior of the 
 walls, overtopped them with their green shadowy branches, 
 and gave the city a cheerful and sweet prospect, were cut down 
 and given to the elephants for food. In fine, part of the walls 
 was torn down by order of the king, and the river, being sluiced 
 in, reduced the whole to an uninhabitable pool. 
 
 In the meantime, the king was also busied with having his 
 eldest son publicly recognised as his legitimate successor. He 
 conferred upon him the title and rank of Einye or crown- 
 prince ; and as he was born of the second queen, in order to 
 strengthen his claims still further, he was married to his own 
 sister, the daughter of the first. It needs not be told how 
 little pleased with these arrangements were the two surviving 
 sons of Alompra. Of these the younger, called Pandelisachen, 
 being a youth ardent and courageous, protested loudly against 
 the violation of his father's will ; and not content with words, 
 proceeded to actions, attempting many times to seize upon the 
 kingdom. But his plots and devices were ever discovered, and 
 his brother, wearied with repeated pardonings, at length put 
 him to the usual death of drowning in a red-cloth sack. The 
 other brother was still alive when I left the country, and led 
 an obscure and miserable life, supported by the labour of his 
 hands. 
 
 All things being thus set in order at Amarapura, and all 
 conspiracies thus foiled, the king resolved, in emulation of his 
 brother Zempiuscien, to undertake some glorious achievement. 
 As early as the last year of Zinguza, ambassadors had come to 
 Ava from the son of the king of Aracan, to beg assistance 
 against the author of a rebellion. Zinguza, ever more inclined 
 to diversion and debauchery than to feats of arms, refused to 
 interfere in the concerns of that kingdom. New troubles had 
 thence risen, and new dissensions, which king Badonsachen 
 resolved to use as a means of seizing on a new crown. Already 
 was the general of his army appointed, and arms and warlike 
 stores prepared, and nought was wanting to undertake the 
 expedition except the conclusion of the great three-months 1 
 fast, when a mighty rebellion, breaking out in Pegu, diverted
 
 70 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 him from his purpose. The occasion thereof was as follows. 
 A certain Peguan of great authority dreamed one night that 
 the kingdom of Pegu should shortly be restored ; whence, upon 
 its being reported abroad among the Peguans, about three 
 hundred of them made consultation among themselves, and 
 resolved to make themselves masters of Rangoon, and there- 
 after raise the dreamer to the throne. Hereupon, at eight in 
 the evening, they marched into the city without opposition, 
 and proceeded to murder its governor. The Mandarins and 
 people, scared by the tumult of the assailants and the confla- 
 gration which they raised, abandoned the city and fled to the 
 neighbouring woods. In the meantime the conspirators divided 
 into two bodies, two hundred remaining in garrison, while the 
 other hundred proceeded in haste to the neighbouring towns 
 and villages, to collect as many Peguans as possible. The 
 Burmese, who had fled in the night ignorant of the enemy's 
 true numbers, having now discovered that only two hundred 
 men kept guard over the city, placed at their head the Man- 
 darin next in command to the governor, and returned to the 
 town ; of which being easily possessed, they put to the sword 
 the two hundred conspirators. Meanwhile a vast concourse of 
 Peguans, collected by those who had gone forth, approached in 
 small barks to the city, fearless and rejoicing, nothing doubting 
 but that it was still in the possession of their friends : but 
 scarcely had their boats reached the land than the Burmese, 
 assisted and directed by the Europeans, made of them with 
 their cannon a cruel slaughter. Great numbers were drowned, 
 and the rest fell beneath the spears and swords of their 
 enemies. 
 
 The expedition to Aracan took place in the following year, 
 1784. The army, which is said to have consisted of forty 
 thousand men, was under the command of the king's eldest son. 
 Part thereof was sent by land, and part by sea, but all arrived 
 nearly at the same time at Aracan ; and the city, being badly 
 provided with men and munition, and governed by a weak 
 effeminate prince, in an instant fell into the hands of the Bur- 
 mese. By some Aracanese prisoners, of whom many were 
 brought slaves into the empire, it was reported that the in- 
 habitants were grossly deceived by the Burmese : for they said
 
 BURMESE HISTORY 71 
 
 that upon the approach of the army, heralds were sent forth to 
 ask the cause of their coming ; whereunto answer was made 
 that they came to worship and honour with due solemnity the 
 great idol venerated in their city. This was a colossal statue 
 of bronze representing Godama, as the Aracanese and Burmese 
 have the same religion ; which statue, after the taking of the 
 city, the king brought to Amarapura and placed in a stately 
 and sumptuous Pagoda built for the purpose. 
 
 The glory acquired by the prince his son in this rapid con- 
 quest of Aracan, inspired Badonsachen with the desire of con- 
 sulting his own fame, by the subjection of the richer and more 
 powerful kingdom of Siam. Such was the pride with which 
 his good fortune, whether in overcoming the enemies of his 
 kingdom, or in discovering the numerous conspiracies which 
 had been formed against him, had filled his heart, that he 
 began to think himself the most powerful monarch in the 
 world, and to form vast plans of ambition. In a great assembly 
 of the Mandarins of his empire he declared it to be his inten- 
 tion, first to take and destroy the chief city of the Siamese, 
 then to turn his victorious arms against the Emperor of China, 
 and to make him his tributary ; thence he would bend his 
 course towards the west, possess himself of the British colonies, 
 attack the Great Mogul in his empire, 1 and, in fine, make him- 
 self undisputed master of the whole of the southern island, 
 Zabudiba [Jambudwipa]. But the folly of his pride was soon 
 made manifest to the ruin of all his mighty projects, in his 
 first expedition against Siam. He had set out towards this 
 country with an army amounting to 100,000 men, accom- 
 panied by all his sons and concubines. But he had no sooner 
 
 1 In chapter xx. Phayre mentions the entry of Burmese troops into British ter- 
 ritory in 1794 and 1797, and the despatch of several missions between 1807 and 
 1813 to the native courts of India, on the pretext of procuring religious books, 
 but with the aim of intriguing against the British Government. They visited 
 Lakhnow, Delhi, Bhartpur, the Punjab, and probably Cashmir, and even Poona. 
 ' The direct object of these secret negotiations did not appear until later. The 
 conquest of Arakan had brought Burmese officers into more immediate contact 
 with India than at any previous period, and the ambitious king was inspired with 
 the desire of acquiring the districts of Eastern Bengal, at least as far as Dacca, 
 which had once belonged to Arakan. Even a claim to Murshedabad was some 
 years afterwards openly made.'
 
 reached the confines, than he was struck with a sudden panic, 
 upon a rumour being spread that the king of Siam was ad- 
 vancing with a large body of troops to oppose him. It' was 
 the general opinion of his officers, that through the superiority 
 of his forces, he might easily have overwhelmed his enemies ; 
 but he refused all advice, and betook himself to a shameful 
 flight, leaving his elephants, arms, and military stores a prey to 
 the Siamese. Such was his apprehension that he did not think 
 himself safe till he found himself in the vicinity of Rangoon ; 
 yet such at the same time was the insanity of his pride, that 
 he caused himself to be proclaimed, in all the places through 
 which he passed, as the conqueror of the empire of Siam. This 
 disgraceful retreat put an end to all his fine projects against 
 the Emperor of China and the Great Mogul, for the Siamese 
 gave him sufficient employment nearer home, and it was with 
 difficulty he could defend his kingdom against their attacks. 
 In these they were assisted by many of the Zaboa or petty 
 princes of the Sciam [Shans], subject to theBurmese, who, wearied 
 by the oppressions and exactions of the Burmese Mandarins 
 and generals, had revolted and made common cause with the 
 enemies of their cruel masters. The Zaboa of Zemme [Zimme] 
 seems to have been the most considerable amongst them. 
 The war which the Burmese had to sustain with these enemies 
 was long and disastrous. During a period of nine or ten years, 
 did Badonsachen annually send out his armies against them. 
 But the united forces of the rebels and Siamese defied all his 
 efforts, though supported by numerous troops, and directed by 
 his bravest generals ; he was always beaten back, and, instead of 
 overcoming the Sciam, only lost day by day the territories they 
 inhabited, and saw their princes range themselves, one after 
 another, under the protection of the king of Siam. Indeed 
 nothing but the peaceful disposition of the last-mentioned 
 monarch has saved the Burmese empire from total subjection, 
 as few can doubt, that had he, in conj unction with the revolted 
 Sciam, made a general attack upon Badonsachen, he would 
 have forced him to yield up his crown, or become a tributary 
 to Siam.
 
 CONSTITUTION OF THE BURMESE 
 EMPIRE 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 OF THE EMPEROR, AND OF HIS WHITE ELEPHANTS 
 
 1. I SUPPOSE that there is not in the whole world a monarch 
 so despotic as the Burmese Emperor. He is considered by 
 himself and others absolute lord of the lives, properties, and 
 personal services of his subjects; he exalts and depresses, 
 confers and takes away honour and rank ; and, without any 
 process of law, can put to death not only criminals guilty of 
 capital offences, but any individual who happens to incur his 
 displeasure. It is here a perilous thing for a person to become 
 distinguished for wealth and possessions ; for the day may 
 easily come when he will be charged with some supposed 
 crime, and so put to death, in order that his property may be 
 confiscated. Every subject is the Emperor's born slave ; and 
 when he calls any one his slave he thinks thereby to do him 
 honour. To express their sense of this subjection, all who 
 approach him are obliged to prostrate themselves before him, 
 holding their hands joined above their heads. Hence, also, he 
 considers himself entitled to employ his subjects in any work 
 or service, without salary or pay, and if he makes them any 
 recompense, it is done, not from a sense of justice, but as an 
 act of bounty. Their goods likewise, and even their persons, 
 are reputed his property, and on this ground it is that he 
 selects for his concubine any female that may chance to please 
 his eye. It is, however, sanctioned by Custom that no married 
 woman can be seized for the king, as there has never been an 
 instance of it ; and, indeed, so sacred is this usage, that a son
 
 74 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 of the present Emperor, having violated a married woman, was 
 apprehended, and condemned to death by his father, and only 
 escaped through the prayers of the queen his mother and of 
 the crown-prince. The Burmese make use of this privilege to 
 save their daughters from the hands of the king's ministers, by 
 engaging them, while young, in real or fictitious marriages. 
 The possessions of all who die without heirs belong to the 
 king, as do those of foreigners who have not married in the 
 country ; for they are not allowed to dispose of them, not 
 even in favour of their illegitimate children. In case of ship- 
 wreck upon any of the coasts of the empire, the effects and 
 persons saved are the property of the king, who regards them 
 as a present sent to him by the ocean. The exaction of the 
 two last-mentioned rights has, however, been enforced with a 
 less rigour of late, in consequence of the urgent representations 
 made by the foreigners resident at Rangoon. To the king it 
 belongs to declare war or to conclude peace ; and he may in 
 any moment call upon the whole population of his empire to 
 enlist themselves in his army, and can impose upon them at 
 pleasure any labour or service. 
 
 2. Although despotism in its worst form constitute, as it 
 were, the very essence of the Burmese monarchy, so that to be 
 called its king is equivalent to being called a tyrant ; still has 
 Badonsachen, the despot who for the last twenty-seven years 
 has governed this kingdom, so far outstripped his predecessors 
 in barbarity and pride, that whoso but hears it must shudder 
 with horror. His very countenance is the index of a mind 
 ferocious and inhuman in the highest degree, and what has 
 above been related of him, as well as some more facts to be 
 brought forward, will show that it does not deceive. Immense 
 is the number of those whom he has sacrificed to his ambition 
 upon the most trivial offences ; and it would not be an exag- 
 geration to assert that, during his reign, more victims have 
 fallen by the hand of the executioner than by the sword of the 
 common enemy. To this atrocious cruelty he has united a 
 pride at once intolerable and impious. The good fortune which 
 has attended him in discovering and defeating the numerous 
 conspiracies which have been formed against him, has inspired 
 him with the idea that he is something more than mortal, and
 
 CONSTITUTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 75 
 
 that this privilege has been granted him on account of his 
 numerous good works. Hence has he for some years laid aside 
 the title of king and assumed that of Pondoghi, which signifies 
 great and exalted virtue ; nor was he content with this, for 
 but a few years since he thought to make himself a God. 
 With this view, and in imitation of Godama, who, before 
 being advanced to the rank of a divinity, had abandoned the 
 royal palace, together with all his wives and concubines, and 
 had retired into solitude, Badonsachen withdrew himself from 
 the palace to Menton, where for many years he had been 
 employed in constructing a Pagoda, the largest in the empire. 
 Here he held various conferences with the most considerable 
 and learned Talapoins, in which he endeavoured to persuade 
 them that the 5000 years assigned for the observance of the 
 law of Godama were elapsed, and that he himself was the God 
 who was to appear after that period, and to abolish the ancient 
 law in substituting his own. But to his great mortification 
 many of the Talapoins undertook to demonstrate the contrary ; 
 and this, combined with his love of power and his impatience 
 under the denial of the luxuries of the seraglio, quickly dis- 
 abused him of his Godhead, and drove him back to his palace. 
 As a specimen of the veneration which this king exacts from 
 his subjects, I shall here subjoin the form of address which, on 
 occasion of an embassy from the British Governor-General of 
 India, was presented to the ambassador, to be by him pro- 
 nounced before the Burmese Emperor. 'Placing above our 
 heads the golden majesty of the mighty lord, the possessor of 
 the mines of rubies, amber, gold, silver, and all kinds of metals ; 
 of the lord under whose command are innumerable soldiers, 
 generals, and captains; of the lord who is king of many 
 countries and provinces, and emperor over many rulers and 
 princes, who wait round his throne with the badges of his 
 authority ; of the lord who is adorned with the greatest 
 power, wisdom, knowledge, prudence, foresight, etc. ; of the 
 lord who is rich in the possession of elephants, and horses, and 
 in particular is the lord of many white elephants ; of the lord 
 who is the greatest of kings, the qjpst just and the most 
 religious, the master of life and death ; we his slaves, the 
 Governor of Bengal, the officers and administrators of the
 
 76 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 Company, bowing and lowering our heads under the sole of 
 his royal golden foot, do present to him, with the greatest 
 veneration, this our humble petition."* 
 
 3. Nothing was now wanting to the pride of the Burmese 
 monarch but the possession of a white elephant ; and in this 
 he was gratified in the year 1805, by the taking of a female 
 one in the forests of Pegu. This anxiety to be master of a 
 white elephant arises from the idea of the Burmese, which 
 attaches to these animals some supernatural excellence, which 
 is communicated to their possessors. 1 Hence do the kings or 
 princes, who may have one, esteem themselves most happy, as 
 thus they are made powerful and invincible ; and the country 
 where one may be found is thought rich and not liable to 
 change. The Burmese kings have therefore been ever solicit- 
 ous for the possession of one of these animals, and consider it 
 as their chiefest honour to be called lords of the white elephant. 
 To excite their subjects to seek for them, they have also 
 decreed to raise to the rank of Mandarin anybody who may 
 have the good fortune to take one, besides exempting him 
 from all taxes or other burthens. Not only white elephants, 
 but also those of a red colour, spotted ones, and such as are 
 perfectly black, are greatly prized, though not equally with 
 the former; and hence have the Burmese kings assumed in 
 their proclamations the title of lords of the red and spotted 
 elephants, etc. 
 
 To convey an idea of the superstitious veneration with which 
 the white elephant is regarded, I shall here give an account of 
 the one taken whilst I resided in the country, and of the 
 manner in which it was conducted to the imperial city. Imme- 
 
 1 The notion is derived from the Hindu mythology, which treats the elephant 
 as one of the signs of the Chakravarti, the great wheel-turning king or universal 
 monarch. The dream of Queen Maya, the mother of Gaudama Buddha, about 
 his entering her womb as a white elephant, thus invests with supreme sovereignty 
 the supreme intelligence. 
 
 Senart and Kern trace these legends to the worship of the Sun, Vishnu, and 
 Mahadev. The sun, representing regularity, next becomes the Dharma-raja, 
 who utters religious law. Yule, p. 135, with his usual learning, quotes ^Elian and 
 Ibn Batuta about white elephants. Their stately caparisons are described by all 
 the old travellers and by our envoys. Caesar Fredericke, as well as the native 
 traders, had to pay a tax for the privilege of seeing them
 
 CONSTITUTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 77 
 
 diately upon its being captured it was bound with cords 
 covered with scarlet, and the most considerable of the Man- 
 darins were deputed to attend it. A house, such as is occupied 
 by the greatest ministers and generals, was built for its recep- 
 tion ; and numerous servants were appointed to watch over its 
 cleanliness, to carry to it every day the freshest herbs, which 
 had first been washed with water, and to provide it with 
 everything else that could contribute to its comfort. As the 
 place where it was taken was infested by mosquitos, a beautiful 
 net of silk was made to protect it from them ; and to preserve 
 it from all harm, Mandarins and guards watched by it both 
 day and night. No sooner was the news spread abroad that a 
 white elephant had been taken than immense multitudes of 
 every age, sex, and condition flocked to behold it, not only 
 from the neighbouring parts, but even from the most remote 
 provinces. And not content thus to show their respect, they 
 also knelt down before it, with their hands joined over their 
 heads, and adored it as they would a god, and this not once or 
 twice, but again and again. Then they offered to it rice, fruit, 
 and flowers, together with butter, sugar, and even money, and 
 esteemed themselves most happy in having seen this sacred 
 animal. 
 
 At length the king gave orders for its transportation to 
 Amarapura, and immediately two boats of teak-wood were 
 fastened together, and upon them was erected a superb 
 pavilion, with a roof similar to that which covers the royal 
 palaces. It was made perfectly impervious to the sun or rain, 
 and draperies of silk embroidered in gold adorned it on every 
 side. This splendid pavilion was towed up the river by three 
 large and beautifully gilded vessels full of rowers, and was 
 surrounded by innumerable other boats, some filled with every 
 kind of provision, others carrying Mandarins, bands of music, 
 or troops of dancing girls, and the whole was guarded by a 
 troop of 500 soldiers. The towns and villages along the river, 
 where the train reposed, were obliged to furnish fresh herbs 
 and fruits for the animal, besides all sorts of provisions for the 
 whole company. At each pause too it was met by crowds 
 from every quarter, who flocked to a^pre the animal and offer 
 it their presents. The king and the royal family frequently
 
 78 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 sent messengers to bring tidings of its health, and make it rich 
 presents in their name. Three days before its arrival, Badon- 
 sachen himself with all his court went out to meet it. The 
 king was the first to pay it his respects, and to adore it, 
 presenting at the same time a large vase of gold, and after 
 him all the princes of the blood, and all the Mandarins paid 
 their homage, and offered their gifts. 
 
 To honour its arrival in the city, a most splendid festival 
 was ordered, which continued for three days, and was celebrated 
 with music, dancing, and fireworks. A most magnificent house 
 was assigned to the elephant for its residence, adorned after 
 the manner of the royal palace ; a guard of 100 soldiers was 
 given to it, together with 400 or 500 servants, whose duty 
 it was always to wait upon it, to bring its food, and to wash it 
 every day with odoriferous sandal water. It was also distin- 
 guished with a most honourable title, such as is usually given 
 to the princes of the royal family ; and for its maintenance 
 were assigned several cities and villages, which were obliged to 
 furnish everything necessary for it. All the vessels and utensils 
 employed in its service were of pure gold ; and it had besides 
 two large gilt umbrellas, such as the king and his sons are 
 alone permitted to make, use of. It was lulled to sleep by the 
 sound of musical instruments and the songs of dancing girls. 
 Whenever it went out it was accompanied by a long train of 
 Mandarins, soldiers, and servants carrying gilt umbrellas, in the 
 same manner as when attending the person of the king ; and 
 the streets through which it was to pass were all cleaned and 
 sprinkled with water. The most costly presents continued 
 daily to be brought to it by all the Mandarins of the kingdom, 
 and one is said to have offered a vase of gold weighing 480 
 ounces. But it is well known that these presents, and the 
 eagerness shown in bestowing them, were owing more to the 
 avaricious policy of the king than to the veneration of his 
 subjects towards the elephant, for all these golden utensils and 
 ornaments found their way at last into the royal treasury. 
 
 The possession of a white elephant filled Badonsachen with 
 the most immoderate joy. He seemed to think himself in 
 some manner partaker of the divine nature through this animal, 
 and could not imagine himself anything less than one of the
 
 CONSTITUTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 79 
 
 great emperors of the Nat. Besides that he now expected to 
 conquer all his enemies, he confidently supposed that he would 
 enjoy at least 120 years more of life. As a symbol of this 
 number the members of the royal family were making ready 
 120 glass lamps and other things to the same number, which, 
 according to the advice of the Brahmins, were to be presented 
 to the great Pagoda, when the elephant disclaimed all preten- 
 sions to divinity by a sudden death, caused by the immense 
 quantity of fruit and sweetmeats which it had eaten from the 
 hands of its adorers. It is impossible to describe the conster- 
 nation of Badonsachen at this disaster ; for as the possession of 
 a white elephant is esteemed a pledge of certain good fortune 
 to a king, so is its death a most inauspicious omen. So that 
 he, who but lately was elated by the most presumptuous pride, 
 was now overcome by the most abject fear, expecting every 
 moment to be dethroned by his enemies, and imagining that 
 there remained to him but a few days of life. 
 
 4. At the death of the elephant, as at that of an emperor, 
 it is publicly forbidden, under heavy penalties, to assert that 
 he t is dead; it must only be said that he is departed, or has 
 disappeared. As the one of which we have spoken was a 
 female, its funeral was conducted in a form practised on the 
 demise of a principal queen. The body was accordingly placed" 
 upon a funeral pile of sassafras, sandal, and other aromatic 
 woods, then covered over with similar materials, and the pyre 
 was set on fire with the aid of four immense gilt bellows placed 
 at its angles. After three days, the principal Mandarins came 
 to gather the ashes and remnants of the bones, which they 
 enshrined in a gilt and well-closed urn, and buried in the 
 royal cemetery. Over the tomb was subsequently raised a 
 superb mausoleum of a pyramidal shape, built of brick, but 
 richly painted and gilt. Had the elephant been a male, it 
 would have been interred with the ceremonial used for the 
 sovereign. 
 
 The consternation of Badonsachen on the loss of his elephant 
 was not of long duration, for, a few months later, some white 
 elephants were discovered in the forests of Pegu. Instantly, 
 the most urgent orders were issued to give them chase ; and 
 after several unsuccessful efforts one was at length captured.
 
 80 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 It was to arrive at Rangoon on the 1st of October 1806, the 
 very day on which I sailed from that port for Europe ; and it 
 was generally supposed that, being a male, it would receive 
 greater honours than its female predecessor. 1 
 
 1 ' Bodoahpra probably considered that the greatest glory of his reign was 
 the possession of a perfect white male elephant. This animal, caught in the 
 forests of Pegu, was received at court with honours due to an object of worship. 
 He lived in captivity for more than fifty years. ' Phayre, p. 230. He was seen 
 and described by Crawfurd and Yule.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 OFFICERS OF STATE AND OF THE HOUSEHOLD, TRIBUNALS, AND 
 ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE 
 
 5. THE absolute authority of the Emperor is exercised 
 through various inferior magistrates and tribunals, having no 
 power to counsel or direct, but considered as the blind execu- 
 tors of his commands. 
 
 The first and most respectable of the tribunals is that called 
 the Lutto, 1 composed of four presidents called Vunghi [Wungyi], 
 who are chosen by the sovereign from the oldest and most ex- 
 perienced Mandarins, of four assistants, and a great chancery. 
 Its sittings are held in a spacious hall or portico situated 
 within the precincts of the palace itself. All orders or favours 
 emanating from the Emperor, and even all capital sentences 
 must pass through this tribunal, not because it has power to 
 modify them, but in order to be registered and speedily put in 
 execution. Its grants and commands are written upon palm 
 leaves, in a most concise style ; and indeed, the more concise 
 this is, the more forcible and efficacious the sentence is con- 
 sidered. These leaves are cut at the ends, so as to bear the 
 figure of a sabre, probably to symbolise the respect and dread 
 with which the sentence of this tribunal should be received. 
 
 6. Next to the four Vunghrof the Lutto are the Attovun 
 
 The Hlut-daw (spelt otherwise Lotoo, Lwat-dhau, Hlwot-dau), the high 
 court and council of the Burmese monarchy, has been described by our different 
 envoys, Symes, pp. 308, 385 ; Crawfurd, p. 401 ; Yule, p. 243. 
 
 Caesar Fredericke, who was at Pegu about 1570, relates how Bureng Naung 
 sitteth every day in person to hear the suits of his subjects, up aloft in a great 
 hall, on a tribunal seat, with his barons round about.' Purchas 1 Pilgrims, 
 ed. 1625, Book x. 1716. Ralph Fitch describes Nanda Bureng, king of Pegu 
 in 1586, as sitting as judge twice a day. Ibid, ft 1738. The Hlut-dau was 
 retained under English supervision for some time after the taking of Mandalay. 
 
 F
 
 82 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 [Atwinwun] or grandees of the interior,* who are also four 
 in number. They have the superintendence of the royal 
 palace, and are the privy counsellors of the Emperor ; and 
 though inferior to the Vunghi in authority, yet by their 
 vicinity to his person they frequently procure advancement to 
 places of great dignity and influence. After them in rank 
 come the four general Prefects of the four parts of the empire, 
 the northern, southern, eastern, and western. The Governor 
 of Amarapura corresponds, in some respect, to a prefect of 
 police. His duty it is to maintain the peace of the city in 
 times of drought, and still more to have all fires extinguished 
 during the prevalence of high winds, as conflagrations are 
 extremely common in the cities of this empire, in consequence 
 of the houses being built of wood or bamboo. 1 He takes cog- 
 nisance of thefts, quarrels, and other delinquencies, not only 
 in the city, but also in its neighbourhood, and makes report 
 thereof to the Emperor, who either pronounces sentence himself, 
 or refers the matter to the Lutto, to be judged and punished 
 according to custom. It would be useless to attempt an 
 enumeration of all the offices and situations which confer upon 
 their holders the title of Vun, President, or Men [Meng, Min], 
 that is, Mandarin. There is a Treasurer, a keeper of the 
 forests, another of the ordnance, a third of the concubines, etc. 
 All who are attached to the personal service of the sovereign, 
 his water-carrier, the bearer of his betel-box, his umbrella, and 
 sword, down to his very cook, have the title of Men or 
 Mandarin. 
 
 7. Besides these Mandarins and Vun who act as great 
 officers of State and of the household, all the sons and wives 
 of the Emperor have their particular courts. Among the 
 innumerable wives and concubines whom he keeps, four are 
 raised to the rank of queen, taking their titles from the four 
 cardinal points, according to the quarter of the palace which 
 they occupy. As these four consorts and their children, 
 particularly the eldest son, are most in favour with the 
 sovereign, and receive the greatest share of distinctions and 
 
 * Grandi di dentro. 
 
 1 See Appendix, No. 2, about the punishment of a Minister for being absent 
 when a fire was going on.
 
 CONSTITUTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 83 
 
 attentions, they affect to copy, in their respective apartments, 
 the form of the royal court in the great palace. They have 
 their steward of the household, their counsellors and other 
 attendant Mandarins. As the reigning monarch has had 
 more than a hundred children by his numerous wives and 
 concubines, they have swallowed up all the riches of the land ; 
 the cities, villages, and lakes have been almost all given them 
 for their maintenance ; and the best situations, as of Vunghi 
 of the Lutto, have been distributed among them. 
 
 8. Every great city in the Empire has a tribunal called 
 Ion [Yon], and by the Portuguese of India, Rondai. This is 
 composed of the Governor, a Commissioner of the customs, one 
 or two Auditors, and as many clerks or secretaries. Besides 
 this court, the city of Rangoon has a leun [Yewun], or 
 Inspector of the waters, who ranks next to the Governor, 
 a Zicche [Sitke], or military commander, and a Sciabandar, 
 who has the inspection of the shipping and the exaction of 
 port-dues. Merghi and Bassino [Bassein], 1 being likewise sea- 
 ports, have their Sciabandar. The Governors of cities are 
 invested by the sovereign with the right of the sword, as it is 
 called, or the right of inflicting capital punishment, which is 
 too often exercised not only against the guilty, but against 
 private enemies. Smaller cities and villages have a chief, who 
 in the former is styled Miodighi [Myothugyi], Grandee of the 
 city, and in the latter loadighi [Yuathugyi], Grandee of the 
 village. And as all these places are given by the Emperor to 
 his children or other Mandarins for their maintenance, these 
 feoffees or eaters, as they are called, have also a j udge there on 
 their own account. Under the present sovereign, as has been 
 already observed, almost all the cities and villages of the em- 
 pire are held in this manner by his sons, wives, or concubines. 
 
 9. With regard to the administration of justice, while all 
 capital offences are brought before the Governors of cities, in 
 civil causes the parties are at liberty to select their own judges. 
 For, though ancient usage, confirmed by repeated sovereign 
 orders, prescribe that all causes shall be heard by the Lutto in 
 the capital, and by the Ion or Rondai in provincial towns, yet 
 
 1 Older names of Bassein used by Europeans are Cosmin and Persaim.
 
 84 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 this is so far from being observed, that any Mandarin can 
 erect himself into a judge. Thus, when an individual is at 
 difference with another, or has claims upon him for a debt, or 
 for satisfaction of an injury, he goes to some Mandarin, whom 
 he believes likely to favour him, and procures from him a 
 summons against his adversary. It may be easily conceived to 
 what injustice and inconvenience this practice must necessarily 
 lead. 
 
 10. 1 The principal capital offences are rape, highway- 
 
 1 The following passages from Crawfurd's Journal, pp. 407, 409, written in 
 1827, confirm Sangermano's statements. 
 
 ' The Burman punishments are severe and cruel. The lowest in the scale is 
 imprisonment and fetters ; the number of the latter varying, according to 
 circumstances from one pair up to nine. Then follows mulcts, flogging, 
 mutilation, condemnation to the perpetual slavery of the temples, and various 
 forms of death, more or less cruel, according to circumstances. Decapitation is 
 one of the most frequent of these ; but embowelling is also not uncommon. I 
 shall give one or two authentic examples of these punishments. On the 26th 
 January 1817, four persons were executed at Rangoon for robbing temples. 
 Their abdomens were laid open ; huge gashes were cut in their sides and limbs, 
 laying bare the bones ; and one individual, whose crime was deemed of a more 
 aggravated nature than that of the rest, had a stake driven through his chest. 
 The gentleman who related this to me was present at the execution. Another 
 European gentleman, who had resided many years in Rangoon, informed me 
 that for the same offence of sacrilege, he saw seven persons put to death at once. 
 They were tied to stakes on the banks of the Irawadi at low water, and left to 
 be drowned by the returning tide, which did not do its work for four hours. 
 The Burmans commonly suffer death with the intrepidity or indifference of other 
 Asiatic people. One gentleman told me that he had seen a deserter eat a 
 banana with his bowels out, after the executioner had performed more than half 
 his task : and another, also an eye-witness, stated that a woman condemned for 
 murder to be thrown to a tiger, deliberately crept into the cage, made the savage 
 a shiko or obeisance, was killed by a single blow of the animal's forefoot, and 
 immediately dragged by him into the recess of his den.' These atrocities were 
 however mitigated by bribery, which procured remission or reduction of nearly 
 any sentence : and in cases of imprisonment or fetters, the executioner was 
 bribed. Except in very extraordinary cases, the poor alone were sacrificed. 
 The Judges took bribes from both sides, and passed decree in favour of the 
 highest bidder. Litigation was looked on as a calamity by the people. After 
 other instances, Crawfurd continues 'On the 7th February 1817, seven persons, 
 found guilty of sacrilege, were conveyed to the place of execution near Rangoon, 
 and secured in the usual way to the stake. The first of these, whom it was 
 intended to execute, was fired at four successive times, by a marksman, without 
 being hit. At every shot there was a loud peal of laughter from the spectators. 
 The malefactor was taken down, declared to be invulnerable, pardoned, and 
 moreover taken into a confidential employment by the Governor. It was after-
 
 CONSTITUTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 85 
 
 robbery, murder, and arson ; and under the present monarch, 
 to drink wine, smoke opium, or kill any large animal, as an ox 
 or buffalo. When one of these offences is committed in the 
 metropolis or its neighbourhood, it is the duty of the Governor 
 to seize the delinquent, try him, and then make report of his 
 case to the Emperor, who sentences him through the Lutto. 
 If the crime is committed in more distant parts, the Governors 
 of the cities or provinces where they happen take cognisance 
 of them, and pronounce judgment in the Emperor's name. 
 Capital punishment is often commuted, through interest or 
 bribery, for a term of imprisonment. Highway-robbery, 
 however, when accompanied with murder, is never forgiven. 
 Often the pain of death is changed into perpetual infamy ; 
 the criminal is then branded on the face, his offence is written 
 in indelible characters on his breast, and he is doomed to act 
 as a satellite or executioner. Indeed it is persons of this class 
 who generally do execution upon criminals, and each city is 
 provided with them for this purpose. Although the crime of 
 treason, and sometimes, in order to inspire terror, ordinary 
 crimes are punished in a cruel manner, as by crucifying or 
 burning alive, the ordinary means of putting to death is by 
 decapitation. If it be not the season of the great fast, a cause 
 is generally decided in a few days ; the culprit is then led from 
 the prison to the place where corpses are burnt, with his hands 
 tied behind his back ; he is placed upon his knees, his head is 
 bent forward, and instantly cut off by a single blow. Women 
 and the slaves of pagodas, who are considered infamous, are 
 executed by a blow inflicted with a mallet upon the nape ; and 
 this is done by a slave, and not by the public executioner. 
 After execution, the body is left three days exposed to public 
 view, and then buried or thrown into the river. 
 
 11. More cruel than death itself are the torments inflicted 
 upon persons suspected of criminal offences, in order to extort 
 from them a confession of their guilt ; for it is the custom not 
 
 wards ascertained that he had paid a large bribe. The second culprit was shot, 
 and at the same moment the remaining five decapitated.' Crime was not 
 repressed. ' The police is as bad as possible ST^nd it is notorious that, in all 
 times of which we can speak with certainty, the country has been overrun with 
 pirates and robbers.'
 
 86 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 to execute any one unless he acknowledge his crime. I have no 
 doubt but many, unable to bear the atrocity of these torments, 
 have, in spite of their innocence, pronounced themselves guilty. 
 These torments consist in tying the arms behind the back 
 with fine cords, till these penetrate deep into the flesh, and the 
 arms are made to touch ; in applying to different parts of the 
 body heated iron plates ; in striking the legs and breast with 
 iron hammers ; and in dipping the forefinger in melted lead or 
 tin. Forgers of royal mandates, and sometimes thieves, suffer 
 amputation of their right hand ; the wound is instantly 
 cauterised by immersing the stump into a vessel of boiling oil. 
 Adultery, petty larcenies, the transgression of orders issued by 
 the police, in a word, all minor delinquencies, are punished by 
 heavy fines, or by stretching the offender, for several hours on 
 his back, in the scorching rays of the sun, or what is most 
 common, by leading him bound through the city, and inflicting 
 at the corner of each street five or six blows of a cane, while 
 proclamation is made of the nature of his crime. 
 
 12. In civil causes, lawsuits are terminated much more 
 expeditiously than is generally the case in our part of the 
 world, provided always that the litigants are not rich ; for 
 then the affair is extremely long, and sometimes never con- 
 cluded at all. I was myself acquainted with two rich 
 European merchants and shipmasters, who ruined themselves 
 so completely by a lawsuit, that they became destitute of the 
 common necessaries of life, and the lawsuit withal was not 
 decided, nor ever will be. 
 
 Each of the parties provides himself with an advocate : and 
 in this country every one can be an advocate, provided he 
 know how to speak well and reason well, and has some slight 
 notion of the laws of the country. The parties go with their 
 advocates to plead their cause before the Mandarin, or his 
 Chon, a species of judge, generally acquainted with the laws, 
 and versed in the course of justice. Ordinarily, the cause is 
 decided in one day ; if both the parties agree to the sentence 
 pronounced by the Chon or Mandarin, a sort of coarse tea- 
 leaves is presented to them, of which they take a pinch and 
 chew it. Until this is done, the suit is not finished ; either 
 party may appeal, and proceed before another Mandarin. But
 
 CONSTITUTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 87 
 
 sometimes, the judge takes a summary means of enforcing his 
 award, by obliging the litigants to masticate his tea against 
 their will. 
 
 All causes and suits should be decided conformably to the 
 code entitled Dammasat ; l but gold too often prevails in 
 procuring a contrary sentence. In causes relative to injuries 
 in person or reputation, it is customary to call many witnesses 
 and examine them upon oath. All are not admitted to act in 
 this capacity, but only such as are qualified, by the regulations 
 of the Dammasat. The ordinary form of taking an oath is 
 by placing on the head a small book of palm-leaves, in which 
 are inscribed many solemn imprecations, which the party is 
 supposed to utter against himself, if he give false witness. 2 
 Strangers, however, are allowed to swear according to the 
 forms usual in their respective countries and religions. Thus 
 Christians are sent to take their oath in our churches upon 
 the Gospels ; and the Mohammedan Moors go to their 
 mosques, there to conform to their own rites. 
 
 13. The Book of imprecation, or, as it is called by the 
 Burmese, the Book of the oath, is as follows : 
 
 ' False witnesses, who assert anything from passion and not 
 from love of truth, witnesses who affirm that they have heard 
 or seen what they have neither seen nor heard ; may all such 
 false witnesses be severely punished with death, by that God, 
 who, through the duration of 400,100,000 worlds, has per- 
 
 1 In chapter 24, Sangermano gives a full abstract of one of these Dharma- 
 shasters or Codes. ' Their authority, however, is not appealed to in the Courts : 
 and if they are read, it is only through curiosity.' Crawfurd, p. 412. Captain 
 Cox, who was sent to Rangoon in 1796, laughs at the translation made the year 
 before of Sir William Jones' Institutes of Manu into Burmese, by an Armenian, 
 at the King's order ; seeing that in these Dhammathats they had the Hindu laws 
 of Manu already. Cox says, ' The Damasat is very little attended to, every prince 
 framing a new code when he comes to the throne, and every petty magistrate 
 innovating at will,' under the absolute monarch. Tracts on Ava, by Major 
 William Francklin. London, 1811. Account of Bur man Empire and Kingdom 
 of Assam. Calcutta, 1839. How every new Prince made a new Code is explained 
 by Forchhammer in \us,Jardine Prize Essay, p. 91. 
 
 2 The oath here described is substantially that which is taken by Buddhists in 
 the British Courts in Burmah. The concluding words are ' If I speak anything 
 that is not the truth may I suffer the curses described in this book. ' Those 
 curious in imprecations will find the form of another Burmese oath in Crawfurd, 
 p. 406, and appendix.
 
 88 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 formed every species of good work, and exercised every virtue, 
 alms-deeds, chastity, charity, kindness, diligence, patience, 
 justice, magnanimity, love, and moderation, the ten funda- 
 mental virtues, with the twenty that spring from them, 
 making in all, thirty virtues. I say may God, who, after 
 having acquired all knowledge and justice, obtained divinity, 
 leaning upon the tree of Godama, may this God with the Nat 
 who guard him day and night, that is, the Assura Nat and the 
 giants, slay these false witnesses. May the Nat who have in 
 keeping the seven parts of the writing of the all-knowing God, 
 and those who guard the divine deposit of his books and 
 writings, which amount to 84,000, slay these false witnesses. 
 May the Nat who keep the relics of the supreme God, the 
 conqueror of five enemies, consisting of his forty teeth whereof 
 four are grinders, of eight thousand of his hairs, of his cranium, 
 of his brow, of his cheek and breast bones, and of all his other 
 relics, slay these false witnesses. May the Nat, who guard the 
 84,000 pagodas all gilt, and ennobled by some divine relic, 
 slay these false witnesses. May the Nat who preside over the 
 period of 5000 years which the laws of Godama are to last, 
 and those who watch over the divine deposit of the statues and 
 figures of God, slay these false witnesses. May the dragons 
 and giants, the four greater Nat, guardians of the four great 
 islands, each whereof is surrounded by five hundred smaller 
 ones, and the Nat who guard the seven celebrated mountains, 
 the great forest, Heimmavunto [Himala-wana, the Himalaya], 
 and the great Mount Miemmo, slay these false witnesses. 
 May the Nat who watch and preside over the five great rivers 
 Genga [Ganges], etc., and the five hundred smaller ones, over 
 lakes, rivulets and torrents, slay these false witnesses. May 
 the Nat who guard the woods and trees of the earth, the Nat 
 of the clouds and of the winds, slay these false witnesses. May 
 the Nat of the sun and stars, and of all the blessed seats, 
 moreover may all the 80,400 giants kill and devour piecemeal 
 the flesh of these false witnesses. May all those who, in 
 consequence of bribery from either party, do not speak the 
 truth, incur the eight dangers and the ten punishments ; may 
 the ends of their fingers and toes be cut off, may all their 
 nerves be cut in sunder, may they suffer every sort of shameful
 
 CONSTITUTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 89 
 
 disease, leprosy, ringworm, etc. Moreover, may all these false 
 witnesses, those who do not speak the truth, be infected with 
 all putrid diseases and complaints which deform the body ; 
 may they become fools and idiots, may they undergo every 
 species of most grievous danger and illness ; may they send out 
 from their mouths smoke and fire like that of hell. May they 
 be tormented by all kinds of dirty and abominable complaints, 
 the itch, scurvy, leprosy, white and red spots ; may they suffer 
 dysury, ischury, strangury, gonorrhoea, aematury, diarrhoea, 
 dysentery, tenesmus, asthma, deafness, blindness, and all other 
 corporal miseries. 1 
 
 ' Moreover, may all sorts of elephants, male and female, kill 
 them in an instant. May they also be bitten and slain by 
 serpents, by the cerastes, the cobra-capello, etc. May the 
 devils and giants, tigers and other ferocious animals of the 
 forest, kill and devour them. Whoever asserts a falsehood, may 
 the earth open beneath his feet and swallow him; may he 
 perish by sudden death, may a thunderbolt from heaven slay 
 him, the thunderbolt which is one of the arms of the Nat Deva.' 
 
 'May all such as do not speak truth, die of inflammatory, 
 diseases, pains of the stomach, and bloody vomit. If they travel 
 by water, whether in ships or in boats, may they sink, or may 
 they be bitten and devoured by crocodiles. May their bodies 
 be broken in pieces, may they lose all their goods, may they 
 suffer putrid and ulcerous diseases, may they become lean, 
 emaciated, impotent, and consumptive ; may their bodies be 
 covered with pustules and buboes. May they incur the hatred 
 and chastisements of the king and Mandarins ; may they have 
 calumniating enemies ; may they ever be separated from their 
 forefathers, parents, children, and descendants, may they 
 become wretched; may fire burn their houses, and, although they 
 escape the ten punishments, may the king, the Mandarins and 
 every one else ill-treat them and raise lawsuits against them. 
 May they be killed with swords, lances, and every sort of 
 weapon ; and as soon as dead, may they be precipitated into 
 the eight great hells and 120 smaller ones, may they fall with 
 their feet upwards and their heads downwards, and may they be 
 tormented for an immense time with fire and flame ; and after 
 they shall have suffered in these hells 'e^ery species of torment,
 
 90 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 may they become anew Preitta-Assuriche, and then be changed 
 into animals, swine, dogs, etc. And finally, if again they shall 
 become men, may they be slaves of other men, a thousand and 
 ten thousand times. May all their undertakings, thoughts, and 
 desires ever remain as worthless as a heap of cotton burnt by 
 the fire/ 
 
 14. In weighty causes touching injury or dishonour received, 
 as for instance in a case of rape, if witnesses are not to be had, 
 the principal parties are obliged to undergo an ordeal by water. 1 
 Whether they be men or women, they are immersed in water, 
 and whoever comes out before the prescribed time is finished 
 and the signal given, loses his cause. All must see how foolish 
 and insufficient such a proof must be: whoever is the more 
 expert in remaining under water is sure of victory ; and it must 
 be observed too, that it is allowed to undergo the trial by 
 proxy. It is true that the presiding Mandarin or judge 
 endeavours to excite the fears of the parties, by assuring them 
 that the guilty will not be able to stay long overhead, without 
 some dreadful accident, as being devoured by alligators or 
 other aquatic monsters. But these terrible denunciations do 
 not always take effect, and the innocent must often suffer con- 
 demnation. To this ceremony it is usual to go with great 
 pomp and solemnity ; and the victorious party makes the 
 heavens ring with the news of his triumph, and returns home 
 surrounded by his friends and favourers, to the sound of martial 
 music. 
 
 There is another species of ordeal usual in criminal cases, 
 which consists in dipping the forefinger of the accused, covered 
 with a thin palm-leaf, into melted tin. If the finger and leaf 
 remain uninjured, he is pronounced innocent; otherwise he is 
 immediately condemned. 
 
 1 For an account of the ordeal by water as witnessed by a European, see 
 Symes, p. 467. For an ordeal by wax-candles, see the Journal of Captain Hiram 
 Cox, Edition of 1821, p. 14. Writing in 1882 about the territory then under the 
 King of Burma, Mr. Pilcher of the Bengal Civil Service states that ordeal was 
 a recognised mode of determining disputes ; and that oaths were not used in the 
 courts on ordinary occasions. The oath, he says, was taken with great solemnity, 
 as a sort of ordeal before the altar, the parties and their friends, going with a 
 band, in holiday attire, to the temple. Jardine's Notes on Buddhist Law, 
 Note 3.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 REVENUES AND TAXES 1 
 
 15. THE fixed revenues of the Burmese Emperor consist of 
 a duty of ten per cent, on all merchandise brought by foreigners 
 into Rangoon, or any others of the ports of Pegu ; of the pro- 
 duce of the mines of silver, amber, and rubies; of certain con- 
 tributions in rice, which several places are obliged to furnish 
 for the use of*the palace; and of the presents which on stated 
 days are made by the Mandarins to the Emperor. These 
 must not, however, be confounded with the presents, which .are 
 always necessary when any favour is asked for, as in this 
 country nothing is ever obtained without them. But though 
 the Burmese monarch has no fixed revenues besides these, still 
 his means are far from being limited to them alone. For, as he 
 considers the property of his subjects as in reality belong- 
 ing to himself, he therefore exacts from them anything he 
 pleases ; so that it may be said with truth, that the unfortunate 
 Burmese labour in acquiring riches, not for themselves or their 
 children, but merely to gratify the avarice of the Emperor ; as 
 their possessions almost invariably find their way, sooner or 
 later, into the royal treasury. The truth of this assertion will 
 be made manifest by a short account of the oppressions, exac- 
 tions, and injustices that the people are obliged to suffer at 
 the hands of the king and his ministers. 
 
 Thus, whenever it pleases the Emperor to construct either a 
 convent of Talapoins, a portico, a bridge, or a pagoda, the 
 inhabitants of the capital are taxed to supply the funds. But 
 the imposition is not limited by what is merely necessary, for 
 the avarice of the minister and of the subalterns employed in 
 the collection of the money must be satisfied ; whence it 
 ordinarily happens that twice or th$e times as much as is 
 
 1 For further details, see Yule, p. 252, and Crawfurd, chap. xv.
 
 92 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 requisite is exacted. By these means have all the buildings 
 that adorn Amarapura, the walls, the palace, the convents 
 of Talapoins, the pagodas, etc., been erected, during the 
 reign of the present Emperor Badonsachen. 1 Besides this, 
 several of the richest merchants in the city are obliged to 
 furnish the court with any extraordinary aid that may be 
 required. 
 
 16. The provincial governors do not fail, in their respective 
 cities, to follow the example of the Emperor in his capital. 
 And they are not content with burthening the people for the 
 public works they may think necessary for the defence or orna- 
 ment of their cities, but from the same source they draw funds 
 for their own palaces, pleasure-boats, etc. But it is in Rangoon, 
 perhaps, beyond every other city of the empu-e, that these 
 exactions are carried to the greatest height. For besides the 
 continual imposts for the repairs of the walls, etc., this city is 
 exposed to numerous other taxes from its situation. Thus, 
 should an ambassador arrive from a foreign court, the inhabi- 
 tants must furnish everything necessary for his maintenance 
 and that of his suite, and not only this, but must also defray 
 all his expenses on his journey up the river to the capital ; again, 
 whenever a white elephant is taken, to them it belongs to con- 
 duct it to Amarapura. The misery caused by these taxes is 
 also increased by the unequal method of their distribution ; for 
 it is not 'the possessions, but the number of persons in a family 
 that is taken into consideration. Hence it will often happen, 
 that a rich merchant and a poor artisan will have to furnish the 
 same sum ; and a fine house, built of wood, and containing, 
 besides the family of the master, a great number of slaves, will 
 be rated no higher than a miserable cabin of cane or bamboo, 
 thatched with straw, and frequently not worth the money 
 that is demanded. 
 
 17. The feudatories of the inferior cities, of whom we have 
 spoken above under the name of eaters, again play their parts 
 
 1 The first use made of his Doomsday book was to increase these extortions. 
 Phayre, p. 211. The amount levied appears to have been .600,000. Crawfurd, 
 p. 424. The privilege of entry into the Thootay or wealthy class, mentioned in 
 sec. 3 of the Wonnana Dhammathat, was used as a means of pillaging mer- 
 chants. Ibid. p. 397.
 
 as petty tyrants among the people under their jurisdiction. 
 Their offices give them a right to a tenth of all the produce of 
 the land, and they exact the half of the profits which the prin- 
 cipal of each village, or the judges appointed by them, may 
 derive from the decision of causes and lawsuits. This would 
 suffice for their maintenance, but they are far from being satis- 
 fied with it. For whenever it pleases them to build a new 
 house or repair their old one, or to erect a pagoda, or a convent 
 of Talapoins, they have recourse to the most grievous extor- 
 tions. And these evils have become almost insufferable during 
 
 D 
 
 the present reign ; for as almost all these petty governments 
 have been given to the wives, concubines, or children of the 
 Emperor, greater oppressions have been practised by these 
 members of the royal family than any simple Mandarin 
 would have dared to have recourse to. Another imposition is 
 likewise in use, in many of the towns lying along the course of 
 the river, by which all boats are obliged to pay before being 
 allowed to pass. Nor is this a trifling source of profit, con- 
 sidering that the want of roads obliges great numbers, whom 
 their commercial or other interests draw to the capital and 
 other great cities of the Empire, to make their journeys by 
 water. In order to levy these duties, small houses, or rather 
 open porticos, mostly of cane or bamboo, have been erected on 
 elevated spots all along the course of the river, where a number 
 of men watch day and night, that no vessel pass unobserved. 
 At these places all boats are obliged to stop, to receive the 
 visit of the inspectors, and pay the dues required. These con- 
 sist of a tax according to the size of the vessel, and a present, 
 which is regulated by the quantity and quality of the merchan- 
 dise it carries. These buildings are called cioche [chauki] ; and 
 are very numerous between Rangoon and Amarapura. One or 
 two belong to the Emperor, who employs them for the preven- 
 tion of the introduction of contraband goods, and of the emi- 
 gration of families from one place to another. The others 
 belong to the different feudatories whose cities are on the banks 
 of the river, and are said to amount at present to more than 
 twenty-five. Sometimes those exactions are so oppressive that 
 no one will venture to transport his 'goods to Amarapura, as 
 any profit he might hope for, from their sale in that city,
 
 94 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 would be beforehand entirely absorbed by the payments 
 at the cioche. Foreigners in particular are exposed to 
 the rapacity of the exactors, and unfortunate indeed is he 
 who is so imprudent as to embark his goods for Amarapura. 
 The visits of the inspectors resemble a robbery rather than a 
 collection of dues; for besides the usual tax, so much is 
 demanded under the name of presents, and so much is stolen, 
 that the owner, after having passed two or three cioche, will 
 generally be glad to hasten back to Rangoon, rather than try 
 the mercy of future plunderers. This in fact did happen a 
 short time since to some foreign merchants. 
 
 18. But the extortions and oppressions, of which I have just 
 spoken, are nothing in comparison to those practised by the 
 Mandarins in the provincial cities, and above all in Rangoon. 
 For this city, being situated at a great distance from the court, 
 is more exposed to their rapacity ; and being the principal sea- 
 port of the kingdom, where numbers of foreigners flock with 
 their merchandise, the inhabitants have more opportunities of 
 gain, and thus furnish a richer harvest for the avarice of their 
 rulers. The Emperor gives no salary to the Mandarins ; 
 indeed before any one can obtain the dignity, he must spend 
 large sums in presents ; and in order to maintain himself in it, 
 still larger ones are necessary, not only to the Emperor, but 
 also to his queens and to all the principal personages about the 
 court. To this must be added the expenses of these grandees 
 in their houses, dress, and equipages, which must be proportion- 
 able to their dignity ; and when we consider that the money for 
 all this must be furnished by the people under their care, it will 
 easily be imagined, what dreadful oppression is put in practice 
 to draw it from them. 
 
 For this purpose, the Mandarins are always contriving means 
 to elude the royal edicts, by which it is provided that all causes 
 shall be tried in the Ion, or public portico, where the Man- 
 darins are obliged to assemble every day excepting festivals. 
 They seek to draw all causes to themselves and to decide them 
 in their own houses, where there is no danger of their iniquitous 
 proceedings being observed by the spies of the Government. In 
 every lawsuit that is brought before them, they exact ten per 
 cent, from both parties, besides the fees to the judge, to the
 
 CONSTITUTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 95 
 
 scribe, and to the person who offers them the Lappech or tea. 
 Should the litigants be rich, they will generally content them- 
 selves with requiring great presents, and leave the cause un- 
 decided. Thus if a creditor calls his debtor before a Mandarin 
 and by his judgment recovers his debt, he must pay ten per 
 cent, for the favour. But generally, cases of debt finish in a 
 very different manner. The Mandarin will call the debtor 
 before him, exact from him the ten per cent, and dismiss him. 
 Before long, however, he will procure a second citation, when 
 the same scene is reacted ; and so a third and a fourth time, 
 till the debtor has paid even more than the sum originally in 
 litigation. Great numbers of spies and informers are also contin- 
 ually going about, searching out crimes and misdemeanours, 
 often of the most trifling description, to report to their 
 employers ; who do not fail to draw from the offenders a sum 
 of money as a reparation. And not only do they act the part 
 of informers, but they are also employed to incite the people to 
 lawsuits, and persuade them to have recourse to their respective 
 masters. 
 
 Nor is it sufficient to avoid greater offences to escape the 
 avidity of the Mandarins ; for an injurious word is enough to 
 bring a man before them, and he can never escape but by the 
 payment of a considerable fine. A few instances may serve to 
 make more evident the excessive injustice which prevailed in 
 Rangoon but a few years ago. Thieves had increased to such 
 an extent that a night never went by without some robbery 
 being committed. To remedy this, it was ordained that the 
 master of every house should keep guard, to seize any thief who 
 attempted a robbery, and deliver him up to justice. At this 
 time it happened that a poor widow, having contracted a debt 
 of about fifty crowns to pay the taxes, was obliged to sell her 
 only daughter who had just attained the age of puberty, to 
 satisfy her creditor. She put the money in a box in her house, 
 intending the next morning to carry it to the creditor ; but 
 the same night some thieves entered her house, and carried off 
 the fifty crowns, together with everything else they found in 
 her box. The trouble of the poor woinan may easily be con- 
 ceived, upon finding in the morning that^ besides the loss of her 
 only daughter, she had now to grieve for that of her money.
 
 96 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 She sat herself down before her door, and there gave full scope 
 to her grief. Whilst this was going on, an emissary of one of 
 the Mandarins passed by, and inquiring the cause of her tears 
 was informed of the robbery. He hastened to his master to 
 inform him of the circumstance ; the poor woman was cited 
 before him, and commanded to deliver up the thief; she was of 
 course unable, but could only free herself from the demand by 
 a considerable present. On another occasion as a woman was 
 employed in cooking, a cat stole a half-roasted fish. The 
 woman followed it, crying out, 'The cat has stolen my fish. 1 " 
 But what was her surprise, when a few days after she was called 
 before a Mandarin, and commanded to produce the thief who 
 had robbed her ? It was to no purpose that she declared that 
 the cat was the delinquent ; she could not obtain her release 
 but by the payment of a sum of money. Warned by these 
 examples, the inhabitants of Rangoon are careful not to say 
 anything of the thefts committed upon them, choosing rather 
 to bear their loss in silence than run the risk of falling into the 
 hands of a rapacious Mandarin. 
 
 19. By these means the greater part of the Mandarins 
 acquire immense riches ; but more it would seem for the 
 Emperor than for themselves. For sooner or later the news of 
 their conduct reaches the court, they are stripped of their 
 dignity, and sometimes, if their crimes be great, are put to 
 death, and their property is confiscated for the use of the 
 Emperor. Generally, however, they save themselves at the 
 expense of their riches, which are entirely consumed in pre- 
 sents to the wives, sons, and chief ministers of the Emperor ; 
 and then they are frequently sent back to the same govern- 
 ments where they had practised their extortions, to heap up 
 new treasures for new confiscations. Hence it may justly be 
 inferred, that the rapacity of the Emperor is not less than that 
 of his Mandarins ; and that he does not care for the spolia- 
 tion of his subjects, but rather encourages it, that he may thus 
 always have means in his power to replenish his treasury.
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 ARMY AND MILITARY DISCIPLINE 1 
 
 20. THE soldiery in the Burmese Empire is on a very dif- 
 ferent footing from ours : it does not consist of regiments of 
 soldiers with various ensigns, who live separately from other 
 members of society in barracks, castles and fortresses, without 
 wives and children, and exercise no other trade but that of 
 handling arms, and going through warlike exercises. Those 
 who in this country perform military service are the whole 
 Burmese nation, who in quality of slaves of the Emperor, 
 and whenever he commands them, are obliged to take arms. 
 But though all are bound to military service, yet all are not 
 received and enrolled indistinctly and in the same manner. 
 The population of this kingdom, which amounts to nearly two 
 millions of souls, may be considered as divided into so many 
 small corps, each of which has its own head who is called 
 Sesaucchi, and corresponds to our sergeant. Some are employed 
 in the service of fire-arms, some are armed with lances and 
 sabres, some use the bow, and there are some corps of cavalry, 
 who, mounted on horseback, fight with lances and sabres ; one 
 corps alone, which is composed of Christians of the capital, is 
 addressed to the management of cannon. In the time of 
 Anaundopra and Zempiuscien, the corps of Christian engineers, 
 which then amounted to about two thousand, including their 
 
 1 As to the Burmese army and war-boats, see Symes, ch. xiv. ; Crawfurd 
 p. 413, and Yule p. 246. The Eurman peasantry, according to all accounts, hated 
 being called on for military service. Crawfurd writes, ' Europeans of respecta- 
 bility, who were present at Rangoon when expeditions were sent against the 
 island of Junk Ceylon, and other portions of the Siamese coast, informed me that 
 they had repeatedly seen the unwilling conscripts ^mbarked in hundreds for that 
 service, tied hands and legs, with as little ceremony as if theyhad been so many 
 cattle.'
 
 98 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 wives and children, was in great honour ; they were descendants 
 of those foreigners, chiefly Portuguese, whom the Burmese had 
 transported as slaves from Siriam more than a century before. 1 
 As muskets and persons who knew Jiow to use them were then 
 rare, a greater importance was attached to them than in our 
 own times ; when this sort of arms, imported in great quantities 
 by the English and French ships, has become common. In the 
 great cities there are still these corps of soldiers, but the greater 
 part of their population are not enlisted, particularly the in- 
 habitants of Amarapura and Rangoon, where the corporation of 
 merchants, especially if they be foreigners or sons of foreigners, 
 are exempted from military service. In compensation, how- 
 ever, for this, they are more heavily taxed for the support of 
 the expenses of war. Each of these different corps has a Man- 
 darin in the capital for protector. 
 
 21. When the Emperor orders any military expedition, 
 either into hostile countries, or against rebels, he fixes at the 
 same time the number of soldiers who are to march, and nomi- 
 nates immediately the general who is to command them. The 
 Lutto in the capital, and the Ion or Rondai of the provincial 
 cities then exact from the heads of the different places under 
 jurisdiction, not only the number of men ordered by the 
 Emperor, but also a certain quantity more. Those who are 
 not fit for war, or who possess great riches, instead of personal 
 service, furnish a certain contribution, of which the ordinary 
 rate is a hundred dollars ; and this money, received from the 
 surplus of the men required, serves to pay the expenses of the 
 war, and provide the soldiers with necessaries. For the Emperor 
 does not furnish anything but the arms, which must be well 
 taken care of, and woe to the soldier who loses them. This 
 money also serves to glut the greedy avarice of the Mandarins, 
 many of whom, to enrich themselves, long for war as the farmer 
 does for rain. The generals also, and the other inferior officers, 
 are wont to appropriate a good part of the money which has 
 been collected for the expenses of the expedition, besides which 
 
 1 In 1613, after the Burmese King Maha Dhamma Raja had taken Syriam 
 from Philip de Brito. In 1554 Bureng Nyaung at the capture of Ava had a body- 
 guard of 400 Portugese, dressed in uniform and armed with arquebuses. 
 Phayre p. 107.
 
 CONSTITUTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 99 
 
 they often dismiss many of the soldiers who have enlisted, 
 requiring money instead, and then say that they are ill or dead. 
 This, however, is sometimes the cause of their own death, which 
 is sure to ensue if the Emperor be informed of these extortions. 
 All from the age of seventeen or eighteen to that of sixty are 
 admitted to the ranks, but those are always preferred who have 
 wives and children to serve as sureties and hostages, and be 
 responsible for the desertion or rebellion of their fathers or 
 husbands. 
 
 22. As soon as the order for marching arrives, the soldiers, 
 leaving their sowing and reaping, and whatever occupation 
 they may be engaged in, assemble instantly in different corps, 
 and prepare themselves ; and throwing their weapon over their 
 shoulders like a lever, they hang from one end of it a mat, a 
 blanket to cover them at night, a provision of powder, and a 
 little vessel for cooking, and from the other end a provision of 
 rice, of salt, and of nape, a species of half-putrid half-dried fish, 
 pickled with salt. In this guise they travel to their place of 
 destination without transport- waggons, without tents, in their 
 ordinary dress, merely carrying on their heads a piece of red 
 cloth, the only distinctive badge of a Burmese soldier. About 
 nine o'clock in the morning they begin to march, after having 
 taken a short sleep, and cooked and eaten their rice, and Care, 
 a sort of stew eaten with the rice, of which that kind which is 
 used by soldiers and travellers is generally made of herbs or 
 leaves of trees, cooked in plain water with a little nape. At 
 night they bivouac on the bare ground, without any protection 
 from the night air, the dew, or even the rain ; merely construct- 
 ing a palisade of branches of trees or thorns. Sometimes it 
 happens that the expedition is deferred till the following year, 
 and then the soldiers being arrived on the enemy's confines are 
 made to work in the rice grounds, thus to furnish a store of 
 that commodity for their provision. 
 
 23. It must not be imagined that battles in this country bear 
 the slightest resemblance to those of Europe ; for destitute as 
 these people are of discipline and all knowledge of tactics, they 
 never can be said to engage in a regular battle, but merely to 
 skirmish under the protection of trees or palisades ; or else they 
 approach the hostile town or army under the cover of a mound
 
 of earth, which they throw up as they advance. It may indeed 
 sometimes happen that two parties will meet in the open plain, 
 but then a strange scene of confusion ensues, and each side, 
 without any method or order, endeavours either to surround 
 the other or to gain its rear, and thus put it to flight. But it 
 is when they enter without resistance an enemy^ country that 
 they show their true spirit ; which, while it is most vile and 
 dastardly in danger, is proportionably proud and cruel in victory. 
 The crops, the houses, the convents of Talapoins are all burnt 
 to the ground, the fruit trees are cut down, and all the unfor- 
 tunate inhabitants, who may fall into their hands, murdered 
 without distinction. 
 
 24. The great conquests of the Burmese under the Emperors 
 Alompra and Zempiuscien must not therefore be attributed to 
 a native courage, which they are far from possessing, but to the 
 rigorous discipline which keeps them in awe. Not merely the 
 general, but even the officer of any corps which is separated 
 from the main body, has the power of punishing with death, 
 and this without any process, whatever soldier he may think 
 deserving of it. The sword is always hanging over the head of 
 the soldier, and the slightest disposition to flight, or reluctance 
 to advance, will infallibly bring it down upon him. But what 
 above all tends to hold the Burmese soldiery to their duty is the 
 dreadful execution that is done on the wives and children of 
 those who desert. The arms and legs of these miserable victims 
 are bound together with no more feeling than if they wei-e 
 brute beasts, and in this state they are shut up in cabins made 
 of bamboo, and filled with combustible materials, which are 
 then set on fire by means of a train of gunpowder. The 
 present Emperor in particular has rendered himself detestable 
 by these dreadful barbarities ; and on one occasion, about a year 
 before I left the country, he put to death in this cruel manner, 
 men, women, and children, to the number of a thousand 
 persons. 
 
 25. But while the power of the generals and officers is so 
 absolute over the common soldiers, the former are in like 
 manner subject to the Emperor. Woe to the commander who 
 suffers himself to be worsted. The least he can expect is the 
 loss of all his honours and dignities ; but if there has been the
 
 CONSTITUTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 101 
 
 slightest negligence on his part, his possessions and life must 
 also be sacrificed to the anger of the Emperor. 
 
 26. From the time of Alompra to the beginning of the 
 present reign, the forces of the Burmese Empire were very 
 great, as will appear from the numerous and important enter- 
 prises undertaken by the monarchs immediately preceding 
 Badonsachen, as well as by his own expeditions into Siam and 
 Aracan. But since this period they have fallen off not a 
 little. For the continual wars with the rebel princes of the 
 Sciam, and particularly with the one of Zemme [Zimme], 
 which have since occupied the Burmese arms, together with the 
 fatigues incident to them, and the diseases arising, partly from 
 unwholesome food, partly from the malignant properties of the 
 air in the countries where they have been engaged, have carried 
 off vast numbers of the soldiers. Many also of the Burmese 
 and Peguans, unable any longer to bear the heavy oppressions 
 and continual levies of men and money made upon them, have 
 withdrawn themselves from their native soil with all their 
 families ; some retiring towards the east have taken refuge 
 among the rebellious Sciam, others towards the west into 
 Bengal, where they have established themselves in the vicinity 
 of Sciatigan [Chittagong]. And thus, not merely the armies, 
 but likewise the very population of his kingdom has been of 
 late much diminished, through the tyranny of Badonsachen. 
 When I first arrived in Pegu, each bank of the great river Ava 
 presented a long-continued line of habitations ; but, on my 
 return, a very few villages were to be seen along the whole 
 course of the stream. The Emperor is by no means ignorant 
 of the pitiful state to which his subjects have been reduced by 
 the calamities of war. A person of rank once ventured to 
 point it out to him ; his only reply was, ' We must hold the 
 Burmese down by oppression, that thus they may not dare to 
 think of rebellion. 1 To another who had represented to him 
 that these continual wars were greatly diminishing the number 
 of his subjects, he coldly replied, ' It would matter little if all 
 the men were dead, for then we might enrol and arm the 
 women.'
 
 RELIGION OF THE BURMESE 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 THE LAWS OF GODAMA 
 
 IN order to fulfil this part of my undertaking, I think I 
 cannot do better than present to the reader a short treatise on 
 the religion of the Burmese, which a celebrated Talapoin, the 
 tutor of the king, drew up at the request of one of our Bishops 
 in the year 1763. 
 
 1. Four Gods have at different periods appeared in the 
 present world, and have obtained the state of Niban [Nirvana, 
 Neibban], Chauchasan, Gonagon, Gaspa and Godama. It is 
 the law of the last mentioned that is at present obligatory 
 among men. 
 
 He obtained the privilege of divinity at the age of thirty- 
 five, when he began to promulgate his laws, in which employ- 
 ment he spent forty-five years. Having thus lived to the age 
 of eighty in the practice of every good work, and having 
 conferred salvation on every living creature, he was assumed 
 into the state of Niban. From that time to the year 1763, 
 there have passed 2306 years. 
 
 2. Godama spoke and taught as follows. ' I, a God, after 
 having departed out of this world, will preserve my laws and 
 my disciples in it for the space of 5000 years. 1 Having like- 
 wise commanded that his statue and relics should be carefully 
 kept and adored during this period, he thereby gave rise to the 
 custom of adoring them. 
 
 When we say that Godama obtained the Niban, this is to be 
 understood of a state exempt from the four following evils : 
 conception, old age, sickness, and death. Nothing in this 
 world nor any place can give us an idea of the Niban : but the
 
 RELIGION OF THE BURMESE 103 
 
 exemption from the above-mentioned evils, and the possession 
 of perfect safety, are the only things in which it consists. For 
 example, a person is seized with a violent complaint, but by 
 using the best remedies is cured ; we say that such a one has 
 recovered his health : but if it be asked how he recovered his 
 health, the only answer we can give is, that to be free from 
 infirmities is to recover one's health ; and it is thus we say 
 that a person has acquired the Niban. This is what Godama 
 taught. 
 
 3. Is Godama the only true God in this world ? 
 
 Yes, Godama is the only true and real God, who knows the 
 laws of the four Sizza, and in whose power it is to raise to the 
 state of Niban. But as when a kingdom is overturned, 
 numerous aspirants to the throne arise to claim the royal 
 dignity, so did it happen when the period for the observance of 
 the laws of Gaspa, the predecessor of Godama, had elapsed. 
 For a thousand years beforehand, the approaching appearance 
 of a new God was reported ; but previous to his coming six 
 different pretenders, each with 500 disciples, started up, and 
 gave themselves out for Gods. 1 
 
 4. Did these false Gods preach and teach any laws ? 
 
 Yes, but what they taught is false and full of errors. One 
 of them taught that the efficient cause of all good and evil in 
 the world, of poverty and riches, of high and low birth, etc., 
 was a certain Nat of the woods, who for this reason ought to 
 be universally adored. A second taught that after death men 
 did not pass into the state of animals, nor did animals become 
 men ; but men were born again as men, and animals as animals. 
 A third denied the Niban ; and asserted that all living 
 
 1 One is often asked whether the Buddhists of Burma recognise any God. 
 The question is, teste Bishop Bigandet, a difficult one to answer. The creed, 
 examined by logic, excludes the idea of a supreme moral governor, the law of 
 merit and demerit, by the action of Karma, controlling the whole Kosmos. 
 Gaudama was a mere man, who attained the highest possible perfection, by 
 means of virtue and science. But he is no more, and the creed admits no 
 divine providence. ' No idea whatever of a supreme being is to be met in the 
 .genuine worship paid to Gaudama by his most enthusiastic adherents. It cannot 
 be denied that in practice Buddhists of these parts betray often without perceiv- 
 ing it that they have some vague idea abo\sK,- a supreme being, who has a 
 -controlling power in the affairs of this world and the destiny of man.' Bigandet, 
 i. p. 137; ii. p. 53.
 
 creatures have their origin in the womb of their mother, and 
 that with the death of the body they return to nothing ; and 
 that in this alone the Niban consists. Another affirmed that 
 living beings have no beginning, and will have no end in 
 acquiring the Niban. He denied the merit of good or bad 
 actions, and made everything happen through the influence of 
 chance. It was taught by another that the Niban merely 
 consists in the length of life which some Nat and Biamma 
 enjoy, who live for the whole duration of a world. He also 
 said that it was a good work to honour one's parents, to suffer 
 hunger and thirst, the heat of fire and of the sun ; and that it 
 is lawful to kill animals : that those who regulate their conduct 
 by these doctrines will be rewarded in a future life, but they 
 who neglect them will be punished. The last of these 
 impostors taught that there exists a Supreme Being, the 
 Creator of the world and of all things in it ; and that he alone 
 is worthy of adoration. All these doctrines of the six false 
 Gods, are called the laws of the six Deitti. 1 
 
 5. But when the true God Godama appeared, did these false 
 Gods renounce their doctrines ? 
 
 Some renounced and some did not ; and many have remained 
 obstinate to the present day. When Godama saw that many 
 persisted in their errors, he gave a challenge to them all, who 
 could work the greatest miracle under a mango tree. It was 
 accepted, but Godama gained the victory, at which the chief 
 of the Deitti was so vexed, that he threw himself into a river 
 with an earthenware vessel tied about his neck. After the 
 death of their leader many of his disciples abandoned his false 
 doctrines, but others remained obstinate ; for it is easy to draw 
 a thorn out of the hand or foot by means of the nails or the 
 megnac* but it is very difficult to eradicate false doctrine from 
 the hearts of the Deitti. 
 
 1 The tenets of the six teachers are given in more precise language, out of a 
 work written by ,a Catholic priest at Ava above a century ago. Bigandet, ii. pp. 
 62, 121. The early disputes raged round Gaudama's doctrines of Atheism and 
 Neibban, and his principle of human equality. Ibid. i. p. 115. For lists of 
 heretics out of Chinese books, see Sykes' Notes, pp. 20, 21. 
 
 * This is an instrument, like a pair of tweezers, which the Burmese make use 
 of to pull out the beard.
 
 RELIGION OF THE BURMESE 105 
 
 6. But are there no means of doing it ? 
 
 Yes, it may be done by the doctrine of Godama, and by the 
 lessons of good men; which are like a megnac, of great 
 excellence. 
 
 7. And what are these lessons and doctrines ? 
 
 First, that all who kill animals or do anything contrary to 
 the ten commandments, are subject to the punishments allotted 
 to evil deeds. Then that those who give alms and practise the 
 ten good deeds, adore God, the law, and the Talapoins, will 
 enjoy the blessings attached to the performance of good works. 
 Secondly, that these two kinds of works, the good and the bad, 
 and these alone, accompany a man through his transmigrations 
 in future worlds, in the same way as a shadow follows the body 
 to which it belongs ; and that these are the efficient causes of 
 all the good and evil that happen to living beings, in this life 
 or in the next, of high and low birth, of riches and poverty, 
 of transportation to the seats of the Nat, and of condemnation 
 to the state of animals or to hell. These are the revelations 
 made by Godama ; this is the true doctrine ; this is the true 
 megnac, alone able to tear out error from the hearts of the 
 Deitti. 
 
 8. But what then are the doctrines, what the laws, that 
 Godama gave to mankind ? 
 
 They consist chiefly in the observance of the five command- 
 ments, and the avoiding the ten evil works. The five 
 commandments are as follows. By the first we are forbidden 
 to kill any living thing, even the smallest insect: by the 
 second, to steal: by the third, to violate the wives or con- 
 cubines of another : by the fourth, to tell lies or deceive ; and 
 lastly by the fifth is prohibited the use of wine, opium, or any 
 intoxicating liquor. Whoever observes all these precepts, 
 throughout his future transmigrations, will be either a man of 
 high nobility or a great Nat ; and will be exempt from poverty 
 and all the other evils of life. 
 
 The ten evil deeds are divided into two classes. In the first 
 class are comprised all works contrary to the three first 
 commandments, that is, the killing of any animal, theft, and 
 adultery. In the second are placed lying, sowing of discord, 
 bitter and angry words, and useless and idle talk. And the
 
 106 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 third class consists of coveting our neighbour's goods, envy, and 
 the wishing of misfortune or death to others, and finally 
 adherence to the doctrines of the Deitti. Whoever abstains 
 from all these evil deeds is said to observe the Sila, will after 
 death become a great man or a great Nat, and be loaded with 
 honours and riches ; he will enjoy a long life, and in each 
 successive transmigration will increase in virtue, till at length 
 being thought worthy to see some God and listen to his 
 discourses, he will thence obtain the perfect happiness of the 
 Niban : x when he will be free from the four evils of which we 
 have spoken above : conception, old age, sickness, and death. 
 
 9. Are there no good works but those just mentioned ? 
 
 Yes, there are two others, known by the names of Dana, and 
 Bavana. The first consists in giving alms, particularly to the 
 Talapoins. The second is practised in pronouncing and medi- 
 tating upon these three words : Aneizza, Doccha, Anatta 
 [Change, pain, illusion]. In pronouncing the first, a man is 
 supposed to consider in his mind that he is subject to the 
 misfortunes of life : at the second, that he is obnoxious to its 
 miseries ; and at the third, that it is not in his power to free 
 himself from them. 
 
 Whoever neglects all these good works, Sila, Dana, and 
 Bavana, will assuredly pass into one of the states of suffering, 
 Niria, Preitta, Assuriche, or into animals. And he who dies 
 without the merit of any good work, may be likened to a man 
 setting out on a journey through a desert and uninhabited 
 country, without taking any care for his necessary provisions ; 
 or venturing along a road beset with robbers and wild beasts, 
 without providing himself with arms for his defence; or em- 
 barking in a small and worn-out bark upon a great river, 
 
 1 One is constantly asked what the Burmans mean by Nirvana. Is it 
 annihilation, or absorption into deity or the universe, and does the soul remain 
 individual ? As to what the sacred books teach, I refer the reader to Buddhism, 
 by Rhys Davids, p. 1 10. Bishop Bigandet thinks the metaphysic must, as a matter 
 of logic, end in predicating complete annihilation. But for a long period the 
 masses have revolted at this conclusion, and in some way, which they cannot very 
 intelligibly explain, believe that the individual soul survives death and is found in 
 new conditions of existence. The half-civilised Burman refrains from pushing his 
 ontology too far. Bigandet, ii. pp. 69, 98. See also in the same volume the 
 abridgment of Buddhism called the ' Seven Ways to Neibban. r
 
 RELIGION OF THE BURMESE 107 
 
 agitated by hideous whirlpools, and tossing with a furious 
 tempest. And every one, whether priest or secular, who gives 
 himself up to the five works of the flesh, that is, to those which 
 are committed by the five senses of the body, and thereby 
 neglects the five commandments, and does not keep himself 
 from the ten evil deeds, is likened to a butterfly that sports 
 around the flame till it is burnt in it ; or to a man who, seeing 
 honey on the edge of a sword, cuts his tongue in licking 
 it off, and dies; or to a bird that flies to seize the food, 
 regardless of the net spread to entrap it ; or to the stag who, 
 running by the side of his beloved mate, falls unexpectedly into 
 the toils of the hunters. Such are they who, unmindful of 
 future dangers, abandon themselves to the five works of the 
 flesh, and pass after death into hell. These are the precepts 
 and the similitudes of Godama. 
 
 10. The Talapoin ends his summary by declaring, that out 
 of the Burmese Empire and the island of Ceylon there are no 
 true and legitimate priests of the laws of Godama, and by 
 exhorting all strangers to embrace this law as alone containing 
 the truth. 
 
 This treatise may give some idea of the laws of Godama 
 regarding seculars ; of those respecting the Talapoins, I shall 
 speak further on. The sermons of Godama, as they are called, 
 are all contained in a great book called Sout, and it must be 
 confessed that they inculcate some fine morality, of which I 
 will give some specimens in the next chapter. 
 
 11. The books which contain the history of Godama repre- 
 sent him as a king who, having laid aside the ensigns of 
 royalty, withdrew himself into a solitary place, put on the 
 habit of a Talapoin, and gave himself up to the study and 
 practice of virtue. But Godama had even before this acquired 
 great merits. For he had already lived in 400,100,000 worlds, 
 having begun as a little bird, and passed through 550 trans- 
 migrations, some happy, some unhappy, so as once even to have 
 been an elephant. These former merits, united to his present 
 generous abdication, procured for him at the age of thirty-five 
 the gift of divine wisdom. This consists in seeing into the 
 thoughts of all living- beings : in the* foreknowledge of all 
 future events, however distant they may be : in the knowledge
 
 108 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 of the merits and demerits of all men : in the power of work- 
 ing miracles, particularly by causing fire and water to issue 
 from his eyes at the same time, or fire from one eye and water 
 from the other ; and finally in a tender love towards all things 
 living. Among other prodigies related of him, we may notice 
 the one said to have happened at his birth ; for he was no 
 sooner born than he walked seven paces towards the north, 
 exclaiming : ' I am the noblest and greatest among men. This 
 is the last time that I shall be born ; never again shall I be 
 conceived in the womb.' In his stature also and the properties 
 of his body there was something extraordinary. His height 
 was more than nine cubits, his ears hung down to his 
 shoulders, his tongue being thrust out of his mouth reached 
 even to his nose, and his hands, when he stood upright, 
 touched his knees. In walking he always appeared elevated at 
 least a cubit from the ground ; his clothes did not touch his 
 body, but were always a palm distant from it ; and in the same 
 manner, anything he took up remained always at the distance 
 of a palm from his hands. During the forty-five years that he 
 spent on earth after becoming a God, he was continually 
 employed in the promulgation of his laws, and it is said that 
 through his preaching 2,400,000,000 persons obtained the 
 Niban. In the eightieth year of his age he died of a dysentery, 
 brought on by an excess in eating pork. Previous to his death 
 he recommended that his statue and relics should be preserved 
 and adored. 
 
 These have hence become objects of veneration to all the 
 Burmese, wherever they are met with ; but they are more 
 particularly worshipped with greater pomp and by greater 
 numbers in the Pagodas. These are pyramidal or conical 
 buildings made of brick, painted and gilded on the outside. 
 In these temples there is generally a niche in which is placed 
 the statue of Godama ; though in some both the niche and the 
 statue are wanting. These are the public places of adoration 
 for the Burmese, and are generally set apart from all other 
 buildings, and surrounded by a wall of the same materials as 
 the Pagoda itself. 
 
 12. Godama, upon his death, was immediately transported 
 to the Niban, where he remains in a sort of ecstasy, without
 
 RELIGION OF THE BURMESE 109 
 
 hearing, or seeing, or feeling, or having any sense of what goes 
 on in the world, and in this state he will remain for eternity ; 
 and such will be the lot of all who have the good fortune to 
 obtain this reward. But the laws of Godama will be observed 
 upon earth for the space of 5000 years, reckoning from the 
 day of his death, from which year, therefore, the Burmese begin 
 their era. Of this period 2352 years have already elapsed. 
 As soon as it is at an end, the laws of Godama will cease to be 
 binding, another God must appear to promulgate a new code 
 for the government of mankind. 
 
 13. But the Burmese books do not confine themselves to the 
 narration of the past, they likewise pretend to tell of the 
 future. The God who will succeed Godama will be called 
 Arimatea, and his stature will be eighty cubits ; the size of his 
 breast will be four cubits, that of his face five, and the same 
 will be the size of his eyes, mouth and tongue, and even of the 
 hairs of his eye-brows. But this God will not make his 
 appearance as soon as the period for the observance of the laws 
 of Godama is expired ; but many ages must previously elapse. 
 For between the appearance of each God the earth must 
 increase in height a whole juzena; but as the rain which falls 
 every year only adds to its surface a crust of the thickness of a 
 tamarind-leaf, it is evident that more than 5000 years will be 
 required to fill up the period. Hence also it is not every 
 world that is honoured by a God. In the 400,100,000, during 
 which Godama has been going through his transmigrations, 
 only twenty-two have lived ; and very few are in reserve for 
 succeeding worlds, for the total number of Gods that will 
 ever appear, comprising Godama, will be but twenty-eight. 
 
 14. The absurdity of this system will be manifest to my 
 readers at first sight ; and indeed I have forced several learned 
 Talapoins partly to acknowledge it. In various conversations 
 with them I frequently urged against their system the vicious 
 circle in which it involved them. For, according to their 
 principles, before any one can become a God, he must have 
 acquired great merit in numerous transmigrations, which merit 
 consists in the faithful observance of the law. But, on the 
 other hand, the law is nothing elsf^.but the precepts and 
 revelations of God. I asked them, therefore, whether God or
 
 110 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 the law were anterior ? They all replied that the former was 
 undoubtedly first, since the law is that which God reveals. 
 ' But then," I added, * the observance of the law is necessary to 
 become a God ; therefore the law must exist before God. 1 
 They were overcome by the argument, and could not reply a 
 word. I endeavoured further to convince them of the necessity 
 of one Supreme Being, anterior not only to the law, but to 
 everything else, by saying, that as speech cannot exist but in 
 the mouth of some one speaking, so there could be no law, 
 unless there had first existed a being to promulgate it, and 
 command its observance, but who himself is totally indepen- 
 dent of it. 
 
 15. If we except the nation of the Carian, who have before 
 been noticed as adorers of an evil genius, who, as they suppose, 
 inhabits the forests, and the Casse, 1 who were brought 
 prisoners into Ava by Zempiuscien, and who, after the manner 
 of the ancient Egyptians, adore the basil, and other herbs and 
 fruits, all the nations comprised in the Burmese Empire, the 
 Peguans, the Aracanese, the Sciam, etc., join in the adoration 
 of Godama, and the observance of his laws. And not only 
 here, but likewise in the kingdom of Siam this is the established 
 religion. Godama is besides adored in China under the name 
 of F6, and in Thibet under that of Butta. His worship also 
 prevails in many places along the coast of Coromandel, and 
 particularly in the island of Ceylon, which is the principal 
 seat of the Talapoins. Hence do the Burmese and Siamese 
 emperors from time to time send deputations of learned men 
 to this island, either to bring over some sacred book which 
 may be found wanting in their collections, or to consult with 
 the Talapoins on the meaning of some passage in the writings 
 of Godama, for they are composed in the Pali, the language 
 commonly spoken in the interior of Ceylon. 2 
 
 1 A Burmese name for the people of Manipur. 
 
 2 That high authority, Professor Childers, points out that Pali means the 
 language of the sacred texts, and that the geographical name of the language is 
 Magadha, from the region in Behar in India. 
 
 According to Dr. Rost, ' Pali is the name of the literary language of the 
 Buddhists in Ceylon, Burma, Siam, and Cambodia. . . . When and where that 
 language was formed is still a matter of controversy.' Professor Kuhn, following 
 Westergaard, holds that Pali was the Sanskritic vernacular spoken at Ujjain, the
 
 RELIGION OF THE BURMESE 111 
 
 16. The Burmese Government allows to the Mohammedan 
 Moors the free exercise of their religion, as likewise to about 
 2000 Christians who are scattered up and down the empire. 
 But this toleration arises more from political and religious 
 motives, for the Talapoins teach that there is no salvation out 
 of the religion of Godama. Since the time that the Catholic 
 missionaries have penetrated into these parts there have indeed 
 been some conversions, but the number has not been so great 
 as to excite the jealousy of the Talapoins or of the Government. 
 Hence Christianity has hitherto experienced no persecutions in 
 these parts, partly on account of the small number of the 
 'converts,* and partly through the prudence of the missionaries, 
 who have been solicitous to preserve themselves and their 
 disciples from observation. Otherwise it is probable they 
 would have had to suffer much, as we may gather from the 
 fate of the Zodi, who began by making a great stir throughout 
 the whole kingdom, and thereby excited the zeal of the 
 Emperor against them. It is believed that great numbers of 
 them still exist in divers parts of the empire, but they are 
 obliged to keep themselves concealed. They are of Burmese 
 origin, but their religion is totally different from that of 
 Godama. They reject metempsychosis, and believe that each 
 one will receive the reward or punishment of his actions im- 
 mediately after death, and that this state of punishment and 
 reward will last for eternity. Instead of attributing every 
 thing to fate, as the Burmese do, they acknowledge an omni- 
 potent and omniscient Nat, the creator of the world; they 
 despise the Pagodas, the Baos, or convents of Talapoins, and 
 
 capital of Malava, at the time that Mahendra, the son and successor of the great 
 Asoka, took the sacred canon with him to Ceylon. ' On the other hand, Pro- 
 fessor Oldenburg, rejecting that tradition, considers the naturalisation of the 
 Pali language in Ceylon to have been the fruit of a period of long and con- 
 tinued intercourse between that island and the adjacent parts of India, more 
 especially the Kalinga country. . . . Both scholars have discussed the question 
 as to the Pali being identical with the Magadhi dialect, and have satisfactorily 
 disposed of it.' Encyclopedia Britannica, Art. Pali, by Dr. Rost. The 
 Burmans give a wider meaning to the word Pali, which they apply to any text 
 considered sacred, such as the Sanskrit Vedas. So Judson, .the missionary, 
 described his Burmese Bible as translated from the Hebrew and Greek Pali. 
 Forchhammer's Report on the Literary Work for itffg-So. Rangoon, 1882. 
 * See Note A at the end of the work.
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 the statues of Godama. The present Emperor, a most zealous 
 defender of his religion, resolved with one blow to annihilate 
 this sect, and accordingly gave orders for their being searched 
 for in every place, and compelled to adore Godama. Fourteen 
 of them were put to a cruel death ; but many submitted, or 
 feigned to submit, to the orders of the Emperor, till at length 
 he was persuaded that they had all obeyed. From that time 
 they have remained concealed, for which reason I have never 
 been able to meet with one of them, to inquire if any form of 
 worship had been adopted by them. All that I could learn 
 was that the sect was still in existence, and that its members 
 still held communications with each other. They are for the* 
 most part merchants by profession. This little which I have 
 gleaned concerning them has rather induced me to believe that 
 they may be Jews, for the doctrines attributed to them agree 
 perfectly with those of this people, who, we well know, hav e 
 penetrated into almost every corner of the known world, even 
 to the remotest parts of Asia. 1 
 
 1 At page 241 of his Narrative Yule gives his opinion that the Zodi sect 
 really consisted of the latitudinarian Buddhists whom Judson, the celebrated 
 missionary, in his journals and letters, calls semi-atheists and semi-deists. 
 ' One held the fundamental doctrine that Divine wisdom, not concentrated in 
 any existing spirit, or embodied in any form, but diffused throughout the 
 universe, and partaken in different degrees by various intelligences, and in a 
 very high degree by the Buddhas, is the true and only god.' The views varied 
 with the individual. 
 
 In 1827 the execution, some years before, of certain reformers of the existing 
 Buddhism is mentioned by Crawfurd in \WaJournalofan Embassy to Ava, p. 392. 
 ' The reformers were generally, or I believe always, laymen. They principally 
 decried the luxury of the priesthood, and ridiculed the idea of attaching religious 
 merit to the building of temples.'
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 OF THE TALAPOINS l 
 
 17. THE Talapoins in the Pali language are called Rahan, 
 which means holy men, in allusion to the holiness of life which 
 they ought to show forth in their actions. They are the 
 priests of the country : not that they offer sacrifices or obla- 
 tions, or make public prayers for the people, for each one 
 exercises these acts of religion himself before the Pagodas, 
 but because it is their duty to attend the dead to their grave r 
 and to recite the Tara, a species of sermon which they make 
 to the assembled people. They may perhaps with greater 
 propriety be called cloistered monks ; for they live together, 
 observe celibacy, and are bound to certain rules or constitu- 
 tions. There is not any village, however small, which has not 
 one or more large wooden houses, which are a species of con- 
 vent, by the Portuguese in India called Baos. The construc- 
 tion of these Baos is of various nature, for the Talapoins of 
 the kingdom of Ava build them of one shape, and those of 
 Pegu of another. Every Bao has a head, who is the greatest 
 of the Talapoins, and is called Ponghi. This personage has 
 under him a species of deacon, called Pazen, who is his helper. 
 The community is composed of Scien, who are as it were the 
 clergy and disciples of the great Talapoin, youths who put on 
 the habit for two or three years. For it is the custom in the 
 Burmese Empire to clothe with the habit of Talapoins all the 
 young men as soon as they arrive at the age of puberty, not 
 
 1 For a more recent and, on the whole, appreciative account of Buddhist 
 monks in Burma, the reader may refer to Bishop Bigandet's Notice of them in 
 his second volume, where everything of importance is fully and judiciously dealt 
 with. The order, he thinks, suffers from the ignoranq^and idleness of its members, 
 and defects of discipline. The Census Report, 1891, p. 138, speaks in high 
 praise of the attitude of the monks in regard to their education of the people. 
 
 H
 
 114 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 only that they may thus acquire merit for their future trans- 
 migrations, but also learn to read and write. All the Tala- 
 poins who live in the different Baos of a province are under 
 the jurisdiction of a superior, who corresponds to the provincial 
 of our religious orders ; and those of the whole Empire are 
 subordinate to the Zarado [Sayadaw], or grand master of the 
 Emperor, who resides in the capital, and may therefore be 
 called their General. The Baos are the buildings in which the 
 Burmese architecture is most gorgeous. Some are completely 
 cased with fine gold both within and without, particularly those 
 which the Emperor and his sons built for their Zarado. 
 
 18. The habit of the Talapoins consists of three pieces of 
 yellow cotton cloth. Those who have rich benefactors even 
 make it of silk, or of European woollen cloth. The first piece 
 is bound to the loins with a leathern girdle and falls down to 
 the feet, the second is a cloak of a rectangular shape which 
 covers the shoulders and breast, and the third is another cloak 
 of the same shape, which, being folded many times, is thrown 
 over the left shoulder, the two ends hanging down before and 
 behind. Every time the Talapoins go out, either to accom- 
 pany the dead, or for any other purpose, they are obliged to 
 carry over their right shoulder the Avana, a sort of fan made 
 of palm leaves, 1 and one of the disciples carries a piece of 
 leather to sit upon. Every morning the Talapoins must go 
 round the houses begging boiled rice and other eatables ; and 
 for this purpose they take with them a black vessel in which 
 they put confusedly all that they receive, and this same vessel 
 serves them as a plate to eat from. 
 
 19. Those Talapoins who are Pazen or Ponghi are forbidden 
 by their rules to cook with their own hands, to labour, to 
 plant or traffic, and are not even allowed to send others into 
 their Baos to cook for them. They must not make any pro- 
 vision or preserve any sort of food. They cannot take with 
 their own hands anything to eat however small, or anything 
 else for their private use, which has not been first presented 
 to them. 
 
 1 The word Talapoin is derived from the Pali name of this palm leaf, and was 
 introduced to Europe by the Portuguese. Hobson-Jobson, by Yule and Burnell. 
 Mr. Taw Sein-Ko thinks it is a Taking compound, meaning ' Lord-mendicant.'
 
 RELIGION OF THE BURMESE 115 
 
 For this reason they are obliged at almost every moment to 
 go through the ceremony called Akat, which signifies a presen- 
 tation or oblation. It is as follows. Whenever one of them 
 has occasion for anything, he addresses to his disciples this 
 formula: 'do what is lawful;' upon which, they take up the 
 thing he may want and present it to him with these words : 
 ' this, Sir, is lawful/ The Talapoin then takes it into his 
 own hands, and eats it or lays it by, as may suit his 
 convenience. 
 
 In performing this ceremony the Talapoin must stand at the 
 distance of a cubit from his disciple, otherwise he is guilty of 
 a sin ; and if what he receives be food, he commits as many 
 sins as he eats mouthfuls. It is, moreover, unlawful for the 
 Talapoins directly to ask for anything : they are only allowed 
 to accept of what is spontaneously offered to them by others. 
 But this law is very little attended to. 
 
 The possession of all temporal goods is likewise forbidden to 
 the Talapoins ; they cannot even touch gold or silver. They 
 must not have emancipated slaves; but must content them- 
 selves with what is barely necessary. But these are rules which 
 they regard very little ; for, after covering their hands with a 
 handkerchief, they have no scruple in receiving very large sums 
 in gold and silver : they are insatiable in their lust after riches, 
 and do little else than ask for them. Godama ordered that 
 the habits of the Talapoins should be made of pieces of cloth 
 picked up in the roads or streets, or among the tombs ; they 
 still observe one part of the law, they tear the cloth into a 
 great number of pieces, but take care that it shall be of the 
 finest quality. The law of continency, externally at least, is 
 observed with the greatest scrupulosity by these men, and in 
 this respect they might even serve as an example to many of 
 our religious. Not only it is not permitted for them to sleep 
 under the same roof, or to travel in the same carriage or 
 boat with a woman, but even to receive anything directly from 
 their hands ; and indeed to such a height are these precautions 
 carried, that they may not touch the clothes of a woman, or 
 caress a female child however young, or even handle a female 
 animal. But their scruples with regai^ to clothes are at an 
 end, when they are given to them, for they maintain that in
 
 116 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 this case the clothes are purified as it were by the merit of the 
 almsdeed. For the better preservation of chastity it is further 
 decreed, that the Talapoins do not eat anything after mid-day,, 
 and particularly at evening, as many of their greatest men 
 have maintained that to eat at these times too much heats the 
 blood and excites the passions. So indispensable is celibacy 
 esteemed by the Burmese for the sacerdotal state, that not only 
 do they forbid to their own Talapoins the use of marriage, but 
 they can never be brought to look upon any one as a priest 
 who does not observe it. It is for this reason they are inclined 
 very much to esteem our Catholic missionaries, but refuse every 
 kind of honour to the Armenian priests and the Mohammedan 
 Sherifs, merely because they are engaged in the married state. 
 Whenever a Talapoin is detected in the violation of this law, 
 the inhabitants of the place where he lives expel him from his 
 Bao, sometimes even driving him away with stones ; and the 
 Government strips him of his habit, and inflicts upon him a 
 public punishment. The Zarado, or grand master of the Tala- 
 poins under the predecessor of Badonsachen, being convicted 
 of a crime of incontinency, was deprived of all his dignities, 
 and narrowly escaped decapitation, to which punishment he 
 was condemned by the Emperor. 
 
 To these rules and constitutions we may here add several 
 others which are contained in the great book called Vini, the 
 constant perusal of which is much recommended ; indeed there 
 exists an express command that every Talapoin should commit 
 the whole of it to memory. It is written in the sacred language 
 Pali, but is accompanied with a translation in the vernacular 
 Burmese. It is divided into different chapters, each of which 
 treats of something regarding the Talapoins, in their dress, 
 food, habitations, etc. I will here notice some of the principal 
 regulations. 
 
 20. The first thing that the Vini prescribes is, that in each 
 convent, or at least in all those where there is a respectable 
 number of Talapoins, one should be elected to act as superior. 
 To him it belongs to watch over the observance of the rules, 
 and to correct and admonish those who neglect them. If he 
 discover that any one of his subjects has in his possession gold, 
 silver, or anything else which a Talapoin is forbidden to keep
 
 RELIGION OF THE BURMESE 117 
 
 or touch, he must throw it away with his own hands, and think 
 that in doing so he is casting away an unclean thing. 
 
 21. A Talapoin is not allowed to buy, sell, or exchange 
 anything whatever. Hence he must never say, 'I want to 
 buy a thing,' but merely ask its price. And if he is obliged 
 to sell or exchange anything, he must not speak of it in 
 direct terms, but say, ' Such and such a thing is useless to me, 
 but I have need of your goods, etc. 1 * 
 
 22. In treating of the precept of never touching a woman, 
 it is added in the Vini that this prohibition extends to one's 
 own mother ; and even if it should happen that she fall into a 
 ditch, her son, if a Talapoin, must not pull her out. But in 
 the case that no other aid is near, he may offer her his habit 
 or a stick, and so help her out ; but at the same time must 
 imagine that he is only pulling a log of wood. 
 
 23. The Talapoins are exhorted to observe in particular 
 four virtues, which consist in the proper use of the four things 
 more immediately necessary to man : food, raiment, habita- 
 tions, and medicine. Whenever a Talapoin makes use of any 
 of these things, he ought to repeat continually one of these 
 considerations. 'I eat this rice, not to please my appetite, 
 but to satisfy the wants of nature : I put on this habit, not 
 for the sake of vanity, but to cover my nakedness : I live in 
 this Bao, not for vainglory, but to be protected from the 
 inclemencies of the weather : I drink this medicine merely to 
 recover my health, and I desire my recovery only that I may 
 attend with greater diligence to prayer and meditation.' 
 
 24. Another counsel of the Vini is the observance of the 
 four cleannesses, as they are called ; which consist in the con- 
 fession of all failings, in avoiding all occasions of sin, in the 
 practice of great modesty in the streets and public places, and 
 finally in keeping free from the seven sins. The Talapoins 
 must likewise keep in mind that a priest who does not fulfil 
 the duties of his state is a useless incumbrance, and that for 
 such a one to take part in the alms of their benefactors is 
 nothing better than robbery. In the use of the things which 
 are necessary to them they must be moderate and economical, 
 always considering that what they consume is the property of 
 the benefactors. They must sleep in their habits, or, if they
 
 118 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 put them off, must be careful to place them at the distance of 
 two cubits from their bed. 
 
 25. Digging is an occupation unlawful for Talapoins, for 
 fear of killing some insects ; or, if they do employ themselves 
 in this manner, it must be in a sandy soil, where there is no 
 danger of meeting with insects. And such ought to be their 
 care in this regard, that not even with a stick or with their 
 feet should they stir the mould, lest by chance some insect be 
 crushed. For the same reason they are not allowed to cut 
 down several kinds of trees, nor even to gather the leaves or 
 the fruit ; and before they can lawfully make use of any fruit, 
 their disciples must open it with their nails or with a knife, 
 to let out the life which they suppose it contains. 
 
 26. It is most strictly forbidden to the Talapoins to sleep 
 in the same room with women, children, or even with female 
 animals. And if one of them by neglecting this rule falls into 
 sin, he immediately contracts an irregularity, and is driven 
 away from the society of all other priests. The same punish- 
 ment is awarded to theft, killing of animals, and vainglory. 
 
 27. All who have received the order of Pazen are obliged to 
 shave every part of their body, even the eye-brows ; though at 
 present this law is not observed with regard to the last. In 
 the performance of this ceremony the Pazen must consider 
 that the hairs thus shaved off arise from the uncleanness of 
 the head, that they are useless things, serving merely for the 
 purposes of vanity ; and at the same time he must be as un- 
 concerned as a great mountain, which is being cleared of the 
 useless herbage that has grown upon it. 
 
 28. The full moon and the fifteenth day after in every 
 month are festivals for the Talapoins ; so that they have 
 twenty-four in the course of the year. On these days they 
 are to assemble in the Sein, or sacred places, there to read the 
 Padimot, which is a summary of all the sins and faults against 
 their constitutions. 
 
 29. They have besides a great fast or Lent, which generally 
 lasts three months. During this time they are expected to be 
 more careful in sweeping the Pagodas and keeping them in 
 order. No one must go out of the Baos without weighty 
 reasons; all secular and worldly thoughts and occupations
 
 RELIGION OF THE BURMESE 119 
 
 must be laid aside ; and the whole attention be given to prayer, 
 meditation, and the study of the Pali. Even during their 
 walks they ought to be employed in meditation ; no useless 
 or idle word must escape their lips, much less a discontented 
 or angry one ; their whole conversation must be of God and 
 his benefits, and of the means of acquiring sanctity, and tend 
 to show that they are only desirous of being delivered from 
 their passions and inordinate desires. They must restrain 
 themselves to the food that is absolutely necessary, and allow 
 little or no time for sleep ; but rather give themselves up to 
 the consideration of death, and of the love we ought to have 
 for all living beings. 
 
 30. When any Talapoin has been guilty of a violation of 
 his rule, he ought immediately to go to the great Talapoin, 
 his superior, and, kneeling down before him, confess his crime. 
 And here it must be observed that the sins of the Talapoins 
 are of different sorts. The Padimot gives five or six kinds ; 
 the first is called Parasiga, and comprises four sins, of which 
 each one is warned at his ordination, as will be seen when we 
 come to the description of this ceremony. These are inconti- 
 nency, theft, murder, and giving oneself out for a holy man. 
 But confession is not sufficient for the remission of these 
 crimes ; since nothing remains for those guilty of them but to 
 lay aside the habit of a Talapoin, to put on white, which is 
 the sign of mourning, and withdraw themselves into some 
 remote place, there to do penance. The second class is called 
 Sengadiseit, and in it thirteen sins are reckoned. 1. Voluntary 
 pollution, for if it happens in sleep this is no crime, unless it 
 be thought of with pleasure upon waking. 2. All immodest 
 touches of women with intention of sin. 3. Amorous or las- 
 civious conversation. 4. The asking for the gift of a female 
 slave under pretence of necessity, but with intent of sin. 5. 
 Acting the part of a procurer. 6. The intention of building 
 a Bao without the aid of any benefactor. 7. Laying the 
 foundations of one in a place where there are many insects, 
 which will undoubtedly be thereby killed. 8. A calumnious 
 charge against another of incontinepoy in general. 9. The 
 same with the specification of the crime. 10. The sowing of 
 discord among Talapoins, when obstinately persevered in after
 
 120 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 three admonitions in the Sein. 11. Abetting and encouraging 
 the sowers of discord. 12. The habit of violating the rules 
 in small things, notwithstanding the admonitions of others. 
 13. Giving scandal to laymen by small faults, such as telling 
 lies, making presents of flowers, and such like. All these 
 thirteen sins, as well as those of four or five other inferior 
 classes, are subjected to the law of confession. And this con- 
 fession must be made, not merely before the great Talapoin, 
 but also before all who are assembled in the Sein. A penance 
 is then imposed upon the delinquent, which consists of prayers, 
 to be recited for a certain number of days, according to the 
 time that he has suffered to elapse without confession ; and 
 these prayers must be said in the night. A promise must 
 also be given to refrain from such faults in future, and pardon 
 asked of all the Talapoins for the scandal given, and a humble 
 request presented to be again admitted among them. 
 
 Besides this there is another species of penance, which is 
 practised when any one doubts of having committed some sin. 
 But all these confessions and penances are null and invalid if a 
 sin is represented as of a lighter species, when in reality it 
 should be classed with the thirteen just mentioned : or when 
 the confession is made to a person guilty of the same crime. 
 Such is the law ; but it must be observed that at present it is 
 little attended to. For the Talapoins now content themselves 
 with a kind of indefinite formula of confession, something like 
 our confiteor. 
 
 31. Another duty of the Talapoins is the recitation of the 
 Tara, or preaching to the people. Their sermons in general 
 have for their object the recommendation of almsdeeds ; not, 
 however, to the poor, but to themselves. In the performance 
 of this duty they ought to have for model the sermons or 
 Godama, in which there is much said of alms, and the merit 
 attached to them : they contain indeed many useful lessons of 
 the other virtues, but these are all passed over by the Tala- 
 poins, who confine themselves to alms as far as regards them- 
 selves, but take no notice of those to others. 
 
 32. What has been hitherto said regards merely those Tala- 
 poins who have received the order of Pazen or priest. The 
 Scien or disciples are bound to the observance of ten precepts,
 
 RELIGION OF THE BURMESE 121 
 
 by which they are forbidden 1. to kill animals, 2. to steal, 
 *J. to give themselves up to carnal pleasure, 4. to tell lies, 
 5. to drink wine, 6. to eat after mid-day, 7. to dance, sing, 
 or play on a musical instrument, 8. to colour their faces with 
 sandal- wood, 9. to stand in elevated places not proper for 
 them, 10. to touch gold or silver. " The Scien who is guilty of 
 one of the first five is expelled from the community ; but the 
 five last may be expiated by a proper penance. 
 
 33. It must be acknowledged that the Burmese owe much 
 to the Talapoins, for the whole youth of the Empire is edu- 
 cated by them. Scarcely are the children arrived at the age 
 of reason when they are consigned to their care ; and after a 
 few years most of them put on the dress of a Talapoin, that 
 they may be taught to read and write, and may also acquire 
 merit for themselves and their relations. The ceremonies that 
 accompany the putting on of the habit are very attracting to 
 the young people, as they are really a kind of triumph. The 
 young candidate, dressed in the richest manner, as if he were 
 one of the first Mandarins, is mounted on a superb horse and 
 conducted through the village or city, amid the sound of 
 musical instruments, and surrounded by a great crowd of 
 people. A number of women go before the procession, carry- 
 ing on their heads the habit, bed and suchlike utensils of a 
 Talapoin, together with fruits and other presents for the great 
 Talapoin of the convent, whose office it is to perform the 
 ceremony. 
 
 As soon, therefore, as the procession reaches the appointed 
 place, he proceeds to cut off the hair of the young candidate, 
 and then, stripping him of his secular dress, clothes him with 
 the habit belonging to his new state. 1 
 
 34. The respect with which the Burmese regard their Tala- 
 poins, especially the Ponghi, or superiors of the Bao, and the 
 honours they lavish upon them are excessive, so as almost to 
 equal those they pay to their god. Whenever a layman meets 
 a Talapoin in the streets he must respectfully move out of the 
 
 1 Thus in Burma and Siam Gaudama's fare^ll to the life of the world is 
 commemorated at the present day. See two interesting chapters on Buddhist 
 baptism and life in the monastery in Shway Yoe's work.
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 way to let him pass ; and when any one goes to visit a Ponghi, 
 he must prostrate himself before him three times, with his 
 hands raised above his head in token of reverence, or rather of 
 adoration, and remain in this posture during the whole of his 
 audience. The Talapoins have, besides, so much authority, 
 that sometimes they even withdraw condemned criminals from 
 the hand of justice. Indeed, under the predecessors of the 
 present king, a capital punishment was a rare occurrence ; for 
 no sooner did the Talapoins hear that a criminal was being led 
 to execution, than they issued from their convents in great 
 numbers, with heavy sticks concealed under their habits, with 
 which they furiously attacked the ministers of justice, put 
 them to flight and, unbinding the culprit, conducted him to 
 their Bao. Here his head was shaved, a new dress was put upon 
 him, and by these ceremonies he was absolved from liis crime 
 and rendered inviolable. But during the present reign they 
 do not venture upon such bold measures, unless they are sure 
 of the protection of the Mandarins. In thus saving the lives 
 of criminals, they believe that they are doing an act of piety ; 
 for, as their law forbids them to kill any living thing, even 
 though it be hurtful to man, such as serpents, or mad dogs, 
 they think that it must, on the other hand, be meritorious to 
 preserve the lives of others, although by so doing they inflict a 
 grievous injury on society. The person of a Talapoin is in- 
 violable, and it is reckoned a great crime to strike one of them, 
 though ever so slightly. 
 
 But it is in the ceremonies that take place after the death of 
 a Ponghi, that the veneration of the Burmese for their Tala- 
 poins is particularly displayed. For as their state is regarded 
 as one of peculiar sanctity, it is supposed that their very 
 persons are thereby rendered holy; and hence their dead bodies 
 are honoured as those of saints. As soon as a great Talapoin 
 has expired, his corpse is opened in order to extract the viscera, 
 which are buried in some decent place, and then it is embalmed 
 after the fashion of the country. This done, it is swathed 
 with bands of white linen, wrapped many times round it in 
 every part, and upon these is laid a thick coat of varnish. To 
 this succeeds a covering of gold, which adheres to the varnish, 
 and in this manner the body is gilt from head to foot. It is
 
 RELIGION OF THE BURMESE 
 
 now put into a large chest, and exposed to the veneration of 
 the people. 
 
 It is this chest or coffin on which the greatest care and 
 expense is bestowed. Indeed the great Talapoins are accus- 
 tomed to have it made several years before their death, whence 
 its beauty is frequently such as to excite the curiosity not only 
 of the natives of the country but also of foreigners. It is 
 usually gilt all over, and adorned besides with flowers made of 
 polished substances, sometimes even of precious stones. In 
 this superb receptacle the body is exposed in public for many 
 days, nay often for entire months, during which time a con- 
 tinual festival is celebrated about it ; bands of music are 
 always playing, and the people flock in crowds to offer their 
 presents of money, rice, fruits or other things necessary for 
 the ceremony, by which the expenses of the funeral are de- 
 frayed. When at length the day arrives for burning the body, 
 it is placed upon a large car with four wheels, to which are fixed 
 a number of great ropes, so that the people may drag it to the 
 place of sepulture. It is pleasing to see the ardour with which 
 the whole population men and women engage in this labour. 
 They believe it to be a work of the greatest merit; and 
 hence, having divided themselves into two bodies, strive with 
 the greatest earnestness who shall have the honour of conveying 
 the body to its destination. The vehicle is pulled first to one 
 side, then to the other for some time, till one party gaining the 
 advantage bears it off in triumph. At the place where the 
 burning is to take place, the people are amused for some time 
 with fireworks, which consist entirely of a species of large 
 rockets. Beams of teak-wood, of the length of six, seven, or 
 even of nine cubits, and from a palm to a cubit in diameter, are 
 bored to receive a mixture of saltpetre and pounded charcoal. 
 To some of them are fixed long strips of bamboo to guide 
 them in their ascent, and thus they are carried up into the air 
 as soon as fire is applied to them. Others are placed upon 
 carriages and made to run round the spot where the body is to 
 be burnt. In the meantime great quantities of wood, gun- 
 powder, and other combustible materials are heaped about the 
 coffin, and the ceremonies are conducted by setting fire to this 
 pile. This is done by means of an immense rocket, which is
 
 124 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 guided to it by a cord. Immediately that it touches it the 
 pile takes fire and the whole is soon consumed. But these 
 funerals seldom end in this joyful manner; they are almost 
 always signalised by numerous accidents ; for the enormous 
 pieces of wood, which are carried into the air by the rockets, 
 and particularly the carriages to which others are attached, 
 and which run up and down without any one to guide them, 
 never fail, besides innumerable bruises and fractures of limbs, 
 to cause the death of several of the spectators. Yet so in- 
 fatuated are the people with these fireworks, that they do not 
 consider that as a festival which goes by without them ; and 
 hence, in the dedication of a Pagoda or a Bao, or on any other 
 occasion of rejoicing, these always form a principal part of the 
 festivities. 
 
 35. It has been remarked that most of the youth of the 
 Burmese Empire put on the habit of a Talapoin for the sake 
 of their education, but it must not be thereby supposed that 
 they all become Talapoins. The greater part, after some years, 
 throw off the habit and retire to their home. But many re- 
 main in the Baos with the intention of becoming priests. 
 These are first of all admitted to the rank of Pazen, or as- 
 sistants of the greater Talapoins, upon whose death they 
 succeed to their places. But not even for the Pazen, or the 
 greater Talapoins is there any obligation to remain always 
 in the state they have embraced ; still the greater part con- 
 tinue to wear the habit for many years, numbers for their 
 whole life. 
 
 36. The ceremonies which are observed upon the admission 
 of candidates to the order of Pazen, resemble very much the 
 ordinations of deacons and priests in our Church. They are 
 contained in a book, written in the Pali language, called 
 Chamoaza, which may, therefore, be considered as their Ponti- 
 fical. It will here be proper to transcribe a description of the 
 ceremonial. It takes place in the Sein, which has something 
 of the form of a church, in the presence of all the Talapoins ; 
 the eldest of whom, called Upizze, presides. He has another 
 Talapoin for assistant, named Chammuazara, which may be 
 translated master of ceremonies. 
 
 The first part of the ceremony consists in giving to the pos-
 
 RELIGION OF THE BURMESE 125 
 
 tulant the Sabeit, or black pot, with which he goes begging 
 rice. But before he receives it, he must approach the presiding 
 Talapoin, and repeat three times this question : * Are you, 
 sir, my master Upizze ? ' This done, he advances towards the 
 master of ceremonies, by whom he is interrogated as follows : 
 ' Oh candidate, does this Sabeit belong to you ? ' Answer, 
 ' Yes, sir. 1 * Does this cloak belong to you ? ' Answer, 
 ' Yes, sir.' ' Does this tunic and do these habits belong to 
 you?' Answer, 'Yes, sir. 1 Then the master of ceremonies 
 says to the postulant, ' Draw back from this place, and remain 
 at the distance of twelve cubits;' then, turning to the as- 
 sembled Talapoins, he thus goes on : ' Oh, ye priests here 
 assembled, hear my words. This youth now before you humbly 
 begs from the Upizze to be admitted to the sacerdotal state : 
 and truly this is the time proper and becoming for priests. 
 Now then will I instruct the candidate; wherefore, O candi- 
 date, give ear. But remember that it is not lawful for you 
 now to lie or to conceal the truth. There are certain defects, 
 that are perfectly incompatible with the sacerdotal state, and 
 which hinder a person from worthily receiving it. Therefore 
 do you, when you shall be interrogated before the congregation 
 of priests on these defects, reply with sincerity, make known 
 every quality that you are conscious of possessing, and every de- 
 fect under which you labour. Be not silent, and have no shame 
 or fear in your answers. Now, therefore, in the presence of all 
 this assembly, you must answer the interrogatories of the priests.' 
 Some of the priests then examine him on the following 
 heads : ' Have you, who seek to become a priest, any of the 
 following complaints? The leprosy, or other such odious 
 maladies ? ' Answer, ' No, sir, I have none such maladies.' 
 ' Have you the scrofula, or other similar complaints ? ' ' No, 
 sir, I have none such." 'Do you suffer from asthma, or 
 coughs?' 'No, sir.' 'Are you afflicted by those complaints 
 that arise from a corrupted blood ; by madness, or the other 
 ills caused by giants, witches, or evil Nat of the forests and 
 mountains ? ' ' No, sir.' ' Are you a man ? ' 'I am.' ' Are 
 you a true and legitimate son?' 'Yes, sir.' 'Are you in- 
 volved in debt, or the underling of<;Gme Mandarin?' 'No, 
 sir, I am not.' ' Have your parents given their consent to
 
 126 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 your ordination ? ' * Yes, sir, they have given it.' ' Have you 
 reached the age of twenty years ? 1 ' Yes, sir, I have. 1 ' Are 
 your vestments and Sabeit prepared ? "" ' They are. 1 
 
 The examination being finished, the master of ceremonies 
 thus goes on : ' O fathers and priests here present, be pleased 
 to listen to my words. This youth now before you begs from 
 the Upizze to be admitted to the sacerdotal state, and has 
 been instructed by me. 1 Upon this the postulant approaches 
 the fathers to ask their consent to his ordination, for which 
 purpose he is to say : ' I beg, O fathers, from this assembly to 
 be admitted to the sacerdotal state. Have pity on me ; take 
 me from the state of a layman, a state of sin and imperfection, 
 and advance me to the sacerdotal state, the state of virtue 
 and perfection. 1 These words must be repeated three times. 
 
 Then the master of ceremonies takes up the discourse as 
 follows: 'Oh, all ye fathers here assembled, hear my words. 
 The youth here before you begs from the Upizze to be ad- 
 mitted to the sacerdotal state ; he is free from every defect and 
 imperfection ; and he has got ready all the vessels and necessary 
 habits. He has, moreover, in the name of the Upizze, asked 
 the permission of the assembly of fathers to be admitted to the 
 sacerdotal state. Now, therefore, let the assembly complete 
 his ordination. To whomsoever this seemeth good, let him 
 keep silence ; but whoso thinketh otherwise, let him declare 
 that this candidate is unworthy of the sacerdotal state. 1 And 
 these words he repeats three times. 
 
 Afterwards he proceeds. 'Since then none of the fathers 
 object, but all are silent, it is a sign that the assembly has con- 
 sented. So, therefore, be it done, and let this candidate pass 
 out of the state of sin and imperfection into that of the priest- 
 hood ; and thus, by the consent of the Upizze, and of all the 
 fathers, let him be ordained priest. 1 
 
 After this he further says : ' The fathers must note down 
 under what shade, on what day, at what hour, and in what 
 season, this ordination has been performed. 1 
 
 Besides this, the newly ordained priest must be admonished 
 of the fourteen things that priests may lawfully make use of, 
 and of the four from which they must abstain. Hence the 
 master of ceremonies thus proceeds with the instruction :
 
 RELIGION OF THE BURMESE 127 
 
 ' In the first place, it is the office of a priest to beg for his 
 food with labour, and with the exertion of the muscles of his 
 feet ; wherefore, O newly ordained priest, through the whole 
 course of your life you must gain your bread by the labour of 
 your feet. And if alms and offerings abound, and the benefac- 
 tors give you rice and other kinds of food, you may make use 
 of the following things : 1. Of such as are offered to all the 
 Talapoins in general, 2. of such as are offered to each one in 
 particular, 3. of such as are usually presented in banquets, 4. 
 of such as are sent by letter, 5. of those that are given at 
 the new and full moons, and on festivals. All these, O new- 
 made priest, you may lawfully use for food.' To this he re- 
 plies, ' Yes, sir, I understand what you tell me. 1 
 
 The master of ceremonies resumes his instruction : 
 ' Secondly, a priest is obliged to make his clothes of the rags 
 thrown about in the streets or among the tombs, however 
 dirty they may be : hence, throughout your whole life, you 
 must put on no clothes but these. If, however, by your talents 
 and learning, you procure for yourself many benefactors, you 
 may receive from them, for your habit, the following articles : 
 Cotton and silk, or cloth of red wool or yellow wool ; of 
 these you may lawfully make use.' The new priest answers as 
 before, ' I understand.' The instruction goes on : 
 
 ' The habitation of a priest must be in houses built on the 
 trees of the forest ; in such, therefore, must you live. But if 
 your talents and your learning gain for you many benefactors, 
 then you may inhabit the following kinds of houses : those 
 surrounded by walls, such as bear a triangular or pyramidal 
 shape, and those that are adorned with bas-reliefs, etc.' 
 
 After the usual answer, the master of ceremonies proceeds: 
 ' Now that you have been admitted to the congregation of 
 priests, it is no longer lawful for you to indulge in carnal 
 pleasures, whether with yourself or with animals. He who is 
 guilty of such things can no longer be a priest, or be num- 
 bered in the company of the saints. To what shall we liken 
 such a one ? To a man whose head has been severed from his 
 body. For as the head can never again be united to his body, 
 so as that he shall live, so is it impossible for the priest, who 
 has sinned against chastity, to be restored to the society of
 
 128 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 his brethren. Beware then of committing any such crime.'' 
 The priest answers, ' I have heard, sir, be it so.' 
 The master of ceremonies resumes : 
 
 4 It is unlawful for a priest to usurp or steal what belongs to 
 another, even though to no greater amount than the quarter of 
 a Ticale.* The priest who is guilty of a theft, even though to 
 no greater amount than this, must be considered as having 
 thrown off the sacerdotal state, and as belonging no longer to 
 the society of the saints. Such a one may be compared to 
 the dry leaf of a tree ; for as the leaf can never again be- 
 come green, so the priest, who has stolen from another, can 
 never again be a member of the sacerdotal body, can never 
 again belong to the society of the saints. Wherefore do you, 
 throughout life, abstain from all such thefts. 1 The candidate 
 answers as before, and the master of ceremonies proceeds : 
 
 ' It is moreover unlawful for priests knowingly to kill any 
 living thing, even though it be but the meanest insect. He, 
 therefore, who shall so destroy any creature can no longer be a 
 priest, can no longer belong to the holy society. And to what 
 shall such a one be likened ? To a stone broken in pieces. For 
 as its parts can never again be united, so is it impossible for 
 this man ever to be joined with his brethren. Beware then, 
 and keep yourself for ever from these faults." 1 The newly 
 ordained replies, ' I have heard your admonitions. 1 
 
 The master of ceremonies proceeds : ' To him who has been 
 enrolled among the number of the priests, it is most particu- 
 larly prohibited to be vainglorious, to give himself out as a 
 holy man, or as distinguished by the possession of any super- 
 natural gift. Whoever, therefore, either through vainglory or 
 imprudence shall thus boast of himself, can no longer be a 
 priest, or a member of the holy society. And to what shall 
 we compare the man who transgresses ? He is like a palm-tree 
 that has been severed in two. For as it can live no more, so 
 is such a one unworthy to be again admitted among the priests. 
 Take care then for yourself that you give not in to such ex- 
 cesses. 1 The newly ordained replies as before, ' I have heard all 
 of which you have admonished me. 1 "f* 
 
 * About a shilling English. f See Note B at the end of the work.
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 THE SERMONS OF GODAMA 
 
 37. IT has been said above that one of the principal duties 
 of the Talapoins is the Tara or preaching to the people ; and 
 that in the performance of this duty, they ought to propose as 
 their model the sermons of Godama. The book which con- 
 tains them is called Sottan, or the Rule of Life, and is one of the 
 principal works which the Burmese possess. Besides a great 
 deal on almsdeeds, to which alone, as has been remarked, the 
 Talapoins attend, it contains some fine morality ; and some 
 parts of it deserve to be laid before the reader. 
 
 38. The first thing worthy of notice is the method pre- 
 scribed by Godama to those who, like himself, devote them- 
 selves to the instruction of others. In this, two things are 
 requisite : first, order in the matter ; secondly, a proper in- 
 tention, for in preaching, a man ought to propose to himself 
 nothing but the instruction of others, and their well-being ; 
 thirdly, a disregard for alms, as no one ought to preach merely 
 with the hope of receiving presents from others ; fourthly, 
 modesty, by which all derision or abuse of others and all self- 
 commendation is avoided. 
 
 39. Among the sermons of Godama there is one called Men- 
 gasalot, that is to say, most excellent sermon, and it is so 
 named as being the one most esteemed by the Burmese for the 
 number and excellence of the precepts it inculcates. It is in 
 such repute with them that all the children who are placed in 
 the Baos for their education are obliged to learn it by heart. 
 Ananda, the first disciple of Godama, is said to have handed it 
 down to posterity. It is as follows : 
 
 ' To him who can admit of no unlawftil act, even though it 
 be sought to be committed in secret: to him who by the
 
 130 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 knowledge he has received perfectly comprehends the four 
 inevitable states, through which every living being must pass : 
 to him who is possessed of the six supreme powers, to the most 
 excellent God Godama I offer my solemn adoration. And so 
 be it. 1 
 
 This, O most illustrious priest N. N., is the manner in which 
 I, Ananda, the oldest of the divine disciples, have heard the 
 great precepts delivered by the observance of which a man is 
 preserved from evil-doing. On a certain day, when the Lord 
 God was in the celebrated convent of Sautti [Thawattie or 
 Sravasti in Oudh near Fyzabad], built by that famous rich man 
 N. N.,* late in the evening a certain Nat came to him without 
 making known his name, but the admirable splendour that 
 issued from his body and illumined all the objects in the con- 
 vent, sufficiently showed his illustrious lineage. He immedi- 
 ately entered the room where the Divine Wisdom then was, 
 and having adored him with the greatest respect, began his re- 
 quest as follows: 'Great and omnipotent God, supreme 
 master of the law, a multitude of just souls, both among the 
 Nat and among men, aspiring after the perfect repose of the 
 Niban,, have hitherto been searching after the means by which 
 the hearts of creatures may put off all evil inclinations ; but in 
 vain. Thee, therefore, do we supplicate, who alone knowest all 
 these things, to reveal them to us.' To whom the God re- 
 plied : l ' O Nat ! know that to keep far from the company of 
 the ignorant, to be always in the society of the learned, and to 
 give respect and honour to whom they are due, are three means 
 of overcoming any inordinate affection. O Nat ! by the choice 
 of a place of abode proper to one's station, and adapted for 
 satisfying all the common wants of life : by having always in 
 store some merit acquired in a former life, and by ever main- 
 taining in one's own person a prudent carriage : by these three 
 precepts likewise may a man be preserved from evil-doing. O 
 Nat ! the vastness of learning, the comprehension of all things 
 that are not evil, the perfect knowledge of the duties of one's 
 
 * It is said that this convent cost 90,000,000,000 crowns. 
 J In this sermon Buddha has condensed almost all the moral virtues. 
 Bigandet, i. p. 123
 
 131 
 
 state of life, and the observance of piety and modesty in words ; 
 these are four most excellent means whereby we may renounce 
 all wicked actions. O Nat ! by ministering to one's father and 
 mother their proper sustenance, by providing for the wants of 
 one's wife and children, by the purity and honesty of every 
 action, by almsdeeds, by the observance of the divine precepts, 
 by succouring in their necessities those who are united to us by 
 the ties of kindred, finally by everything else in which there is 
 no sin, by all these means may we be preserved from evil deeds. 
 O Nat ! by such a freedom from all faults, that not even the 
 inferior part of the soul manifests any affection for them, by 
 the abstinence from all intoxicating drink, by the never-failing 
 practice of all the works of piety, by showing respect to all, by 
 being humble before all, by sobriety, by gratitude to our bene- 
 factors, and finally by listening from time to time to the 
 preaching of the word of God, by these means also may we 
 overcome our evil inclinations and keep ourselves far from 
 sin. O Nat ! the virtue of patience, docility in receiving the 
 admonitions of good men, frequent visits to priests, spiritual 
 conferences on the divine laws, frugality and modesty in our 
 exterior, the perfect observance, that is, the observance to the 
 letter of the law, having ever before our eyes the four states 
 into which living creatures will pass after death, and finally, 
 the meditation on the happy repose of the Niban, these are all 
 distinguished precepts for preserving man from wickedness. 
 
 Nat ! that intrepidity and serenity of mind which good men 
 preserve amid the eight calamities of life, in abundance and 
 want, in censure and praise, in joy and distress, in popularity 
 and abandonment, the absence of all fear or inquietude of 
 heart, the freedom from the dark mists of concupiscence, 
 finally insensibility to suffering, these are four rare gifts that 
 remove man far away from all affection to evil. Wherefore, O 
 Nat ! imprint well upon your heart the thirty-eight precepts 
 
 1 have just delivered, let them be deeply rooted there, and see 
 to put them in execution.' 
 
 40. Another time when Godama was standing in the above- 
 mentioned convent, he expounded to tfce assembled Talapoins 
 the five rules for alms, according as opportunities present 
 themselves for exercising them. These are, hospitality to our
 
 132 DESCRIF1TON OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 guests and to travellers, ministering to the wants of sick Tala- 
 poins, and, in times of scarcity, to those of all persons, and, 
 finally, the payment of the first-fruits of rice and fruit to the 
 Talapoins. Speaking of the merit of alms, he declared that 
 those given to animals stand lowest in the scale, next come 
 such as are administered to widows, then those to persons who 
 observe the five commandments, and practise the ten good 
 deeds. Superior in merit to these are alms to the saints, to 
 the Talapoins and to God, and particularly the erection of a 
 convent. But all these are surpassed in merit by the adora- 
 tion of the three most excellent things, God, the law, and the 
 Talapoins ; and still more meritorious is prayer for the salva- 
 tion of all living creatures. The most meritorious action of all 
 is the deep meditation on the miseries of life, and the convic- 
 tion that we cannot free ourselves from them. 
 
 Before passing to the Niban, Godama confirmed all these his 
 precepts, and added, that the real adoration of God does not 
 consist in offering him rice, flowers, or sandal-wood, but in the 
 observance of his laws. 
 
 41. In another sermon, Godama speaks of the different 
 objects of our charity, and of the merits acquired by succour- 
 ing them. He mentions fourteen of them, 1. animals, 2. 
 huntsmen and fishermen, 3. merchants, 4. the Talapoins, 
 then different classes of saints, and lastly God. Alms that are 
 given to animals carry with them five rewards : long life, 
 beauty, prosperity both as to soul and body, great strength, 
 and knowledge ; and all these will be enjoyed through a 
 hundred transmigrations. The same will be the reward of 
 alms to huntsmen and fishermen, but through the course of a 
 thousand transmigrations ; the third species of almsgivers will 
 enjoy them through ten thousand, and so on in proportion 
 through all the classes of Talapoins and saints till we come to 
 God, when the reward will last for an infinity of transmigra- 
 tions. 
 
 42. In a sermon, which Godama delivered for the instruction 
 of a young Brahmin, he explains the reason why, in the world, 
 some are born rich and others poor, some beautiful and others 
 deformed ; which diversity he derives from the good or evil 
 deeds committed in preceding lives. In another, he prescribes
 
 RELIGION OF THE BURMESE 133 
 
 the manner in which the festivals on the days of the new and 
 full moon, and of the first and last quarter, ought to be 
 observed. Whoever wishes to acquire great merit must not 
 limit himself to the customary adorations and offerings on 
 these days, but must spend them in meditating on the favours 
 of God and the excellence of his law : he must be contented 
 with one simple dish in the morning, and with little or no 
 sleep at night, which should be passed in reading good books ; 
 and he must keep himself separated from his wife. As it is, 
 moreover, forbidden to do any work on these days, every one 
 must be careful to despatch all necessary business the day 
 before, that so he may be free from all cares or distractions. 
 It is likewise the duty of all people to exhort each other to the 
 proper observance of the festival. 
 
 43. A young disciple, who had refused to learn anything of 
 almsdeeds or other works of piety, was one day met by 
 Godama, who thus accosted him : ' All who aspire to perfec- 
 tion must be careful to avoid the four works which do hurt to 
 living creatures ; as well as the fourteen base deeds, and the 
 four Gati : by thus flying away from evil, and ever seeking to 
 acquire merit in this life, as well as in future ones, they will at 
 length attain to the Niban. The four works that do hurt to 
 living creatures are murder, theft, deceit, and adultery. The 
 four Gati are committed by judges, when, on account of 
 presents, consanguinity or friendship, they decide unjustly: 
 when through hatred to the party who has reason on his side 
 they pronounce against him : when through ignorance they 
 give judgment in favour of him who does not deserve it ; and, 
 finally, when through fear or respect of persons, as of Man- 
 darins, or rich or powerful men, they commit injustice. Those 
 offenders also are here comprised who do not divide property 
 equally as they ought, through love, fear, hatred, or ignorance. 
 Besides this, a man must refrain from the six things that are 
 called ruinous ; which are the love of intoxicating liquors, the 
 custom of wandering about the streets at unseasonable hours, 
 too great a passion for dancing, games, and spectacles, gaming, 
 frequenting vicious company, lastly, slothfulness and negli- 
 gence in the performance of one's duf;^. For from these spring 
 six great evils. Drunkenness is the cause of the loss of goods
 
 134 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 and reputation, of quarrels, diseases, immodesty of dress, dis- 
 regard of honour, and incapacity for learning ; unseasonable 
 wanderings expose a man to great dangers, and, by keeping 
 him from his family, oblige him to leave the chastity of his 
 wife and daughter unprotected ; and moreover his possessions 
 are thus liable to depredations. He may likewise be taken in 
 the company of thieves and be punished with them. A passion 
 for shows draws a man from his occupations, and hinders him 
 from gaining his livelihood. In gaming, success is followed by 
 intrigues and quarrels ; loss, by bitterness and sorrow of heart, 
 as well as dilapidation of fortune ; the gamester is incapaci- 
 tated by law to give testimony, nor can he have a wife or 
 mother-in-law, for no one loves the gambler. Finally, fre- 
 quenting the company of the vicious will lead a man into the 
 houses of women of ill fame, into drunkenness and gluttony, 
 into deceit and robbery, and all kinds of disorders.' Godama 
 then passed on to speak of false friends ; whom he described as 
 always making show of friendship without having its reality, 
 professing a love which they do not feel, giving little that they 
 may receive much, and being friends to a man only because he 
 is rich, or because they have need of his favour. Those too are 
 false friends \rho give a promise in words, but are far from 
 fulfilling it in their actions, and, finally, those who are ever 
 ready to assist a man in evil, but never in doing good. ' But," 1 
 the God proceeds, ' there are four species of real friends ; first, 
 those who are such both in adversity and in prosperity : 
 secondly, those who give good advice on proper occasions, even 
 at the peril of their lives : thirdly, those who take care of 
 whatever belongs to him they love : fourthly, those who teach 
 a man what is good, who are delighted in his prosperity, and 
 sorrowful in his misfortunes. 1 * 
 
 Godama then goes on to instruct the young man in the 
 mutual duties of fathers and children, masters and slaves. 
 Children are, in particular, obliged to respect their parents, to 
 provide for all their wants, and to reflect often on the benefits 
 they have received from them in their earlier years, and on the 
 care they then took to assist and nourish them ; they ought 
 also to cultivate their fields, to listen to their words and 
 advice, and to give some alms for them. Parents, on the
 
 RELIGION OF THE BURMESE 135 
 
 other hand, have five duties to discharge with respect to their 
 children. They must keep them far from all wickedness, 
 procure that they always have good companions, they must 
 instruct them, and teach them to give alms and do other pious 
 works, and, when they have arrived at the proper age, be 
 careful to marry them. The duties of scholars towards their 
 masters, and of the latter to their scholars, are nearly the same 
 as those just mentioned. Scholars are to give their instructors 
 honour and respect ; they must make way for them whenever 
 they are in their company, must go to meet them, wash their 
 feet, and attend upon them, especially in sickness ; finally, they 
 must be diligent in learning what they inculcate on them. 
 Masters, on the other hand, ought to teach their pupils all 
 things that are useful, and be desirous that they should become 
 as learned as themselves. 
 
 The duties of the husband to the wife and of the wife to the 
 husband are five. The husband should speak to his wife 
 respectfully, should not ill-treat her or beat her like a slave, 
 should not desert her to live with another woman, and, finally, 
 should commit to her the care of his house. The wife, on her 
 part, should look after the kitchen, and be careful to provide 
 all things necessary for her husband, and the whole family ; 
 she should collect the goods of the house, and be attentive to 
 their preservation, and should never be slothful in doing her 
 domestic duties. Finally, speaking of masters and slaves, 
 Godama says, that the former should adapt the labours of his 
 slaves to their strength and capacities, should give them their 
 maintenance, and treat them well, but particularly be atten- 
 tive to them when sick. Slaves should get up to work in the 
 morning before their masters, and to go to bed after them at 
 night ; should look to the interest of their masters in their 
 labours, and in everything else, and, finally, should take 
 nothing but what is allowed them. 
 
 44. Godama has left many instructions for the Talapoins, in 
 which he exhorts them, from the consideration of the miseries 
 of human nature, of the perishableness of all earthly things, 
 and especially of corporeal beauty, to put away all carnal 
 desires and aspire to the Niban. In another of his sermons he 
 says, that we should divide our goods and share them with the
 
 136 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 poor, in the same way as travellers in a desert country share 
 their provisions with their companions ; for the poor are our 
 companions in the journey to a future life. He adds, that an 
 alms done by a poor man is of infinitely greater merit than 
 that of a rich one; that the only faithful companions, who 
 will not desert us in the life to come, are our good deeds, and 
 that the only good that will continue with us unaltered, even 
 to old age, is the observance of the law ; for this no thief 
 can take away. 
 
 45. In another sermon which Godama addressed to his son 
 after he had become a Talapoin, to teach him how to over- 
 come his inordinate appetites, his anger, and his pride, he 
 suggests to him various considerations on the constitution of 
 his body. That nothing about it is permanent, but all its 
 parts are subject to perpetual changes. And since he must 
 lose it by death, therefore he ought to say within himself, This 
 is not my body. And as the earth is immovable, and all 
 things that are thrown upon it, even if it be gold and silver 
 are but as filth, and as water carries all things away with it, 
 both good and bad, and as fire burns all that comes in its way 
 without distinction, so ought he to be fixed and unalterable, 
 superior to all things and intent only on the Niban. One day, 
 as this his son was asking about his inheritance, Godama 
 answered him, that this was not the time to think of such 
 things, and that he ought to wean himself from all attachment 
 even to the things most necessary to him, such as rice, his bed, 
 etc. When he gave him into the care of one of his disciples to 
 be instructed in letters, he was also careful to* exhort him to 
 lay aside every sentiment of pride, to forget that he belonged 
 to the royal stock, and that he was the son of a God. In 
 another place he teaches him not to let his affections be 
 occupied by this world, and not to give himself up to the 
 pleasures of sense, but to aspire to the Niban alone : moreover, 
 that, having what is sufficient to satisfy his hunger to-day, he 
 should not think of to-morrow ; and that, having one coat, he 
 should not wish for another. He admonishes him to observe 
 the five sorts of modesty proper to the five bodily senses, not 
 to look upon indecent objects, not to listen to lascivious songs, 
 not to give way to murmuring, to abstain from the immoderate
 
 RELIGION OF THE BURMESE 137 
 
 use of perfumes, not to exceed in the pleasures of the palate, 
 and to restrain the hands from unlawful touches. He recom- 
 mends to him modesty in his exterior, but to avoid at the same 
 time all vain ornaments in his dress, and, finally, exhorts him 
 to conceive a loathing for the laws of transmigration and to 
 aspire to the Niban. 
 
 46. Godama had two sisters who, not having been married, 
 were made Talapoinesses. They were, however, vain of their 
 great beauty. The God, to show them how frail all beauty is, 
 created a most beautiful damsel, and placed her beside him at 
 a time when his sisters were coming to see him. They were 
 struck with envy on seeing her, but he in an instant caused her 
 face to become wrinkled, all her teeth to fall out, and her hair 
 to turn grey. The two sisters were thereby convinced of the 
 vanity of their beauty, and became saints. 
 
 47. It once happened that a Talapoin conceived a criminal 
 passion for a woman, who however died before he had accom- 
 plished his desire. Godama caused the dead body to be kept 
 till it had become putrid, and worms issued from every part 
 of it. Godama then made the following discourse to the 
 assembled multitude : ' Man, when he is alive, can move him- 
 self and pass from one place to another, but when he is dead 
 he is nothing but a motionless trunk. This body, which is 
 composed of 300 bones, of 900 veins, and as many muscles, is 
 full of intestines, phlegm, and mucus; from nine different 
 apertures disgusting matter is discharged ; a stinking perspira- 
 tion exudes from all its pores, and yet there are people so 
 foolish, as not merely to cherish their own bodies, but also to 
 fall in love with those of other persons. This body, which 
 even when alive is so disgusting, when it is dead becomes a 
 carcase, which its own relations cannot look upon without 
 horror. After two days it begins to swell, on the third it 
 becomes green and black, worms come from it in every part, 
 and, when in the grave, it is gnawed by the most despicable 
 insects. Whoever considers these things will be persuaded, 
 that in the body there is nothing but decay and misery ; and, 
 therefore, he will cast off all affection to it, and turn all his 
 desires to the Niban, where these evils do not exist.' 
 
 48. In another sermon, delivered before a number of Nat
 
 138 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 and Talapoins, Godama speaks of the various means of obtain- 
 ing the Niban. Those who pride themselves in their birth or 
 in their possessions, or indulge in any such criminal complacen- 
 cies, which are as it were a wall of separation, can never reach 
 to the Niban. No one ought, therefore, to be ashamed of his 
 want of them. He gives also the following counsels to the 
 Talapoins, by which they may escape the law of transmigra- 
 tion. They must observe modesty in their five bodily senses ; 
 they must not run after feasts and such vanities ; they must 
 abstain from highly seasoned meats ; they must not make use 
 of any of the thirty-two species of vain and idle words ; they 
 must not take delight in thinking of any thing unlawful ; 
 when in sickness or pain they must not be impatient, nor give 
 way to weeping and lamentation ; when in the woods they 
 must not be afraid, nor run away, but must remain unmoved 
 in their proper places ; they must extinguish in themselves all 
 evil inclinations ; they must not too frequently change their 
 habitation ; they must not be scrupulous and irresolute in 
 acting ; they must, above all things, be assiduous in prayer and 
 meditation ; they must not seek after magnificence and super- 
 fluity ; they must not be given to sleep, but, dividing the 
 night into six parts, they must employ four of them in prayer 
 and meditation and in repeating the Vini, one in providing for 
 their corporal wants, and one only in sleep ; they must fly 
 from sloth, lying, immoderate laughter, vain joy, and play ; 
 they must abhor sorcery, and not give credit to dreams ; when 
 abused or derided they must not give way to anger, and when 
 praised must not be puffed up; they must not envy others, 
 their Bao, their dress, etc. ; they must not flatter benefactors 
 to draw alms from them, nor preach sermons in which they 
 display their desire of them; they must not admit of any 
 bitterness or acrimony in talking, nor deride, nor despise, nor 
 inj ure others ; they ought, finally, to accommodate themselves 
 to the opinions of others, not to give occasion for dissension. 
 
 A Talapoin ought never to consent to any bad thoughts, 
 such, for example, as regard indecencies, or the injury of one's 
 neighbour; and he who does consent to them, and take 
 pleasure in them, indeed who does not drive them away from 
 him, shows that he has no fear of sinning, and is therefore in a
 
 RELIGION OF THE BURMESE 139 
 
 state of sinful cowardice. But he who does not consent to 
 such thoughts, but hastens to drive them from his mind, truly 
 seeks after sanctity, and has a real desire of the Niban. 
 
 The Talapoins immediately on waking should hasten with 
 alacrity to prayer and giving thanks to God, saying within 
 themselves, ' How great a favour has God bestowed upon me, in 
 manifesting to me his law, through the observance of which I 
 may escape hell and secure my salvation/ Talapoins who do 
 this increase every day in merit, and extinguish within them 
 all the remains of concupiscence : hence they will soon acquire 
 those dispositions which are the sure preparation for the Niban. 
 There are three degrees of suffering, the first is, when a man 
 takes pleasure in agreeable things : the second, when he is 
 afflicted with disagreeable ones : the third, when he is neither 
 pleased with prosperity nor afflicted by adversity, and the last 
 is the state of sanctity. Talapoins, therefore, ought to force 
 themselves to look upon all tilings with this disposition, and 
 then they will be free from all hurtful desires and will arrive 
 ultimately at the Niban. 
 
 Meditation on the constitution of the body of man is also 
 much recommended in this sermon to the Talapoins ; that 
 thus its weakness and misery and vileness may be ever before 
 their eyes. They should often say to themselves, ' This body 
 of mine is the receptacle of a thousand impurities,' etc. They 
 should think in particular of the respiration and perspira- 
 tion ; because by such thoughts the mind is freed from many 
 vain and useless fancies, and disposed towards holiness. To 
 say within one's self, ' I have no power over this my body : it 
 is not subject to my will : I cannot secure it against alteration, 
 or decay, or destruction,' this is an act of the greatest merit, 
 and conducts to perfection. They are once more recommended 
 to shun all vanity and curiousness in their apparel or in their 
 furniture, to be contented with whatever food is offered them, 
 to observe modesty in their looks, particularly when abroad in 
 the streets, not staring about them or suffering their eyes to 
 look more than four cubits before them. They should be 
 grave in their gait and firm as a chariot. They should break 
 off from their friends and relations, considering that death will 
 one day effectually separate them ; and that good works are
 
 140 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 our only hopes, and our only true friends. In such thoughts 
 as these should the day be spent, and thus the heart will be 
 fixed in doing all that is good. 
 
 Finally, Godama menaces them with the pains of hell, if 
 they do contrary to what he has commanded them. And when 
 they have passed through all its torments, they will be driven 
 into another mountain there to endure new miseries, to be 
 torn by crows and vultures, to be covered with clothes of fire, 
 and to carry always in their hand Sabeits of living fire.
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 SUPERSTITIONS OF THE BURMESE 
 
 49. THERE perhaps is not an nation in the world so given to 
 superstition as the Burmese. 1 Not only do they practise 
 judicial astrology, and divination, and put faith in dreams, 
 but they have besides an infinity of foolish and superstitious 
 customs. No sooner is an infant born, than they run to some 
 Brahmin to learn what is the constellation that presided at its 
 birth, and this is written upon a palm-leaf, together with the 
 day and hour of the birth, to serve for the divinations of which 
 we shall just now speak. The Beden, which, as has been said, 
 is a book of judicial astrology, distributes the stars into a 
 number of asterisms or constellations, distinguished by the 
 names of different men, animals, etc. They believe, or at least 
 feign to believe, as did the ancient Greeks and Romans, that 
 many men and women after their death were transformed into 
 
 1 For existing superstitions see the chapter on Manners and Customs in Spear- 
 man's British Burma Gazetteer. Many are mentioned in the codes called Dham- 
 mathats, and though immemorial, are for the most part in Dr. Forchhammer's 
 opinion, not indigenous, but derived from India through Brahmans ; tattooing 
 and a few ether oddities excepted. 'Theflunnas (Skr. Punya, Pall Punna) are 
 Brahmans, who at various periods settled in Burma, generally living in separate 
 quarters in or near the capitals of Burmese kings. The royal astrologers and 
 gurus were always /#a.r : from the capital they spread all over the country in 
 the capacity of teachers, astrologers and physicians. The Sanskrit and Bengali 
 works found with them belong to the Tantrasastras, Jyotisastras and Kamasastras 
 of Gangetic India : they study chiefly the Samaveda.' Forchhammer's Jardim 
 Prize Essay, p. 21. Bishop Bigandet tells us how he learned from one of these 
 Pounhas the mode of finding out by calculation the state of the heavens at any 
 given hour whatever, a mode entirely based on the Hindu system. Bigandet, i. 
 p. 29. The presence of these Brahmans at the Royal Court is often mentioned by 
 our Envoys : they may be seen any day, telling fortunes at the pagodas. The 
 Indian Brahmans employed themselves in the same way many centuries ago. 
 See the quotations from Strabo, Fah Hian and others in Sykes' Notes on India, 
 London, 1841, pp. 33, 127.
 
 142 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 these constellations, and hence they give to them different 
 influences, corresponding with the attributes of the person or 
 thing whose name they bear. Thus the following history is 
 told of the origin of the constellation, called in the Beden, 
 Nave. A giantess who lived to the east of Pegu, having 
 conceived the desire of taking a husband, transformed herself 
 into a rich lady, and thus accomplished her desire. At her 
 death, the body was placed upon a car, to be conveyed to the 
 place of sepulture, but both the car and body disappeared in 
 an instant, and was placed in heaven among the stars, in the 
 figure Nave. Hence all who are born under this constellation 
 
 o 
 
 are deformed and rude in manners, but rich ; and the males 
 are in general great merchants. 
 
 Of another constellation called the head of the stag it is 
 related that a king, going out one day to hunt, met a doe big 
 with young. It fled away at his approach, but through fright 
 brought forth in its flight. The king caused the young one to 
 be taken care of, and used to go every day t6 visit it. This 
 offended the queen, and she caused the animal to be killed, 
 upon which it was transformed into a constellation. The king 
 afterwards died with grief for the death of his favourite. 
 Wherefore those who are born when this constellation prevails 
 generally die of grief. And of this kind are their stories 
 concerning all the constellations. 
 
 50. The Burmese possess a large volume containing a full 
 account of all their superstitious observances, and of the 
 different omens of good or evil fortune, to be drawn from an 
 immense number of objects; as from the wood with which 
 their houses are built, from their boats and carriages, from the 
 aspects of the sun, moon, and planets, from the howling of 
 dogs, and the singing of birds, etc., and also from the involun- 
 tary movements of the members of one^s own body. We will 
 here translate some portions of this book, as specimens of the 
 superstitions which paganism conducts to. 
 
 51. This book, which is called Deitton, in the treatise on 
 the wood used in building, distinguishes various kinds. Such 
 beams as are equally large at the top as at the bottom are 
 called males: those which are thicker at the bottom than 
 above are females : the neuters are those in which the middle
 
 RELIGION OF THE BURMESE 143 
 
 is thickest ; and when the greatest thickness is at the top, they 
 are called giants ; finally, when a piece of wood on being cut, 
 and falling to the ground, rebounds from its place, it is called 
 monkey-wood. Whoever lives in a house made of male wood, 
 will be happy in all places, and at all times, and in all circum- 
 stances ; but if the wood of any person's house be neuter, 
 continual misery will be his lot, and if it be of the gigantic 
 species he will die. By dividing the two pieces of wood which 
 form the stairs into ten compartments, and observing in which 
 the knots occur, we may also learn a man's fortune. If a knot 
 be found in the first compartment, it is a sign that the master 
 of the house will be honoured by princes ; if in the second, that 
 he will abound in rice and all kinds of provisions ; but if there 
 be one in the fourth division, then a son, or a nephew, or a 
 slave, or an ox of the master will die; a knot in the sixth 
 division is a sign of riches in oxen and buffalos ; but one in the 
 eighth portends the death of his wife ; and finally one in the 
 tenth is an augury of great possessions in gold and silver and 
 such other valuables. 
 
 52. From the wood used in the construction of the houses 
 the Deitton passes to the holes in which the poles that support 
 them are fixed : for if these be square, it is a sign of sickness : 
 and divers other prognostics are drawn from the manner in 
 which they are dug, and from the different substances that are 
 met with in making them. Hence various rules are given for 
 choosing a spot of ground for the foundation of houses. 
 
 53. The next sources of superstition are the boats and 
 carriages ; for from the knots that are in them good or bad 
 success is assigned to the possessors ; as also from the different 
 objects they meet with on their progresses, on different days of 
 the week. 
 
 54. All involuntary movements of the eyes, the head or the 
 forehead are considered as indications of the lot of those in 
 whom they are observed, as their happiness, or of the honours 
 they will receive, or of a litigious disposition, etc. 
 
 55. The sun and the planets afford numerous signs from 
 prognostication. When any of them approaches the disk of the 
 moon, and especially if any of them passes over it, great evils 
 are apprehended ; as the destruction of kingdoms, and the ruin
 
 144 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 of countries. If the sun rises with a terrible aspect, great 
 murders will follow ; but if it appear with extraordinary 
 brightness, then there will be war. In those four months in 
 which Venus is not seen, in any month when an eclipse or an 
 earthquake happens, and in that in which the year commences, 
 it is unlucky to marry or to build a house or to cut one^s hair, 
 as death by drowning or some such dreadful catastrophe will 
 be the consequence. 
 
 If the planet Mercury approaches the moon, it is a sign that 
 the embankments of the rice-grounds will be ruined and the 
 waters dried up. If Saturn approaches it, there will be war 
 upon the confines of the kingdom ; and if Mars comes near, 
 all things will be sold at high prices. If this planet passes to 
 the left of the Pleiads, it is a sign of a great earthquake ; and 
 so of many other combinations of the planets, from which 
 auguries are derived. The appearance of comets is also con- 
 sidered as ominous. 
 
 56. In the time of war, or during a lawsuit there is a curious 
 way of finding out the success to be expected. Three figures 
 are made of cooked rice, one representing a lion, another an ox, 
 and a third a elephant. These are exposed to the crows, and 
 the augury is taken according to which is eaten. If they fall 
 on the figure of the lion, it is a sign of victory, if they eat that 
 of the ox, things will be made up by accommodation, but if 
 they take the elephant, then bad success is to be looked for. 
 
 57. When a dog carries any unclean thing to the top of a 
 house, it is supposed that the master will become rich. If a 
 hen lay her egg upon cotton, its master will become poor. If 
 a person, who is going to conclude a lawsuit, meet on the road 
 another carrying brooms or spades, the suit will be long, and 
 in the end he will be deceived. If the wind should carry away 
 any of the leaves of the betel, when, according to custom, it is 
 being carried to the house of a newly married woman, it is a 
 sign that the marriage will be unhappy, and that a separation 
 will ensue. 
 
 If in going to war or to prosecute a lawsuit, a person meet 
 with a fish, there will be no war, and the lawsuit will cease ; if 
 he see another catching a goat, the Mandarins will exact many 
 presents, the client will be deceived, and the lawsuit a long
 
 RELIGION OF THE BURMESE 145 
 
 one ; if he meet any one carrying packages, then everything 
 will succeed to his wishes ; if he meet a serpent, the affair will 
 be long ; if a dog or a female elephant or a person playing on 
 the instrument called Zaun, a species of cymbal, 1 all things will 
 go well. 
 
 58. In divers places this book also speaks of the prognostics 
 to be taken from the cawing of crows, from the baying of 
 dogs, from the different situations and forms in which bees 
 make their combs, from the manner in which fowls lay their 
 eggs, from various birds, such as the vulture and the crow, 
 which light upon the trees or the roofs of houses, and from 
 the shape of the holes made by mice in different substances. 
 It treats also of dreams ; and from the hour of their occur- 
 rence and the things represented in them shows what auguries 
 are to be drawn. But we should never finish were we to 
 extract all the follies of this book, for they are so numerous, 
 and, at the same time, so inconsistent with common comfort, 
 that, as one of our oldest missionaries has observed, if a man 
 were to be entirely guided by it he would not have a house to 
 live in nor a road to walk on nor clothes to cover him nor 
 even rice for his food ; and yet the blind and ignorant Burmese 
 place the greatest faith in it, and endeavour to regulate all 
 their actions according to its directions. And when they find 
 that to a certainty some misfortune is hanging over them, they 
 have recourse to the diviners and to other superstitions, by 
 which the bad omens may be corrected. 
 
 59. These superstitions are common to all the Burmese, but 
 there are others that belong to particular persons, and to which 
 they are beyond all measure attached. Of this kind are dreams, 
 and the observance of lucky and unlucky days ; for they believe 
 that some days are peculiarly unlucky for beginning a journey 
 either by land or water, and that others, on the contrary, are 
 very lucky. But they have in particular an implicit confidence 
 in their soothsayers, who are most commonly Brahmins. They 
 are consulted on every affair of importance, and on every event, 
 even though it depend entirely on the freewill of man. If a 
 man thinks of undertaking a journey or instituting a lawsuit, 
 
 1 The zaun is a stringed instrument. 
 
 K
 
 146 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 he runs to the soothsayer to learn what will be its success. If 
 a person falls sick, or loses a slave or some animal, not only 
 will he consult the diviner on the probable end of his malady, 
 but he asks where he is to find a physician, or in what direc- 
 tion he is to go in search of what he has lost. In order to 
 reply to these questions the Brahmin will first draw his horo- 
 scope in the manner of the following scheme : 
 
 Rahu 
 
 Venus 
 
 Sun 
 
 North-west 
 
 North 
 
 North-east 
 
 Age 12 
 
 Age 21 
 
 Age 6 
 
 Jupiter 
 
 
 Moon 
 
 West 
 
 
 East 
 
 Age 19 
 
 
 Age 15 
 
 Saturn 
 
 Mercury 
 
 Mars 
 
 South-west 
 
 South 
 
 South-east 
 
 Age 10 
 
 Age 17 
 
 Age 8 
 
 The Burmese, as has been before remarked, admit eight 
 planets, from which the days of the week have their names. 
 But since there are but seven days, Wednesday has two planets, 
 Mercury, which presides from sunrise to mid-day, and Rahu, 
 whose reign is from mid-day till night. To these eight planets, 
 disposed in the order in which they stand in the scheme, dif- 
 ferent ages are assigned, the sun being the youngest, as it is 
 only six years old. The ages of men are supposed to have some 
 connection with the ages of the planets, and on this ground 
 the calculation of a man's fortune proceeds ; for some of these 
 planets have a malignant and others a benign influence. The 
 four placed in the cardinal points are good planets, the others 
 evil ones, particularly Rahu. The passage of the age of men 
 into that of the planets is always of bad augury ; and the worst
 
 RELIGION OF THE BURMESE 147 
 
 passage is that from the age of the moon to the age of Mars. 
 For example, when a man enters upon the seventh year of his 
 age, he passes from the age of the sun to that of the moon ; 
 and when he enters the twenty-second, he is said to pass into 
 the age of Mars. Now if any one desires to know how he will 
 succeed in an affair, as for example if he will meet with dangers 
 in a journey he is going to undertake, the diviner will first ask 
 him the day of his birth, and then his age. He next divides 
 the latter by eight, since there are eight planets, and then 
 counts the number that remains upon the horoscope, beginning 
 with the planet that presided on the day of his birth, and 
 passing round through the houses of the planets. The house 
 where the number finishes will give the fate of the enterprise, 
 according to the aspect of the planet that is in it. Thus, for 
 example, suppose a person born on a Monday, whose age is 
 twenty-three ; divide this by eight, and there will remain, after 
 the division, seven. If now we begin from the house of the 
 moon, as the person was born on a Monday, and count through 
 those of Mars, Mercury, etc., we shall finish in Venus, and the 
 good or bad success of the undertaking must be determined by 
 the nature of this planet. If a person were born on a Wednes- 
 day after mid-day, we must begin to count from the house of 
 llahu, and go on through that of Venus, etc. If after dividing 
 the age by eight there be no remainder, then the augury must 
 be taken from the planet of the birth ; so that for a person 
 born on a Monday, and in his twenty-fourth year, the moon is 
 the fatal planet ; for eight divides twenty-four exactly, without 
 leaving a remainder. 
 
 60. The Burmese diviners, in the same manner as gypsies 
 among us, read a person's fortune in the palm of his hand and 
 the lines it exhibits. Thus if the palm be red, it is a sign of a 
 large circle of friends ; but if it be black it is a sign of misfor- 
 tune. Black lines in the hand denote prudence, and if they 
 reach the upper part of the palm, they promise happiness. A 
 great number of lines is a sign of very great happiness, and of 
 the possession of many friends and a numerous offspring. When 
 there is but a single line in the thumb or little finger, the per- 
 son so marked will live 110 years ; if there are two lines his life 
 will be of eighty or ninety years ; if three, of seventy ; and if
 
 148 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 four, of sixty. Long fingers show that a person has many 
 daughters, short ones that he is lascivious. If the little lines 
 on the top of the forefinger are disposed in circles, happiness 
 is predicted ; but if they merely describe the arc of a circle, 
 misery and great afflictions must be looked for. In all these 
 auguries, the right hand of a man, and the left of a woman is 
 to be consulted. 
 
 61. Talismans are also much in use among the Burmese ; and 
 they are of several kinds. Some they wear round the neck, 
 others round the wrist; and they think to be preserved by them 
 from sickness and all kinds of witchcraft. There is one species 
 much esteemed among the soldiers, consisting of a piece of 
 lead or other metal, which is buried in the flesh. They imagine 
 by these means to make themselves invulnerable. The figures 
 of tigers, dogs, and other animals, which they paint upon their 
 legs and thighs, may also be considered as so many talismans, 
 for they believe that through them they will be safe, not only 
 from these animals, but also from every kind of assault what- 
 soever. 1 
 
 One of their most potent talismans is a handle of ivory or 
 buffalo's horn, upon which are carved several representations 
 of a certain monstrous ape. The history of this creature is as 
 follows: A Nat of the name of Mann at, being dead, passed 
 into the womb of a female ape, who shortly after brought forth 
 this famous monster. Its name is Hanuman, the compound of 
 the word Hanu, signifying an ape, and its former appellation. 2 
 The stature of this monster was enormous, being four leagues 
 and a half; it was possessed of the greatest agility, for at one 
 bound it could leap up to heaven, or pass a sea of the breadth 
 
 1 Mr. Eales, the compiler of the Burma Census Report of 1891, at p. 270, 
 vol. L, states that credulity and quackery are still common. In 1 88 1 a Shan 
 ' doctor ' was convicted before me as Judicial Commissioner at Rangoon of culp- 
 able homicide on the following facts : A Burman, desirous of protection against 
 sudden death, allowed a picture of the paddy-bird of Pegu to be tattooed on his 
 thigh by the Shan, and then, after his feet and hands had been tied together, to 
 be pushed from a boat into the Irawadi river, when the current carried him away 
 helpless, and he was drowned. The Shan had told him that the charm would 
 save him from sinking ; and several respectable witnesses for the defence swore 
 that they had seen similar experiments result in the bound man floating unhurt. 
 
 2 Hanuman is the monkey-god of the Hindus, and this history is an altered 
 version of an episode in the Ramayana.
 
 RELIGION OF THE BURMESE 149 
 
 of 100 leagues; and it had besides the property of transform- 
 ing itself into an ape of the ordinary size. Its strength was 
 prodigious, as it could break any mountain in pieces, or trans- 
 port it from one place to another ; finally, it was gifted with 
 immortality, so that none but the great king Ramamen could 
 destroy it. It could both understand and speak the language 
 of men. One day it mistook the sun for a fruit, and having 
 a great desire to eat it, jumped up to it, and seized it with its 
 hands to bring it down. But the Nat of the sun cursed it for 
 its boldness, and as a punishment sentenced it to be reduced to 
 an ape of the usual dimensions, to lose all its strength, agility, 
 and immortality, and to remain in this condition till the great 
 king Ramamen should appear, who by stroking its back three 
 times, would restore to it, together with its size, all its other 
 great qualities. And in fact, after this malediction, Hanuman 
 became a common ape, as powerless and as weak as any other of 
 its kind ; and so it remained till king Ramamen appeared. 
 He, having been informed of the curse and the prediction, and 
 being about to wage war with the king of the giants, sent for 
 Hanuman, and having stroked its back three times, restored it 
 to its former state, hoping now to derive great assistance from 
 it in his enterprise. And indeed he afterwards employed it in 
 the most arduous undertakings ; and, through its means, 
 obtained a complete victory over the giants, and recovered his 
 wife from their hands. Wherefore the Mandarins and all the 
 people believe, that by carving the figure of this monster upon 
 the ivory or bone handles of their daggers or swords, they com- 
 municate to them the virtue of cutting through every obstacle, 
 and of warding off the blows of any hostile weapon. 
 
 62. Besides these, we may also reckon among the supersti- 
 tions of the Burmese, the use of amatory philtres, and of 
 numerous recipes for obtaining a return of love ; a fear of 
 witches, admitted in the greatest excess ; and the medicines 
 against incantations, much praised by their physicians. It is 
 impossible to persuade the Burmese that there is no such thing 
 in nature as witches, and that they are not extremely malicious 
 and hurtful. They both believe in them, and have many super- 
 stitious practices for discovering them. The following is one 
 among many. The suspected woman is placed upon a little-
 
 150 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 bier, supported at each end by a boat, and a vessel full of 
 ordure is emptied upon her. The boats are then slowly drawn 
 from each other, till the woman falls into the water. If she 
 sinks, she is dragged out by a rope of green herbs tied round 
 her middle, and is declared innocent ; but if she swims, she is 
 convicted as a witch, and generally sent to some place where 
 the air is unwholesome. 1 
 
 1 This ordeal by water is common to Hindu law and practice, and found 
 among the nations of Europe. The last judicial conviction of a woman for 
 witchcraft in England was in 1712, and in Scotland some years later : the last 
 judicial execution in Europe was in Switzerland in 1782. But the practice of 
 ducking witches survived far into this century. See the Encyclopedia Britan- 
 nica, Articles Ordeal, Witchcraft, and the long discussion in Lecky's Rise of 
 Rationalism in Europe, ch. i. According to Shway Yoe this superstition is still 
 common in Burma. Mr. Taw Sein-Ko has supplied me with the following note 
 on the book which Sangermano calls Deitton : ' Deitton in Pall would be 
 Ditthum, which is not given by Childers in his Dictionary. I am inclined to 
 derive this word from dishta, appointed or settled, and um = AVM, the mystic 
 symbol which precedes every incantation. I have not met any Deitton either in 
 Pall or Sanskrit, but have seen several in Burmese. I think this treatise deals 
 with a subject similar to the geomancy of the Chinese, and was originally used 
 in deciding on the position of the king's palace and other public buildings.'
 
 MORAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION 
 OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 CHARACTER OF THE BURMESE 
 
 1. THE Burmese are, in general, of a moderate stature, their 
 limbs are well proportioned, and their physiognomy open and 
 not unpleasing. There are far fewer lame or deformed persons 
 amongst them than amongst us, which must be ascribed 
 primarily to the absence of the manner of swathing children 
 which we practise, but which is totally unknown to the 
 Burmese. The infant is left to the care of nature till it 
 arrives at the age of eleven or twelve, before which time it is 
 not encumbered with clothes, but is left to be formed to 
 strength and endurance by the action of the elements upon its 
 naked body. And, in fact, by these means all their limbs 
 become fully developed, and they acquire great strength, 
 activity, and insensibility to hardships. They are not only 
 able to endure the greatest heat, but are just as indifferent to 
 rain ; and as in Pegu, more than any other part of India, the 
 rains are remarkable for their violence and frequency, continu- 
 ing from the beginning of May to the end of October, their 
 patience in this respect is often put to the test. It is by no 
 means rare to see men, especially those who travel on the river, 
 sleeping in the open air while the rain is descending in torrents. 
 The complexion of the people is an olive-brown, but it varies 
 in shade according to the mixture of nations and the ex- 
 posure to the sun. Hence the women are generally fairer 
 than the men, and the children springing from the marriage of 
 a Burmese with a Siamese woman are of a lighter colour, while
 
 152 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 on the contrary, where the man is a Siamese and the woman a 
 Burmese, they are darker than the rest of the people. 
 
 2. From the nature of their Government, which, as has been 
 said, is above all measure despotic and tyrannical, it will easily 
 be imagined that the Burmese are distinguished for that servility 
 and timidity which is always the, characteristic of slaves. 
 Indeed every Burmese considers himself such, not merely be- 
 fore the Emperor and the Mandarins, but also before any one 
 who is his superior, either in age or possessions. Hence he 
 never speaks of himself to them in the first person, but always 
 makes use of the word Chiundo, that is, your slave. While 
 asking for a favour from the emperor, the Mandarins, or any 
 respectable person, he will go through so many humiliations 
 and adorations, that one would imagine he was in the presence 
 of a God. Even if he is desirous of obtaining something from 
 one who is his equal, he will bow, and go on his knees, and 
 adore him, and raise up his hands, etc. 
 
 3. It is a proverb in America that the slave must be 
 governed by the bastinado, and this is certainly the case with 
 the Burmese. Neither the love of fame, nor honour, nor 
 conscience is the spring of their actions, nothing but power 
 can prevail on them to do anything. The fear of punishment 
 alone renders them obedient to the laws and to the imperial 
 edicts, and gives them valour in war. 
 
 4. But if they are abject and dastardly towards the Emperor 
 and the Mandarins, they are in the same degree proud and 
 overbearing to those whom they think beneath them either in 
 rank or fortune. There is no contempt, oppression or injustice 
 they will not exercise towards their fellow-men, when they can 
 assure themselves of the protection of the Government. They 
 are thus vile and abject in adversity, but arrogant and pre- 
 sumptuous in prosperity. There is no one amongst them, 
 however poor and mean, who does not aim at the dignity of 
 Mandarin. For it is a frequent occurrence here for a man to 
 be raised in a moment, by the caprice of the monarch, from 
 the lowest state of poverty and degradation to the rank of 
 minister or general, and it is amusing to observe the instan- 
 taneous change such an event makes in a man^s demeanour. 
 He may have been modest, affable, and courteous before, but
 
 MORAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION 153 
 
 now he affects a tone of superiority and of gravity, and puts on 
 an imposing and severe air, so that one would hardly recognise 
 in him the man of yesterday. 
 
 5. Another characteristic of the Burmese is an incorrigible 
 idleness. Although the fertility and extent of their country 
 would seem to invite them with the prospect of great riches, 
 yet they are so indolent that they content themselves with 
 cultivating what is absolutely necessary for their maintenance, 
 and for paying the taxes. Hence, instead of spending their 
 time in improving their possessions, they prefer to give them- 
 selves up to an indolent repose, to spend the day in talking, 
 smoking, and chewing betel, or else to become the satellites 
 of some powerful Mandarin. The same hatred of labour leads 
 to an excessive love of gaming, and also to thieving, to which 
 they are much addicted. The severity of the laws against 
 theft is not sufficient to restrain their rapacity, and the whole 
 empire is overrun with robbers. 
 
 6. Among the principal precepts inculcated on the Burmese, 
 there is one that forbids lying ; but perhaps there is no law 
 less observed than this. It would seem that it is impossible 
 for this people to tell the truth ; nay a person who ventures to 
 do it is called a fool, a good kind of man, but not fitted for 
 managing his affairs. Dissimulation is the natural companion 
 of the last-mentioned habit, and the Burmese practise it to 
 perfection. They may have conceived an implacable enemity 
 to another, they may wish him every kind of evil, and be 
 endeavouring by words and actions to ruin him, but not the 
 slightest sign of their dislike will be observed in their exterior 
 deportment towards him ; they will wear a face of the greatest 
 complacency in his presence, and they will transact business 
 with him, and talk with him as if he were their dearest friend. 
 On the contrary, have they fixed their affections on anything, 
 and determined to make it theirs, then they will feign an 
 absolute dislike to it. 
 
 7. But as every rule will have its exceptions, it must not be 
 supposed that the Burmese have not some good qualities, and 
 that estimable persons may not be found amongst them. 
 Indeed, there are some persons whose affability, courtesy, 
 benevolence, gratitude, and other virtues contrast strongly with
 
 154 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 the vices of their countrymen. There are instances on record 
 of shipwrecks on their coast, when the sufferers have been 
 received in the villages, and treated with a generous hospitality 
 which they would probably not have experienced in many 
 Christian countries. 
 
 8. It must also be acknowledged that the observance of 
 festivals among the Burmese and their liberality do them 
 honour. In a month called lunar, the days of the new and 
 full moon and of the two other quarters are feasts. On these 
 days every one ceases from all labour, and with the greatest 
 recollection and modesty, goes to the Pagoda, to adore 
 Godama and to offer him their presents of cooked rice and 
 fruit. Even if the weather be tempestuous or rainy, and the 
 Pagoda distant a league from their habitation, they will not 
 fail in this act of religion. When they have finished their 
 offerings and adorations, many return to their homes, but 
 others remain in the vicinity of the Pagodas, and in the public 
 halls and porticos, of which there are always several in these 
 places, spend their time in reading religious books, or in 
 discoursing of God and his law. They content themselves 
 with one meal before mid-day, and even pass the night in 
 these places at a distance from their wives. 
 
 9. Though beggars are rare in this country, on account of 
 the cheapness of provisions, the Burmese do not want oppor- 
 tunities of exercising their liberality. For besides giving a daily 
 alms to their Talapoins, they all lay by something to be 
 applied to some work of public benefit, such as a convent of 
 Talapoins, a Pagoda, a hall, a portico, a pond, a bridge or a 
 well. They are very fond of thus signalising their generosity, 
 and will often deprive themselves of comforts, to have the 
 pleasure of being benefactors to the public. It is indeed true 
 that human views of vanity, or ambition, often enter into 
 these actions, but still religious motives always more or less 
 exist. For the Burmese believe that every good work they 
 perform will be rewarded in their future transmigrations, by 
 beauty, or riches or learning, or perhaps by their becoming 
 Nat. But whatever may be the motives for the works, the 
 public generally profits by them. And its sense of the benefit 
 is expressed by the honours paid to the benefactors. They
 
 MORAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION 155 
 
 are saluted by the titles of Prataga, Chiauntaga, Zarataga, etc., 
 that is, benefactors to the Pagodas, convents, or halls, and 
 these titles are as honourable with them as those of Duke or 
 Marquess among us. Their vanity is also flattered by the 
 festivals that are celebrated on the days when a convent 
 is given to the Talapoins, and, as it were, dedicated, or a 
 Pagoda or bridge thrown open to the public. The Saducco, 
 or convocation of the people to congratulate the person on the 
 completion of his undertaking, is a principal part of the 
 festivities on these occasions. A splendid banquet is given to 
 those assembled, which is succeeded by music, singing, and 
 dancing. Boxing-matches, in which the Burmese are very 
 expert, are also made, and prizes given to the victors, consist- 
 ing of handkerchiefs, pieces of cloth, and money, and sometimes 
 a species of comedy is exhibited with puppets. 
 
 10. Were it not for this liberality of the Burmese people, 
 all persons, but especially travellers, would suffer great incon- 
 veniences. For the Government takes no care of the roads or 
 the bridges ; and as there are no inns or places of public 
 entertainment, the traveller would often have to pass the night 
 in the open air, were it not for the halls and porticos that 
 every here and there are met with. He would, moreover, 
 probably die of thirst, but for the wells and ponds, where he 
 may stay to refresh himself, and cook his rice; for the traveller, 
 as well as the soldier, as we have said above, is obliged to 
 carry with him his provision of rice and napi. If the people 
 cannot afford to construct a well, at least they will place two 
 vessels of water, and a cocoa-nut shell with a handle for a cup, 
 that passengers may quench their thirst. 
 
 Nor are the Baos less beneficial to the public than the 
 works just mentioned. They are the schools, and indeed the 
 only ones in the empire, as the task of education is entirely 
 committed to the Talapoins. Hence in these convents all the 
 youth of the kingdom are placed, as soon as they have attained 
 their sixth or seventh year, and they generally wear the habit 
 for two or three years. 
 
 11. There is yet another point "In the character of the 
 Burmese that merits praise ; and this is their respect for age. 
 In every society the old men are treated with the greatest con-
 
 156 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 sideration, the first seats are surrendered to them ; and rever- 
 ence and veneration are always observed in speaking to them. 
 
 12. It may also be put down among the good qualities of 
 this people, that they consider all men as equal in condition. 
 Excepting the Mandarins and Talapoins, who, by reason of 
 their offices and sacred character, are regarded with an exces- 
 sive reverence, all men are treated as equal. Even the Man- 
 darins, when deposed, and the Talapoins, when they throw oft* 
 the habit, are regarded with no peculiar marks of distinction. 
 The Pariahs of the caste looked upon as the vilest in India, or 
 from the coast of Coromandel, or the Caffres, and negroes of 
 Guinea, who are regarded and treated by Europeans as little 
 better than beasts, may come into their confines, and the 
 Burmese will receive them with the same respect as the natives 
 of the most favoured country, and will have no scruple of 
 transacting business, or even of eating with them. 
 
 The slaves are, for the same reason, treated as children, and 
 as forming part of the family of their masters ; indeed it is 
 not a rare thing for them to become the sons-in-law of their 
 master. But it must be remembered that slavery is not for 
 life in these parts. If a man can save sufficient to pay the 
 debt for which he was enslaved, he becomes free. It often 
 happens that a man will sell his children or his wife or even 
 himself, to pay the taxes and imposts ; though these transac- 
 tions should be looked upon rather as pledges than sales, as 
 the slavery thus entered into is never perpetual. Hence none 
 but the slaves of the Pagodas, and those who are employed to 
 burn and bury the dead are considered as infamous, and with 
 these alone no one will contract marriage. 1 
 
 1 The charitable and religious practices described in this chapter are still 
 common, and excite the admiration of strangers. Monasteries, pagodas, rest- 
 houses, bridges and wells are built from religious motives and to commemorate 
 the founder or a father or husband. As in olden time in Europe, when memorial 
 churches, crosses, chantries and wells were common objects, the practice has 
 given much development to art.
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE BURMESE 
 
 13. THE dress of the Burmese is very simple. That of the 
 men consists of a piece of striped cloth, generally of cotton but 
 sometimes of silk, tied round the middle and hanging down to 
 the feet, being from eighteen to twenty cubits in length. It 
 is at times thrown over the shoulders, and when walking they 
 will often entirely gather it up round the middle. When they 
 pay a visit to a person of quality, and when they go to the 
 Pagodas, they put on a garment like a shirt of white linen, or 
 else of the nankeen of the country, which is open before and 
 reaches to the knees. 
 
 14. The dress of the women is also a piece of striped cotton 
 or silk, of a square or nearly square form, which they tie round 
 the middle, and the unmarried girls fold it over the bosom. 
 It is open in front, so that in walking the legs and part of the 
 thigh are exposed. But when they go abroad or to the Pago- 
 das, they put on an outer dress, similar to that of the men, 
 only a little shorter, and over the shoulders they throw a mantle 
 of muslin or silk. 
 
 15. Both men and women wear on their feet a sort of sandal, 
 made of wood or leather; and the latter species are for the most 
 part covered with red or green cloth of European manufacture. 
 Both sexes take great care of their hair, keeping it very long, 
 and, to preserve its lustre and colour, anointing it at least once 
 a day with the oil of sesame, called by the Portuguese in India 
 Gingili. The men gather it on the top of the head ; and, to 
 hinder it from falling, tie round it a white or coloured hand- 
 kerchief. The women simply tie it with a red ribbon, and let 
 it fall down behind. From their earliest childhood all are 
 accustomed to dye their teeth black^to hide, it would seem, , ^ 
 the spots which the constant use of betel produces upon them. 
 
 1 The custom has since died out in Burma, but is still found in Siam.
 
 158 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 This is a creeping plant, the leaves of which are strongly 
 scented, and which is used for mastication here, and in all 
 parts of India. It is prepared for this purpose by rolling up 
 in it a piece of slacked lime, of a red colour, with a little 
 tobacco, catechu, and areca, which is a fruit of the size 
 and shape of a nutmeg. It is said that by these means the 
 phlegm is expelled, to which the Indians are so much subject. 
 
 16. The passion for ornaments of gold and silver is universal 
 among the Burmese, so that if there were no laws to restrain 
 them, they would spend their whole substance in dress ; but 
 to prevent this, it is ordained that no one shall wear cloth 
 brocaded with gold or silver flowers, except the queens and the 
 wives of the Mandarins. But every person wears on the finger 
 at least one ring set with a diamond, ruby, or some other 
 precious stone ; and the girls before their marriage and the 
 boys till the age of sixteen or seventeen wear golden neck- 
 laces of various shapes, bracelets of the same metal on their 
 arms and anklets of silver about the legs ; all but the royal 
 family are prohibited to have the last of gold, under pain of 
 death. 
 
 17. All the Burmese, without exception, have the custom of 
 boring their ears. The day when the operation is performed 
 is kept as a festival ; for this custom holds, in their estimation, 
 something of the rank that baptism has in ours ; and is, in 
 fact, the distinctive mark of the nation. The hole is at first 
 very small ; but it is gradually enlarged by introducing into it 
 a thin plate of gold, about an inch broad and four or five long. 
 This is rolled up ; and, as its own elasticity always tends to 
 unroll it, the hole is thus continually made larger. 
 
 18. The men of this nation have a singular custom of tattoo- 
 ing their thighs, which is done by wounding the skin, and then 
 filling the wound with the juice of a certain plant which has 
 the property of producing a black stain. Some, besides both 
 their thighs, will also stain their legs of the same colour, and 
 others paint them all over with representations of tigers, cats, 
 and other animals. The origin of this custom, as well as of 
 the immodest dress of the women, is said to have been the policy 
 of a certain queen who, observing that the men were desert- 
 ing their wives, and giving themselves up to abominable vices,
 
 MORAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION 159 
 
 persuaded her husband to establish these customs by a royal 
 order ; that thus by disfiguring the men and setting off the 
 beauty of the women, the latter might regain the affections of 
 their husbands. 
 
 19. We must now pass on to speak of the food, beds, and 
 houses of the Burmese ; and in this part of their economy they 
 are as sordid and parsimonious as they are splendid and ex- 
 travagant in their dress. They have always in their mouths that 
 their dress is seen by everybody ; but no one comes into their 
 houses to observe what they eat and how they are lodged. 
 Hence the food, beds, and houses of these people are simple 
 and even rude in the highest degree. In every part of the 
 empire, excepting Rangoon, where, on account of the concourse 
 of strangers, it is at all times allowed to sell venison, pork, 
 fowls and fish, the food is of the worst quality and to an 
 European is absolutely disgusting. It consists of rice simply 
 boiled in water without salt, one or two kinds of stews or 
 curries, one acid and the other sweet, but both composed of 
 herbs and of leaves of trees, seasoned with the napi or half 
 putrid fish, of which we have spoken above. Every herb and 
 the leaves of every tree, provided they are not positively 
 venomous, are used in these dishes ; and the very richest kind 
 is that which contains the flesh of some animal that has died. 
 Notwithstanding the law of Godama that forbids the killing 
 of any living tiling, yet fishermen are encouraged, for the sake 
 of the napi, the only seasoning ever used in the Burmese 
 dishes. Hence the people who live along the river are in a 
 better condition than others, as they have plenty of fish for 
 their curry. The hunting of stags and hares is also tolerated ; 
 but a strict Burmese will by no meaus engage in it, or indeed 
 kill even a wild animal. The Burmese make two meals in the 
 day, one about 9 o'clock in the morning, the other at sunset. 
 A quantity of rice boiled hard, so that the grains do not stick 
 together, is put on a wooden plate, supported by a leg of the 
 same material, and round this, two or three people seat them- 
 selves upon the bare ground or on^simple mats, and they 
 employ their fingers in eating. Besides the acid and sweet 
 curry, they have commonly another sauce made of pounded 
 napi and red pepper.
 
 160 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 20. On occasion of festivals, or the death of any member of 
 the family, when they are accustomed to invite everybody to 
 their houses, three or four curries are presented to the guest, 
 with fried fish and meat, and sometimes cakes made of rice- 
 flour and jagra, a species of sugar made from the palm. 
 
 21. The usual beverage of the Burmese is pure water. For- 
 merly, indeed up to the commencement of the present Em- 
 peror's reign, they were allowed the use of wine, or rather to 
 make themselves intoxicated ; for it is considered no more sin 
 in these countries to drink to the greatest excess than to take 
 a single draught of wine. But when we say wine, we must not 
 be understood to speak of the juice of the grape, which does 
 not grow in these parts, but of a liquor prepared from rice, or 
 from the sugar of the palm, dissolved in water and distilled 
 after a fermentation of two or three days. This is also the 
 method pursued by the Carian in making their wine ; for they 
 are allowed to use it, as their law does not command them to 
 abstain from it. The same privilege is enjoyed by the Chris- 
 tians, provided they are not natives ; as they are, in this 
 case, subject to all the restrictions of the kingdom in this 
 respect. 
 
 22. The bed consists of a simple mat spread on the ground 
 and a small pillow. But the latter is a luxury not indulged 
 in by travellers, who instead of it generally put a piece of wood 
 under their head. The rich have sometimes a low wooden 
 bedstead on which they place a mattress two or three inches 
 thick. White sheets are not known here, but one or two 
 cotton cloths are used for coverlets : travellers have not even 
 these, but make use of the clothes which they have worn in 
 the day as their covering at night. 
 
 23. The houses have but one story ; and their size varies 
 according to the number of persons constituting the families 
 by whom they are built. They are generally of cane or 
 bamboo, woven like basket-work and covered with straw, 
 and are supported on poles. The Mandarins and some rich 
 men have their houses of teak-wood, supported by pillars of 
 the same material. The interior is separated into different 
 apartments by partitions of bamboo, and all the houses, 
 excepting those of the Mandarins, are of the same form. The
 
 MORAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION 161 
 
 roofs are made of thin tiles, nearly square, and turned up 
 about an inch at one end, for the convenience of fixing them 
 on the rafters. The form of the roof varies according to the 
 rank of the master of the house. Mandarins have theirs of a 
 different figure from those of common people ; and according 
 to the dignity of each one of them the shape of his house is 
 determined. 
 
 24. Houses, such as we have described, are peculiarly adapted 
 for countries subject to earthquakes ; and it would be well if 
 in some parts of Europe liable to these visitations such build- 
 ings were in use. But it is not to guard against the effects of 
 earthquakes that the Burmese construct their habitations in 
 this fashion ; for though they are sometimes felt, yet they are 
 far from being frequent. When they do occur they do not 
 create much fear, merely on account of this form of the houses ; 
 but though the earthquake of itself causes no alarm, the 
 uproar and noise made by the people are at least calculated to 
 do it. No sooner do they feel a shock than they begin beating 
 the walls of their houses with pieces of wood and with their 
 hands, and shout so as to terrify every one who is not aware 
 of the cause : and a person who hears it on a sudden cannot 
 help being alarmed by it. The people make all this uproar 
 to frighten away an evil genius by whom they believe that the 
 earthquake is caused. During the whole year after an earth- 
 quake has happened no new houses are built, out of a motive 
 of superstition. 
 
 25. The royal palace is distinguished from the houses of the 
 Mandarins by its size, the number of the apartments, and a 
 great court, where the Emperor gives public audience, seated 
 upon a carpet, under the shade of a white parasol. It is here, 
 too, that he receives the homage of the Mandarins, who daily 
 come into his presence ; where they remain on their knees, as 
 if he were a God, from time to time raising up their hands, 
 and holding them joined over their heads, and always receiving 
 his orders in this posture. It was once the custom that the 
 Emperor should every day in these audiences make some new 
 regulation, regarding either the dress or the general govern- 
 ment of his kingdoms. The conversation of the courtiers in 
 the presence of the monarch seldom contains anything but
 
 162 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 flattery, in which they strive with each other who shall be 
 most extravagant. 
 
 ^j Teak-wood is used in the building of the palace, as in other 
 great houses ; but it is much stronger, and indeed may be 
 considered as the only fortress in the empire. All the cannons 
 and other fire-arms are here deposited, as well as the ammuni- 
 tion and stores ; and hence, when the palace is taken by an 
 enemy, the whole kingdom is supposed to be conquered. 
 
 26. The etiquette to be observed in the shape and size of 
 the houses is very precise with the Burmese ; as nothing less 
 than death can expiate the crime, either of choosing a shape 
 that does not belong to the dignity of the master, or of paint- 
 ing the house white which colour is permitted to the members 
 of the royal family alone. 1 There is never more than one story 
 in the houses, as we have before remarked, for it is esteemed 
 an indignity to live under other people, especially under women. 
 
 27. The outward appearance of the houses, whether of cane 
 or wood, is pleasing ; but inside they present a scene of con- 
 fusion and dirtiness that is highly disgusting to a European 
 eye. And this is the case, not merely in the dwellings of 
 private individuals, but likewise in the palaces of the Man- 
 darins, and even in the Baos of the Talapoins, which are 
 esteemed the richest and most magnificent edifices in the 
 country. The foreign merchants at Rangoon are permitted 
 to build after any fashion they please, and may even use bricks, 
 as in Bengal and on the coast of Coromandel, which is unlawful 
 for a Burmese. But they generally prefer the houses of teak- 
 wood ; not from any want of bricks or lime, but because the 
 wooden houses are more adapted to the dampness of the 
 climate. Such few brick buildings as do exist are used more 
 as magazines than as dwelling-houses. 
 
 28. In their hours of idleness the Burmese engage in several 
 games of hazard. One of the most esteemed is called cognento. 
 It is played with a species of wild fruit, which is set up in the 
 
 1 ' His Majesty has prohibited the use of brick or stone in private buildings, 
 from the apprehension, I was informed, that if people got leave to build brick 
 houses they might erect brick fortifications.' ' Strict observance is paid to the form 
 which is indicative of the rank of the occupant ; nor dare any subject assume a 
 mode of structure to which he is not legally entitled.' Symes, pp. 185, 243.
 
 MORAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION 163 
 
 earth, and which is to be knocked down by throwing at it. 
 This game is very much like one played with walnuts by the 
 children among us; but in the Burmese empire not merely 
 children but even the old men will consume whole days in this 
 divertisement. They have besides a species of game of goose, 
 and cards of ivory, which have been introduced from Siam. 
 
 Among their more athletic games may be mentioned one in 
 which they make use of a ball made of strips of bamboo, which 
 is struck, not with the hands, but with the feet. In this game 
 the young men will sometimes spend several hours together. 
 But there is nothing of which they are more passionately fond 
 than fighting-cocks. Every young man must have one of these 
 animals : he arms its heels with little knives ; and its victories 
 are for him a subject of the greatest exultation. 
 
 29. The musical instruments of the Burmese are of several 
 kinds. The one most used is the drum, which is generally 
 made of a piece of bamboo or very thick cane, covered with 
 skin. Another instrument is in the shape of a wheel, with a 
 number of bits of brass or copper hung loosely on the inside ; 
 there is besides a species of oboe, and these are the instruments 
 generally used at festivals and public functions. But there 
 are others which are only played upon in private houses ; such 
 as one called the crocodile, from its resemblance to that animal, 
 being a kind of lute. There is also another, called in the 
 Burmese language Pattala. It has the shape of a little boat, 
 and is made of pieces of hard bamboo fastened together ; these 
 are struck with two little sticks, and the sound produced, 
 echoing in the hollow of the instrument, is not unpleasing. 
 This instrument is known to the negroes of Guinea, and in the 
 European colonies of America. 
 
 30. It is difficult to describe the Burmese dance. The per- 
 formers in it, both men and women, moving slowly round the 
 place of the entertainment, exhibit continual contortions with 
 their bodies, their heads, their hands, and their fingers. The 
 first time I saw these dancers I took them for a troop of mad 
 people. On occasions of the festivals we have described, when 
 speaking of the funerals of the Talapoins, when the great 
 rockets are let off, if these fireworks ascend straight up into 
 the air, without bursting or running obliquely, the makers of
 
 164 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 them burst out into the wildest shouts and songs, and dance 
 about with the most extravagant contortions, like real madmen. 
 These rockets, for several days before the festival, are carried 
 in procession about the town, preceded by musical instruments, 
 and by a crowd of those who are at the expense of the enter- 
 tainment, dancing, and singing the praises of the rockets, and 
 of the powder that is to make them fly up to heaven. 
 
 31. The laws of Godama forbid polygamy : but still, when 
 they have the means of maintaining them, the Burmese, besides 
 their lawful wife, have two or three concubines, who, however, 
 are kept separate in different houses, to avoid dissensions. The 
 same laws also command a man to live with his wife till the 
 death of one or the other ; and the public opinion agrees with 
 them in esteeming a man as degraded who is separated from 
 his wife. Nevertheless nothing is here more common than 
 divorces, caused principally, perhaps, by the speedy loss of 
 beauty by the women. 1 While young they are winning and 
 gay : but after their first child-bearing, they become so changed 
 and deformed that they can scarcely be recognised for the 
 same. The quality of their food, which is far from giving 
 much nourishment, may be one cause of this, but it must 
 principally be referred to the strange treatment of women in 
 child-bearing which is here practised. No sooner is the infant 
 come to light than an immense fire is lighted in the apartment, 
 so large that a person can hardly approach it without experi- 
 encing considerable hurt. Yet the woman is stretched out 
 
 1 Bishop Bigandet confirms these remarks, see p. 173 of his vol. i. Some 
 part of the written law about marriage and divorce is given by our author 
 in ch. xxiv. For a full discussion see my Notes on Buddhist Law, which con- 
 tain much learned commentary by Dr. Forchhammer. The present law may 
 be shortly stated as follows. A Burmese Buddhist marriage may be dissolved, 
 without recourse to a Court, when both husband and wife consent. Otherwise 
 the marriage can only be dissolved for definite reasons, similar to those admitted 
 by the Hindu law as justifying separation, e.g. adultery and certain diseases. 
 Polygamy is now rare, and the numbers of married males and females almost 
 exactly balance each other, being 1,306,722 husbands to 1,307,292 wives. 
 Census Report 1891, p. 115. 'Marriage is, of course, more common in Burma 
 than in England. The tie is so easily undone by divorce, and a wife is so often 
 a means of support instead of being a burden to a husband, that few Burmans 
 reach the age of 23 without being married.' Ibid. p. 113. Nicolo de Conti, 
 the oldest known European traveller to Ava (circa 1430), says that the men of 
 this country are satisfied with one wife.
 
 before it, and obliged to support its action on her naked skin, 
 which is often blistered from its effects as badly as if the fire 
 had been actually made for this purpose. This treatment is 
 persevered in for ten or fifteen days without intermission, at 
 the end of which time, as it will easily be supposed, the poor 
 woman is quite scorched and blackened. 1 
 
 32. In concluding a marriage the customs of the Burmese 
 are somewhat different from ours. With us it is the woman 
 who brings the dowry, and she goes to live in the house of the 
 husband ; but in this country the man, on the contrary, goes to 
 the house of his bride^s parents, and must take with him a 
 dower according to the resources of his family. When a young 
 man has fixed his affections upon a girl, his first step is to send 
 some old persons to her house to speak with her parents. If 
 they and their daughter consent to the match, the contract is 
 immediately made, and the bridegroom, accompanied by his 
 friends and relations, goes to the house of his father-in-law, 
 where he continues to reside for three years. If at the end of 
 this time he is discontented with his situation, he may then 
 take his wife and go to live somewhere else. Frequently 
 marriages are contracted without the consent of the parents of 
 either party, and even in direct opposition to their wishes. For 
 the Burmese law allows of no restraint in these matters, but 
 leaves young people at liberty to follow their own inclinations, 
 nay, even forbids all opposition to them, and all attempts on 
 the part of the parents to force upon their children an odious 
 marriage. 2 
 
 There is a curious custom observed on the night of the 
 marriage, of which I have never been able to discover the 
 origin. A troop of lads will on these occasions assemble round 
 the house, and throw upon it such quantities of stones and 
 
 1 These practices are still common, and as a result the reproductive period 
 among the women terminates before 40 years of age. But trained midwives are 
 now being sent to every district of Burma. Census Report 1891, pp. 90, HO. 
 
 2 Formerly the young couple were contracted in marriage by the parents, 
 whose act created the matrimonial status, as at Hindu Law still. But as stated 
 in the Census Reports of 1881 and 1891, child-matHage is now unknown, a re- 
 sult imputed to the independence and self-respect of the women. In Burma 
 about one-half of the whole population are returned as unmarried : in India the 
 proportion is only two-fifths.
 
 166 DESCRIFriON OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 wood as to break the roof and the utensils in the rooms, and 
 sometimes to do considerable injury to the inmates. This 
 sport continues till morning, and there is no way of escaping 
 from it but by observing the greatest secrecy in celebrating 
 the marriage. It is difficult to conceive any reason for this 
 extraordinary practice. 1 
 
 33. It now only remains for me to speak of the customs of 
 this people with regard to the sick and the dead. 2 The sim- 
 plicity and lightness of their food on the one hand, and the ex- 
 cessive perspiration to which they are subject on the other, 
 while they render the Burmese enervated and feeble, and devoid 
 of all colour in their countenances, preserve them from many 
 maladies produced in Europe by the quality of the food, by 
 fulness of habit and by the coldness of the climate. On this 
 account inflammations of the lungs, the quinsy, rheumatism, 
 the gout, consumption, and those complaints that are caused by 
 a full habit of body, as apoplexy, are unknown here ; though 
 there is something like rheumatism arising from the damps. 
 Even the complaints that they have in common with us, such 
 as putrid fevers, etc., do not appear in so terrible a form, 
 and are not accompanied by symptoms of exhaustion, con- 
 vulsion and delirium, nor are they so obstinate as in Europe. 
 But then the Burmese are afflicted with all the maladies caused 
 by weakness and relaxation of the organs ; and it may be 
 affirmed with safety that the greater part of the deaths are 
 the consequence of disorders in the digestive organs, such as 
 dysentery, tenesmus, and diarrhoea. The most fatal disease of 
 this class is one called datpiech, which means a loss of diges- 
 tion. It is generally the effect of a dysentery or diarrhoea 
 which has been neglected or imperfectly cured, and consists 
 
 1 This matter is discussed by Shway Yoe in his Chapter on Marriage, which 
 is referred to by the Census officer as an authority on marriage customs. 
 
 2 For some recent remarks on Burmese medicine, see the British Burma Gazet- 
 teer, vol. i. p. 398. The student of folklore will find much interesting information 
 in Shway Yoe's Chapter on Wizards, Doctors, and Wise Men. Medicine is mixed 
 up with magic. Dr. Forchhammer points out the Indian origin of the science. 
 ' Nearly all technical terms in the Burmese idiom, referring to astronomy, 
 astrology, palmistry, medicinal substances, and therapeutics, are words of 
 Sanskrit, and not of Pall origin. Not a single original Burmese work treating 
 of the above subjects has as yet been found. Jardine Prize Essay, p. 21.
 
 MORAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION 167 
 
 in a complete loss of the digestive powers, so that the food is 
 voided in the same state as it was taken into the mouth. 
 The sufferers under this complaint are soon reduced to skele- 
 tons of mere skin and bone. Europeans, even more than the 
 natives, are subject to the complaints just mentioned, which 
 must be attributed to their excess in eating, and to their use 
 of the spirits made in India as the arrack of Batavia and the 
 rum of Bengal. 
 
 34. There is another complaint, found in this country only, 
 to which all people are subject at a certain age. It is called 
 teh, a word signifying to mount, and takes its name from its 
 commencing in the feet and ascending upwards through all 
 the members of the body. It presents the appearance of a 
 stupor or numbness, by which the patient is at last deprived 
 of all feeling, and even of speech. The Burmese attribute it 
 to the wind, but its true cause seems to be the congealing 
 and torpor of the humours, particularly of the nervous fluid, 
 from the want of exercise, as also from the intemperate use 
 of viscous and acid meats. Hence young people and labourers, 
 as well as those who in spite of the law make use of strong 
 liquors, are free from this disease ; but those, on the con- 
 trary, who lead a sedentary life, as the Talapoins, are very 
 subject to it. Its only cure seems to be a violent friction of 
 all parts of the body with the hands to excite pain ; and in 
 this two or three persons are employed. Sometimes, where the 
 hands produce no effect they have recourse to their feet, and 
 tread upon the sufferer, with more or less violence as the cir- 
 cumstances require, till animation is restored. The Portu- 
 guese in India have given the name of kneading to this 
 remedy, from its resemblance to the kneading of dough for 
 bread ; but still experience shows that it is efficacious, always 
 providing that too many persons are not set to work, and 
 that it is not too violent ; for in this case it may itself be 
 the cause of death. I have myself seen instances of persons 
 surprised by a sudden attack of the teh, which has been fol- 
 lowed by death ; but I have always doubted whether it was 
 not the effect of suffocation, considering that eight or ten 
 vigorous men were employed in kneading with all their force 
 the body, neck, breast, etc., of the patients.
 
 168 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 35. Another malady of a more malignant nature, and not 
 confined to the Burmese empire, but spread over all India, is 
 that called by the Portuguese, mordazzino, consisting in a 
 violent indigestion, which causes what the physicians call 
 cholera. The continual evacuations both by vomit and stool 
 will reduce a man in a few hours to such a state of exhaustion 
 that he is scarcely to be recognised for the same person. To 
 these evacuations succeed a cold sweat, hiccups, faintings, and 
 death if proper remedies are not immediately administered ; 
 but of these the poor Burmese, owing to the gross ignor- 
 ance of their physicians, have none ; for, instead of making use 
 of emollients, they give astringent medicines, which only hasten 
 death. The Christians in India have a remedy for this com- 
 plaint which has often been found efficacious. They beat the 
 bare arm with two fingers without intermission till the part 
 becomes inflamed and painful. This may be called a revulsive 
 remedy. Sometimes the indigestion has an effect totally differ- 
 ent from the one just described, which is to make the stomach 
 incapable of expelling the indigested matter, and in these cases 
 the convulsions of the patient are indescribable. This species 
 of the cholera, to which the name of the dry mordazzino is 
 given, is perhaps more dangerous than the other. 
 
 Before the conquest of Arakan the small-pox made great 
 ravages among the poorer sort of the Burmese, not so much 
 perhaps by reason of its own malignity, as from the prejudices 
 that hindered the proper remedies being applied for its cure. 
 For, among other things there was the custom of shutting up 
 all who were attacked by it in places remote from all assist- 
 ance, sometimes even in the uninhabited parts of the empire, to 
 avo'id contagion. But the Arakanese slaves taken in the wars, 
 having seen inoculation practised with success in their own 
 country, have introduced it among their conquerors, and thus 
 done them an essential service. 
 
 36. But, generally speaking, in their treatment of maladies 
 the Burmese are far from pursuing that sound and reasonable 
 system of medicine which is founded on the anatomy of the 
 human body and the principles of mechanics. It is true that 
 Godama, whom no subject seems to have escaped, has set down 
 in his sermons, the number of bones, veins, and nerves con-
 
 MORAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION 169 
 
 tained in the human body, but this without ever having dis- 
 sected a single subject; and there is besides a classical book 
 of medicine in the Burmese tongue, which tells us that the 
 human body is composed of four elements, air, water, earth, 
 and fire ; that ninety-six complaints may arise in it, some caused 
 by fate, some by the passions of the soul, or by the season, 
 or by the food ; that those springing from the passions are 
 seated in the heart, and those caused by the food in the 
 bowels ; finally that the symptoms of complaints are mani- 
 fested in the five senses of sight, hearing, etc. Still the whole 
 materia medica of the Burmese is confined to a few prescrip- 
 tions of various roots, barks, and other simples, principally 
 furnished by the Sciam, who find them in great abundance in 
 their woods. Few, however, of their prescriptions are calcu- 
 lated for the purposes to which they are applied, by reason 
 of the quantity of hot ingredients, such as cayenne, nutmeg, 
 cloves, etc., which they contain. The virtue of the medicinal 
 roots is supposed to depend particularly on the time when 
 they are dug up, and hence at certain periods, but especially 
 during an eclipse of the sun or moon, the physicians go out 
 into the woods in search of them. But the greatest fault of 
 the Burmese pharmacy is that any one is allowed to practise 
 it, without having gone through any examination, and without 
 any licence or diploma. Hence it often happens that rustics, 
 accustomed only to handle the spade and the plough, and 
 scarce able to write, on a sudden take up the profession of 
 medicine and make themselves physicians. And this is no 
 slight evil, as it is one of the vices of the nation to be 
 passionately fond of exercising their skill in this way. It is 
 amusing to stand by the side of a sick man and listen to the 
 advice of the persons who come to visit him. Everybody, 
 even the most ignorant old woman, has something to recom- 
 mend, as a specimen of his skill whereby the sick man will 
 infallibly be cured. 
 
 When a physician is called in, he brings with him a little 
 bag full of small pieces of cane or bamjjoo, containing powders, 
 pills, etc. ; for here the medicines are prepared by the physician 
 himself. After putting a few questions to the patient he opens 
 his bag and gives him one of his pills to be taken in warm
 
 170 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 water, and on departing leaves three or four other doses to be 
 taken in the course of the day or the following night. They 
 are very liberal with these medicines, as they know that the 
 confidence of the sick man in their skill will depend entirely on 
 their quantity. Sometimes, as when the complaint is violent, 
 they will remain several hours by the side of the patient, 
 administering their remedies in the paroxysms of the disorder. 
 No sooner has he swallowed them, and even almost before they 
 can have reached the stomach, they ask if they have done any 
 good ; and if the answer be in the affirmative, they will repeat 
 the dose every hour ; but if the answer be, No, they try some 
 other pill, or powder ; till at length the stomach becomes so 
 overloaded with drugs, and these generally of the hottest 
 quality, that they alone often produce a fatal termination of 
 the disorder. And this happens more frequently perhaps to 
 the rich than the poor ; for the former, immediately they fall 
 ill, send for physicians in every direction, each of whom must 
 administer his remedy. I have frequently made the observa- 
 tion, that of two persons, one rich, the other poor, and both 
 attacked by the same complaint, the poor man has recovered, 
 although his symptoms were much more threatening, while the 
 other has died. 
 
 37. The Burmese physicians never think of observing the 
 stools of the patient : they take no notice of the tongue, and 
 though they feel the pulse, it is done in so ridiculous a manner^ 
 as to preclude all possibility of deriving any knowledge of the 
 disorder from it. They will observe the pulsations in two 
 different parts of the body, as in the arm and the foot, to find 
 if they are equal, for they think that when the blood is affected 
 it does not pulsate equally in all the arteries ; but the force of 
 the pulse or its regularity is totally unattended to. But, as 
 the pulsations, so long as they are sensible, are equal all over 
 the body, according to them the blood is never disordered ; and 
 hence they persevere in giving their medicines to the last 
 moment, and oftentimes they will force open the mouth of the 
 dying man with a stick, to make him swallow them. Even 
 when the pulse has totally ceased in the extremities, and 
 a man is just on the point of expiring, they will continue 
 to assert the efficacy of their medicines, and as long as any
 
 MORAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION 171 
 
 movement of the blood can be perceived, promise to effect a 
 cure. 
 
 38. With regard to diet, they confine themselves to the pro- 
 hibition of certain meats ; but are so far from diminishing the 
 quantity of food, in fevers, and other acute disorders, that they 
 rather increase it, and order the patients to eat more than 
 before, on the strength of the proverb, that a man cannot die 
 as long as he eats. Besides this prejudice they have two others 
 equally absurd, that purges should not be used in fevers, and 
 that hot medicines are proper in these cases ; and hence it will 
 readily be imagined how these maladies generally end. In 
 fact, I have frequently seen trifling fevers, by these means, 
 growing into violent ones, and finishing in the death of the 
 patient. 
 
 The unwillingness that they manifest for using cathartics in 
 cases of fever proceeds, perhaps, from the want of good opening 
 medicines. The only drug they have for this purpose, is the 
 seed of the ricinus, which is a most powerful purge ; and this 
 often produces such serious inconveniences in fever patients, 
 that it is not surprising that they should be afraid of using it. 
 And indeed the effects of this drug must be dangerous for sick 
 people, seeing that robust and healthy men are sometimes so 
 reduced by its action as to lose their sight and hearing. Our 
 missionaries have indeed discovered a root possessing pretty 
 near the same qualities as jalap, and another having those of 
 ipecacuanha ; but the Burmese are too prejudiced to adopt new 
 medicines, especially when introduced by foreigners. 
 
 39. The treatment of women in childbirth which we have 
 described, by which they are exposed to the action of a fire 
 large enough to roast them, as also the hot medicines which 
 they give them to facilitate the voiding of the secundines and 
 lochia, as will naturally be supposed, seriously affects their 
 health. And indeed there are few who afterwards do not always 
 suffer from haemorrhage, inflammation of the uterus, diarrhoea, 
 and fever ; and thus but few reach an advanced age. Hence 
 it may be considered an advantage here that the women are 
 twice or thrice as numerous as the mgn. 
 
 40. When the physicians find, after several days spent in 
 attempting a cure, that the disorder will not yield to their
 
 172 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 remedies, they have recourse to another expedient to save their 
 reputation. They gravely declare that a complaint which is 
 not cured by so many and such excellent medicines must have 
 been caused by the evil Nat, or by the incantations of the 
 witches. And the people are too ignorant not to admit the 
 subterfuge ; for they firmly believe that great disorders may be 
 thus caused in the human body. There is one in particular 
 which they ascribe to witches, to which they have given the 
 name of appen. It is described as a mass of flesh, bones, and 
 sinews, which is produced by magic, and introduced into the 
 body. They imagine also that the Nat who preside over trees, 
 mountains and fields, and particularly a certain one of the 
 woods, whom, to distinguish him from others, they call Natzo, 
 or evil Nat, are the authors of many diseases. Hence it is easy 
 for a physician to persuade a sick man, already imbued with 
 this notion, that his malady arises from the malice of Nat or 
 witches, especially as he pretends to discover this by feeling the 
 pulse. In these cases he will prescribe some superstitious 
 observance, and administer what he calls the medicine of the 
 witches ; or if it be the Natzo that has caused the evil, he will 
 set before him rice and cooked meats, roasted fowls, fruit, etc., 
 which, as he says, are of their own nature good ; or else he will 
 make the devil or Natzo dance. For this purpose a middle- 
 aged woman, to whom they give the name of wife of the Natzo, 
 must dance, and go through a number of contortions, to the 
 sound of a drum or some other musical instrument, in a tent 
 erected for the occasion, in which is placed a quantity of fruits 
 and other things as an offering, but which turn to the account 
 of the dancing girl. By degrees she feigns to become infuriated 
 and utters some incoherent words which are regarded as the 
 answer of the Nat, who has been thus consulted with regard 
 to the conclusion of the malady. If all these superstitious 
 remedies are of no avail, the physicians have still another 
 subterfuge, for they declare that the power of the Natzo is too 
 great to be overcome. 
 
 41. The Barnabite missionaries, whom the Society of the 
 Propaganda, about a century ago, sent into these parts, and in 
 whose course of studies medicine and surgery are included, that 
 thus, whilst they are gaining souls to Christ and His religion,
 
 MORAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION 173 
 
 they may also administer to the temporal wants of their neigh- 
 bours, have very much exerted themselves to disabuse the 
 Burmese of the superstitions and prejudices with which they 
 are imbued respecting the cure of their complaints. In those 
 places where they mostly reside they have in part succeeded ; but 
 it has been impossible entirely to wean them from their ancient 
 usages, perhaps chiefly from their impatience under suffering, 
 and their eagerness to be instantly freed from their maladies. 
 Hence, supposing, as they do, that two or three doses of a good 
 medicine is sufficient to cure any disorder, if after two or three 
 days they still continue ill, they immediately conclude that the 
 physician is unskilful, and have recourse to some one else ; and 
 if he does not complete their cure within the space of two or 
 three days, they will discard him also and send for another ; 
 and thus they go on, till probably the complaint, having spent 
 itself, requires no further remedies, and the sick man recovers : 
 and happy is the physician who has been last called in ; he will 
 have all the credit of the cure, and will be esteemed a clever 
 practitioner. 
 
 42. But in surgical matters the Burmese are more inclined to 
 have recourse to us. They have themselves no regular surgeons, ^j 
 and hence, in cases of fracture, dislocation, contusion, etc., they - 
 have recourse to the Barnabite missionaries, who are the only 
 persons acquainted with the use of the lancet for the Burmese 
 method of bleeding is to wound the affected part superficially 
 with a knife, and then to put upon it a species of cupping 
 glass and they alone are able to effect a cure in the cases just 
 mentioned. It must, however, be confessed, to the praise of the 
 simplicity and frugality of the food, that wounds and sores are 
 easily cured in this country. The blood of this people does not 
 possess that inflammatory tendency which is observed among 
 
 us Europeans, and hence a simple application of camphorated 
 spirits of wine for a few days will cure the most dangerous 
 wounds without any fear of inflammation ; and an ointment 
 made of wax, oil, and tobacco or pitch, will in a very short 
 time drain and cicatrize the most inv^erate sores. 
 
 43. But though their food is so simple, still the great V*|7 
 quantity of napi that they use renders the Burmese very 
 subject to cutaneous disorders. Lepers are numerous among
 
 174 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 them ; they are obliged to live separate from the uninfected ; 
 but as they are not prohibited to marry, this complaint 
 is continually propagated. The lepers are almost the only 
 beggars in this kingdom. In the cities of Tavai and Martaban 
 the leprosy is so common, that there is scarcely a person who is 
 not in some degree infected with it. This is so remarkable 
 with regard to Martaban, that the complaint has its name from 
 this city. Besides this, there is not a single Burmese whose 
 skin is not in some way diseased either with the itch, which 
 sometimes creeps over the whole body, or by whitish spots. 
 
 44. It now only remains for us to speak of the funerals of 
 the Burmese. As soon as a person is dead, the body is washed 
 and wrapped up in a white cloth ; visits of condolence are then 
 made by the connections and friends, who, allowing the im- 
 mediate relatives to indulge their grief by tears and lamenta- 
 tions, take upon themselves the care of the funeral, causing the 
 wooden coffin to be made, preparing the betel, and lapech, 
 which is to be given to all who assemble on the occasion, call- 
 ing in the musicians etc. The use of music in funerals is 
 general among the opulent Burmese, and more so among the 
 Peguans. It consists of one or two drums, a species of trumpet 
 and an instrument made in the form of a wheel, with little 
 pieces of copper of different sizes hung loosely on the inner cir- 
 cumference, which, being struck in cadence, produce an agree- 
 able harmony. The manner of playing on these instruments 
 at funerals is not the same as at festivals. There is one custom 
 of the Burmese, which is deserving of imitation in every civi- 
 lised country, and this is that called Sanenchienzu, that is to 
 say, society of friends. A hundred or more heads of families 
 unite together in a kind of confraternity for the object of 
 affording mutual assistance to each other on all occasions, but 
 particularly at funerals. Hence on the very day of a person's 
 death, all the other members of the society to which he be- 
 longed hasten to bring money, rice, or anything else that may 
 be useful to the relatives of the deceased, to whom these pre- 
 sents afford great alleviation in their grief, especially as thus 
 all concern is removed as to the expenses of the funeral, which, 
 on account of the passion of this people to bury their dead with 
 the greatest possible magnificence, are often very considerable.
 
 MORAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION 175 
 
 For besides the coffin, made of large planks of teak-wood, with 
 its pedestal, and the provision of betel and lapech, a great 
 quantity of gifts, consisting of various kinds of fruits, white 
 cotton cloths, and money, must be distributed to the Talapoins 
 and the poor. The Mandarins and officers have the right of 
 being deposited in a gilded coffin, and the rich generally 
 obtain the privilege by force of presents. The corpse is kept a 
 longer or shorter time in the house, according to the age or 
 quality of the deceased, the species of complaint of which he has 
 died, or the day of his death. Old persons and those who are 
 remarkable for having constructed some public edifice are kept 
 two or three days if the heats will permit it. Children, who 
 have no surviving brother or sister, and all such as die suddenly, 
 must be buried immediately, as well as those whose death 
 happens on the last day of the moon ; for their funeral must 
 take place on the same day, and it is strictly prohibited to 
 defer it past midnight. 
 
 When everything is ready, the funeral pomp commences. 
 First in the procession are carried the alms destined for the 
 Talapoins and the poor, and next large baskets full of betel 
 and lapech, generally borne by a sort of female Talapoins, 
 dressed in white. These are followed by a number of Talapoins 
 from different Baos, two and two. The number of these, as 
 well as the quantity of alms to be distributed, varies according 
 to the means of those who provide the funeral ; but in general 
 they do their utmost, and there have been instances of families 
 reduced to beggary from having given too magnificent a 
 funeral, and one exceeding their revenues. After the Talapoins 
 comes the bier or coffin, which, excepting the deceased be a 
 Mandarin, in which case, as we have said, it is gilded, is painted 
 red. It is carried by eight or more persons, who are either 
 friends of the deceased, or belonging to the same confraternity 
 with him. Upon the coffin the richest clothes of the deceased 
 are displayed. When there is music, it ordinarily precedes the 
 bier. Immediately following are the wives, children, and 
 nearest relations of the deceased, all jessed in white, which is 
 here the mourning colour, weeping violently, and calling upon 
 the deceased, and asking him a number of questions. In the 
 funerals of Mandarins, their satellites go before the body,
 
 176 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 carrying the ensigns of his dignity, his instruments of office, 
 his betel-box, pipe, sword, looking-glass, etc. When a person 
 has died without relations women are hired to act the part of 
 mourners. The bier is followed by a crowd of people, which 
 is greater or less, according to the extent of the kindred, friends 
 and dependants of the deceased. But all funerals are accom- 
 panied by a great number of people, even those of the poor, 
 for the Burmese have a natural inclination for this act of piety 
 and respect. Indeed there are some who go about to the 
 houses calling on every one to come and attend the funeral. 
 As soon as the coffin has arrived at the place of sepulture, the 
 senior Talapoin delivers his sermon, which consists of a list of 
 the five secular commandments and the ten good works that 
 each one is obliged to perform. When the sermon is finished, 
 the body is delivered to those whose office it is to burn the 
 dead, and these, placing it on a species of wooden rack, set 
 fire to it, while in the meantime the alms are distributed to 
 the Talapoins and the poor, and quantities of betel and lapech 
 to all who have followed the procession. 
 
 But these ceremonies are not practised on all occasions, as 
 there are cases in which the corpse is not burned, but buried. 
 All whose death is sudden, those who die of the small-pox, 
 children and women dying in childbirth are buried, as well as 
 those who are drowned, for they must be interred on the banks 
 of the river or lake where the accident has happened. 1 
 
 On the third day after the funeral, the relations, all dressed 
 in white, accompanied by some friends, return to the place 
 where the body has been burned, to collect the bones that have 
 remained after the fire. These are placed in an urn and 
 buried, and those who can afford it erect a monument of 
 bricks or stone over them. In the meantime, till the eighth 
 or ninth day, a kind of wake is kept up in the house of the 
 deceased during the night, to which there is a great concourse 
 of people. On these occasions tea is handed about, as well as 
 sweetmeats, made either of the sugar of the country, or else 
 
 1 A person dying of cholera was buried the same day. The body of a woman 
 dying in labour before the birth of the child was subjected to a horrid rite, to 
 prevent the woman's soul haunting the place as an evil spirit. For details, see 
 Crawfurd, p. 279.
 
 MORAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION 177 
 
 of that extracted from the sugar-cane, and particularly great 
 quantities of lapech, which, as we have before said, is a species 
 of very strong tea, well calculated to keep off sleep. These 
 nights are passed either in conversation or in reading poetry 
 or history, for which purpose some persons of a fine sonorous 
 voice are engaged. All this is done with the view of consoling 
 the relations of the deceased, and diverting their minds from 
 brooding over their loss. On the eighth or ninth day the whole 
 ceremony finishes, and at the conclusion a charitable feast is 
 given to the Talapoins and to all those who have assisted at 
 the funeral. 
 
 45. In carrying the body to be burned there are many super- 
 stitions to be observed. One of these is that the procession 
 must not move towards the north or the east ; and for this 
 reason the Burmese cemeteries, which are generally large open 
 places, lie to the west of the cities and villages. Hence also 
 all who die within the walls of a city must be carried out 
 through the same gate, which is therefore called the gate of 
 sorrow, arid even condemned criminals are led through it to 
 execution. If any one dies in the suburbs the procession must 
 make the circuit of the walls to get to the appointed place, for 
 a dead body is never allowed to be brought into any city.
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 LITERATURE AND SCIENCES OF THE BURMESE l 
 
 46. AVE do not here enter into a disquisition on the origin of 
 the Burmese language, for this is a question of very difficult 
 solution ; but with regard to its character, we may say in 
 general that it possesses a degree of strength and grace which 
 we do not meet with in our European tongues. By means of 
 certain expletives a tone of gravity, submissiveness, elegance 
 and affability may be given to the discourse, according to the 
 quality of the person to whom it is directed. The singular 
 and plural numbers have always joined to them some particle 
 which at the same time denotes some essential quality belonging 
 to the thing spoken of. For example, for a Mandarin they 
 would say, Men taba, that is, Mandarin one person ; a priest, 
 Ponghi taba, that is, priest one person ; a man in general is 
 called Tqjauch, an animal Tachaun; to express anything 
 round, for example an egg, they say U talon, that is, egg one 
 round ; finally, when speaking of anything flat, as a table, they 
 say Pin tabia, table one flat. For inanimate objects, which 
 do not possess any remarkable quality like those above men- 
 tioned, they make use of the particle cu ; thus tit, nit, son, one, 
 two, three, with the addition of this particle become tacu, nitcu, 
 joncu, one thing, two things, three things, etc. 
 
 47. The Burmese language is exceedingly difficult to a 
 European, and that from many causes. For, in the first place, 
 its construction is totally different from ours ; secondly, it has 
 a great quantity of guttural and nasal aspirates in the pro- 
 nunciation of a number of words ; thirdly, many words have a 
 nearly similar sound, though in signification they are widely 
 
 1 For the latest views on the language, and the use of synonyms as well as 
 tones (points which Sangermano here notices), see Appendix I.
 
 MORAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION 179 
 
 separated. One or two examples may make this better under- 
 stood. Za signifies to be hungry, Zan, uncooked rice, and Za, 
 salt. To. means to hinder, Tha, to rise, and Thaa, to preserve. 
 Chiaa means to delay, Chia, to fall, and Chiaa signifies both 
 to hear and a tiger. Fourthly, the greatest difficulty in this 
 language arises from the quality, that every different modifica- 
 tion of the same thing will have its own phrase ; so that a 
 word, which expresses any action, cannot be used in expressing 
 a modification of it. Thus, for example, among us the verb to 
 wash is applied to linen, to the hands, etc. ; but among the 
 Burmese a different phrase is used for each one of these 
 operations. So that for to wash the hands they use one word ; 
 but to wash the face requires another ; the word for to wash 
 linen with soap is different from the one signifying to wash it 
 simply with water ; and to wash the body, the dishes, etc., are 
 all different phrases, each expressing the action to wash by a 
 different verb. 
 
 48. The Burmese 'alphabet has forty-four radical letters, 
 many of which are taken from the Pali, which is the language 
 in which their sacred books are written. Of these letters seven 
 are vowels, comprehending a mute and an open e, and a long 
 and short o. There is no declension of nouns, and hence the 
 cases are only distinguished by certain articles placed after 
 them ; thus, for example, a house in Burmese is elm i, 1 to a 
 house elm a ; the accusative is eim go, the vocative o eim, the 
 ablative eim ga ,- the plural is formed by adding the particle 
 do, thus houses eim do, of the house eim do i, etc. There is no 
 distinction of genders, except in the case of animals ; for then, 
 to form the feminine, the particle ma is added to the generic 
 name of the animal. Thus a dog is ce choc, a bitch choe ma, 
 etc. Neither are the tenses of the verbs distinguished by their 
 terminations, but the present is formed by the addition of the 
 particle si, the past by that of bi, and the future by mi. Thus 
 I go is sud si, I went, sua bi, I will go, sua mi; the imperative 
 is formed in the same way by tb, the interrogative by Id, and 
 the gerund by lien; thus the imperative go is sud, tb, is he 
 gone ? sua bl la, by going, sua lien. 
 
 49. There is but little variety in the Burmese versification, 
 
 1 The particle * is the sign of the genitive case.
 
 and the same must be said of the singing and music ; at least 
 so it seems to our ears. They have many books of history and 
 general information written in metre. Their lines always con- 
 sist of four monosyllables, and only the two last of each chapter 
 are in rhyme. If we consider their cosmography, and the taste 
 for the wonderful and sublime which the Burmese manifest, we 
 shall easily imagine that their poetry will be not altogether 
 foreign to the European taste. They have a great passion for 
 this branch of reading, and will frequently hire persons of 
 sonorous voices to sing their poems to them. There are also 
 many who employ themselves in poetical compositions, and 
 these have no want of subjects, as they find them in great 
 abundance in the books that treat of Godama, and the cosmo- 
 graphy. 
 
 50. There are few among the Burmese who do not know how 
 to read and write ; for the Talapoins, to whose care they are 
 intrusted as soon as they attain the age of reason, always teach 
 them to read, 1 as also to write on the palm-leaf or the prabaich, 
 which is a sort of coarse paper made of bamboo macerated in 
 water, and coloured black with charcoal mixed with the juice 
 of a certain leaf. But still the other sciences have made very 
 little progress among these people. Excepting some few, who 
 embrace the profession of the law, and devote themselves to 
 the study of the Damasat, which is their judicial code, all 
 prefer to abandon themselves to idleness, passing the day in 
 conversation or chewing betel : and if there be any who ever 
 think of literature, even their studies never lead them beyond 
 some book of history. 2 
 
 The Talapoins, however, do apply themselves in some degree 
 to study, since according to their rules they are obliged to learn 
 the Soda, which is the grammar of the Pali language or Magata, 
 to read the Vini, the Padimot, which are the books of their con- 
 stitutions, and the sermons of Godama, which last mentioned 
 
 1 They do so still, and are even willing to teach western science. The State 
 Director of Education says the monks generally lead an honest, cleanly life, and 
 so earn public respect. Census Report, 1891, p. 67. 
 
 2 Among all classes the Dzats or Lives of Gaudama in his 500 previous exist- 
 ences are very popular. Bigandet gives some examples, and says they are of the 
 same Indian origin as the fables which delight the nations of Europe. Many of 
 these Birth stories are the same as these fables.
 
 MORAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION 181 
 
 book is called Sottan, or the Rule of Life. Besides this, they 
 have also another collection of the revelations of Godama, 
 called Abldama^ and this is one of their principal books. It 
 treats of the ideas, the conceptions and volition of all living 
 beings, in the states both of happiness and misery ; and is 
 esteemed the most difficult of all their works to be understood. 1 
 
 The study of the Talapoins is however rather an exercise of 
 the memory than of the understanding. They do not esteem 
 the faculties of reasoning and discoursing, but only that of 
 committing easily to memory ; and he is esteemed the most 
 learned man whose memory is most tenacious. There are some 
 Talapoins who can repeat from memory the whole of the 
 Vim, which is a book of no ordinary dimensions. 
 
 All these books are written in the Pali tongue, but the text 
 is accompanied by a Burmese translation. They were all 
 brought into the kingdom by a certain Brahmin from the 
 island of Ceylon. 2 Besides these there is another book written 
 in Pali, and this is the Beden [one of the Vedas or Vedangas], 
 their great treatise on astronomy or rather astrology ; a science 
 peculiar to the Brahmins, who employ it not only to regulate 
 the year, but also in fortune-telling, 
 
 51. In Burmese there are also many written works, but they 
 are for the most part productions devoid of genius, and com- 
 posed in a rugged, cold and incoherent style. But still, in 
 some of them, which certain wise men composed for the instruc- 
 tion of the Emperors, and the direction of young men, we meet 
 with precepts of morality worthy of a Christian, and principles 
 of political science, not only sound and reasonable, but nearly 
 of the same nature as those which are known among us as the 
 Machiavelian. 
 
 Among these books, the one called Aporazabon deserves to 
 be placed the first ; it is a species of romance, in which the 
 principal character is Aporaza, an old minister, to whom the 
 Emperor and several Mandarins put a number of questions on 
 the science of government. To give my readers some idea of 
 this work, I will here translate some extracts. 
 
 1 Our author refers to the three ' baskets ' of ^ftscipline, discourses and meta- 
 physics, called Vinayapitaka, Suttapitaka, and Abhidhammapitaka. 
 " The celebrated Buddhaghosa, in the fifth century of our era.
 
 182 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 One day the Emperor asked Aporaza what he must do to 
 render his kingdom flourishing and populous ; the old minister 
 replied that, in the first place, he must have the success of all 
 his subjects in their affairs at heart, as much as if they were 
 his own ; 2. he should diminish the taxes and ciochi ; 3. in put- 
 ting on imposts he should have regard to the means of his 
 subjects; 4. he must be liberal; 5. he must frequently inquire 
 into the affairs of his kingdom, and make himself fully ac- 
 quainted with them ; 6. he must love and esteem his good and 
 faithful servants ; 7. finally, he should show courtesy and affa- 
 bility both in his manners and words to all persons. He ought 
 moreover to take measures that the population of his kingdom 
 is augmented, and that his Government acquire honour and 
 respect among foreign nations : he should not molest the rich, 
 but, on the contrary, should encourage their industry and pro- 
 mote their interests : he should show a proper regard to his 
 generals and ministers, who govern in the name of the Emperor, 
 for it is not seemly that they should be publicly disregarded 
 and ill-treated : he should not despise prudent and careful 
 men ; and, finally, he should be just and moderate in exacting 
 tributes, and should always proportion them to the products 
 of agriculture and commerce. As a confirmation of this pre- 
 cept he refers to the fruits of the earth, when eaten before they 
 are ripe. ' You see,' he says, ' that the fruits which are gathered 
 ripe from the tree are well-flavoured and pleasant to the taste, 
 but when they are plucked before they have ripened they are 
 insipid, and sour and bitter. Rice that is taken at its proper 
 season is excellent food, but if it is collected before its time it 
 is devoid of substance and nutriment. 1 He then advises the 
 Emperor not to shut up the doors of his kingdom, that is to 
 say, that he ought to allow all foreign merchants a free entrance, 
 to encourage their commerce and make it flourish. 
 
 A short time after the Emperor had ascended the throne, 
 having received intelligence that a chief of the Sciam was 
 approaching with a large body of his subjects to make incur- 
 sions upon his territories, and disturb the peace and quiet of 
 his subjects, he sent for Aporaza, to give his advice on the 
 measures he ought to take on this occasion. The old minister 
 advised him as follows : ' Oh Emperor ! fire is not the only
 
 MORAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION 183 
 
 thing that burns and roars and causes death, for water also, 
 which is by nature cold, and flows placidly and quietly over its 
 bed, is the cause of death to those who are plunged into it. 
 Do you, therefore, in your endeavours to destroy your enemy, 
 lay aside the impetuosity of fire, and imitate the slowness 
 and coolness of water. Remember that the wild and furious 
 elephant is tamed by the female ;* give therefore to this chief 
 some one of your relations in marriage, and you will soon see 
 an end of all these troubles.' 
 
 Another time when two petty kings had declared war against 
 each other, they both had recourse to the Burmese monarch for 
 assistance. According to his custom, the Emperor sent for 
 Aporaza, who spoke thus on the occasion : ' It once happened 
 that two cocks of equal strength began fighting in the presence 
 of a countryman ; after continuing their combat for some time, 
 they were so overcome with their exertions that they were 
 unable to do anything more, when the countryman sprung 
 upon them and made himself master of them both. Thus 
 ought you, oh king ! to do at present. Let these two princes 
 fight with each other, till you see that their resources are 
 exhausted, and then, pouncing upon them, seize upon their 
 territories for yourself.' 
 
 A man of mean extraction was raised by the efforts of an 
 old Mandarin to the throne. But the Mandarin afterwards 
 became overbearing, and even tried to be in some measure the 
 master of the Emperor. The latter bore all this for some time, 
 but at length, growing weary of this insolence, he determined 
 to rid himself of his importunate minister. Wherefore, one 
 day that he was surrounded by a number of his Mandarins, 
 among whom was the one who had raised him to the throne, 
 he directed his discourse to him, and asked him what they do 
 with the Zen which are erected round the Pagodas, after the 
 gilding and painting are finished for which they were raised ; 
 for the Zen is a scaffolding of bamboo, or thick cane, serving 
 to support the gilders and painters of the Pagodas. * They 
 are taken down and carried away, ' replied the old Mandarin, 
 
 * This is an allusion to the manner of taking the elephants in the woods, which 
 we shall describe in another chapter. 
 
 <lcx/ft-*_y* ^e.
 
 184 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 * that they may not obstruct the view of the Pagoda, or spoil 
 its beauty.' ' Just so,' replied the monarch ; ' I have made use 
 of you to ascend the throne, as the gilders and painters make 
 use of the Zen ; but now that I am firmly seated in it, and am 
 obeyed as Emperor by all, and respected by all, you are become 
 useless to me, or rather your presence only disturbs my peace.' 
 He then drove him from his palace, and sent him in banish- 
 ment to a village. 
 
 One day, while this Mandarin was yet in banishment, a 
 dreadful tempest arose ; in the course of which, looking out into 
 the country, he observed that the great trees, which resisted 
 the force of the wind, were not bent but broken or torn up by 
 its fury; while the grass and the canes, yielding before the 
 blast, returned to their original position the moment it was 
 gone by. 'Oh I 1 said the Mandarin within himself, * if I had 
 followed the example of these canes and this grass I should 
 not now be in so miserable a condition.' 
 
 I must pass over many other parts of this book, which 
 deserve to be translated, to lay before my readers some ex- 
 tracts of another work, called Loghanldl [Lokaniti], or instruc- 
 tion on the manner of living in the world. They are lessons 
 delivered to youth. 
 
 The fruit sapon is a species of wild fig, beautiful to look at, 
 and promising, by the richness of its colours, a delicious and 
 savoury viand ; but on being opened it discovers nothing but 
 grubs ; so it is with wicked men. On the contrary, the giacca, 
 a fruit of the size of a gourd, 1 the outside of which is covered 
 with prickles, inside contains a sweet pulp, most delicious to 
 the taste ; good men may be compared to the giacca. The 
 beauty and excellence of a woman is to bestow all her cares 
 upon her husband. The grace and beauty of those whose 
 exterior is ugly and deformed are knowledge and wisdom. 
 The excellence and beauty of hermits is patience. The 
 treasure of a woman is her beauty ; that of a serpent its 
 venom. The riches of a king is an army of good soldiers and 
 brave officers ; the riches of a priest is the observance of his rule. 
 
 In the world, he who speaks sweetly and with affability will 
 
 1 The jack-fruit.
 
 MORAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION 185 
 
 have many friends ; but he whose words are bitter will have 
 few or none. In this we may learn from the sun and moon. 
 The sun, by reason of its strong and dazzling light, drives 
 away every star and planet from the heavens while it is above 
 the horizon, and is thus obliged to run its course through the 
 skies solitary and unattended ; but the moon, shedding only a 
 soft and tender light, moves on in the midst of the stars and 
 constellations, escorted by a numerous company. 
 
 At present we set a value upon nothing but riches and 
 treasures ; it is no matter if a man be of an ignoble stock, that 
 he be ill-favoured of countenance, or without judgment, or 
 ignorant ; provided only that he be rich, he will be esteemed 
 by all and exalted by all. On the contrary, a poor man is 
 abandoned even by his friends and relations, who run after 
 those who have great possessions ; and hence in this world it is 
 money that makes friends and relations. These and many 
 other such lessons of morality are contained in the book we 
 have mentioned. 
 
 52. Let us next consider the arts of the Burmese. On 
 account of the great simplicity of their dress and houses, the 
 Burmese have made but little progress in the arts, as will 
 readily be supposed. 1 We do not find that variety of arts 
 which luxury and vanity have introduced into Europe ; for 
 excepting the carpenters, masons, and smiths who are employed 
 in making the instruments used in constructing the houses, 
 boats, convents of Talapoins, Pagodas, etc., there are very few 
 artisans to be met with. Every one is able to build his own 
 house of bamboo ; and every woman can make all the clothes 
 necessary for her family. In the great cities the inhabitants 
 are mostly merchants or workers in the trades just mentioned ; 
 but in the villages and smaller towns both men and women are 
 occupied in the culture of their fields or their rice-grounds, or 
 in growing cotton and indigo ; and when the different harvests 
 
 1 'Destitution is almost unknown, and the wants of life in the temperate 
 climate of Burma are more easily satisfied than in the colder countries of 
 Northern Europe. A young Burmese couple can.start housekeeping with a da 
 (or Burmese knife) and a cooking-pot. The universal bamboo supplies materials 
 both for building his house, lighting the fire, carrying the water from the well, 
 .and even may help to compose the dinner itself.' Census Report, 1891, p. 115.
 
 186 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 are over, while the men are going with their carts or boats to 
 provide what may be necessary for them, the women employ 
 themselves at home in spinning and weaving. 
 
 53. In the kingdom of Ava the silk-worm is also fed, for the 
 mulberry tree is very plentiful in this part. The silk thus 
 procured is a principal article of dress ; almost all the inhabit- 
 ants of the great cities make use of it, and even in the towns 
 and villages everybody will have a robe of silk for occasions of 
 festivity. Although the silks and cottons of the Burmese do 
 not equal in lustre and perfection those of China, and are not 
 perhaps so fine as those of Madras, or the muslin of Bengal, 
 they still merit praise for their strength and the brilliancy of 
 their colours. 
 
 54. Carving in wood has been brought to a tolerable degree 
 of perfection on account of the custom of profusely ornament- 
 ing the public halls, the convents of Talapoins, etc., in this 
 manner ; but painting is in a very rude state, and is entirely 
 devoid of those beauties which give it so much value with us. 
 In painting flowers the Burmese artists are tolerable, but they 
 have very imperfect notions of drawing and perspective. 
 
 55. The manner in which the Burmese construct their wheel- 
 carriages is worthy of notice ; not only for their simplicity and 
 strength, but likewise because no nails are employed in them. 
 The excellent wood with which the forests of the Burmese 
 empire abound affords great facilities to its inhabitants in 
 constructing their boats ; for they are thus enabled, with little 
 trouble, to make them of all dimensions, as frequently a single 
 trunk is large enough for a vessel. In their shape they are 
 adapted for navigating the river, where alone they are em- 
 ployed ; and hence they are made so as to cut the current, 
 which is very rapid, and this particularly in the rainy season ; 
 and they draw but little water, by which their passage up the 
 river is greatly facilitated. In this operation they either make 
 use of their oars, or else two or three men on the bank drag 
 along the boat by means of a rope ; and where the stream is 
 particularly strong they employ long poles of bamboo sharpened 
 at the end, which they fix in the bed of the river, and thus 
 force it along. When the south-west wind prevails, which is 
 always the case from May to October, the passage up the river
 
 MORAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION 187 
 
 is accomplished with sails, for the wind then blows in a contrary 
 direction to the current, which flows from north to south. 
 
 56. The betel boxes and the drinking cups of the Burmese 
 would be regarded as curiosities in Europe. They are made 
 of a very fine basket-work of bamboo covered with Chinese 
 varnish, which is brought in great quantities by the Chinese 
 into the Burmese empire. 
 
 57. Besides these arts, the working in gold has been brought 
 to some excellence in these parts. The bellows used by the 
 jewellers, as also by the workers in the other metals, are very 
 different from those common in Europe. They consist of two 
 cylinders of wood, the diameter of which is proportioned to the 
 force of the apparatus. Each cylinder is fitted with a piston 
 of the same material. These are alternately raised and 
 depressed by one or two men, and the air is thus forced out at 
 an aperture in the lower part of the cylinders, whence it is con- 
 ducted through an iron tube into the fire. By means of this 
 apparatus they give great intensity to the fire, so as to melt 
 the hardest metals. In this way they make drinking-vessels of 
 brass in the form of a hollow hemisphere, and frying-pans of 
 iron for their kitchens. The artisans are also proud of their 
 skill in casting bells. Of these every pagoda has two or three, 
 generally very large, and they are rung by striking them on the 
 outside with a stages horn. Besides these, every pagoda, how- 
 ever small it may be, has a number of smaller bells hung in 
 the crown which is placed at the summit, and the sound pro- 
 duced by them when moved by the wind is very pleasing. Little 
 bells are also employed to hang round the necks of the oxen. 
 
 58. Such are the principal arts of the Burmese ; and if they 
 are in a low state, this must be attributed more to the destruc- 
 tive despotism of their Government than to the want of genius 
 or inclination in the people, for they have in reality a great 
 talent in this way. 1 It is the Emperor, with his Mandarins, 
 
 1 Yule admires the peculiar and often tasteful art of the Burmese in his 
 account of the shops at Amarapura. See pp. 157-165, and the pictures he gives. 
 Of the adornment of the monasteries he says ' One despairs of being able to 
 exhibit to visitors from such a people, in any of gur Anglo-Indian cities at least, 
 works which they are likely to appreciate as indicative of our superior wealth 
 and resource.' At p. 377 is found a note on the architecture by James Fergusson. 
 The styles and uses of religious edifices are well described in Bigandet, i. p. 227.
 
 188 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 who is the obstacle in the way of the industry of his subjects ; 
 for no sooner has any artist distinguished himself for his skill 
 than he is constrained to work for the Emperor or his ministers, 
 and this without any profit, further than an uncertain patron- 
 age. Of the foreign artisans, who at different times have come 
 to Pegu, some actually established themselves there ; but they 
 were soon obliged to retire to Bengal or the coast of Coro- 
 mandel to avoid the impositions of the Mandarins. In addi- 
 tion to these oppressions, the caprice of the Emperor is also a 
 serious inconvenience for many artisans, for he will oftentimes, 
 without any reason, permit or prohibit clothes of a new fashion, 
 and thus, perhaps, ruin those who have made them.
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 NATURAL PRODUCTIONS OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE l 
 
 59. IF we except a few medicinal drugs, sulphur, brass, and 
 some other semi-metals, whicli are imported from foreign parts, 
 the Burmese receive from their own soil everything necessary 
 for the necessities, the comforts, and the luxuries of life, so 
 that were they but as industrious as the Chinese 2 they might 
 soon rival them in manufactures and riches. 
 
 60. Rice, in this country, as in every part of India, holds 
 the same place as bread with us. There are several species of 
 it, differing in taste, colour, and form. Thus, there is one 
 kind of a red colour ; and of the white rice some kinds are of a 
 more excellent quality than others, particularly one of which 
 the grains are very small, and which has a strong but pleasant 
 scent of musk. An intoxicating liquor is also prepared from 
 rice steeped in water, and this is esteemed by the Burmese as 
 the greatest luxury, when the Emperor allows its use ; it is 
 also much drunk by the Carian, a nation we have before 
 described as inhabiting the forests of Pegu. The flour of rice 
 is employed by the Burmese, though perhaps not so commonly 
 
 1 The scientific reader will find the topics of this chapter in Spearman's 
 British Burma Gazetteer: vol. i. chap. ii. Geology and Economic Mineralogy; 
 chap. iii. Vegetation; chap. xiii. Arts, Manufactures, etc.; chap. xvi. to xx. 
 Fauna. In chap. xvii. Mr. Gates supplies a list of 771 birds of which about 
 70 species have not been found outside of Lower Burma. For a complete 
 Natural History of Burma see Theobald's edition of Dr. F. Mason's Burma : 
 Its People and Productions, Hertford, 1882. Vol. i. Geology, Mineralogy, and 
 Zoology ; vol. ii. Botany. 
 
 - The thrifty Chinese from Yunnan, Canton, aq^ other parts of China and the 
 Straits Settlements have long been settled in Burma, and are more and more 
 spreading over the whole country. In many villages the best house belongs to 
 a Chinese immigrant. In 1891 the Chinese numbered above 40,000, of whom 
 half were returned as Buddhists, and the rest as Nat-worshippers.
 
 190 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 as by the Siamese and Chinese, in making several kinds of 
 pastry. 
 
 61. The wheat of the kingdom of Ava is most excellent, and 
 it gives good returns in the grounds that lie along the river, 
 and are subject to its floods, by which they are generally 
 covered during three months every year. It is usually sown 
 immediately the waters have retired, and is harvested in 
 February. Its produce is usually forty-fold. Besides wheat, 
 this empire is very fertile in maize, panicum, and a species of 
 grain called piaun, which is similar to the Indian millet, being 
 round and of the size of our chickpease. In some parts it is 
 cooked like rice, which it excels in substance, but not in 
 flavour. All kinds of beans and pulse grow with great luxuri- 
 ance here, and there are even some species unknown in Europe. 
 -k 62. The citron, the pomegranate, and the orange are the 
 only fruits that the Burmese have in common with us. But it 
 must not thereby be supposed that there is any scarcity of 
 good fruits, for besides all those that are found in the other 
 parts of India, the Burmese have some peculiar to their own 
 country. A Frenchman once endeavoured to introduce the 
 vine, and did in fact succeed in bringing some tolerably good 
 grapes to maturity; so as to show that the climate would 
 admit its cultivation if the natives took the pains to attend to 
 it. The olive is here quite unknown ; x but its place is supplied 
 by the sesame or gingili, the grains of which, though not larger 
 than those of mustard, furnish an excellent oil, useful, not only 
 for burning, but also in cookery, though it is said to be rather 
 heating. Under the city of Pagan there is a large well of 
 petroleum, very thick in consistence, and of a strong and dis- 
 gusting smell. It is carried into all parts of the kingdom for 
 lamps ; but great precautions must be taken in using it, as it 
 very easily takes fire. It is also used for varnishing the houses 
 made of teak- wood, to which it gives a lustre ; and if regularly 
 renewed every year, has the effect of preserving them from 
 decay. But the greatest consumption of this article is at 
 Rangoon, where, united with pitch, it is employed for smearing 
 the vessels. Its colour is somewhat black, and hence it seems 
 
 1 Grapes are still grown at Mandalay, and I have seen a fine olive tree at 
 Kyouk-hpyoo covered with fruit.
 
 MORAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION 191 
 
 to be of the same nature as what is called by naturalists Scotch 
 fossil-oil. From Rangoon it is carried to all places along the 
 coasts of Coromandel and Bengal. 
 
 63. In Europe there are no fresh fruits during six months of 
 the year, but here every month produces some one; and the 
 celebrated banana-tree furnishes the inhabitants of the torrid 
 zone with its fruits all the year round. The cocoa-tree and 
 the palm are two inexhaustible sources, unknown in Europe, 
 which furnish to the Burmese an immense number both of the 
 luxuries and necessaries of life. The fruit of the former, even 
 whilst yet tender, is filled with a nectareous juice, and a sub- 
 stance of the consistence of butter, both extremely delightful 
 to the taste ; when the nut is grown harder this paste acquires 
 the taste of the almond, and, being pressed, yields an oil which 
 is an excellent seasoning in cookery. The coarse exterior rind, 
 which is very stringy, furnishes an excellent material, after it 
 has been washed and pulled to pieces, for making ropes and 
 ship-cables ; and it is also used in calking. The inner rind, 
 which is as hard as horn, serves for drinking-cups, ladles, etc. 
 By making incisions in the trunk a juice of a pleasant flavour 
 is extracted, which, after fermentation, becomes a generous 
 wine, and by further fermentation a strong vinegar. The 
 palm-tree is scarcely less useful than the cocoa ; for, besides its 
 fruit, it also produces a sweet liquor, which is drawn from its 
 trunk, and which, like that of the cocoa, may be successively 
 changed into cocoa, wine, and vinegar. It has also this further 
 property, that by means of fire it is condensed, and forms a 
 kind of sugar called jagra, quite hard and compact ; and this, 
 dissolved in water, and left twelve or fifteen days to ferment, 
 gives a spirit equal in strength to our alcohol. The leaves of 
 the palm are used not only to thatch the houses, but also for 
 every-day letters ; and the bark of the branches furnishes good 
 ties for connecting the canes of which the houses are built. 
 Even the trunks of these trees, which, on account of the 
 quantity of pith they contain, are useless for planks or beams, 
 are not thrown away, as they make vry good water-conduits. 
 Hence we may see that what some travellers have asserted is 
 an exaggeration, that the cocoa-tree furnishes materials for 
 spinning, as well as wood for all kinds of carpentry.
 
 192 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 64. The sugar of the palm just mentioned is not the only 
 one the Burmese possess ; for the sugar-cane is cultivated to 
 the north of Ava, in the country of the Sciam, and a very 
 coarse article extracted from it, and made into flat-cakes. The 
 Chinese established in Amarapura have also begun to refine it, 
 and they have been imitated by the natives ; so that at present 
 a sugar is made here as white and as refined as that of Bengal. 
 
 65. Besides these two kinds of sugar, the Burmese have also 
 many drugs which are useful for conserves ; and some which 
 are medicinal ; of these we may mention pepper, and the car- 
 
 ' damomum, which is found very plentifully in the district of 
 Martaban. Great use is made of cayenne pepper in seasonings ; 
 and the common pepper is frequently an ingredient in medicine. 
 A species of nutmeg is also common, of an oval shape, and 
 larger, but less aromatic than those of the Moluccas ; as well 
 ^ ^ as a large species of cinnamon, called by the druggists cassia. 
 The woods of Tavai and Merghi are full of the sassafras-tree, 
 which is remarkable not only for the sudorific virtues it 
 possesses in all its parts, but also because its leaves, when dried, 
 are useful both in medicine and cookery. In Pegu there is 
 abundance of wax and honey, which is deposited by the bees 
 in the highest trees. Some of the little islands near Negraglia. 
 and off the coast of Tenasserim, are famous for being the 
 resort of the birds, whose nests, formed of a curious gum, are 
 so much esteemed throughout India, and still more in China, 
 for their pectoral, anodyne and cordial qualities. For use, 
 they are boiled in water or in chicken-broth. As to their 
 formation, the most probable opinion seems to be that a 
 marine bird, collecting in its beak the sea-foam, and uniting 
 with it a glutinous substance which it draws from its own 
 stomach, builds these nests with the material so prepared. 
 They are always fixed upon high rocks, and they are gathered 
 by means of ladders, by men trained to the occupation, not 
 without considerable danger. Finally, salt, which seems so 
 necessary a commodity all over the world, far from being rare, 
 as in Bengal, Azen and Junan [Assam and Yunnan], is here 
 most plentiful. In Pegu the very best species is extracted 
 from the sea water; but more is drawn from the brine pits 
 in the plains of Mozzobo, and in other places.
 
 MORAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION 193 
 
 66. Tamarinds, aloes, lac, catechu, 1 indigo, cotton, and 
 tobacco, must also be mentioned among the productions of the 
 Burmese Empire. Catechu is a juice obtained by boiling a 
 certain wood, and hence it is quite wrong to call it Japan- 
 earth or catechu-earth ; the Burmese use it principally in pre- 
 paring their betel ; but is also exported to other places, where 
 it is refined. The labours of the insects that make the lac are 
 worthy of the study of a naturalist. The indigo would pro- 
 bably be better than that of Bengal, if industry were brought 
 in to assist nature ; but as less attention is here paid to it 
 than in other places, its lustre and fineness are rather inferior. 
 There are two species of cotton, that of a reddish colour, 
 which is rare and most esteemed, and the white or common 
 cotton ; and of this more is collected than the natives can 
 make use of. The tree called leppan also produces a kind of 
 down or cotton, which, though it cannot be spun, is good for 
 mattresses and pillows. The tobacco of the kingdom of Ava 
 is not inferior to that of America. The cane, called by the 
 Portuguese bamboo, grows everywhere, and particularly in 
 Pegu, where it increases to a height and thickness truly aston- 
 ishing. Some will measure a foot and a half in diameter, and 
 are large enough to form the principal pillars of a house. 
 Great use is made of the tender roots of the bamboo, which, 
 after having been steeped in water for some time, are used in 
 making curry ; they are also preserved in vinegar. 
 
 67. The flowering shrubs and plants of this country are not 
 less numerous or various than the fruit trees, and it would 
 require a volume to describe them all. We must therefore 
 content ourselves with speaking of some of the most remark- 
 able. There is one shrub which grows to a great height, and 
 has a flower like a large spike of maize, the scent of which is 
 very pungent, and is not lost even when the flower is dried. 
 Many species of the jessamine are common, one in particular, 
 the flowers of which are as large as small roses. Lilies are 
 also common ; and indeed there are so many kinds of flowers 
 that it would take too much room to enumerate them. The 
 young people of both sexes gather them to make garlands for 
 their heads, and are very proud of this ornament. 
 
 1 The Cutch of commerce.
 
 194 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 68. But besides the trees producing fruit, the Burmese have 
 many which are extremely useful to them, for their leaves are 
 the chief ingredient of their curries. In the villages, where 
 there are no markets, the inhabitants are furnished with their 
 kitchen herbs entirely from these trees. But they do not 
 restrict themselves to the trees which have no fruit in pre- 
 paring the curry, for the leaf of the tamarind and of the 
 mango-trees are very much sought after for this purpose. The 
 former are rather acid, and the latter have an aromatic flavour, 
 and when dressed as a salad, after the European fashion, are 
 really excellent. 
 
 69. The shade which the great trees afford may also be 
 reckoned among the benefits that the Burmese derive from 
 them. In particular there is one tree, called gondon, which is 
 very serviceable for this purpose. Its roots are so strong that 
 they will penetrate the thickest walls of Pagodas, and often 
 throw them down. Its appearance is most majestic, as its 
 trunk is of an extraordinary height and thickness, and its 
 branches spread on every side over a great space of ground. 
 It is esteemed sacred, because under its shade Godama received 
 the privileges of divinity. 1 
 
 70. The pine-apple is here very common, as also the santor, 
 the guava, the jumbos, the jaceas, the mango, the durcione? 
 and all the other fruits that are found in India and the adja- 
 cent islands. There are also some peculiar to the Burmese, as 
 the marione. Before ripening this fruit very much resembles 
 our olive, but it afterwards attains the size and appearance of 
 the plum. Whilst in its first state it is excellent for preserves, 
 on account of its acidity, and it is likewise pickled in salt and 
 vinegar; but when ripe it is eaten both in its natural state 
 and preserved in salt. The tree that bears it is exclusively a 
 
 1 This tree, called Bodi or Baudhi, under which Gaudama obtained the 
 supreme intelligence, was a banyan tree, the ficus religiosa, of which Milton 
 gives a beautiful description in the Paradise Lost, Bk. ix. See Bigandet, i. p. 39. 
 
 2 Our author probably means the durian (durio zibethinu; Heifer), of 
 Tenasserim, thus described by the old traveller Linschoten : ' They affirme 
 that in taste and goodness it excelleth all kinds of fruits, and yet when it is first 
 opened it smelleth like rotten onions, but in the taste the sweetnesse and 
 daintinesse thereof is tryed.' Purchas' Pilgrims, Bk. x. p. 1779.
 
 MORAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION 195 
 
 native of Pegu, so that it will not even grow in the kingdom 
 of Ava. 
 
 71. Before entering upon the natural history of the Burmese 
 Empire, it may be well to mention that the Rev. Father 
 Giuseppe di Amato, of the same order as myself, a man 
 remarkable, as well for his apostolic zeal as for his deep 
 acquaintance with natural history and his skill in drawing, 
 has been now employed more than twenty-seven years in writ- 
 ing on all the branches of natural history, in taking drawings 
 of all animals, serpents, and curious insects, which are natives 
 of the Burmese kingdom, as also in making a collection of 
 butterflies and rare insects, all of which he keeps in glasses 
 hermetically sealed, and arranged in the most perfect order. 
 He has promised either to send this collection, with his writ- 
 ings, to Europe, or to bring them over himself, and give them 
 to the public, and then the curious reader may fully satisfy 
 himself on these subjects. In the meantime I will here briefly 
 describe a few of the most remarkable animals to be met with. 
 
 72. The species of animals in this country are certainly 
 more numerous than in Europe. Of all the kinds of poultry 
 known among us the only one not common here is the turkey- 
 fowl, and its loss is completely supplied by the peacocks, which 
 live in great numbers in the woods of Pegu, and are of as fine 
 a flavour as the turkey. Pigeons abound everywhere ; it is 
 enough to make a dove-cot and in a short time it will be full. 
 There are also wild pigeons, whose plumage is perfectly green, 
 and large doves. The sparrows completely cover the fields, 
 and often commit great ravages on the sown lands. Of rooks 
 and crows there is an infinity ; for they find plenty to live on 
 in the rice that is offered in the Pagodas or thrown to the 
 Nat. In all the towns these rapacious birds may be seen in 
 flocks ; and they are so bold that they will even enter the 
 houses and steal any food they can find there ; they will open 
 the jars and snatch meat or fish from the hands or heads of 
 people who are carrying them. The turtle-dove is found 
 everywhere. But the falcons, eagles, vultures, and some other 
 species in this part of India, are different from ours. The 
 plumage of the land-birds is generally very brilliant and lively 
 in its colours ; and the feathers are an article of commerce for
 
 196 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 the Chinese of Junan [Yunnan], who come to buy them, and 
 carry them to China ; it is said that they have the secret of 
 extracting the colours by means of aquafortis. 
 
 73. This country is also far superior to Europe in the num- 
 ber and variety of its aquatic birds. The banks of the lakes 
 and rivers are covered with them. Among these the duck and 
 the goose are very common ; and there is one species of the 
 latter, called ensd, 1 that is, delicious for eating, which is sought 
 after by Europeans as a great delicacy. There is another bird, 
 often met with on the banks of the river, worth mentioning ; 
 it is as large as an ostrich, its beak is about a foot and a half 
 long, and it has a kind of bag under its neck, where it deposits 
 the fish it catches. The flights of parrots are astonishingly 
 large ; and they are the terror of the Burmese, on account of 
 the damage they do to the fruit trees. Flock after flock will 
 settle upon them and ruin all the fruit, which, not being yet ripe, 
 falls to the ground. To frighten them away, they make use 
 of wooden bells such as they hang on the necks of animals. 
 They employ the same means for frightening away the sparrows 
 from the corn fields. Long cords are tied from tree to tree, 
 and upon these are hung the wooden bells, with large pieces 
 of cloth, which are blown about by the wind. One or two 
 people are employed to shake these ropes, at the same time 
 shouting, or rather screaming, so that the sparrows take to 
 flight. 
 
 74. The ass, the mule, and the wolf are the only European 
 quadrupeds not found in the Burmese Empire, and it may 
 even be said that they have the last mentioned, as what they 
 call the dog of the woods is probably a species of wolf. 2 It is 
 about the size of a common house-dog ; and generally accom- 
 panies the tiger in its nocturnal expeditions, to share the prey. 
 There are numberless varieties of the ape, differing in size, shape, 
 and colour. It is highly amusing for the passengers along the 
 canals, into which the great river Ava [Irawadi] is divided, in 
 that part of Pegu which lies between Rangoon and Bassino, to 
 watch the motions of the apes that crowd the trees on the 
 
 1 The hintha or hamsa of Buddhist books. 
 
 2 The Cants rutilans, or jungle-dog of the Gazetteer, not now common in 
 Burma.
 
 MORAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION 197 
 
 banks. They leap from tree to tree with such agility as to 
 seem birds rather than quadrupeds ; they fight with each other, 
 and mock the lookers on, and chase the fish and crabs that 
 have been thrown on dry ground, in the most ludicrous 
 manner. 
 
 The different species of the tiger, the elephant, the rhino- 
 ceros, and the porcupine are numerous, and on the mountains 
 of Martaban the bear is likewise found ; but it is not so 
 ferocious as with us. I have also heard from some of the 
 natives, that, in the great forests that lie between the city of 
 Bago in Pegu, and Taunu, the celebrated ape, called the 
 Orang-Outang, may be met with. Although at the four corners 
 of the Pagodas, and on the staircases in the convents of the 
 Talapoins we see representations of the lion, yet this animal is 
 not a native of the Burmese territories. 
 
 75. Horses are by no means uncommon here; they are 
 somewhat smaller than with us, but more active. It is not 
 customary to shoe them, nor are they ever employed in carry- 
 ing burdens or in drawing, for in this oxen are used. The 
 Emperor is the only person who possesses a carriage ; and he 
 only because the English East India Company have made him 
 a present of one or two, which are drawn by horses. 1 But he 
 seldom appears in them, as he prefers to show himself in public 
 seated upon a great elephant. 
 
 Even the greater Mandarins are permitted to ride on these 
 animals ; but all the rest, of the people, if they do not possess 
 a horse, must be content to travel in carts drawn by oxen ; the 
 tedium, however, of this mode of travelling is diminished by 
 the quick paces they oblige the animals to take. When the 
 Emperor goes out, accompanied by his great body of Man- 
 darins and guards, the streets through which he is to pass 
 must all be swept, and, in the dry season, watered to lay the 
 dust ; the doors of all the houses which lie in his route must 
 be kept shut, or else a mat be hung before them, that no one 
 presume to look at his majesty. It is not necessary to close 
 the windows, for these, receiving thjpir light from a great 
 
 1 Or more often by men, the kings disliking to see a coachman occupying a 
 seat higher than their own. Yule, p. 163.
 
 198 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 aperture in the outer wall, do not afford the means of 
 looking upon the street, and if there be any little window 
 besides the principal ones it never is on this side of the 
 house. 
 
 76. The buffalo is another of the Burmese animals. It is 
 larger than ours, and its horns are longer and more elevated. 
 It is used both in ploughing and in carts. But there is also a 
 wild species, very formidable, not only to man, but even to the 
 tigers, whom they will often surround and kill. 
 
 77. Dogs, and these of the most disgusting and dirty de- 
 scription, have multiplied almost beyond endurance ; and this 
 because there is here an absurd custom of never killing them. 
 Every family has a great number of them, so that in some 
 places they are really more numerous than the men. 
 
 78. Hares are not common ; and the same must be said of 
 the goat : some few sheep are sometimes seen, but they are not 
 
 x jj indigenous to the country, having been brought from Bengal. 
 The wild boar is common in the woods, where also stags and 
 deer feed in immense herds : there is one species nearly as large 
 as an ox, which is known by the name of zat. 
 
 The Burmese Government permits the hunting of these 
 animals in Pegu, and hence venison is always to be bought in 
 Rangoon. They are generally hunted with large dogs ; but 
 there is another method of taking them, which it may be as 
 well to describe. In the dark nights, ten or twelve persons 
 get into a cart drawn by buffaloes ; in front of the vehicle two 
 or three lighted torches are carried, and at the sides two 
 persons continually beat two great wooden bells. The deer, 
 which go in herds, dazzled by the light, and astounded by the 
 noise, remain immovable, and the huntsmen with their spears, 
 swords and great knives, kill all they can ; and are often so 
 successful that the cart is not large enough to carry home the 
 booty. 
 
 79. In the Burmese villages swine are not very common ; 
 but in the capital, and in Rangoon there is an abundance of 
 them ; for the foreigners residing here feed numbers of them 
 for the sake of the pork, which here, as in China, is always eaten 
 fresh. The Burmese are very fond of it, and esteem it as the 
 most exquisite food ; but their laws forbid them to eat it ;
 
 MORAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION 199 
 
 and the present Emperor has prohibited his subjects either to 
 feed pigs or to kill them. In the markets of Amarapura and 
 Rangoon pork is sometimes exposed for sale, but for the 
 reasons just mentioned, and from the fear that it is the flesh 
 of an animal that has died of some complaint, there are but 
 few purchasers. 
 
 80. Among the many kinds of lizards common in this 
 country, the chameleon deserves to be first mentioned. It was 
 formerly believed that this animal fed on nothing but the air; 1 
 but I myself have had ocular demonstration that this is not 
 the case. I once observed a chameleon upon a tree stedfastly 
 gazing upon a particular spot, whence all of a sudden a large 
 insect came running straight into the mouth of the chameleon, 
 by whom it was instantly devoured. It is a remarkable pro- 
 perty of this animal that it frequently changes its colour, 
 which is naturally that of earth, into a brilliant green. There 
 is also another remarkable lizard found in this country, called 
 tautthe ; 2 it is about the same length as the chameleon, but 
 thicker ; and the skin of the back is a beautiful shagreen. It 
 hides itself among the beams of the houses, where it lies in 
 wait for the mice and such other little animals, and night and 
 day keeps up a continual cry of tau tau, whence it has its 
 name. The padat is a very large lizard, remarkable for being 
 good eating ; its flesh is not inferior to that of fowls. The 
 talagojd, is also a lizard that grows to a great size ; some 
 people say that they become crocodiles. Its flesh, and also its 
 eggs are very delicate. Crocodiles are not very numerous in 
 the great river Ava ; but in the numerous channels into which 
 it divides itself before reaching the sea, where the water is 
 brackish, and in some perfectly salt, they may be said to 
 swarm. In these channels they are seen every here and there, 
 of all sizes, stretched upon the muddy banks, where, as it is 
 said, they go in order to sleep, which they cannot do in the 
 water. When in this situation they display no ferocity, but 
 at the slightest noise run to the river ; but when in the water 
 
 1 This is one of the vulgar errors most learnedly refuted by Sir Thomas 
 Browne. 
 
 2 The Gecko giittatus of the Gazetteer.
 
 200 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 they are formidable and troublesome both to men and animals. 
 These channels also abound in a monstrous fish called by us 
 the shark ; and by the Portuguese tuberao. Out at sea, during 
 a calm, these fish may be observed swimming round the ships 
 and waiting to swallow anything thrown out to them ; and it 
 sometimes happens that sailors, who have gone into the water, 
 either to bathe or for any other motive, are seized by them 
 and devoured. It is a difficult matter to take a crocodile : 
 nevertheless the Siamese are very expert at it ; they make use 
 of large iron hooks and strong ropes in this occupation. 
 
 81 . Both the land and water tortoise is plentiful here, and is 
 very valuable to the Burmese for its flesh and eggs. 1 In one 
 part of the river Ava there is a large sandbank, where these 
 animals deposit their eggs in such numbers as to be sufficient 
 for the supply of a great portion of the kingdom ; and near an 
 island, contiguous to the great Negraglia, which, from the 
 quantity of tortoises that resort to it, is called the island of 
 the tortoises, the animal itself is taken, and thence carried to 
 Pegu and Bengal. Some of them weigh as much as 500 
 pounds. The eggs here found are sent by boat-loads to 
 Bassino and Rangoon, and thence distributed all over Pegu. 
 A great part of them are salted, to be used as they are 
 wanted. 
 
 82. The quantity and variety of the serpents, natives of the 
 Burmese Empire, and particularly of the woods, is really pro- 
 digious. One of these called nan, which is an inhabitant of the 
 forests of Pegu, is very formidable ; for it moves along with its 
 head erect, in which position it is taller than a man ; and 
 whenever it meets any person, without allowing time for flight, 
 it darts upon him, fixes its fangs in his head, and soon kills 
 him. There is a curious story told of one of these serpents 
 that had stationed itself in the neighbourhood of a village, to 
 the great terror of the inhabitants. A reward was offered to 
 any one who would kill it, but no one dared to undertake it, 
 
 1 Sometimes more valuable to shipwrecked mariners. Caesar Fredericke, on 
 his voyage from Malacca steered for Tenasserim, and being unable to find the 
 port, went with twenty-seven others into the ship's boat to get victuals. They 
 found no land, and rowed nine days along the coast, with a small quantity of rice, 
 but at length stumbled on a nest of 144 tortoise eggs. Purchas, Bk. x. p. 1712.
 
 MORAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION 201 
 
 till an old woman presented herself for the purpose. She 
 placed upon her head a vessel full of melted pitch, and ad- 
 vanced towards the serpent. It made its usual strike at the 
 head, but stuck fast in the pitch, and was soon suffocated. 1 
 The greatest enemy of this, and indeed of all the serpents of 
 these parts is a spider, known among the Burmese by the name 
 of pangii. Although very insignificant as to its size, it in- 
 spires terror by its horrible bristly appearance. Its length is 
 about four fingers-breadth, and its thickness in proportion. The 
 belly is covered with hairs of a red colour ; it has ten legs, each 
 armed with crooked claws, with which it fixes itself on its prey ; 
 and its mouth is provided with two black fangs curved like 
 the claws of a cat ; its back, finally, is covered with a hard and 
 scaly case, similar to that of the tortoise. Its bite is poisonous 
 and generally mortal, as is proved from the fact that the ser- 
 pents it fixes upon almost invariably die. It is continually 
 hunting after them, and attacks them by fixing its claws into 
 their body, and nimbly climbing up to the head, where it 
 strikes in its fangs, and thus kills them ; after which it sucks 
 out the brain. A Christian, who once was witness to a struggle 
 between this animal and a serpent of the nan species, 
 which we have just described, gave me this account. 2 The 
 mocauch, called by the Portuguese the cobra capello, is another 
 terrible serpent. When it meets a man, it immediately swells 
 out its throat, springs upon him, and covers his body with a 
 caustic foam, which causes an insufferable pain wherever it 
 touches the flesh, and is capable of producing blindness if it 
 reaches the eyes. Though the bite is not absolutely mortal 
 when a remedy is immediately applied, still if any principal 
 part of the body has been wounded and the animal was very 
 furious in its bite, a speedy and painful death generally ensues. 
 But the most dangerous serpent here known is one called by 
 
 1 The hamadryad Naja Elaps is the serpent meant here, as in the somewhat 
 similar story related by Yule, p. 180. Mr. Theobald tells of two adventures in 
 which he seized with his own hands these very lafge and deadly snakes. Theo- 
 bald's edition of Dr. Mason's Burma, 1882, vol. i. p. 310. 
 
 2 Dr. Mason describes a large, very poisonous spider, but disbelieves the 
 story of the Karens about it killing the cobra and eating its brains. Ibid. 
 vol. i. p. 35.
 
 202 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 the natives moe bod, 1 and by the Portuguese cobra ceras. It 
 might with great propriety be named the deaf serpent, for no 
 noise can ever rouse it. It will even place itself in the middle 
 of a street, and not all the tumult of men, horses and carriages 
 passing to and fro can wake it from its lethargy ; but if any 
 one touches it, though ever so slightly, it instantly raises its 
 head, hissing most furiously, throws out its tongue and darting 
 on the aggressor, communicates a venom which no medicine can 
 counteract. This animal is properly of the viper species, for it 
 is viviparous ; but its form is different from that of our viper. 
 I have been assured that the young of this species issue from 
 their mother's womb by means of holes which they themselves 
 have made, and thus kill their parent. The venom appears to 
 be a most powerful acid, and the symptoms, in those who die 
 of its bite, manifest an universal coagulation of the blood. The 
 madura that celebrated specific prepared in the college of the 
 Father Missioners at Pondicherry, and of which they only 
 know the ingredients, though it is a singular antidote against 
 all kinds of bites, whether of mad dogs, or of the other serpents 
 of Pegu, is of no avail where the mod boe has wounded a per- 
 son : nothing but instant amputation of the limb can save 
 from immediate death. It is remarkable that death in these 
 cases is not accompanied by convulsions, swoons, cold sweats 
 and other violent symptoms, the usual effects of venom. 
 Another serpent, remarkable for its size, is that called by the 
 Portugese cobra madeira ; some of these are as long as fifteen 
 feet and even longer, and their thickness is proportionate to 
 the length. They are not venomous, but by twining them- 
 selves round any animal, and breaking its bones, they kill and 
 devour it. A man, who was once attacked by one of these 
 animals, delivered himself from it by stabbing it in several 
 places with a dagger that he happened to have with him. The 
 Burmese believe this serpent to be a Nat, and therefore are 
 careful not to kill it ; and hence, having found one of them 
 near our church, we were obliged to be secret in destroying it, 
 
 1 This serpent is the Daboia or Russell's viper, the Cobramonil or necklace 
 snake of the early English and Portuguese writers. ' If the animal is so confined 
 that it cannot fasten on its captor, it will in its rage bury its long fangs deep in 
 its own body.' Gazetteer, vol. i. p. 635.
 
 MORAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION 203 
 
 for fear of the idolaters. It is said to possess the property 
 of fascinating animals and drawing them into its jaws ; and 
 a great boar, which had been fighting with the tigers, was thus 
 devoured by one of most enormous dimensions. Some may 
 perhaps ridicule the idea that it possesses this property, and 
 I myself at first did not give credit to it ; but after seeing 
 a large insect, as I have mentioned above, place itself in the 
 mouth of a chameleon, and having been assured by persons 
 whose veracity I could not doubt that they had seen frogs 
 after some contortions, and faintly crying out as it were com- 
 plaining, jump into the jaws of the macauch or cobra capello, 
 I could no longer refuse to believe it. I have been told by 
 persons deserving of credit that there exists in the Burmese 
 Empire a serpent with two heads, 1 the venom of which is most 
 deadly. Throughout the whole of this country, but particu- 
 larly in the kingdom of Ava, nearly every species of serpent is 
 used for food after the head has been cut off. 
 
 83. The swarms of butterflies, ants, and other insects in this 
 country are prodigious ; and the gnats and horse-flies gene- 
 rated in the forests of Pegu, especially during the rainy season, 
 are equally numerous. The horse-flies are seen in clouds along 
 the course of the river, and they are a perfect scourge tg the 
 passengers in the boats, whom they will not allow to sleep at 
 night ; for to defend themselves they are obliged either to be 
 continually flapping a great fan, or else to be burning tobacco, 
 by the fumes of which the flies are driven away. There are 
 some villages on the banks of the river where the inhabitants 
 are obliged to be both day and night behind large mosquito- 
 nets, where they spin, weave, and pursue all their occupations, 
 for this is the only way of defending themselves against these 
 troublesome insects. 
 
 84. Another great nuisance in Pegu are the leeches which, / 
 during the rains, abound in the grass and in the waters, so that 
 
 a person is exposed to their bite at every step. They are 
 actually ravenous after blood, and cannot be made to loose 
 their hold on the flesh but by the application of salt or lime. 
 
 1 For the Amphisbsena or serpent with two heads, one at each extreme, see 
 Sir Thomas Browne's Vulgar Errors. Like him, ' we must crave leave to 
 doubt of this double-headed serpent until we have the advantage to behold.'
 
 204 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 Some of those that live in the water are so large that they 
 may easily be mistaken for small eels, and these are great 
 annoyances to the buffaloes, which are fond of washing them- 
 selves in the rivers, for they leave fearful wounds in their flesh. 
 
 85. Scorpions also are very common in this kingdom. They 
 are of two species, the whitish and the black. The former are 
 the most dangerous, though smaller in size ; some of the latter 
 species are as large as lobsters, but they are comparatively 
 harmless, for their sting does not cause any irritation or pain. 
 Even the white species is not so venomous as to cause death by 
 their sting. 
 
 86. Still more annoying than these are the centipedes, which 
 get among the clothes and into the beds, and cause by their bite 
 an inflammation and torture almost insupportable, which will 
 last for several hours. Some people affirm that, in the great 
 forests of Pegu, there is a species of this animal that grows to 
 the length of an ox, and is thick in proportion, and in moving 
 produces a noise which may be heard at a considerable distance. 
 
 87. The Burmese esteem several kinds of insects as articles 
 of food, particularly a species of red ant, which they eat fried l 
 or with the napi. Its flavour is rather acid and pungent, and 
 to some European palates would not be disagreeable. But 
 the great delicacy of this country is a worm, not very dis- 
 similar from the silkworm, which is found in the heart of a shrub, 
 called by the Portuguese jental. These worms are so much 
 esteemed that every month a quantity of them is sent to 
 Amarapura for the table of the Emperor. It is eaten either 
 fried or roasted. Some few Europeans are disgusted with it 
 on account of its appearance, but the greater part who have 
 tasted it agree that it is exquisite. 2 
 
 88. But I must not omit to speak of another famous insect 
 of the East Indies, called by the Burmese chid. It is not a 
 worm, as some travellers have painted it, but very much 
 
 1 Nicolo de Conti says they eat a red ant, the size of a small crab, as also a 
 frightful serpent without feet as thick as a man, and six cubits long. Dr. Mason 
 states that the Karens esteem the python as food, as also a red ant, the formica 
 smaragdina. In an inventory of a Karen's assets I once found some jars of 
 pickled crocodile. 
 
 2 The European opinions still differ on this matter of taste.
 
 MORAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION 205 
 
 resembles a large ant, and hence, as it is white, it has been 
 named the white ant. It lives in communities, and is a most 
 destructive animal, for when a colony of them has found its 
 way into a magazine, a cupboard, a chest, or a library, it will 
 spoil and gnaw to pieces in a single night the most beautiful 
 stuffs and the richest furniture. The only means to keep them 
 away is to anoint the boards of a magazine or chest, etc., with 
 nustd or petroleum. But even this is not a sufficient safeguard 
 against one species of the chia found in some parts of Pegu, 
 which is of rather a dark colour, and has a rather disagreeable 
 smell. Another means practised by some for preserving their 
 goods from the depredations of the chia is to place under their 
 houses great Dutch bottles. They seem to have a great horror 
 of the light, or at least to be solicitous to hide their operations 
 from human eyes, for they always make their advances to a place 
 under a covered way made of earth united with a glutinous 
 substance which they draw from their own bodies. When they 
 meet with r nothing better they will fall foul of the wood that 
 comes in their way, especially such as is not very hard. After 
 some time these insects change their shape, acquire wings and 
 disperse in the air. 
 
 89. To the productions of the Burmese empire mentioned in 
 this chapter, we may here add several kinds of salts, iron, lead 
 and some precious stones, particularly rubies. Throughout the 
 whole of the kingdom of Pegu great quantities of nitre are 
 collected, so that at times it is so cheap, that 300 French pounds 
 may be had for two dollars and a half; but it is forbidden 
 to carry it out of the empire. In a large lake, situated in the 
 vicinity of the Pagoda at Rangoon, there is found a salt which 
 seems to be a compound of nitre, vitriol and alum : it would 
 be very useful in medicine. The kingdom of Ava produces an 
 alkaline earth called xappid, which is used in washing. Iron, 
 that metal so necessary to man, is found in great quantities, and 
 of an excellent quality. That drawn from the mines near 
 Miedu is nearly as fine as steel ; and in the vicinity of Pron and 
 Tavai there are also some good mijjes. Plenty of lead is 
 furnished by the mines in the country of the Sciam ; and tin, 
 of which there is abundance in Tavai, supplies the place of 
 copper. With regard to precious stones, a few inferior sapphires
 
 206 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 and topazes are sometimes found ; but it is the rubies of the 
 Burmese Empire which are its greatest boast, as both in 
 brilliancy and clearness they are the best in the world. The 
 mines that contain them are situated between the countries of 
 Palaon and the Koe. The Emperor employs inspectors and 
 guards to watch these mines, and appropriates to himself all 
 the stones above a certain weight and size ; the penalty 
 of death is denounced against any one who shall conceal, or 
 sell or buy any of these reserved jewels. There are also 
 some mines of amber, which is used by the Burmese for toys 
 and bassi-relievi. Finally, alabaster and the oil of wood must 
 be placed among the useful productions of the Burmese Empire. 
 The former is found in great abundance in the hills opposite 
 the city of Ava, but it is only employed in making the statues 
 of Godama. The latter is procured from a tree called chien, 
 by incisions made in the bark. It is an excellent varnish, 
 for besides giving a beautiful lustre to wood, it also pre- 
 serves it from decay ; it may likewise be used in painting, 
 for after it has been boiled a little, if it be mixed with the 
 colours, it very much adds to their vividness. 
 
 90. Before concluding this chapter something must be said 
 of the Burmese elephants and the manner of catching them. 
 They have multiplied prodigiously in this empire, by reason of 
 the immense forests with which it is covered. Generally 
 speaking they are also of an enormous size. There are three 
 species known here. Those of the first species have very large 
 tusks, the second smaller ones, and the third none at all, and 
 these are the most wicked and ferocious. It will be understood 
 that these marks apply to the male elephants alone, for the 
 females are universally without tusks. Some have asserted 
 that this animal at certain periods sheds its tusks, but this is 
 not true ; and this is also the case with another idea, that 
 when it falls on the ground it cannot raise itself, for in fact 
 the elephant always lies down for its master to mount upon its 
 back. In the Burmese empire it is trained more for the pur- 
 poses of luxury than any real use, for it is never made to carry 
 any burden further than the provisions of its guide and grass 
 and branches of trees for its own provender. Only in time of 
 war it is sometimes loaded with pieces of artillery, or perhaps
 
 MORAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION 207 
 
 a little baggage. It is the exclusive privilege of the king to 
 ride upon an elephant, but he allows the royal family and the 
 greater Mandarins to use them. 
 
 The hunting of the wild elephant is the principal amusement 
 of the Emperor ; and indeed this spectacle is the delight of all 
 the inhabitants of the metropolis. As soon as it is known 
 that in some forest there is a herd of elephants, or that there 
 are some, which, on account of their colour or form, deserve to 
 be the property of the Emperor, a number of female elephants 
 are sent out. The wild elephant, upon seeing the females 
 approach, will immediately single out one, and attach himself 
 to her, nor will he afterwards leave her. 1 The hunters then 
 recall all the females, and the amorous elephant will faith- 
 fully follow the companion he has chosen, nor will he be 
 deterred even by torrents or rivers. At length he is thus 
 enticed into an enclosure made of strong stakes, and no sooner 
 has he entered than two great beams, which had been suspended 
 over the doorway, are let down, and thus the animal is 
 entrapped. Sometimes he will be very suspicious in going into 
 the enclosure, or may even retire, in which case the hunters, 
 mounted on female elephants, surround him, and by going 
 through a number of evolutions, and shouting and screaming, 
 oblige him to return into the snare. If, as is sometimes the 
 case, he continues restive, or grows angry, and begins to make 
 pushes at the neighbouring houses, there is no remedy but to 
 kill him with musket-shots, a task not always easy, considering 
 the thickness and hardness of his skin. Sometimes the elephant 
 is secured by means of nooses which are disposed so as to catch 
 his feet ; but it often happens that people, rashly venturing 
 too near the infuriated beast, to lay the nooses, or through 
 curiosity, are killed by him. The tame elephants are afterwards 
 set to fight the wild one in the enclosure, where they bind him 
 to a great post ; and then a few days are sufficient for taming 
 him. Many however die either with grief or from the ill- 
 treatment they have received. 
 
 1 The old travellers, Nicolo de Conti, Caesar Fttdericke and Ralph Fitch all 
 speak of the capture of elephants ; and Symes, p. 346, has an engraving of the 
 scene. The mode shows the constancy of the Burmans to old customs. 
 Yule, p. 105.
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 CALENDAR OF THE BURMESE 
 CLIMATE AND SEASONS OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 91. THE Brahmins who come from the coast of Coromandel 
 and the island of Ceylon, and are distinguished from the rest 
 of the Burmese by a vest entirely of white cotton, are the 
 astronomers and astrologers of the Burmese Empire. As they 
 are versed in judicial astrology, in which all the Burmese with- 
 out exception place implicit faith, and can frequently point out 
 with accuracy the time of an eclipse and regulate the calendar, 
 they are held in great estimation, particularly at court, where 
 a number of them always reside, to be in readiness to answer 
 any questions put to them, to find out the favourable or un- 
 favourable moments for any transaction, in a word, to regulate 
 everything that is to be done ; for, as has been said in a former 
 chapter of the work, the Emperor takes no step without having 
 first consulted the Brahmins. 1 
 
 92. If we look at the manner in which they regulate the 
 calendar, 2 and the exactness with which they often predict 
 eclipses, we must allow to these Brahmins some knowledge of 
 the principles of astronomy ; among other things they cer- 
 tainly are acquainted with that observation made by the 
 ancient astronomers anterior to the celebrated Hipparchus, 
 that after a period of 223 lunar months or eighteen years and 
 
 1 See notes, pp. 141 and 134. The white-robed Brahmans are often men- 
 tioned by our Envoys. The officials whom Symes met also kept them in their 
 houses, and were guided in all things by their advice. Symes, p. 221. The 
 Brahmans of Burma in Sangermano's time were descendants of the captives 
 from Arakan, Assam, and Manipur, and of those who were in the country from 
 the time of the Pagan dynasty. 
 
 2 See notes on the computation of time in Chap. I.
 
 MORAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION 209 
 
 ten days the eclipses of the sun and moon return in the same 
 order and magnitude. Among the Brahmins of the palace one 
 is chosen to take care of the water-clock which is placed there. 
 It consists of a large vessel full of water, upon which a little 
 cup perforated at the bottom is made to float. By degrees the 
 cup fills with water, and at length sinks, when another cup of 
 the same size is put on the water, and when this sinks, a third, 
 and so throughout the day. The period marked by the sink- 
 ing of the cup may be called the Burmese hour, and as each 
 cup in succession goes down, a certain number of strokes are 
 given with a hammer upon a great plate of brass according to 
 the hour. The number of the hours is seventy, which are 
 equally divided between the day and night. But as the length 
 of the days and nights varies in different parts of the year, 
 therefore the cups are made of different sizes, so that those 
 which are used in the nigh at the winter solstice mark the 
 hours of the day in the summer. Both day and night are 
 divided into four equal parts, and at the end of each quarter 
 whether of the day or night, a man, by order of the Brahmin, 
 ascends the belfry that stands in the great court of the palace, 
 and strikes alternately the bell and a great drum to indicate 
 the quarters and the number of the hour. 1 
 
 93. The Burmese week, like ours, has seven days, and they 
 have the same names as with us ; that is, they are called after 
 the planets, the first day being the day of the sun, the second 
 the day of the moon, and so on. The months are lunar, con- 
 sisting alternately of twenty-nine and thirty days ; but as 
 twelve of these months do not make a solar year, an inter- 
 calary month is added every third year. The first day of the 
 year is our twelfth of April ; but the year is not supposed to 
 begin with the morning of this day, but either then, or at 
 mid-day, or six hours after mid-day, according to the moment 
 when the sun finishes its course through the ecliptic, for the 
 Brahmins well know that its annual revolution is accomplished 
 in 365 days and about a quarter. 
 
 The beginning of the new year is always announced by firing 
 
 1 There are sixty, not seventy divisions, in the Burmese day. A bell and 
 drum, of the kind described, taken from the King's Palace, are preserved in the 
 Phayre Museum at Rangoon. 
 
 O
 
 210 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 a cannon, and the Burmese assert that at this moment a great 
 Nat descends amongst them, for they believe that every year 
 has its tutelary Nat. During the three days before the com- 
 mencement of the new year, or, as they say, before the descent 
 of the Nat, all except the Talapoins, both men and women, 
 divert themselves by throwing water at each other till every- 
 body is wet from head to foot. Even strangers are not spared 
 on these occasions, and the only way to avoid being wet 
 through is to stay at home during the whole time. 
 
 94. With respect to the seasons, temperature and air of the 
 Burmese Empire, we must distinguish between the kingdoms 
 of Ava and Pegu. In the latter, which extends from Tavai to 
 the city of Pron [Prome], the south-west and north-east winds 
 divide the year between them so as to cause but two seasons, 
 the rainy and the dry season. From the end of April or the 
 beginning of May to July after the vernal equinox, the dense 
 vapours drawn by the sun from the sea, descend by the force of 
 attraction to the earth ; and meeting with the immense forests 
 that are spread over every part of Pegu, and with the chain of 
 mountains, which, running from east to west, separate Pegu 
 from Ava in the vicinity of Pron, they become condensed and 
 discharge themselves in the most violent rains, which fall with- 
 out intermission during the whole of this time. At the 
 beginning and end of the wet season the rains are accompanied 
 with tremendous thunder and lightning and violent winds, and 
 great damage is sometimes done, and even lives are lost by the 
 thunderbolts falling upon elevated buildings. On the contrary, 
 after the autumnal equinox, when the sun retires from the 
 southern hemisphere, it draws after it the vapours of the sea, 
 and thus from the end of October or the beginning of Novem- 
 ber to April, during which time the north-east wind prevails, 
 the season is perfectly dry. Some years there is a little rain in 
 February, but it is very gentle and never lasts long. 
 
 95. But in the kingdom of Ava, that is, from the city of 
 Pron, to 26 or 27 north latitude, there may be reckoned three 
 seasons, the cold, the hot, and the rainy season. The four 
 months of November, December, January, and February form 
 the winter ; from the beginning of March to the end of June 
 the heats prevail, and the other four months are the season of
 
 MORAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION 211 
 
 rain. The cold is felt in these parts merely at night and in the 
 mornings, and is more sensible in Ava, which lies to the north, 
 than in Pegu. Heavy mists fall in November and December, 
 but snow is altogether unknown. The only thing that can 
 give the Burmese any idea of the ice and snow of our northern 
 climates are the hail-storms that occur sometimes about the 
 end of April or the beginning of May. In these countries the 
 winter is the most delightful portion of the year, for this is the 
 season for gathering in the rice and all other kinds of grain and 
 pulse. During these months more than at any other time, all 
 sorts of herbs and plants flourish, not merely such as are natural 
 to the climate, but also those that have been imported from 
 abroad, as lettuces, cabbages, turnips, radishes, love-apples, etc. 
 96. Summer is not, as in Europe, ushered in by the beauti- 
 ful spring, but the transition from cold to heat is very sudden. 
 In March and April, at which time the cold with us is still very 
 sensible, the greatest heat is experienced in the Burmese Em- 
 pire, and the thermometer will sometimes stand at what we call 
 the most extraordinary degrees of heat. The trees, which in 
 some parts of Europe only begin to show their leaves in May, 
 in this country shed them during the same month, but it is 
 only instantly to be clothed with new ones ; for here, as in all 
 other parts of the torrid zone, the trees are always green, and 
 though they change their foliage every year, it is done with 
 such rapidity that the new leaves may be said to bud forth 
 before the old ones have fallen off. The kingdom of Ava, 
 although situated more to the north than Pegu, is nevertheless 
 subject to the greatest and longest heats. In the last men- 
 tioned of these kingdoms, at the end of April or the beginning 
 of May the rains begin, and thus the atmosphere is purged of 
 the suffocating vapours, and the earth is moistened so as to 
 render the heat more supportable. But in Ava, after a little 
 rain that falls in May, and there are some years when even this 
 does not come, the south-west wind, by reason of the chains of 
 mountains, which stretching in a northerly direction divide the 
 Siamese from the Burmese, and Aracan from Pegu and the 
 kingdom of Ava, taking a course from south to north, carries 
 away all the clouds, and thus deprives the earth of the moisture 
 necessary to cool it till about the middle of August. But at
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 the same time these same clouds cause the most violent rains in 
 the forests of the Sciam, and in the mountains of Azen 
 [Assam] and Thibet, whence the waters descending produce 
 those inundations of the river Ava which, during June, July, 
 and August cover the lands in its vicinity ; and like the floods 
 of the Nile to Egypt, are the source of their fertility. During 
 these months the water sometimes rises to the height of thirty- 
 two feet above its level in February, when it is lowest, and the 
 river is so much extended on each side of its usual bed that in 
 some places it is not possible from one bank to see the other. 
 The waters are generally drained off towards the end of 
 October, when the soil thus fattened by the deposit they have 
 made is wonderfully fertile, and pulse and plants of every kind 
 thrive to perfection in it. 
 
 97. The waters of the river Ava have the property of petri- 
 fying wood, bones of animals, etc., but this not in every part, 
 but only in some particular spots at a great distance from 
 Rangoon. 
 
 98. Although the Burmese do not make use of bread, never- 
 theless they sow wheat in the places that have been inundated 
 by the river. The greater part of it is carried to Rangoon, 
 where it is either made into bread for the foreigners who reside 
 there, or else into ship-biscuits. Even in the capital great 
 quantities of biscuit are used ; for the Mandarins and military 
 officers carry it with them in their expeditions, both on account 
 of the facility of transporting it, and because they have found 
 by experience that it has more substance than rice. 
 
 99. After a little rain which falls in May and the beginning 
 of June, and which is called the first rain, two months and a 
 half pass over without any more in the kingdom of Ava. But 
 from the middle of August to the beginning of October, what 
 are called the second rains fall, but not always in the same 
 abundance, and immediately the sowing of rice, cotton, sesame, 
 indigo, etc., begins. It sometimes happens that these second 
 do not come at all, or are not sufficiently plentiful, and then a 
 great scarcity is always the consequence. But still it is never 
 so serious as sometimes in Europe, for Pegu, where the rain 
 always falls in such abundance, is thereby rendered so fertile as 
 to be able to furnish rice to supply the wants of Ava. Nor are
 
 MORAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION 213 
 
 the inhabitants of the latter kingdom entirely devoid of re- 
 sources when the rice-crop fails, for they make a species of 
 polenta with wheat cleaned from the outer skin, milk and 
 palm-sugar, which has a good flavour and is very nourishing. 
 They will also mix with what rice they have several other sorts 
 of grain, the seeds of vegetables when they are ripe, and even 
 wild fruits, and the roots of different trees steeped and after- 
 wards boiled in water. They have besides begun for some 
 years past to cultivate the maniocco, which does not require 
 much humidity, and will grow in any soil, whence it is well 
 adapted for supplying their wants. 
 
 100. From Rangoon to Amarapura, the air along the course 
 of the river is generally salubrious, though sometimes new 
 comers are attacked with fevers ; but they may easily be cured 
 by using bark, and it is only in certain places that there is any 
 danger of taking them. But in Aracan, the island of Negraglia 
 [Negrais], to the north of Amarapura, and particularly in the 
 forests and mountains of the Sciam, the air is generally bad, 
 and all who venture to stay in these places soon contract 
 malignant fevers, which quickly prove fatal. 
 
 101. Those who live on the banks of the river are provided 
 by it with water for drinking ; but in the interior there are 
 wells, which mostly furnish good water. To raise the water 
 from the wells they make use of a lever, to one end of which 
 the bucket is fixed by means of a long cane, and to the other a 
 heavy weight. A man, standing on the brink of the well, 
 plunges the bucket into it, and this when full is raised without 
 any labour by the action of the weight at the other end of the 
 lever. The buckets made use of in this machine are of wood, 
 or else they are large jars ; but the most common ones are 
 made of thin strips of bamboo woven together, covered with 
 that species of varnish of which we have spoken before. 
 
 102. In this country also, as well as in all other places of the 
 torrid zone, no inconvenience is experienced from living in the 
 neighbourhood of lakes. For the action of the sun, by rarifying 
 the atmosphere, weakens or altogetherjdestroys the pernicious 
 properties of the exhalations which in Europe are the cause of 
 malaria.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 OF THE CURRENCY AND COMMERCE OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 103. THE Burmese have no coined money, but in their com- 
 mercial transactions they make use of gold and silver bullion. 1 
 Hence they are obliged to employ scales in all payments. The 
 principal weight that they have, and to which all others are 
 referred, is the ticale : it is equal to about half an ounce. The 
 gold and silver used is sometimes quite pure, but ordinarily it 
 is mixed with some alloy ; and of course its value depends on 
 its degree of purity. But the inferior money of Amarapura 
 and Rangoon is lead : its value is not by any means fixed, but 
 varies according to its abundance or scarcity. Sometimes a 
 ticale of silver, with a portion of alloy, is equal to 200 ticali of 
 lead, sometimes to a thousand, and even to more. In Tavai 
 and Merghi [Mergui] pieces of tin with the impression of a 
 cock, which is the Burmese arms, are used for money. 
 
 104. And this will be the place for speaking of the manner 
 in which gold and silver are here procured. There are many 
 torrents, the sands of which yield gold. At a place near 
 Rangoon, between the river Cittaun [Sittang] and that of 
 Pegu or Bago, and at another above the city of Pron [Prome], 
 gold-sands are also found, as well as to the east and the north 
 of the city of Ava. Hence we may reasonably infer, that in 
 the hills and mountains from which these torrents descend there 
 must be veins of this metal, and these very rich. In other 
 places the marks are still more evident, but no one ventures to 
 
 1 There was a coinage in Arakan and Tenasserim. In Captain Cox's time the 
 King of Burma made an attempt to establish one. In the sixteenth century, a 
 mixture of copper and lead, called gansa, apparently stamped, was used in 
 Pegu. On these subjects, see Yule, p. 258, and for statements of the old travellers 
 about the foreign trade, see his Chap. vin. Fredericke, Fitch, and Balbi all 
 deal with these matters. The present tikal is equal to about 34 pounds.
 
 MORAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION 215 
 
 open a mine, as he would have to suffer so many vexations from 
 the Court, that he would soon be obliged to abandon the enter- 
 prise to his cost. But the little gold that is thus collected is far 
 from being sufficient for the Burmese, who use great quantities 
 of this metal, not only in their bracelets, ear-rings, and other 
 ornaments, which persons of both sexes are accustomed to 
 wear, but much more for gilding the convents of the Talapoins, 
 the public porticos, and particularly the pagodas, which, being- 
 exposed to the rain and the action of the air, soon lose their 
 gilding, and are therefore continually requiring fresh gold to 
 repair them. To supply this demand, gold is imported from 
 the Malay coast, from China, and other places. 1 
 
 105. The silver is drawn from the mines which exist to the 
 east of Canton [Kaungton near Bhamo], towards the Chinese 
 province of Junan [Yunnan], the country of the Sciam. Al- 
 though these mines are in the Burmese territories they are 
 worked by the Chinese. They produce an abundance of silver, 
 which would be more than enough for the wants of the in- 
 habitants, did not the Chinese on the one hand, and on the 
 other the foreign merchants who frequent the ports of Pegu, 
 notwithstanding the severe laws forbidding its exportation, 
 carry great quantities out of the Empire. Near these mines 
 crystals of different colours are found, with which the Chinese 
 make little idols and other toys. There is one species of a 
 green colour, thought to be the emerald. 2 
 
 106. The Burmese are all given to the follies of alchemy, and 
 there is not one of them who does not believe in the existence 
 of the philosopher's stone, and in the possibility of converting 
 the baser metals into gold and silver by means of certain pre- 
 parations. 3 The following instance may give an idea of their 
 
 1 All this is true of the present day. 
 
 2 Or perhaps jade, for which there is a great demand in China. 
 
 3 These experiments are still common. In his chapter on Making Gold, 
 Shway Yoe states that the last great fire in Rangoon was caused by a searcher 
 after secrets capsizing his crucible, while suddenly pouring in mercury, at three 
 in the morning, which the horoscope had giveq^as a favourable hour. In my 
 judicial work at Bombay I have seen cases where many people were induced by 
 vagabond rogues to part with silver to be transmuted into gold. Alchemy was 
 introduced into Europe from Arabia, and similar impostures were common. 
 Like the Burman Emperor, our Edward ill. was persuaded by Raymond Lully
 
 216 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 folly in this respect. Among other things which can effect 
 this transmigration, they give the first place to the cyeche, 
 which signifies congealed or petrified wine ; and of the efficacy 
 of this they are so persuaded, that the Emperor and his 
 children have often begged foreigners to procure it for them. 
 The Emperor, the Mandarins and numbers of other rich 
 men spend their time in making chemical preparations, and 
 performing experiments for procuring the wished for trans- 
 mutation ; and it is not a rare occurrence for people so totally 
 to ruin themselves, as they have done sometimes in Europe, as 
 to want the very necessaries of life, by spending all their pro- 
 perty in these chimerical pursuits. There have not been want- 
 ing impostors to turn these prejudices of their countrymen to 
 their own advantage, by pretending to transform lead into 
 silver, and copper into gold, deceiving the spectators by mere 
 sleight of hand. Among others, there was one who succeeded 
 in deceiving the Emperor, the royal family, and the principal 
 Mandarins ; but this trick was in the end discovered. It con- 
 sisted in conducting away the lead at the moment of fusion, 
 by means of secret tubes connecting with the vessel, and at the 
 same moment introducing silver through other tubes, so that a 
 real change seemed to have taken place. But at last, not being 
 able to restore the silver he had borrowed from various people, 
 his imposture was discovered, and he paid the forfeit of his 
 cheat by the loss of his head. Still it was publicly reported 
 that he was put to death, not on account of his deceit, but 
 because the Emperor wished to be the sole possessor of the 
 secret, which he had drawn from him by threats and presents. 
 
 107. The Burmese have both an internal and external com- 
 merce. In the kingdom of Ava, and indeed throughout the 
 whole Empire, except in the great cities, the commerce for the 
 necessaries of life, as food and clothing, is rather a barter than 
 buying or selling. The inhabitants of the places abounding in 
 rice or cotton go to exchange their commodities with those, 
 the produce of whose fields is gingili, tobacco, indigo, etc. In 
 
 to treat the art as a source of wealth ; but the frauds that ensued led to the 
 Statute of 5 Henry iv. c. 4, which made it felony ' to multiply gold or silver, or 
 to use the art of multiplication.' The ' Chanounes Yemannes Tale ' in Chaucer is 
 a satire on the science of alchemy, and full of details of the art.
 
 MORAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION 217 
 
 all the villages of Ava rice is the ordinary commodity bartered 
 for fish, vegetables, and other things necessary for food. But 
 the Sciam [Shan] are those who carry on the most extended 
 internal commerce, as it is they who sell throughout all the 
 provinces of the Empire that coarse tea of which we have 
 spoken, under the name of lapech, as being used at funerals, in 
 lawsuits, and in making contracts. 
 
 108. The external commerce of the Burmese is with various 
 nations. The Chinese of Junan [Yunnan], coming down by 
 Canton [Kaungton] and along the great river Ava, bring to the 
 Burmese capital, in great boats, several of the commodities of 
 their country, as wrought silks, paper, tea, various kinds of 
 fruit, and other trifles, and they return laden with cotton, raw 
 silk, salt, birds' feathers, and that black varnish which, as we have 
 said, is distilled from a tree ; this, prepared and purified, is the 
 celebrated commodity known by the name of Chinese varnish. 
 
 The excellence of the ports of Pegu, and the richness of the 
 productions of this Empire, attract merchants with their vessels, 
 not only from all parts of India, but also from China and 
 Arabia. The river of Rangoon, the mouth of which is the 
 same as that of the river Siriam, affords a station for ships, at 
 once easy of access and defended from the wind. The river of 
 Bassino forms a harbour which is still more secure, and from 
 which ships may sail at all seasons, which is not the case at 
 Rangoon, by reason of the south-west wind which often 
 prevails. The dangerous shallows and formidable calms of 
 Martaban hinder any but small barks from entering its port. 
 Tavai has a commodious port, and vessels may ride at anchor 
 in the mouth of its river, under the shelter of two or three small 
 islands. The sea in the vicinity of Merghi [Mergui] is full of 
 little islands, among which, as in secure roads, vessels may winter, 
 sheltered from every wind, or be repaired in the greatest security. 
 
 But of all the ports of Pegu that of Rangoon l is the prin- 
 
 1 Rangoon was founded by Alompra in 1755. Phayre, p. 157. Symes estimated 
 the population at 30,000, and says it had long been the asylum of insolvent 
 debtors from India, and was crowded with foreigflbrs of desperate fortunes, who 
 supported themselves by petty trade. In 1814 Mrs. Judson writes, ' There are 
 no English families in Rangoon;' and again, ' With the exception of two or three 
 sea-captains, who now and then call on us, we never see a European face. '
 
 218 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 cipal, in fact it is the only one of importance ; for this is one of 
 the most populous cities of the kingdom, the residence of a 
 governor and viceroy, and it has an easy and continual com- 
 munication with the capital and other principal places of the 
 Empire, by means of the river, along which all their various 
 productions are brought to it, to be again disposed of to the 
 merchants, both native and foreign, with whom the city is 
 crowded. Until the year 1790, Bassino enjoyed the same 
 privileges, but when it was given as an appanage to one of the 
 children of the Emperor, the Mandarins who were sent to 
 govern it committed so many and such cruel injustices and 
 vexations, that no merchant dared to approach the place. It 
 may therefore be said that the commerce is entirely concen- 
 trated in Rangoon, where it is exercised by the inhabitants, as- 
 well as by a number of Mohammedan Moors, some Armenians, 
 and a few English, French, and Portuguese, who have taken up 
 their residence there. The ships that come from China and the 
 Malay coast, which latter are for the most English, bring in 
 cargoes of areca and other merchandise, as silks, nankeen, 
 porcelain, tea, etc. The commodities, however, which have the 
 best sale at Rangoon, and return the highest profit, are the 
 sugar and muslins of Bengal, the linen of Madras, and par- 
 ticularly the white and coloured handkerchiefs, which are here 
 universally used for covering the head. Sometimes also vessels 
 arrive from the Isle of France, laden with merchandise that 
 yields an exorbitant profit, such as pottery, muskets, looking- 
 glasses, and articles of iron and brass, with woollen cloths of 
 various colours, which are eagerly sought after in this country, 
 particularly when they are of two colours. For although they 
 are not used for clothing, still they are in great request as 
 coverlets at night, as also for wearing on the shoulders in the 
 daytime like a mantle. The English ships also bring in quan- 
 tities of these stuffs. Such are the principal commodities brought 
 by sea, though there are some others of minor importance,, 
 consisting chiefly of various drugs and spices, raisins, almonds, 
 coffee, and other natural productions of Persia and Arabia, 
 which are brought by the ships of the Burmese themselves. 
 
 109. No ship is allowed to enter Rangoon without being 
 provided with a pilot acquainted with the navigation of the
 
 MORAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION 219 
 
 river ; for the city is fifteen leagues from the mouth. After 
 having cast anchor, the captain of the ship, or some one of its 
 officers, must present himself at the Rondai, which, as we have 
 said, is a large hall where the Mandarins assemble to administer 
 justice, to declare the nation to which the ship belongs, the 
 place it has come from, and the merchandise it carries. If 
 afterwards anything is found not mentioned in this declaration, 
 it is considered as contraband. The ship is then disarmed ; 
 all the cannons, muskets, and ammunition, and indeed even 
 the rudder is carried to land. All merchandise upon entering 
 pays a duty of twelve and a half per cent. ; of which ten per 
 cent, goes to the Emperor ; the rest is divided among all the 
 Mandarins in Rangoon. 
 
 110. The commodities which the Burmese export in return 
 for those just mentioned are lac, catechu [cutch], and isinglass, 
 when the ships are destined to China or the Malay coast. The 
 lac and catechu are used by the Chinese in their colours, the 
 isinglass for glue. But if the vessels are bound for the west, 
 that is, for Bengal, the coast of Coromandel, the Isle of France, 
 etc., the cargo generally consists of vegetable oil, petroleum, 
 and, above all, teak-wood, either as masts for ships, or cut into 
 planks of different sizes. Indeed it is for this wood, more than 
 anything else, that vessels of every nation come to Pegu from 
 all parts of India. It is found also in Bombay, but in small 
 quantities, and is excessively dear ; whereas in Pegu and Ava 
 there are such immense forests of it, that it can be sold to as 
 many ships as arrive at a moderate price. 
 
 This wood, while it does not quickly decay, is very easily 
 wrought, and very light. Cases have occurred of ships made 
 of it and laden with it, which have been filled with water, but 
 yet did not sink. Hence all the ships that come to Pegu 
 return with cargoes of this wood, which is employed in common 
 houses, but particularly in ship-building. 
 
 111. Most of the ships that arrive in these ports are here 
 careened and refitted ; and there are besides two or three 
 English and French shipbuilders established at Rangoon. 
 One reason of this is the prohibition that exists of carrying 
 the specie out of the Empire. For, as merchants after selling 
 their cargo and taking in another of teak-wood, generally
 
 220 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 have some money remaining in their hands, they are obliged 
 to employ it in building a new ship. Though perhaps this is 
 not the only motive for building vessels in Rangoon ; but the 
 quantity of teak and other kinds of wood with which the 
 neighbouring forests abound may also have a great influence 
 in this way. 
 
 112. If the port of Rangoon entices strangers to build ships 
 there, it also obliges them to sail as soon as possible. For 
 there is a species of worm, bred in the waters of the river, 
 which penetrates into the interior of the wood, and eats it 
 away in such a manner that the vessel is exposed to the 
 greatest danger, since the holes formed by these worms being 
 hidden, cannot easily be stopped up. They attack every 
 species of wood except ebony and tamarind, which are so hard 
 that they are used to make mallets with which carpenters 
 drive their chisels. 1 
 
 1 The reader will find some account of the earlier commerce in the Introduc- 
 tion. A separate treatise would alone do justice to the modern expansions of 
 import and export trade, following the British conquests, the making of roads 
 and railways, and the establishment of steam navigation along the coasts and 
 rivers.
 
 BURMESE CODE 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 ABSTRACT OF THE BURMESE CODE ENTITLED DAMASAT ; 
 OR THE GOLDEN RULE l 
 
 THIS Code is divided into ten volumes, which treat of every- 
 thing relating to donations, heirships, and all other matters 
 under the jurisdiction of the courts. 
 
 Vol. I. 
 
 The first volume contains the origin of the Damasat, and 
 certain rules to be observed by judges in the performance of 
 their duties. 
 
 It relates that in the days of the Emperor Mahasamata, there 
 
 1 Sangermano has the honour of being the first to translate any of the numer- 
 ous codes of law found in Burma, written on palm-leaves. Symes noticed the 
 resemblances with the famous Code of Manu. ' I was so fortunate,' he writes, 
 ' as to procure a translation of the most remarkable passages, which were rendered 
 into Latin by Padre Vincentius Sangermano, and, to my great surprise, I found 
 it to correspond closely with a Persian version of the Arracan Code which is 
 now in my possession,' p. 303. Cox carried away some copies. Crawfurd, at 
 p. 413, notices the divergence from the Hindu Code : and it would seem that 
 the Dhammathat was not used as a guide to the law in the part of Burma then 
 under our Government. In 1847 Dr. Richardson printed and translated the 
 very voluminous Menu Kyay Dhammathat, which has ever since been used in the 
 Courts. It was composed in 1756 by the Minister of Military Works, by order 
 of Alompra. In 1877 the Burmese and Pall texts of several other Codes were 
 printed. Between 1882 and 1884 several translations appeared in my Notes on 
 Buddhist Law. Dr. Forchhammer also printed and translated the Code of 
 King Wagaru of Martaban, whose reign began A.D. 1280, from a palm-leaf 
 manuscript, being itself a translation by the Talaing jurist Buddhaghosa into Bur- 
 mese from the Talaing language. This publication has been adopted by the 
 University of Oxford as a text-book in the Burmese language. In 1884 the 
 same learned scholar's Jardine Prize Essay on the sources of Burmese Law 
 was published. The subject is referred to in his two Notes on Early History 
 and his report on Literature. All these works were printed at the Rangoon
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 lived a famous hermit, who, having taken up his abode in one of 
 the caverns of the great mountain Emaunta [Himavanta], which 
 lies to the north of the southern island Zabudiba, occupied 
 himself in the contemplation of those things that prepare man 
 for the Niban. Whilst in this retirement, the solitary was 
 tempted by the daughter of a Nat, who, placing herself before 
 the door of the cavern, begged with prayers and tears to be 
 admitted. Moved by pity the hermit at length consented to 
 allow her to remain for one only night ; but the beauty and 
 arts of the young Nat made such an impression upon him, 
 that, relaxing something of his attention to his sublime medi- 
 tations, he married her, and had by her two sons ; one of whom 
 he named Menu, the other Meno, and both of whom afterwards 
 became famous for their sanctity and learning. They, despis- 
 ing the kingdom that their father promised to them, retired 
 to the mountain Emaunta, where, by the practice of medita- 
 tion, they became Zian ; by which just men acquire the pro- 
 perty of transporting themselves flying through the air to any 
 
 Government Press, and they make up the literature of an obscure branch of 
 learning. In the Notes on Buddhist Law and the Prize Essay, the many more 
 or less equivalent Hindu texts found in Yajnyavalkya, Manu, Vishnu, etc., are 
 cited ; and the reasons given for the proposition that these Dharmashasters are 
 based on the law of India are now, I believe, accepted by all scholars. They 
 contain, however, additions from several sources, viz., I. The older customs 
 of the Burmese when they were in the same stage of civilisation as the Chins 
 are now. 2. Decisions of Burmese and Talaing kings and judges. 3. Quota- 
 tions from the sacred books of the Buddhists. Buddhists had some natural 
 difficulty in understanding who the traditional Manu was ; and historical 
 memory being weak, the Burmans have forgotten the difference between the 
 lawyer who got the title of Manu in the seventeenth century A. D. , and wrote 
 the Manu raja Dhammathat, and the more ancient and mythical Manu of 
 India. In the same way the Buddhaghosa who translated King Wagaru's Code 
 in the fifteenth century A.D. is forgotten, and confounded with the renowned 
 divine of the same name, who, about 450 A.D. , is said to have returned from 
 Ceylon. The jurist only translated the Talaing Manu into Burmese : but it has 
 gained much in sanctity and importance by having become connected with the 
 greatest theologian of the Buddhist Church. Prize Essay, pp. 65, 75, 77, 107. 
 A third period begins with Alompra, 1750 A.D. The latest Dhammathats reject 
 the Rishi Manu altogether : the rulings of the Wagaru are retained, but it is now 
 Buddha who pronounced them at the beginning of all things. Our statutes call 
 this system Buddhist Law ; and the people have a general belief that these 
 Codes are part of their religion, so that they are willingly accepted as authority. 
 Dr. Forchhammer believed that they were introduced prior to the tenth cen-
 
 BURMESE CODE 223 
 
 place they may wish. They then transported themselves into 
 various parts of the world ; till at length arriving at the great 
 chain of the mountains Zacchiavala, they found the code of 
 laws here set down, carved in capital letters upon the rock. 
 They made a faithful copy of them, which, upon their return, 
 they presented as an inestimable treasure to the great Emperor 
 Mahasamata; who being informed of the wonderful way in 
 which they had been discovered, commanded them to be 
 observed by all his subjects. The successors of Mahasamata 
 having added some few laws to this code, they were afterwards 
 reduced to a more perfect form, and enriched with various 
 ordinances of one of the princes of the Nat. Finally, this 
 code, which was at first written in the Pali tongue, and kept 
 in the island of Ceylon, was at length brought into the Bur- 
 mese Empire by a certain Budelagosa [Buddhaghosa], and 
 translated into the vulgar language. And such is the origin of 
 the Damasat. 
 
 After this there follow some admonitions and counsels to 
 
 tury A.D., from Southern India into Indian colonies on the coast of Burma, and 
 being adopted by the Talaings, became the law of the united Burmese and Ta- 
 laing dominions from the eleventh to the sixteenth century. The possibility 
 need not be excluded of Hindu Codes having been compiled in the Sanskrit 
 language at the Courts of ancient kings of Prome, and perhaps also at Pagan, 
 although no trace of such works has yet been discovered. In Alompra's reign 
 there was a great literary and religious revival : the untractable Talaings and 
 Arakanese had been subdued, and codified laws became more important in so 
 great an empire. 
 
 Dr. Forchhammer inclined to the opinion (controverted by Dr. Jolly in an 
 Appendix to his Tagore Law Lectures, 1883) that these Burman Manava-Shasters 
 are based on originals older than those found in India. In discussing his views 
 with me, he used to urge that it was the policy of Buddhism to publish its rules to 
 the people, of which the memorials of Asoka are examples, which contrast with 
 Brahminical procedure : that in the Buddhist, Brahminical, and Jain Jurisprud- 
 ences, the rule of law is the constant, unvarying quantity, the theology the vary- 
 ing, and therefore, presumably, the modern ; and that the great Buddhist States 
 of India must have required a civil law in accordance with their religion. He 
 placed a high value on the many facts and learned arguments adduced by Colonel 
 Sykes in his Notes on the State of India, as proving the antiquity of Buddhism, 
 and its becoming the established cult of many kingdoms of old time in India. 
 
 Mahasamata is the designation of a just man, an embryo Buddha, selected 
 according to the Milinda Panha, by the original inhabitants of the world, to settle 
 their disputes. For his connection with Manu, see Forchhammer's Preface 
 to iv. Notes on Btiddhist Law.
 
 224 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 the Mandarins and judges for the regulation of their conduct ; 
 such as not to yield to the movements of anger and hatred ; 
 not to be blinded by the presents of clients, nor to propose in 
 a judgment the hurt or ruin of any one, but only the fulfilling 
 all the dispositions of the law ; to make themselves masters of 
 the statutes and laws contained in this code, before attempting 
 to sit in judgment. To judges who act in this manner the 
 esteem and praises of men are held out as a reward, as well as 
 happiness in future lives ; but if they do otherwise they will be 
 hated by all, and after death will be condemned to the abodes 
 of the wicked. 
 
 When judges and Mandarins are going to enter into the 
 tribunal called Jon [Yon, i.e. Court], they must raise up their 
 eyes and hands to heaven. And when they are in the tribunal, 
 they should not be ashamed to ask the opinion and advice of 
 subordinate ministers, as to the best and speediest means of 
 satisfying the parties in a lawsuit. They must neither in their 
 countenance nor speech show any regard to the wealth or 
 dignity of either party, but must listen impartially to both ; 
 nor must they be offended if sometimes harsh words are used 
 by the litigants towards them ; and with the greatest prudence 
 and sagacity they must hear all that is said either by the per- 
 sons themselves concerned in the cause, or their lawyers. This 
 is all that is worth extracting from the first volume of the 
 Damasat. 
 
 Vol. II. 
 
 Of donations. 
 
 There are three sorts of donations. 1. Many things are 
 given as a mark of affection. 2. Others are given through 
 fear; and, 3, Others are given from a religious motive, as, for 
 example, alms to the Talapoins. Donations of the first class 
 may be demanded back again, if it should happen that the 
 giver becomes extremely poor ; in which case the receiver is 
 obliged to restore the gifts, if they are still in existence ; but 
 if they no longer exist, he is not bound to restore anything. 
 But this last regulation does not hold with regard to the second 
 kind of donations, such as are those exacted by robbers, as
 
 BURMESE CODE 225 
 
 these may always be demanded, and the receivers are obliged to 
 make restitution, even though what they received is no longer 
 in existence. But all things that are given from a religious 
 motive are alienated for ever from the donor, even though he 
 should fall into extreme poverty ; for these are not considered 
 as presents of pure liberality, but as acts of reciprocal dona- 
 tion ; since, according to the laws of Godama, all that during 
 this life is given to the Talapoins and the poor, purchases in 
 future lives many advantages and great felicity. 
 
 ii. 
 Of promises. 
 
 Promises are of two kinds ; for sometimes they are made by 
 a person under the influence of fear or anger ; at other times 
 calmly and considerately. Those of the first description are 
 not binding, since the anger and perturbation of him who 
 made the promise, hindered him from properly reflecting on 
 what he was saying. But things promised in the other way 
 become the lawful property of the person who received the 
 promise. But it must be here observed, that promises rank 
 among the seven things which cannot be reclaimed after the 
 death of the emperor under whom they were given or 
 promised. And these are deposits, pledges, money paid un- 
 justly by litigants in a lawsuit, things taken by force, or seized 
 upon without a just title, promises, things secretly stolen, and 
 such as having been abandoned by one possessor have been 
 occupied by another. All these by the prescription of the 
 laws remain to the actual possessor, even though he have 
 procured them unjustly. 
 
 in. 
 Of the division of a man's property among his surviving wives. 
 
 Wives may be of four different conditions ; as they are the 
 daughters of Mandarins, Brahmins, merchants, or agriculturists. 
 A wife who is not of one of these classes*fcannot have any share 
 in the inheritance. If a man have four wives of these different 
 states, his goods after his death must be divided into ten parts ;
 
 226 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 and of these four go to the daughter of the Mandarin, three to 
 the daughter of the Brahmin, two to the daughter of the mer- 
 chant, and one to the daughter of the agriculturist. If there 
 are more than four wives, the division must be made in the 
 above proportions. The wife who does not belong to any of 
 these four classes has no pretensions to any part of the inherit- 
 ance, and can only retain what she has received from her 
 husband during his lifetime. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Of the seven kinds of slaves. 
 
 There are seven species of slaves who are bound to render 
 personal services to their masters. 1. Those who are bought 
 with money. 2. The children of a female slave living in a 
 family. 3. Slaves by birth, that is, those whose parents are 
 slaves. 4. Slaves given as presents. 5. Those who make 
 themselves slaves to deliver themselves from some trouble. 
 6. Those who in times of scarcity are dependent on others for 
 support. 7. Those who hire themselves out for daily or 
 monthly labour. There are also seven sorts of persons from 
 whom no menial service can be demanded ; and these are the 
 freedmen of Talapoins and Brahmins ; those who having been 
 slaves, have, with the consent of their masters, put on the 
 habit of a Talapoin, these, even if they afterwards lay aside 
 the habit, cannot again be reduced to slavery ; the Brahmins 
 and observers of the law ; those who are loaded with debt ; 
 and finally, those who belong to others under the title either 
 of habitation or possession. 
 
 v. 
 
 Of the children who participate in the paternal inheritance. 
 
 There are six descriptions of children among whom the 
 paternal inheritance is to be divided. 1. The first-born, that 
 is, the son of the first wife. 2. The children of legitimate 
 children, or grand-children. 3. The children of inferior wives 
 or concubines. 4. The children had by any female slave. 
 5. Adopted children. 6. Those boys or girls, who, having
 
 BURMESE CODE 
 
 been received into a house, have been brought up there as 
 children of the family. There are also six descriptions of 
 children who are excluded from the inheritance. 1. Those 
 who, having been consigned to others to be educated, grow up 
 under their care. 2. Boys or girls bought with money, for 
 these, even though they have been looked upon by the father 
 as his children, cannot pretend to a share in the inheritance. 
 3. Step-sons. 4. Disobedient children. 5. Children had by a 
 prostitute, or woman of ill fame. 6. Children had by a woman 
 who, constrained by necessity, has prostituted herself. These 
 can retain nothing but what the father has given in his 
 lifetime. 
 
 Children have no dominion over the substance of the family 
 before the death of the father. 
 
 Upon the death of slaves, all their rights over their children, 
 or anything else that they have possessed, descend to their re- 
 spective masters. 
 
 VI. 
 
 Of the division of the inheritance among children. 
 
 The son of the first wife has four parts ; the children of the 
 inferior wives or concubines one part ; the children had by 
 slaves have only half a share, and this does not come to them 
 till the death of the mother, as they have no title but that of 
 maternal inheritance. And according to this proportion the 
 property is divided if there be more children. 
 
 If a man has had no children, his substance is divided among 
 his relations, and those who have been brought up in his house 
 as children. But in case there are no relations, it goes to the 
 royal treasury. 
 
 VII. 
 
 Of the division of the family substance in case of divorce. 
 
 If a man and wife separate by mutual consent, the family 
 substance must be divided equally between them. And if they 
 afterwards agree to reunion they ought to go to live either 
 in the house of the wife's father, or in awother taken in lease. 
 
 If a girl, who has been married to a man with the consent 
 and will of her parents, afterwards desires to be separated from
 
 228 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 him, the husband may take possession of her dower, and even 
 sell her for a slave. 
 
 If a woman after the solemnisation of her marriage, but 
 
 O 7 
 
 before its consummation, has connection with another man, she 
 loses her dower, which goes to the husband. But if after the 
 consummation of the marriage she commits adultery, she must 
 pay to her husband twice the value of her dower ; but may 
 then, if she please, go to live with the man with whom she has 
 committed adultery. But if the dower was very small, the 
 husband may sell her for a slave and retain the price. 
 
 If a man after his marriage goes to live in another place, and 
 for the space of three years does not send a letter, or money, or 
 anything else to his wife, she is considered as free, and may 
 enter into another marriage. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 When parents give their daughter in marriage to a man, 
 who has represented himself as of a noble and illustrious 
 lineage, and it afterwards appears that this was false, they may 
 take back their daughter ; and in this case the parents must 
 have exacted the dower brought by the husband before the con- 
 summation of the marriage, for if they have neglected this they 
 cannot afterwards exact it as a debt. When a man marries a 
 girl, with the condition of going to live in the house of his 
 father-in-law, to assist him in his labours, he must remain with 
 him three years, but after this time may go and live elsewhere. 
 
 If parents, through fear, give their daughter to a Mandarin, 
 they may demand her back if their fear should cease, nor can 
 he refuse to surrender her. But if they have given her, not 
 through fear, but of their own will, they cannot demand her 
 restoration. Parents may give their daughter to a man who 
 has business with them. If a girl falls dangerously ill, and 
 her parents agree to give her to a physician if he cures her, 
 they are obliged to keep their promise ; or if they will not give 
 him their daughter, they must pay him the price of her body. 
 Finally, if a girl secretly, and without the knowledge of her 
 parents, contracts marriage, the parents are obliged, in order 
 to save her from infamy, to have the marriage performed 
 before legal witnesses.
 
 BURMESE CODE 229 
 
 When a girl promised in marriage to a man dies before the 
 solemnisation of the nuptials, the parents ought to use their 
 endeavours to unite their second daughter with their proposed 
 son-in-law, and even to employ menaces to induce her com- 
 pliance. But if she absolutely refuses her consent, and they 
 have no other daughter, the half of the dower, which was to 
 have been given with the deceased, must be paid to the man. 
 
 When a man and wife separate by mutual consent, the house- 
 hold goods are equally divided, and both retain their respective 
 dowers. The sons belong to the father and the daughters to 
 the mother; but still they may follow which of them they 
 please. If it should happen that the wife had maintained the 
 husband, the property is divided into three parts, of which two 
 belong to the wife and one to the husband ; but if the husband 
 has maintained the wife, he takes the two parts, and the wife the 
 remaining one. If at the separation the daughter follows the 
 father, he may sell her for a slave, but then he must give half 
 the price to the mother; and the right of the mother is the same 
 over a son who has followed her. If the wife dies after she 
 and her husband have left the house of her father, the husband 
 is heir to all she possessed ; but if she dies whilst they are yet 
 living with her parents, the husband inherits nothing of her 
 property. 
 
 XI. 
 
 Parents may disinherit disobedient children and expel them 
 from their houses ; and if these secretly carry away anything, 
 they may be punished as thieves. 
 
 All the property which has been gained by a son during 
 the lifetime of his father, must upon the death of the latter 
 be put into the common stock to be divided according to the 
 laws among the heirs. 
 
 If a man has become rich and powerful through the favour 
 of others, he ought out of gratitude not only to show respect 
 and honour to his benefactor, but also to supply all his wants
 
 230 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 in case that he falls into poverty, and if he neglects these 
 duties the judge may give to the benefactor one half of his 
 goods. 
 
 Such children as do not perform the above mentioned 
 duties to their parents, or refuse to support them when in 
 want, may be deprived of all their possessions and exiled into 
 distant countries. 
 
 If a man do an injury to his father or mother-in-law he 
 may be expelled by them from their house, into which he is 
 not again to be admitted till he has humbly asked pardon for 
 his offence. And if he lift his hand against them he may be 
 despoiled of all he possesses and driven out of the house. 
 Finally, those who do not honour the aged shall be con- 
 demned to pay to those whom they have offended the sum 
 of fifty ounces of silver. 
 
 XII. 
 
 If the husband brings with him to the house of his wife 
 a female slave, whom he afterwards makes his concubine, she 
 must be made free at his death, and if she have had a daughter 
 by him she belongs to the mother. 
 
 But if it be a slave of the wife whom the husband has 
 taken for his concubine, she will always be the property of 
 the wife, even after the death of the husband, and though 
 she may have had children by him. The slave of the wife or of 
 the husband and wife conjointly must be liberated upon the 
 death of the latter. And if the woman have had a son by 
 the husband he must also be liberated with his mother, but 
 if she has only had a daughter, then the daughter is made 
 free, but the mother belongs to the husband. 
 
 Vol. III. 
 i. 
 
 Ofheirships, and the seven ways of dividing them among the 
 
 heirs. 
 
 The following are the cases provided for in this section. 
 How property is to be divided : 1, after the death of the
 
 BURMESE CODE 231 
 
 father, among the mother, the sons, and daughters ; 2, among 
 the mother and daughters ; 3, after the death of the mother, 
 between the father and son ; 4, between the father and 
 daughter ; 5, after the death of both parents, among the sons 
 and daughters ; 6, what proportion of the sons of a former 
 husband ; or 7, the sons of a former wife must receive. 
 
 In the first case one of the sons is selected, generally the 
 first-born, and he is to succeed the father in his military 
 posts and all his other honours ; the sword, horse, bed, and 
 other utensils of his father belong to him, and he may choose 
 one of the paternal fields for his share. All the other pro- 
 perty is divided into four parts, of which three belong to the 
 mother, and one to the children. The jewels, rings, and other 
 ornaments given by the father to his children in his lifetime, 
 do not enter into the property to be divided. The slaves 
 are divided according to the above proportion, except that all 
 the women belong to the mother. 
 
 u. 
 
 In the second case, when the property is to be divided be- 
 tween the mother and daughter, the latter retains all the jewels 
 given her by her father, and besides receives a set of slaves, a 
 yoke of oxen, and a certain portion of rice. All the rest goes 
 to the mother. The reason of this provision is that the 
 daughter remains in the power of the mother who may even 
 sell her for a slave. 
 
 in. 
 
 In the third case, that is, after the death of the mother, 
 when the division is to be made between the father, and a son 
 residing with his wife in a separate house, the father has a 
 right to the whole inheritance ; but still he must give up to 
 his son one field and a yoke of oxen, which, however, he may 
 demand back again if he falls into poverty, provided they be 
 in existence. 
 
 But when the father and daughter or** daughters have to share 
 the property, the latter, besides the jewels and ornaments they 
 have already received, may claim ten cows, twenty goats, and
 
 232 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 all the female slaves employed in the domestic service of the 
 house. All the rest belongs to the father. 
 
 IV. 
 
 After the death of both parents, when the inheritance has 
 to be divided among the sons and daughters, the eldest takes 
 two parts, the second one and a half, and the youngest only 
 one part. And besides, the eldest son or daughter has an ox 
 and a goat. 
 
 v. 
 
 If, after the death of his wife, a man marries again, the pro- 
 perty is to be divided after his death among the children of the 
 first marriage, only the second wife receives one share. But if 
 there be no children, the surviving wife has all the inheritance ; 
 and if she dies before her husband, all her property belongs to 
 him. 
 
 But in case there be children from both these marriages, 
 the following rules must be observed. If the property has very 
 much increased since the second marriage, while before this was 
 not the case, it must all be divided into eight parts, of which 
 five are given to the second wife, two to her children, and the 
 remaining one to the children of the former marriage. But if, 
 on the contrary, the great increase took place before the second 
 marriage, and ceased with it, after having set aside the five 
 parts belonging to the first wife, two are given to her children, 
 and one to those of the second wife. 
 
 VI. 
 
 As after the death of the parents, the eldest son or daughter 
 naturally succeeds to their place, in order that they may always 
 keep in mind the obligation they are under of taking care of 
 their younger brothers and sisters, the laws decree that to them 
 in particular a cow and a goat shall be given. 
 
 VII. 
 
 When the wife, after the death of her husband, contracts a 
 second marriage, her goods, upon her death, provided the
 
 BURMESE CODE 233 
 
 second husband has brought nothing to her house, and the 
 whole property has belonged to her, are divided into four parts. 
 Three are given to the children of her former marriage, and one 
 goes to her second husband. But if there has been a notable 
 increase in the property since her last marriage, the goods are 
 divided into eight parts, and distributed as directed in v. 
 
 In case of the death of both the husband and wife, the 
 general rule is, that the property acquired during the first 
 marriage goes to the children of that marriage, and that 
 acquired afterwards to the children of the second. 
 
 These rules are also to be observed in dividing an inheritance 
 among the children of the chief wife and those of the inferior 
 ones. That is, the property received with the first wife 
 descends to her children, and that acquired with the inferior 
 wives to their respective children. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 The first-born son, after having received his portion of the 
 inheritance, ought to take a paternal care of his younger 
 brothers ; and they, on their part, ought to honour and respect 
 him as their father. If he usurps, or attempts to usurp, 
 any tiling belonging to his brothers, he forfeits his inherit- 
 ance, and may moreover be punished by the judge. If the 
 younger brothers wish to leave the paternal house, and to 
 employ their property in alms-deeds, they are not to be 
 hindered. 
 
 IX. 
 
 If the father, or both the father and mother, are reduced by 
 sickness or old age to such a state as not to be able to do the 
 duties required from them by the Emperor, nor to procure for 
 themselves their necessary food and clothing, all their property 
 is to be divided into two parts, of which one is assigned to the 
 eldest son, if he be capable of succeeding to the duties of his 
 father, who is thence to take care of hj$ parents ; he ought also 
 to receive something valuable. The remaining part is sub- 
 divided into nine shares, of which one belongs to the eldest son; 
 the remainder is again divided into nine parts, and one given
 
 234 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 to the younger son ; the other eight parts are now again 
 divided as before, one part is given to the eldest son, and the 
 remaining parts to the younger. But if there be more than 
 one younger brother, the division must be made as prudence 
 may require. 
 
 x. 
 
 If it should happen that a woman, after giving birth to seven 
 daughters, should have a son, the inheritance must be divided 
 in the following manner. The son, although the last-born, 
 must have the same as his eldest sister, the second and third 
 daughters have two shares each more than the fourth and fifth, 
 who have a share and a half more than the sixth and seventh ; 
 and the latter are to receive one share each. 
 
 In general, the heirs who are on the spot must claim their 
 share in an inheritance between the seventh and thirtieth day 
 after the death of their relation, and those who are at a dis- 
 tance, within the space of three months ; after this period has 
 expired they can have no further claim. 
 
 When a father has given one of his sons a sum of money for 
 commerce, this is not mingled with the common stock at the 
 death of the father, but continues to be the property of the 
 son.* 
 
 xir. 
 
 When a girl contracts marriage contrary to, or without the 
 consent of her parents, her property does not go to her husband 
 at her death, but to her parents. And if a woman has married 
 twice, once with and once without the consent of her parents, 
 her dower then belongs to the children of the first marriage, to 
 the exclusion of those of the second. 
 
 xni. 
 If a man has had several wives, but only one son, his goods 
 
 * At present this is not the case. For now the gain alone belongs to the son, 
 but the capital must be returned to the common inheritance.
 
 BURMESE CODE 235 
 
 at his death go to this only son, and the surviving wife has 
 nothing. When there is no surviving child the inheritance is 
 divided among the wives, in the manner before set down. 
 
 A hermaphrodite child cannot claim an equal share with the 
 other brothers. 
 
 xiv. 
 Of the divisions of' inheritances among Talapoins. 
 
 When a Talapoin dies, his relations can have no pretensions 
 to his goods. Upon the death of a great Talapoin, all his 
 fnrniture and utensils go to the next in dignity, or to his suc- 
 cessor ; the rest of his goods are divided into four parts, two of 
 which are given to the second Talapoin, and the other two 
 again divided into four parts, of which one is given to the 
 Pazen, the remaining three to the other persons constituting 
 the family. 
 
 Elder brothers have no right to anything that the younger 
 gain by their industry or labour. When a husband dies with- 
 out children, the wife has the whole inheritance. Before divid- 
 ing a man's property among his heirs, his wife must take out 
 sufficient to pay his debts, and for alms. 
 
 If a son who has married dies before his father has made a 
 division of his property, his children can claim no part of the 
 goods of their grandfather ; though he may, with the advice of 
 some prudent and aged persons, give to them a small share. 
 
 Vol. IV. 
 
 There are four cases of fornication between a man and an 
 unmarried woman. 1. When the girl consents to the violation. 
 2. When she refuses her consent. 3. 4Vhen, although she con- 
 sents, she is not of the same caste or condition as the man. 4>. 
 When she consents, and is of the same class. In the last case,
 
 236 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 the parties ought to marry each other ; in the third they must 
 be separated, and the man must pay the price of the body of 
 the woman. If the violation has been forcible, the man must 
 be punished in proportion to his crime ; and if death be the 
 consequence of his violence, he must pay to the parents of the 
 girl, ten times the price of her body.* But if the girl has given 
 her consent, there is no punishment for the man, even though 
 the girl should die in consequence. 
 
 All who co-operate in seducing girls are to be punished. 
 
 ii. 
 
 A man may punish his wife in the following cases. 1. If she 
 is accustomed to drink wine. 2. If she is careless of her 
 domestic duties. 3. If she encourage any gallant. 4. If she is 
 fond of running about to other peopled houses. 5. If she is 
 very often standing at the door or window of the house. 6. 
 If she is petulant, and quarrelsome with her husband. In like 
 manner it is lawful for husbands to punish those wives who are 
 very extragavant in dress or in eating, those who show a dis- 
 regard of modesty, or a too great curiosity in looking about 
 them, and those who, by reason of their beauty, or of the pro- 
 perty they have brought for their dower, are proud and over- 
 bearing. In these cases the husband must at first bear with his 
 wife patiently, and admonish her in the presence of others ; but 
 if she does not amend, he may then punish her and even beat 
 her. If after this she still continue in her evil courses, he may 
 put her away, making with her a division of the property. 
 
 in. 
 Of buying and selling. 
 
 There are two ways of selling anything. The first is by a 
 private agreement between the buyer and the seller; the second 
 is for some third person, having a competent knowledge of the 
 thing to be sold, to determine a price. The following articles, 
 however, cannot be lawfully offered for sale. Things that are 
 
 * At present, death is the punishment in this case.
 
 BURMESE CODE 237 
 
 a great way off; things which are indeed on the spot but are 
 hidden ; things of no value ; and finally, stolen goods. When 
 a person, after having made a purchase, discovers that he has 
 paid an exorbitant price, he may return the article and re- 
 claim the money, provided five days have not passed since the 
 transaction ; but after the fifth day, the sale stands good. 
 Supposing that a person buys, for example, an ox or a horse, 
 and after he has paid only a part of the price the animal dies, 
 he is not obliged to pay the remainder. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Of those who cannot be admitted as witnesses. 
 
 In judging causes, the testimony of persons, respectable by 
 their state in life and their wisdom, disinterested, and who 
 believe in the merit of good works, ought to be received. But 
 there are several persons whose testimony cannot be admitted. 
 These are, those who do not believe in the merit of good works, 
 such as trade with other people's goods, the parties interested 
 in the cause, as well as their relations, friends and enemies, 
 great talkers, sick persons, old men, children, overbearing men, 
 public singers, dancing girls, women who roam about or are of 
 ill fame, goldsmiths, painters, blacksmiths, cobblers, those who 
 are inclined to harbour hatred, asthmatic persons, persons of 
 vile condition, gluttons, gamesters, choleric persons, thieves, 
 physicians, those whose kindred and habitation are unknown, 
 pregnant women and hermaphrodites. All these are incapaci- 
 tated from giving testimony ; though they may be allowed to 
 do it with the consent of the parties. The judge also cannot 
 appear as a witness. A witness too, otherwise unexceptionable, 
 if, before appearing in court, he goes into the house of either 
 of the parties, is thereby incapacitated ; but this precaution 
 does not affect persons of weight, as the Talapoins. If a person 
 refuses the testimony of a witness who has all the qualities 
 required by the law, he loses his cause ; and the same is the 
 case when a man will not produce his* witnesses nor take the 
 customary oath. 
 
 When one of the parties brings forward a witness, he is not
 
 238 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 obliged to swear ; and when he takes the oath, he is not obliged 
 to produce a witness. If a man before judgment has been pro- 
 nounced goes to the house of the witness he loses his cause. 
 
 v. 
 
 Of the crimes a man may be guilty of towards married women, 
 and their penalties. 
 
 If a man touch another's wife with his hands, or if he go to 
 visit her when her husband is not at home, or walk with her in 
 lonely places, or talk much with her, or place himself in the 
 door-way, or on the stairs, or go into her bedchamber, he may 
 be made to pay the half of the fine attached to the actual com- 
 mission of adultery. But still it must be observed, that there 
 must have been something in the character of the man to excite 
 suspicion. 
 
 VI. 
 
 If a husband surprise a man in adultery with his wife, he may 
 lawfully kill him. But if he have time to fly, and has got as 
 far as the stairs, the husband cannot lawfully kill him ; and if 
 he does, he is guilty of murder. 
 
 If a man find that a person, whose character warrants sus- 
 picion, is accustomed to give betel and make other presents to 
 his wife, or passes jokes with her, he may bring him before a 
 judge, and force him to pay half the fine for adultery. 
 
 VII. 
 
 The husband may command his wife not to visit at certain 
 houses, not to frequent lonely places, etc., and if she will not 
 obey, he may accuse her as guilty of a crime. 
 
 When a man is guilty of adultery with another's wife, and it 
 is proved to be the first time, he must pay the ordinary fine 
 for adultery ; but for the second offence he is only to pay half 
 the fine ; and if he is guilty a third time, he is free from all 
 penalty.
 
 BURMESE CODE 239 
 
 VIII. 
 
 When a woman accuses a man of having violated her person, 
 and he denies it, he must be made to take the oath. If within 
 seven days after no one of the misfortunes described in the 
 oath befalls him, he is acquitted, and the woman must pay a 
 certain sum in punishment for the calumny. But if both take 
 the oath, neither of them must be reputed guilty, only they are 
 bound to pay the expenses of the trial. 
 
 It must here be observed that the trial by water, described in 
 the chapter on government, is not proper to be forced upon 
 women in these cases, as men are generally more expert at it 
 than women. 
 
 IX. 
 
 If a man carries away a married woman, and after the death 
 of her husband sells her, he must give her the price he has 
 received, and, moreover, pay the fine of adultery. If he drives 
 her out of his house, he must pay only the half; and as he has 
 deceived her he has no right whatever over her. 
 
 It is not reckoned a crime for a married woman to revile or 
 even to beat a man who by promises or blandishments attempts 
 to draw her to sin ; and if the man retorts he may be con- 
 demned to pay the woman the usual fine. 
 
 If a rich man violates the wife of a poor man, he must pay 
 the ordinary fine ; but if a poor man violates the wife of a rich 
 man, the penalty will be the forfeit of his liberty. 
 
 If a man, after committing adultery with the wife of a respect- 
 able person, flies, his wife must give ten slaves to the injured 
 person or their equivalent in money. 
 
 If a drunken man sleep upon the bed of another man's wife, 
 but without being guilty of any indecency towards her, he can- 
 not be punished in any way ; but if he takes any liberties with 
 her, he may be condemned in the ordinary way. 
 
 . 
 
 XI. 
 
 If a slave forms a connection with another slave he must be
 
 240 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 punished as a slave ; but if the woman be the slave of a brother 
 or near relation to the master of the man, there is no penalty ; 
 because the slaves of brothers and near relations are supposed 
 to be members of the same family. 
 
 It is no crime for a slave to have a connection with a free 
 woman if she consents to it ; but if a free man forms a con- 
 nection with the female slave of another, he must pay the value 
 of the woman to her master. 
 
 If a woman by deceit induces a boy of thirteen or fourteen 
 to sin with her, she alone is reckoned guilty. When a slave 
 violates a female slave of his master, and she dies in child-birth, 
 the violator must pay the customary fine. 
 
 When the adulterer is not able to pay the fine, he must 
 become a slave to the man he has injured; but at the death 
 of the wife he regains his liberty. If a son should be the fruit 
 of this connection, he is free. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 The fine for the violation of a female slave is the value of a 
 slave ; for the violation of a poor woman it is the value of two 
 slaves ; for the violation of a woman of the class of husband- 
 men, the value of three slaves ; for the violation of the wife of 
 a merchant, the value of four slaves ; for the violation of the 
 wife of a physician, the value of five slaves ; for the violation 
 of the wife of a wise or rich man, the value of eight, or if he 
 be a person of consequence, of twelve slaves ; for the violation 
 of the wife of a lesser Mandarin, the value of fifteen slaves, but 
 if he be a Mandarin of the higher class, of twenty or thirty 
 slaves. When the women thus violated were not wives but 
 only concubines, the fine is diminished one-half. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 If a man has insulted, or struck, or wounded others, or dis- 
 honoured another's bed, he alone, but not his wife or children
 
 BURMESE CODE 
 
 must be punished. But in case of debt, upon the flight or death 
 of the husband, the wife and children must satisfy the creditors. 
 
 xv. 
 
 If any man seize another by the hair, he must pay a fine of 
 thirty rupees ; if a man strike another on the head, he must 
 pay a fine of fifteen rupees ; whoever gives another a blow so 
 as to draw blood from the nose or mouth must pay twenty 
 rupees; whoever beats another with a stick must pay fifteen 
 rupees, or forty, if any bone be broken, or eighty if the flesh is 
 much bruised or blackened. If the man dies from the effects 
 of the beating, the aggressor must be fined in the sum of 300 
 rupees. 
 
 Whoever strikes a Mandarin must pay the sum of 400 rupees, 
 or 500 if the Mandarin be of high rank. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 But if a person does not actually strike a Mandarin, but 
 merely touches him disrespectfully, he must be condemned to 
 a fine of 150 rupees, or of 100, or 70 if it be one of the 
 lesser Mandarins. And if any one disrespectfully touch a rich 
 man of great consequence he must pay fifty rupees, and forty if 
 he is not of the first class ; for thus offending against a wise man 
 the fine is forty rupees ; against a soldier thirty-five, and so on 
 in proportion to the rank of the injured person. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 If any one shall strike a Talapoin, he must offer to him 100 
 baskets of cooked rice, 100 jars of curry, and 100 hearth-cakes, 
 and must, moreover, humbly beg his pardon. If the injured 
 person be a Brahmin, he must offer him cloth, and clothes, and 
 other utensils, and beg his pardon. Whoever lays hands upon 
 one of the chief Mandarins must pay the value of seventy 
 slaves ; if the Mandarin be not of the Jpighest order, the fine 
 is the value of sixty slaves. 
 
 The code then goes on to speak of the fines which those
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 must pay who insult, or strike, or wound persons in conditions 
 superior to their own. 
 
 If any one in the public streets lays hands upon another of 
 equal condition with himself, he must pay the value of two 
 slaves. Then the different parts of the body are enumerated 
 which may be wounded in quarrels, and according to the danger 
 or size of the wound the fine is regulated. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 If a man, free-born and of a respectable state in life, kills a 
 poor man, he must pay the price of ten slaves; and the fine 
 is the same in case a poor man kills a slave ; but if he kills a 
 person superior to himself he must pay the value of seventy 
 slaves ; for killing the slave of a Mandarin the fine is the value 
 of fifteen slaves. The murderer of a Talapoin or a Brahmin 
 must pay a fine of fifty ounces of gold.* 
 
 XIX. 
 
 If two persons quarrel and fight, and one of them is killed, 
 there is no penalty ; but if a third person interfere, and he kills 
 one of those engaged in the quarrel, he must pay the ordinary 
 fine for murder ; but if he himself is killed, the other two are 
 subject to no penalty. 
 
 If any one accepts a commission to murder another, even 
 though the crime is not committed, both he and the person 
 giving the order must pay the full fine of murder. 
 
 When two persons mutually insult or strike each other, if 
 they are both of equal condition, each must pay the usual 
 fine, but if one is superior to the other, the fine is increased 
 or diminished one-fourth, according to their respective states 
 in life. 
 
 xx. 
 
 It is no crime for children not more than ten years old to 
 strike or insult any one. When Talapoins, or Brahmins, or 
 
 At present murder is punished with death.
 
 BURMESE CODE 243 
 
 Mandarins, or old men, or children, or mad or sick people beat 
 any one, they are guilty of no crime, even though death should 
 be the consequence of the blows, since it is supposed they did 
 not do it with the intention of murder, but only of correction. 
 
 XXI. 
 
 If a man insult another, calling him a thief, a wizard, a vile 
 fellow, and such like, he must pay in penalty the price of a 
 man. And if a man in a passion shall tell another that he is 
 a murderer, a killer of other men's oxen, pigs, etc., if this be a 
 calumny, he must pay the price of ten men. 
 
 If any one insult his own parents, he must be stripped of all 
 his goods and expelled from his father's house. 
 
 XXII. 
 
 If any one plays tricks upon a person of higher condition 
 than himself, or throws water or filth upon him, he must be 
 punished with the bastinado. When any one grievously insults 
 another, he must pay the ordinary fine ; and if he be a poor 
 man, his face must be blackened with charcoal, and he is to be 
 conducted in this state through all the streets of the city. 
 
 Vol. V. 
 
 This volume speaks of those who may act as judges. All 
 persons, whether Mandarins or Brahmins, or prudent or pious 
 men, may act in this capacity, provided they have those quali- 
 ties which constitute a good judge, which are specially these : 
 to be considerate, prudent, wise, eloquent, and well versed in 
 the laws and statutes contained in this book. It then goes on 
 to point out those who more commonly exercise the office of 
 judge, and these are the governors of cities, and the chiefs of 
 the villages or their lieutenants, those wh<j> have made a study 
 of the Damasat, and arbitrators. 
 
 After the chiefs of the villages, or the governors of towns, 
 have given their judgment in any cause, if the parties are dis-
 
 244 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 satisfied with the decision, they may have recourse to another 
 judge; and, if this judge has been chosen by consent of both 
 parties, they must abide by his award. 
 
 ii. 
 
 There are four causes for arrest and imprisonment ; debt, 
 quarrels, enmity, and theft. A creditor may arrest his debtor 
 and keep him confined till he has paid him. If a creditor 
 tortures his debtor in such a manner as to cause his death, he 
 may be punished as a murderer. If a debtor wishes to prosecute 
 his creditor for the vexations he has suffered from him, he must 
 first pay the debt before he can begin the prosecution. 
 
 If the people of a village seize upon a robber, and in securing 
 him or conducting him to prison he is killed, they are not 
 subject to any penalty. 
 
 in. 
 
 A debtor must be released when he promises that he will 
 submit the cause to a judge, and abide by his decision. 
 
 If a person is bail for another, who afterwards flies, or refuses 
 to satisfy the claims upon him, the surety is bound to make all 
 payments good. 
 
 IV. 
 
 A man may suffer an injury in three ways : in his body, in his 
 possessions, or in both body and possessions at the same time. 
 
 And where an injury has been inflicted, reparation must be 
 made either by restitution or an equivalent. 
 
 If a person is made to pay a fine unjustly, which ought to 
 have been paid by another person, he may exact a double fine 
 from the real offender. 
 
 v. 
 Of interest on money. 
 
 When a person puts out his money to interest, if he be a 
 poor man, he may receive monthly one per cent.; two per cent.
 
 BURMESE CODE 245 
 
 if he be of the class of Mandarins ; four per cent, if he be a 
 rich man ; and five per cent, if he be a merchant.* 
 
 When a person pays back the capital without any interest, 
 he is no longer bound to pay any interest. And so also when 
 a person restores half of the capital and half the interest, he is 
 not bound to pay any interest for the half thus restored. If a 
 person who has lent out money calls in the capital and the 
 interest before the stipulated time, he can only demand the 
 capital, in punishment for having broken his agreement. If 
 the owner of the money lent employs his debtor in doing him 
 various services, he cannot make him pay any interest, but 
 simply restore the capital ; and if he is very vexatious towards 
 the debtor, he loses half of the capital. If a person having 
 gratuitously lent a sum of money, afterwards pretends that he 
 did it with the obligation of interest, the judge may sentence 
 him to lose the whole debt. 
 
 VI. 
 
 If a woman takes a loan of stolen money, her husband is 
 obliged to restore twice the sum to the real owner, whenever 
 he shall appear to claim it. But if it was not the chief 
 wife, but only one of the inferior ones who accepted the loan, 
 the husband is then bound to pay merely the capital with the 
 usual interest. And if a slave borrows stolen money, the 
 master is only to restore three quarters of the sum. 
 
 VII. 
 
 When a husband, after having borrowed a sum of money, 
 sets off for a distant country without the knowledge of his 
 wife, and dies on the way, the wife is not bound to pay the 
 debt ; and in like manner if a woman borrows money in the 
 absence of her husband, and dies before his return, the creditor 
 cannot force the husband to pay the debt. Finally, if a person 
 lends money to another's wife in his absence, and under sus- 
 picious circumstances, he cannot claipi payment from the 
 husband. 
 
 At present the interest is five per cent, for all persons.
 
 246 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 If the near relations of a debtor, as his brothers or sons, 
 should go to the house of the creditor, to entreat him to 
 release their kinsman who was in prison, promising to arrange 
 things so that the debt shall be paid, and the debtor, upon his 
 release, flies or conceals himself, these relations shall be answer- 
 able for the debt. But this does not hold if the intercessors 
 were only friends or distant connections. 
 
 When several persons stand surety for a debt, they are all 
 bound in solidum to payment, in case the debtor withdraws 
 himself from the country, so that if the creditor meets with 
 one of the sureties, he may exact from him alone the full pay- 
 ment, provided he is not a poor person or slave. 
 
 The sureties however are only bound for the capital, but not 
 for the interest. If the creditor, without advertising the 
 surety, arrests his debtor, and he afterwards escapes from him, 
 then the surety is no longer bound to anything, and the same 
 is the case when the debtor makes his escape after he has 
 been consigned by the surety to the custody of his creditor. 
 
 x. 
 
 When the interest in the space of two or three years comes 
 to be equal to, or greater than the capital, the debtor is no 
 longer bound to restitution.* 
 
 When a debtor runs away, all his property must be divided 
 among his creditors in proportion to their respective credits. 
 
 XI. 
 
 In case of the denial of a debt, the judge may administer 
 the oath to the party most illustrious for his family, or re- 
 markable for his integrity. But if the litigants are equal in 
 
 * To elude this law creditors have now the practice of making their debtors 
 give them new bonds every year.
 
 BURMESE CODE 247 
 
 these respects, he must require both to take the oath, and the 
 one who refuses loses his cause. 
 
 XII. 
 
 If a person lends money to a slave, not knowing him to be 
 such, the master is bound to the payment ; but if the lender 
 was acquainted with the condition of the borrower, the master 
 is bound to nothing. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 If a person gives money with the condition of receiving at 
 a stated period a quantity of rice, for example, and the article 
 is not delivered as agreed, he may exact interest for his money. 
 A person who lends another a quantity of rice may at any 
 time demand its repayment, even in a year of scarcity ; and he 
 may also require compensation for any damage he may have 
 suffered through the loan. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 When two persons are joint creditors of another, and one of 
 them consigns the debtor to the custody of the other, if this 
 one, after receiving his share of the debt, releases the debtor, 
 he is bound to satisfy the claims of the other creditor. If at 
 the time that a creditor holds his debtor in confinement, 
 another creditor appears, and tells him to keep him safe, and 
 if the prior creditor afterwards releases the debtor, upon re- 
 ceiving the payment of his own demands, he is obliged to give 
 to the other creditor one-half of the sum he has received : but 
 if the other creditors do not come forth before his debt has. 
 been paid, he is not bound to pay them anything. But if the 
 creditor, having been thus paid, persuades the debtor to run 
 away, he is then obliged to satisfy all the claims of any other 
 creditors who may appear. 
 
 xv. 
 
 If a person lends money to another", not knowing that he 
 was a slave, or if the borrower afterwards becomes a slave, and 
 he arrests him and tortures him in such a manner as to cause
 
 248 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 his death, he must pay to the master of the slave half his 
 value. But if the slave only flies, and does not return to his 
 master's house, the creditor is under no obligation of restitu- 
 tion of any kind. 
 
 But if he knew that the borrower was a slave, and he die in 
 consequence of the ill-treatment of the creditor, the latter 
 must pay the full price of the slave to his master, or the third 
 part if he merely runs away. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 If a person accompanies another when he is going to satisfy 
 his creditor, and the debtor runs away without paying, the 
 creditor may require the whole debt from his companion, or if 
 the latter be the slave of the debtor, he becomes the slave of 
 the creditor. These laws take place when a debtor has no 
 children or near relations to succeed to his property. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 A creditor may arrest his debtor when he refuses to pay ; 
 and if he perseveres in his refusal, after three years he may be 
 sold for a slave by the creditor, who may thus pay himself out 
 of the price he receives for him. But if he keeps the debtor 
 in prison ten years and then sells him, he may appropriate the 
 whole price, even though it exceed the original debt. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 If a man contracts a debt during the lifetime of his first wife, 
 and after death runs away from his creditor, the latter can 
 ' have no claim upon the second wife. 
 
 But though creditors are allowed thus to arrest and imprison 
 their debtors, they are nevertheless forbidden to punish or 
 torture them in the same way as criminals. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 Of deposits. 
 
 A depositary ought to be a person of a respectable station 
 in life.
 
 BURMESE CODE 249 
 
 The depositary must not restore the deposit to any one but its 
 master ; if he does, he must make compensation for all losses. 
 
 If the depositary asserts, that the things committed to his 
 care have been stolen, or burnt, or otherwise destroyed, he 
 must produce good testimonies for the fact. If he appropriates 
 the deposit to his own use, and afterwards denies it, he must 
 take the oath ; and if within the eight following days, none of 
 the denunciations contained in it happen to him, he is ac- 
 quitted and absolved from making any compensation. 
 
 xx. 
 
 When two persons enter into partnership, and buy a boat, 
 a house, or a field for trading, both must employ themselves in 
 the common concern, if they are to participate in the gains. 
 If they quarrel and dispute, he loses the cause who began the 
 litigation, unless the other has exceeded him in injuries and 
 insults. But if the dispute runs so high that they come to 
 blows, that one wins the cause who sustains the greatest 
 injury. 
 
 XXI. 
 
 No one has a right to anything he has agreed to purchase, 
 unless he has paid down the earnest-money, which is forfeited 
 if he afterwards fails in his promise. 
 
 When two persons entering into partnership buy anything 
 in common, and one of them dies, his share of the purchase 
 goes to his heirs. 
 
 XXII. 
 
 If a person give a lease of a piece of land for one year, and 
 in the meantime sells the land, he must pay to the tenant 
 double the annual rent, unless the field, by reason of the 
 drought, have been totally unproductive. 
 
 When a person mortgages his lan<Lto obtain money, and 
 within three years pays back the mortgage, his land must be 
 restored to him. But if he does not pay it off in less than five 
 years, he is only bound to one half of the original sum. And
 
 250 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 if he does not pay it within ten years, the debt is liquidated, 
 and he is not obliged to anything.* 
 
 Vol. VI. 
 
 Of theft. 
 
 Whoever steals a horse must restore two ; whoever steals 
 an ox, must restore fifteen ; whoever steals a buffalo, must 
 restore thirty ; whoever steals a pig or a goat must restore 
 fifty; whoever steals a young goose or a fowl, must restore 
 100 ; whoever steals a man must restore ten, or four if he 
 only conceals him. 
 
 As for inanimate things, whoever steals anything, must 
 restore, if it be the property of the Emperor, the Brahmins, or 
 the Talapoins, ten-fold ; if of a Mandarin, five-fold ; if of a 
 rich man, three-fold ; and if of a poor man, two-fold what he 
 has taken. 
 
 ii. 
 
 Whoever secretly enters into another man's house in the 
 night, even though when he is caught he has taken nothing, 
 must pay the value of two men ; but if any stolen goods are 
 found upon him, he is fined in the value of four or five men. 
 If a man steals in a street or public place, and is caught by 
 the owner of the stolen property in the town where the robbery 
 was committed, he may be obliged to restore double what he 
 has taken. But if he is pursued, and taken in another town, 
 the stolen goods must be sold in the place, and half the sum 
 arising from the sale be given to the chief of the town."f* 
 
 * In consequence of this law, money-lenders among the Burmese are very soli- 
 citous to have their money back before three years are expired ; and if the debtor 
 is unable to repay it, they will make him give them a new bond, that thus they 
 may continue to receive the interest of the money they have lent. 
 
 t At present thieves, especially if they are old offenders, are mostly condemned 
 o death.
 
 BURMESE CODE 251 
 
 in. 
 
 If, when two persons are living together, one of them takes 
 away or hides anything from the other, he is only obliged to a 
 simple restitution. Those who are watching in the house of a 
 deceased person may lawfully make use of the food they find 
 there ; as also the inhabitants of one village, being invited by 
 those of another to a festival, may make use of anything be- 
 longing to the latter. 
 
 IV. 
 
 If a man lends a sword to one, who afterwards uses it to kill 
 or wound some one, if he was ignorant of this evil intention at 
 the time he lent the sword, he is not guilty of any crime ; but 
 if he knew it, or ought to have known it, he must pay a third 
 of the ordinary fine. When a thief has been pursued and 
 taken, he must not be immediately put to death, but consigned 
 into the hands of the judge to be punished according to the 
 law. But the master of an orchard or of a field may kill a 
 thief, whom he finds stealing there in the night. If, however, 
 a thief is caught stealing fruit in the daytime, he must pay a 
 fine of the value of a man. 
 
 v. 
 
 If a person should buy an old and worn-out boat from a 
 thief, and after having mended it, should discover its owner, 
 he is only bound to make known the thief, from whom the 
 owner must exact the fine ; as it is presumed that lie could not 
 have suspected it to be stolen property. 
 
 If two people together buy a stolen garden, and one of them 
 dies before the owner has reclaimed his property, the other is 
 obliged to endeavour to discover the thief, but if he is unable, 
 to restore the whole garden to the true owner. 
 
 VI. 
 
 If a man, having stolen a boat, gives it to a carpenter to 
 mend, when the owner appears, five times the value of the boat
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 must be paid as a fine ; of which the carpenter must pay one- 
 third, and the thief the other two. If a slave turns robber and 
 is taken, he must be condemned to death, or else to pay the 
 usual fine for theft ; which must be paid to the judge by him 
 who has received the thief into his house ; half the fine must 
 be given to the master of the slave. 
 
 VII. 
 
 If a thief being discovered in the night, and closely pursued, 
 leaves behind him the stolen goods, they are to be divided into 
 three parts ; one of which is to be given to the person who dis- 
 covered the thief, one to the judge, and one to the feudatory 
 of the town. If anything is missed in a place near which a 
 number of people have been playing, they are bound to pay its 
 value to the owner. In like manner, when anything is lost in 
 a village, the inhabitants must make it good.* 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Whoever appropriates to himself things found in the woods 
 or mountains is to be considered as a thief, and treated as such. 
 On the contrary those who restore them untouched to their 
 owners merit great praise ; and moreover they are also to receive 
 a third part of the value of what they have restored, if it is not 
 gold or silver, as then only a sixth part is due to them. The 
 same law holds when any one finds a lost child or slave, and 
 those must be punished, who, instead of restoring them to those 
 to whom they belong, retain them in their own employ. 
 
 According to the rules of justice and honesty, a person who 
 has found anything should keep it in his possession for three 
 years, and then consign it to the chief of the town or city, who 
 must restore it to the owner when he appears ; and if any one 
 declares the thing to be his, and it is discovered upon examina- 
 
 * The inhabitants of a town are also responsible for any crime, as, for example, 
 murder, which has been committed in the neighbourhood.
 
 BURMESE CODE 253 
 
 tion that this is not true, he must be condemned to pay twice 
 the value of the thing that was lost. 
 
 Natural or adopted fathers, sponsors, and masters may make 
 use of the property of their children or scholars ; the husband 
 has also a right to the property of his wife, and a master to 
 that of his slave. 
 
 XI. 
 
 Of lying and deceit. 
 
 Whoever takes money from another, promising at some stated 
 time to give him some merchandise, but afterwards breaks his 
 word, is bound to pay double the sum he has received. 
 
 A calumniator must receive the same punishment that would 
 be inflicted for the crime of which he had accused his adversary. 
 
 XII. 
 
 When a compromise had been made between the two parties 
 in a lawsuit, and confirmed by a written instrument, if either of 
 them attempts to renew the question, he shall be condemned to 
 lose the cause. 
 
 He also loses his cause who will not appear before the judge. 
 
 The lawyer who undertakes to conduct a lawsuit is obliged 
 to answer the opposite party in everything, if his client flies 
 away. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 If one man takes another into places, unwholesome by reason 
 of the malaria, or dangerous, or full of robbers, he must pay 
 the customary fine for any evil that may happen, provided he 
 was not ignorant of the nature of the place. If both were 
 ignorant of it, the one who induced the other to go must pay 
 half the usual fine. 
 
 If two persons challenge each other to swim, to ride on horse-
 
 254 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 back, or to any similar trial of skill, and any accident happens 
 to one of them, the other is not bound to any penalty. In like 
 manner, if a person, seeing another's horse or carriage approach, 
 warns him to keep at a distance, but he notwithstanding will 
 approach, and in consequence suffers some injury, the latter 
 cannot institute a lawsuit on this ground. 
 
 If a person curses another and some evil happens to him who 
 was cursed, the other must pay twice the value of the evil w hich 
 has been suffered ; thus if the man dies, he must pay twice the 
 value of a man. 
 
 It must here be observed that at the death of the Emperor, 
 a general pardon and remission of all crimes and fines is given, 
 excepting in cases of debt. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 If, while a stranger is living in a house, a thief comes there to 
 steal, and the stranger pursues him and makes himself master 
 of his clothes, they must be divided into two parts, of which 
 the master of the house takes one and the stranger the other. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 When a stranger dies, all his goods belong to the master of 
 the house where he was residing. In like manner if a man, 
 who has been wounded by robbers, dies in another man's house, 
 his goods, together with the fine to be paid by the thieves, go 
 to the owner of the house. If a woman is brought to bed in 
 another person's house, she must offer to the master one dress 
 for a man and another for a woman, as also a sum of gold if 
 she be able. When a sick man remains in another's house till 
 his death, and receives all his food and medicine from his host, 
 the latter must be repaid double what the sick man has con- 
 sumed, and four times as much if, during the sickness, he has 
 waited upon him.
 
 BURMESE CODE 255 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 If a sick man, in offering rice or any other species of food to 
 the Nat of the woods or mountains, throws it near the steps of 
 another man's house, he is not guilty of any fault ; but if he 
 throws it under his house, and any misfortune afterwards hap- 
 pens to its owner, as, for example, if he dies, the one who has 
 put the rice there must pay the price of the body of the 
 deceased, as well as for all the medicines that have been taken. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 If a sick man, in warming himself, sets fire to another per- 
 son's house, he must pay to its owner the third part of the 
 value of his body. And a person who in any other way, as in 
 lighting a lamp, sets fire to a house, must pay the owner two- 
 thirds of the value of his body. If the fire was caused by him 
 whilst he was drunk or in a passion, he must pay the full value 
 of his body. If an inhabitant of a village, whilst carrying fire 
 in his hands, quarrels with the inhabitant of another village, 
 and is the cause of its taking fire, the inhabitants of the last- 
 mentioned place may for vengeance set fire to the village of 
 the incendiary, without being liable to any prosecution. 
 
 If a person sets fire to a wood that does not belong to any 
 one, and the fire is thence communicated to a neighbouring 
 garden, the owner may demand reparation for all damages. 
 
 Vol. VII. 
 
 If a young man, to induce a girl to marry him, gives her a 
 ring or any other pledge, but afterwards marries another 
 woman, he cannot demand back what he had given. 
 
 When a person deputes another to go into another town 
 and contract for him a marriage witrr**a woman, giving her at 
 the same time a pledge for the fulfilment of the contract, if 
 when he goes himself to receive his bride he finds some defect
 
 256 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 in her, as that she is infected with the leprosy, or has known 
 some other man, he may break off the contract and require the 
 pledge to be given back. But this law does not hold when the 
 woman is of the same village as the man, or he has personally 
 been acquainted with her. 
 
 If parents have promised a young man to give him their 
 younger daughter in marriage, but deceive him and give him 
 her eldest sister, and if he has consummated his marriage with 
 her, he may retain the elder without losing any of his rights 
 over the younger. 
 
 ii. 
 
 If a young man, after having given the usual dower required 
 for marrying a girl, has a connection with her sister, the former 
 may, if she pleases, break the contract, and the man cannot 
 demand the dower he brought with him. 
 
 A father-in-law may drive out of his house a son-in-law who 
 shows great inaptitude for labour, and give his daughter to 
 another man. But he must give to his son-in-law the clothes 
 of his wife, if he is going to marry another woman, or half the 
 value of her body, if he is going to remain single. 
 
 in. 
 
 If, during the celebration of a marriage, the bride runs away, 
 her parents must give their younger daughter in her place, if 
 they have one, or else restore the dower. But if the bride only 
 hides herself in the house, and refuses to receive her husband, 
 double the sum given as a dower must be paid to him. 
 
 IV. 
 
 If a man forcibly violates another's daughter, he must, if he 
 be a low person, forfeit all his goods in favour of the girl, and 
 moreover be punished by the judge. But if he be of a more 
 noble condition, he must give her a dower corresponding to 
 her state in life. If his condition be the same as the giiTs, he 
 must first be punished, and then must marry the girl, or else 
 give her a dower, which must be equal to the value of her
 
 BURMESE CODE 257 
 
 body. When a person, denying a former marriage, is united 
 with a woman, and it is afterwards discovered that a former 
 wife is living, he must be forced to separate himself from his 
 first wife, or else must forfeit all his property to her whom he 
 has deceived. To make a marriage good the consent of the 
 father is always necessary, so that if a mother gives her daughter 
 in marriage in the absence of the father, he, upon his return, 
 may annul the marriage. 
 
 v. 
 
 If a son-in-law, whilst living in the house of his wife's father, 
 traffics with the money borrowed from another and makes any 
 gain, he must give a third part of all such gains to his father- 
 in-law ; and if the money belonged to the latter, he must yield 
 to him the whole. If a person who has freed a young man 
 from slavery gives him his daughter in marriage, even after the 
 death of his wife, the young man continues to be free. But 
 whatever property he may have possessed, as also that of his 
 wife, and all the daughters he has had by her, belong to the 
 father-in-law ; to whom, moreover, he must give the third part 
 of his gains as long as he remains in his house. 
 
 And if the young man, during the lifetime of his wife, goes 
 to live elsewhere, he must pay the price of her body. 
 
 The property of a slave who marries a free woman belongs,, 
 after his death, to his master. 
 
 VI. 
 
 If a stranger, after giving the usual dower to a girl, goes to- 
 his own country, but with the promise of returning at a cer- 
 tain period and celebrating the marriage, the parents of the 
 girl cannot give her to another, nor take possession of the 
 dower, before the time fixed has elapsed. 
 
 VII. 
 
 .1 
 If a man after his marriage returns to his father's house, and 
 
 for the space of three years does not provide for the clothing 
 of his wife, she is, at the end of that period, free to marry
 
 258 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 another man. She is also free if she hears nothing of her hus- 
 band for six years, when he has gone out on a military expedi- 
 tion. But if he is travelling for objects of commerce she must 
 wait seven years, and if from religious motives, ten. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 A young man should look upon his father-in-law as his 
 natural father, and the father-in-law on his part should con- 
 sider the former as his own child. If a son-in-law should dare 
 to lift his hand against his father-in-law, upon being corrected 
 by him, he must humbly beg pardon, and according to the 
 greatness of the offence pay in forfeit the price of a slave or an 
 ox. But the father-in-law must use discretion in correcting 
 his son-in-law. 
 
 IX. 
 
 If a married couple, from their continual disagreements, con- 
 sent to separate, each one takes his dower, and then whatever 
 has been acquired since their marriage is divided into three 
 parts ; of which the wife takes one and the husband two. But 
 if the husband brought no dower with him, the common gains 
 are equally divided between them. 
 
 But if the separation takes place, not by common consent, 
 but at the pleasure of one party alone ; then, if it be the hus- 
 band who seeks the divorce, he must leave the property to the 
 wife and go out of the house, with only one suit of clothes ; 
 but if it be the woman that wants to separate, the husband, 
 besides taking all the property, may also sell her for a slave. 
 
 x. 
 
 If a man buys a female slave to make her his wife, and after- 
 wards repudiates her, he does not thereby lose the right of 
 exacting the price of her body. But this does not hold in the 
 converse case, when a woman has bought a man to make him 
 her husband, for in case she afterwards separates herself from 
 him, she loses all right over him.
 
 BURMESE CODE 259 
 
 Here there is an exhortation to judges to punish husbands 
 who ill-treat good wives ; as well as wives who revile and ill- 
 treat good husbands. 
 
 XI. 
 
 When a husband sets out for distant countries, leaving in 
 his house everything necessary for the maintenance of his wife, 
 the latter may not leave the house and go to her parents. 
 And if the husband is out on the service of the Emperor, or 
 from religious motives, she is not allowed to abandon the house, 
 even if there be a want of necessaries. And if the husband 
 upon his return finds his wife living out of his house, he may 
 have satisfaction by sentence of a judge, who may decree a 
 separation for three years, or, if the husband demands it, a 
 perpetual divorce. 
 
 XII. 
 
 Even if the husband goes to live with another woman, the 
 wife is not immediately to proceed to a divorce; but she 
 must wait three years, after which time she is free to do as she 
 pleases. There are, however, causes for which a woman may 
 separate herself from her husband ; as, for example, if he is 
 lazy, or unable to procure what is necessary for the family, if 
 he commits adultery, and some others ; but then the husband 
 has still the right of retaining her dower. But sickness, old 
 age, deformity or any other bodily defect, are not considered 
 sufficient causes for a divorce. Those wives who, notwith- 
 standing the sickness or other defects of their husbands, attend 
 to them, and take care of them, and have patience with them, 
 as a sister does to a brother, or a scholar to his master, deserve 
 to be praised by all the Mandarins and j udges. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 If a husband has taken one of his own female slaves, or one 
 belonging to his wife, for a concubine, atd have a son by her, 
 he may give him as a slave to his wife, but not to his eldest 
 daughter ; as in that case he would lose his right to half the 
 value of the body of his son.
 
 260 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 If a father sells his son into slavery, the price paid for him 
 must be taken from the inheritance at the father's death, and 
 given to this son ; who, moreover, may claim two shares more 
 than any of his brothers or sisters in the paternal inheritance. 
 Moreover, if a brother sells his younger brother for a slave, 
 and dies without children, all his property goes to the one who 
 had been sold. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 The children of a first marriage cannot complain if their 
 mother, having married a second time, employs all the property 
 in keeping her husband. If he, after the death of his wife, 
 marries one of her female slaves, the children do not lose their 
 right over her after his death ; as she always belongs to them, 
 except she has had a male child. 
 
 xv. 
 
 Parents, on their death-bed, cannot dispose of their property 
 in favour of their friends or connections ; and even if they had 
 made them any presents, which, however, have not yet been 
 consigned into their hands, the heirs may retain them after the 
 death of the parents. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 If a father, in consequence of age or sickness, gives up the 
 care of his property to his wife and son-in-law ; upon the 
 death of the wife the administration does not pass to the head 
 of the family, as he cannot dispose of anything without the 
 consent of the son-in-law. 
 
 xvn. 
 
 When a married daughter, who has been living with her 
 husband, returns to her father's house in her sickness and dies 
 there, half of her goods belong to her parents. 
 
 If a father-in-law has given money to his son-in-law for 
 trade, he has a claim not only to the restitution of the original
 
 BURMESE CODE 261 
 
 capital, but also to half of the profits, should the man have 
 to return to his own house from the death of his wife. In like 
 manner when parents have given to their daughter money or 
 anything else, by means of which the property of the young 
 people has been increased, upon the death of their daughter 
 they may claim a share with the husband in the inheritance. 
 The same laws hold in case the husband has received anything 
 from his own parents. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 That daughter must be disinherited who refuses to live with 
 the man to whom, with the consent of her parents, she was 
 given in marriage. 
 
 If a married man leave at his death a son and a younger 
 brother, the latter may claim the clothes and a female slave of 
 the deceased, but all the rest goes to the son. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 In this last paragraph it is decreed, that not only the fathers 
 of families, but also their sons and grandsons, must contribute 
 to the taxes which are paid to the Emperor or feudatories. 
 
 Vol. VIII. 
 
 Of the sale of slaves. 
 
 There are two kinds of slavery, one temporary, the other 
 perpetual. A man may be sold in both these kinds of slavery. 
 Still there may be cases in which the buyer has no right to 
 any services from the slave ; as when the person sold was pre- 
 viously the slave of another, or when he has contracted debts ; 
 for in these cases the former master or buyer must have alj his 
 demands satisfied before the new master can have any right 
 over his slave. 
 
 If a slave, within seven days after he has been sold, runs 
 away from his new master, the latter may demand back from
 
 262 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 the seller the price he has paid. And if within ten days the 
 slave falls sick of any foul malady, the buyer may send him 
 back to the house of his old master, who is bound to provide 
 him with food and medicine, and, if he is cured, to restore him 
 to the buyer. 
 
 ii. 
 
 When any one to obtain money gives in pledge his son, or 
 an ox, or anything else, promising to redeem the pledge within 
 three months, if he fails in his promise, he loses his pledge. 
 
 If any one in want of money sells his slave who is involved 
 in debt or other embarrassments, he, and not the buyer, is 
 responsible for the debts of his slave. 
 
 in. 
 
 When any one sells a slave who afterwards returns to his 
 house, and is sold to another at a higher price, the surplus over 
 the first sale belongs to the man who then bought him. 
 
 A person who has sold a slave has the right before any one 
 else of repurchasing him. 
 
 IV. 
 
 When two slaves of the same master agree to run away to- 
 gether, and one afterwards sells the other, and they divide the 
 price, and then the one who has been sold returns to his old 
 master, if the new master comes to claim him, the old master 
 must give him two slaves, unless he can swear or bring testi- 
 mony that the whole transaction was without his advice, and 
 then he is only bound to give one. 
 
 v. 
 
 When a slave, having run away from his lawful master, sells 
 himself to another, but as soon as he has received the price 
 runs away again, and sells himself to a third, if the first and 
 second masters then discover the runaway, they may sue the 
 last possessor for the restitution of the slave, and the reparation
 
 BURMESE CODE 263 
 
 of all damages, unless he can prove that he acted through an 
 involuntary ignorance, that he had examined the slave, and 
 used all the necessary precautions, in which case he may de- 
 mand reparation for what he has paid. 
 
 VI. 
 
 If a person hires a slave, and takes him with him to another 
 village, where he is obliged to sell him, and the slave then runs 
 away, the purchaser is not bound to pay anything to his 
 original master, as he had bought him from one who had a 
 right over him, since he had hired him. 
 
 VII. 
 
 If a slave who has been sent to war, or to conduct some 
 business for his master, is taken by the enemy, but afterwards 
 escapes, and returns to his own country, his master loses all 
 right over him. 
 
 vm. 
 
 A master may slightly punish a slave ; but if he strikes or 
 beats him violently, he loses a third part of the price of his 
 body ; and if the slave dies from the beating, he must pay 
 twice the value of his body to the slave's parents, or, if they 
 are not living, to the judge. And if a slave runs away to 
 avoid the cruelty of his master, there is no penalty for any one 
 who receives him into his house. 
 
 IX. 
 
 The master of a runaway slave may exact from him, or from 
 the person who has received him, the gains he would have 
 derived from his services. 
 
 If a son or a slave, given in pledge, dies in the house of the 
 creditor, the parents are not thereby freed from the debt, 
 unless during the sickness they ask permission to take him into 
 their own house, and were refused.
 
 264 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 x. 
 
 If any one hires a slave by the day or month, and he dies in 
 his service, the value of the slave must be paid to his master. 
 If a person, having taken a slave as a pledge, becomes dis- 
 contented with him, and returns him to his master, and shortly 
 after he runs away, the person who has had him in pledge 
 must seek after him and restore him. 
 
 XI. 
 
 If a father sells himself for a slave, and at the same time 
 gives his son in pledge to the same or any other master, if 
 the son runs away, his master may demand restitution from 
 the father; and if the father runs away, his master may de- 
 mand restitution from the son. 
 
 XII. 
 
 If a free man marries a female slave without the knowledge 
 of her master, the children all belong to the master of the 
 slave, in the same way as a calf belongs, not to the owner of 
 the bull, but to the owner of the cow. But if the master of 
 the slave, in consideration of some present, has consented to 
 the marriage, then some of the children belong to the free man 
 and others to the master of the slave. If a woman marry a 
 stranger, not knowing that he was a slave, the children must be 
 divided between the mother and the master of the slave. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 If a new-born child is given to a woman to nurse, and the 
 parents do not ask for it till it has arrived at puberty, then 
 the value of its body is divided into four parts, of which three 
 belong to the nurse and one to the parents. But if the child 
 was not given into her care till it could call upon its father and 
 mother by name, or get up the steps of the house, then three 
 parts only are to be made of the value of the body, of which 
 two must be given to the woman and one to the parents. If,
 
 BURMESE CODE 265 
 
 finally, the child could dress itself, the value must be divided 
 equally between them. 
 
 xiv. 
 
 When the child of a slave is thus given out to nurse, one 
 third of the price must be given to the nurse, when it is 
 reclaimed. 
 
 If a person hires a boat to take him to any place, and after 
 his arrival it is lost, he is bound to make good the damage, 
 besides paying the hire agreed upon. When any one hires a 
 cart to carry his merchandise, if the driver goes by frequented 
 roads, he is not responsible if the goods are stolen ; but if he 
 chooses a new and unfrequented track, or driving very furiously 
 causes some damage, and the goods are thus lost or spoilt, he 
 is obliged to repair all losses. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 If a person has borrowed a vessel from another to wash his 
 head,* and it happens, that after it has been restored, its owner 
 falls sick, the borrower is obliged to furnish all the medicines ; 
 and in case the man dies, to pay the value of a man and a half 
 to his relations. The same is the law respecting clothes bor- 
 rowed to accompany a funeral. 
 
 xvn. 
 
 A man may reprove and even slightly beat another whom he 
 has hired to cultivate a field, if he is lazy or negligent in his 
 work. If it happens that a hired labourer is drowned, or 
 breaks a limb, or is eaten up by tigers, or meets with any other 
 accident, the owner of the land is not bound to anything, if he 
 has paid him all the wages agreed on ; otherwise he must pay 
 the value of his body, or only half of it, if he was his debtor 
 for only half his wages. If in working 'n a field any precious 
 
 * Sometimes the Burmese wash their heads, to free themselves from an incan- 
 tation, to which they believe themselves subject.
 
 266 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 thing is found, half goes to the labourer and half to the owner 
 of the land. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 If a man hires another man's slave, who runs away after he 
 has received his wages, he is not bound to pay any fine to the 
 master of the slave. But if, knowing him to be a slave, he did 
 not ask the permission of his master, then if the slave runs 
 away, or dies before he has received his wages, the master may 
 claim the value of his slave. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 If a Mandarin obliges a man to climb up a tree, and he falls 
 down, the Mandarin must pay double the value of his body if 
 he is killed, and the simple price if he is only bruised. 
 
 When a strange ox gets into a fold, the owner of the fold 
 must give notice of it to the chief of the village, who is to look 
 out for the owner of the ox, and restore it to him. If an ox gets 
 into a field and eats or tramples down the crop, the first time, 
 warning must be given to the owner of the ox, and if after that, 
 the ox still continues to do the same damages, the owner of the 
 field may kill it, and, giving half to the chief of the village, 
 may keep the other for himself.* 
 
 If two oxen or two buffalos begin to fight, and one of them 
 is killed, their owners are not subject to any fine ; but if a loose 
 ox kills one that is tied, then the owner of the first is bound to 
 pay the value of the other. When the masters of both incite 
 them to fight, and one of them is killed, the master of the 
 other is bound to pay triple the value of the one that is killed. 
 For any other damage that these animals are the cause of, their 
 respective masters are responsible. 
 
 XXI. 
 
 When a labourer who has been hired for six months demands 
 his wages at the end of three, he loses all further right to it. 
 
 This custom is out of use at the present day.
 
 BURMESE CODE 267 
 
 Vol. IX. 
 
 When a man beats a woman or a child, or two men beat 
 one, in these three cases, by reason of the inequality of strength 
 in the parties, the guilty must be condemned to pay a double 
 fine. If a woman through contempt throws women's clothes 
 on a man's head, she must pay fifteen ounces of silver. If any 
 one, man or woman, pulls another's clothes so as indecently to 
 expose his body, if the offending party be poor, the fine is an 
 ounce and a half of gold, and two ounces and a half, if rich. 
 
 ii. 
 
 When a lawsuit has been settled finally before a judge, it 
 must not be renewed ; and the party seeking to revive it may 
 be punished with the loss of his tongue, and if he obstinately 
 persists in forcing his adversary into litigation he ought also to 
 lose his hand. But although this punishment be just, the 
 judge does not generally proceed to such severity. When a 
 lawsuit is terminated, the fortunate party requires from the 
 other the accomplishment of the sentence, for if he delays this 
 for three years, or till the death of the Emperor, he can no 
 longer demand it. 
 
 in. 
 
 When a poor man, or one of base condition, insults or offends 
 a rich person, or one of a noble family, he must pay fifty 
 ounces of silver. But if a rich man insults a poor man, he is 
 only to pay three ounces and a half. 
 
 IV. 
 
 If a person has given an ox or anything else to another in 
 sign of friendship, or if he has given him one of his female 
 slaves for a concubine, and afterwards Mashes to resume his gift, 
 he must still leave half what he has given, or half of its value 
 to his friends. In like manner if a person has in this way
 
 268 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 given, for example, a house to his friend, who, however, dies 
 before him, the gift in this case does not go to the heirs, but 
 returns into the possession of the former owner. But this is 
 not the case with respect to things which are situated at some 
 distance, and which the person to whom the present was made 
 has acquired with difficulty and danger, as the property then 
 descends to his heirs. 
 
 v. 
 
 When a master commands a slave to marry one of his female 
 slaves, both are thereby made free. 
 
 When a master has had a connection with one of his female 
 slaves, he has no claim to the price of her body ; and if she was 
 a virgin, and born of honest parents, he must let her go where 
 she pleases. 
 
 VI. 
 
 When a lawyer promises his client to finish a lawsuit in a 
 certain number of days or months, and does not fulfil his 
 promise, he must pay twice the value of the fees he has 
 received. 
 
 VII. 
 
 Whoever falsely asserts that another owes him a sum of 
 money, must pay to the person he has accused double the debt 
 he had charged upon him. 
 
 And if a real debtor denies his debt, he must pay double in 
 punishment. 
 
 If a person dies in debt, and religious and pious men charit- 
 ably defray the expenses of his funeral, they are not subject to 
 any claims from the creditors ; but if they were friends or 
 acquaintances who performed this office, they must pay a 
 quarter of the debts, and half of them if they were relations. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 If a boat, laden with merchandise, goes down, and the 
 owners mark the spot by a pole or some other sign ; any one, 
 afterwards recovering any part of the cargo, must be treated
 
 BURMESE CODE 269 
 
 as a thief, if he keeps it in his own possession ; but if he faith- 
 fully restores it to the owner, the latter in gratitude must give 
 him a third part. 
 
 IX. 
 
 If a man has married a woman, not knowing that she was 
 another's wife, and the rightful husband afterwards appears, 
 she must be restored to him, even though she has had six or 
 seven children by the second husband. But if the first husband 
 knew that his wife was marrying another man, and did not 
 protest against it, then after the lapse of three years, he loses 
 his claim to her. 
 
 x. 
 
 If a master learns that one of his slaves is maintained in 
 another's house, in a time of scarcity, and fraudulently allows 
 him to remain there till the scarcity is over, he then loses his 
 right to the slave, who becomes the property of the man who 
 had fed him. 
 
 XI. 
 
 Whoever destroys or arbitrarily changes the landmarks that 
 distinguish one property from another, such as trees, brooks, 
 or public roads, must be condemned to pay a fine of seventeen 
 ounces of silver and a half. 
 
 XII. 
 
 Of wagers. 
 
 There are two kinds of wagers : one made by the spectators 
 upon rowing-matches, or races of men, oxen, or horses ; the 
 other, made for the display of a man's own strength or agility, 
 in which latter there is generally a risk of life ; such are 
 challenges to wrestle, run, or swim. Of the first kind of bets, 
 the winner can only claim two-thirds, but the whole of the 
 second. 
 
 If a man who has got no money, in the presence of some 
 person of note, says to another, ' Let us bet what I have in my
 
 270 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 hand,' then in penalty of his deceit, he must pay the half of 
 what he pretended to hold. 
 
 The obligation of debts contracted by betting does not pass 
 to a person's heirs ; so that if the loser runs away or dies before 
 he has paid, the money lost cannot be exacted from his wife or 
 children, unless they have been surety for its payment. 
 
 When any one is hurt in wrestling, or in any other similar 
 game, he cannot claim damages from his opponent ; only in 
 case of the death of one of the parties, the other must pay the 
 value of his body. 
 
 When the winner in a wager pursues the loser, who is run- 
 ning away or hiding himself, and upon overtaking him strikes 
 or wounds him, he not only loses the bet, but must also be 
 punished by the judge. 
 
 Vol. X. 
 
 If a person buys another man's daughter before she has 
 arrived at the age of puberty, and afterwards, when she has 
 reached it, makes her his wife or concubine, without advertis- 
 ing her father of it, the children of this marriage must be 
 divided between the master of the girl and her father. But 
 this does not hold when the girl had attained the age of 
 puberty at the time of the sale. 
 
 II. 
 
 If a master pursues his fugitive slave, and finds him in some 
 village, he may not of his own authority seize him, or bind him, 
 but he must give notice to the chief of the place, who, in virtue 
 of his office, is obliged to seek out the slave, and consign him 
 to his master. 
 
 in. 
 
 If a man takes a fugitive slave for his companion in remote 
 and uninhabited places, but was ignorant that the man was a 
 slave, he is not guilty of any crime : but if he was acquainted 
 with his condition, he may be accused of theft.
 
 BURMESE CODE 271 
 
 A master may also accuse a person of theft, who, being the 
 relation of his fugitive slave, meets him in unfrequented places 
 and converses with him : but not if he does it in the public 
 streets or porticos. 
 
 IV. 
 
 If the relation of a fugitive slave receives him into his house, 
 and then conducts him back to a particular spot, he cannot be 
 treated as a thief, because he was the relation of a slave. 
 
 v. 
 
 When a slave, who has had several children during his cap- 
 tivity, desires to purchase his freedom, he must pay twice the 
 value of his own body. Formerly he had, besides the value of 
 his own body, to pay that of all his children. 
 
 VI. 
 
 A master is not responsible for the crimes committed by his 
 runaway slave ; and if for his crimes the slave is condemned to 
 labour, the profits of it must be divided between the judge and 
 the master. 
 
 VII. 
 
 When a person incites another to steal, and himself buys the 
 stolen goods ; upon the appearance of the real owner, the thief 
 must restore what he has stolen, and the receiver is to be 
 punished as the thief. 
 
 Also when a man steals the female slave or the daughter of 
 another, and gives her to another man to keep for him, if the 
 latter did not know that she was another's slave or daughter, 
 he is not guilty of anything ; but if he knew it, he must pay 
 half the accustomed fine, and the real thief the other half. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 . 
 If a man quarrels with a woman or a child, or two persons 
 
 with one in a remote place, and the affair is brought before a
 
 272 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 judge, if the persons injured depose to having been struck or 
 wounded, and can show any marks of it upon their body, the 
 judge must give credit to their assertion, even though no wit- 
 nesses can be brought forward. But he must not believe a man 
 who says he has been struck by a woman or child, even though 
 he may show marks of violence upon his body, unless he can 
 produce some testimony. 
 
 IX. 
 
 In cases of quarrels, that party must be thought guilty which 
 began with insults and blows, or which returned a slight insult 
 or blow with more serious ones. 
 
 It is not so unbecoming for a man to be first in abusing a 
 woman or a child, but it is very unbecoming for a woman to 
 begin to rail at a man, or for , youth thus to offend an old 
 man ; a poor one, a rich one ; or a vulgar person, one more 
 noble ; and if in these cases the offended party, unable to bear 
 the insult, slightly strikes the offender, he must not therefore 
 be punished. 
 
 When two people of equal condition mutually insult or 
 strike each other in a quarrel, neither of them can be con- 
 sidered guilty; but if one of them calls in his slave to his 
 assistance, he may be fined by the j udge. 
 
 This paragraph contains the regulations concerning appeals 
 from one judge to another. When it is evident that a judge 
 has given an unjust sentence, an appeal may be made to a 
 superior Mandarin ; and if he also decides unjustly, recourse may 
 be had to the queens, or to the heir to the crown ; from them 
 there is an appeal to the Emperor ; and from the Emperor to 
 the Brahmins, Talapoins, and other just men, who must then 
 go to the Emperor and persuade him to rescind his unjust 
 decision ; and the queens and the heir to the throne must like- 
 wise assist in this, when he is unwilling to retract his sentence.
 
 BURMESE CODE 273 
 
 XII. 
 
 If a boat in ascending the river meets another, and they run 
 foul of each other, so that the one which was going against the 
 stream is sunk, and the cargo lost, the owner of the other is 
 not responsible ; but if the one which was coming with the 
 stream goes down, the owner of the other must make good the 
 loss, unless the accident was caused by the violence of the wind 
 or because the rudder was broken. With respect to two people 
 meeting on land, of whom one has the sun in his face, the other 
 on his back, the former must give way ; and if they run against 
 each other and any hurt happens to the one with the sun at 
 his back, the other is bound to pay the damage, unless he was 
 seized with a sudden fear, which hindered him from seeing what 
 was before him. When two carts meet on a road, of which one 
 is heavily loaded, the other not, the latter must make way for 
 the other to pass. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 The keeper of an elephant or an ox is obliged to hinder his 
 beast from passing through places where people either sick, or 
 mad, or drunk are lying ; otherwise, if any one is killed by the 
 animal, he must pay fifty ounces of silver, or twenty-five if only 
 some serious injury is caused; if, however, the animal was 
 furious and unmanageable, he is not subject to this fine. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 An accusation against a man who has stolen flowers during 
 the night must be made before mid-day ; and an accusation of 
 fruit-stealing must be made before the fruit has been eaten, as 
 afterwards it is unlawful to accuse a person. It is no crime to 
 take fruits which are lying under the trees. 
 
 xv. 
 
 If two people quarrel and fight during the royal festivals, 
 they must pay a fine of 250 ounces of silver for having shown 
 contempt of the imperial majesty.
 
 274 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 XVI. 
 
 Whoever commits a nuisance within the enclosures of the 
 Pagodas, or Baos, or in any other place which ought to be 
 kept clean, must be punished by the judge, provided it was not 
 involuntary. They also must be punished who sit down or 
 sleep in the places appropriated to the Talapoins, the Brahmins, 
 or the Mandarins. Those too are liable to punishment who 
 dare to put on the dress of a Mandarin, unless in case of a war, 
 when this is lawful. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 It is not lawful for creditors to exact debts in the following- 
 places : In those where the royal festivals are being celebrated, 
 in those where the customary oblations are made to the Nat, 
 the guardians of the city or town, in the places where the 
 Talapoins recite their prayers, finally, in other people's houses. 
 If a person offends against this law, he may be punished. And 
 if he not only asks for his money, but seizes and binds the 
 debtor, he then loses the whole debt. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 When a person discovers a treasure in the earth, if he is a 
 rich man, the treasure must be divided into twenty parts, 
 eight belong to him and twelve to the Emperor; if he is a 
 poor man, he must give two thirds to the Emperor, reserving 
 only one for himself. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 If the contracts, made in the sale of slaves, or in concluding 
 any other bargain, which are generally cut upon a palm- 
 leaf, become old and worn out, they cannot be renewed upon 
 another leaf by private authority ; and writings thus unlaw- 
 fully renewed have no weight in a court of justice. 
 
 If a person who holds another's money in trust puts it out 
 to interest, and the owner after a short time demands back his
 
 BURMESE CODE 275 
 
 money, he must immediately restore it, together with the 
 interest he had received upon it ; but if he does not ask for his 
 money for a long time, the holder of the trust may lawfully 
 make use of the interest received. 
 
 When a brother takes his share of the paternal inheritance 
 before the regular division has been made, and engages in 
 trade with it, all the profit belongs to him alone, and the 
 other brothers have not the least claim upon him. 
 
 XXII. 
 
 When any one buys any merchandise with the promise of 
 paying at a definite period, if he lets the time go by without 
 payment, the creditor may exact the accustomed interest. 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 In any lawsuit where witnesses are required, those ought in 
 the first place to be chosen who are just, pious, and religious, 
 who give alms, and do other good works, who are men of 
 honour, and conscientious, or else rich men and those in dignity. 
 But in case the transaction has taken place at a distance, where 
 witnesses of this character were not to be found, the testimony 
 of such as were present may be received. 
 
 The following persons must not be listened to by judges, but 
 must lose their cause : 1. Those who, after having taken the 
 oath, of themselves bring forward witnesses ; 2. those who hav- 
 ing promised to produce witnesses, are afraid to interrogate 
 them ; 3. those who having promised to take the oath, in the 
 act of taking it, put in words which dp not signify what they 
 are swearing to ; 4. those who, having pointed out a witness, 
 will not permit him to be interrogated in the court, but bring 
 forward others.
 
 276 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 XXV. 
 
 In this last paragraph the price of men and animals is deter- 
 mined. A male child of free parents, as soon as it is born, is 
 reckoned at four rupees ; a female child, at three ; a young man 
 of free condition is valued at thirty rupees, a girl at twenty- 
 five : and thus the value of rich men, Mandarins, queens, etc., 
 goes on increasing, each superior rank being valued at twice as 
 much as the one below it. 
 
 As for slaves : a new-born male infant ranks at three rupees, 
 a female at two ; a boy is worth ten rupees, a girl seven ; when 
 arrived at puberty a man is worth thirty rupees, a woman 
 twenty. The value of the body of a dead slave is ten rupees. 
 
 With regard to animals ; an elephant is worth 100 rupees, 
 a horse fifty, a buffalo three, an ox two, and a pig two. A 
 goat, a peacock, a dog, and similar animals are worth the 
 quarter of a rupee, and the price diminishes in proportion to 
 the smallness of the animal. 
 
 A rupee of gold is equal to twenty-five of silver ; and a rupee 
 of silver to fifty of lead. 
 
 The price for daily labour is a quarter or the eighth part of 
 a rupee for a woman, and twice as much for a man. But at 
 the present day these prices have very much varied from the 
 ancient standard. 1 
 
 1 See Appendix in. for some general remarks on the Burmese Code. The 
 notes to this Chapter, and elsewhere, marked with asterisks, are reprinted from 
 Dr. Tandy's translation.
 
 NOTE A 
 
 As native Christians are often mentioned in the course of this 
 work, it will not perhaps be uninteresting to give a short account 
 of the origin and progress of Christianity in the Burmese Empire. 
 Our information is in great measure derived from unedited 
 sources. 
 
 In the year 1719 Pope Clement xi. sent a solemn embassy to 
 China, consisting of the Patriarch of Alexandria, Monsignor 
 Mezzabarba, and several zealous ecclesiastics. They had a 
 gracious audience of the Emperor at Pekin on the last day of the 
 following year ; but, their affairs having subsequently taken a less 
 favourable turn, the Patriarch returned to Europe, after having 
 distributed his clergy in different countries. Two were appointed 
 to the kingdom of Ava, Pegu and Martabaii, the Reverend 
 Joseph Vittoni, a secular priest, and F. Calchi, a member of the 
 Barnabite congregation, and a young man of very superior parts 
 and acquirements. On their arrival at Siriam, then the principal 
 port of Pegu, they found there two Portuguese clergymen, who 
 acted as chaplains to the few descendants of their countrymen 
 who yet remained there, but were wholly ignorant of any 
 language but their own. After much opposition from several 
 quarters, which they vanquished by a personal conference with 
 the sovereign, they were authorised to erect churches and preach 
 the Christian religion. The King even despatched the Abbate 
 Vittoni with a present of precious stones to His Holiness. F. 
 Calchi proceeded to erect a church in Ava ; but worn out with 
 fatigues he died, March 6th, 1728, in the forty-third year of his 
 age. About the time of his death a small supply of missioners 
 arrived, and the result of their labours became sufficiently cheer- 
 ing to induce the zealous Pontiff Benedict xiv. to appoint a Bishop 
 as Apostolic Vicar in that mission, and 'to intrust its management 
 to the Barnabite Fathers. F. Gallizia was the first Bishop ; but 
 the most distinguished labourer in that mission was F. Nerini,
 
 278 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 who, being a man of great eloquence, publicly preached, with 
 great effect, the doctrines of Christianity. Many churches were 
 now erected, and the Catholic worship publicly exercised ; funerals 
 and processions marched through the streets without giving the 
 slightest offence. Upon the capture of the city of Siriam, the 
 churches were entirely plundered, and with difficulty saved from 
 destruction. In 1745, the Christians received a severe blow, by 
 the massacre of the Bishop and two missioners as they were 
 accompanying some Dutch officers, who had gone to court upon 
 a safe-conduct from the Emperor himself. The Christians were 
 dispersed, and F. Nerini only saved his life by flying to India. 
 He returned to Siriam in April 1749. Being now in great favour, 
 he erected the first brick building ever seen in that country. 
 This was a church, eighty feet in length, and thirty-one in breadth, 
 with a large house adjoining for the residence of the clergy. One 
 Armenian merchant, who had no children, contributed upwards of 
 7000 dollars to these pious works. 
 
 The following are the principal Christian establishments, existing 
 or erected about this time. 
 
 In Ava was the first church, destroyed afterwards when the new 
 capital was erected. From a letter of F. Amato in 1822, it 
 appears that a church and house has been built in this. 
 
 At Siriam a house and church built under the direction of F. 
 Gallizia. Another church and house built by F. Nerini. A 
 college containing forty students. An establishment for orphan 
 girls. This city is now nearly destroyed. 
 
 In the city of Pegu, a church and house. 
 
 At Monla, a church, presbytery and college, erected in 1770. 
 The Talapoins claimed the ground on which this was built, and it 
 was consequently thrown down. A much larger one was accord- 
 ingly built by F. Cortenovis, who tells us he had fifty boys 
 residing in it. 
 
 In the environs of the city six other churches. In Subaroa 
 two churches. 
 
 At Chiam-sua-rocca are six churches, which in 1822 were served 
 by F. Amato. 
 
 Finally, in Rangoon, a church and house, with a convent and 
 orphan school. 
 
 Subsequently many able missionaries laboured in this country, 
 among whom deserve notice the two Cortenovis, F. Sangermano, 
 author of the foregoing history, who returned to Europe in 1 808,
 
 NOTES 279 
 
 and F. Amato, who was still alive and zealously exerting himself 
 at the close of 1828, though seventy years of age. He was then 
 the only European clergyman in the country ; as, in consequence 
 of the dissolution of the religious congregations, under the French 
 occupation of Italy, the Barnabite Fathers had not been able to 
 supply the wants of the mission. In 1830 the state of this 
 mission was taken into consideration by the Propaganda, and four 
 clergymen of distinguished merit, who offered their services, were 
 despatched thither. They all arrived safe, and a further supply 
 will perhaps be furnished before long.
 
 NOTE B 
 
 SEE CHAPTER xv. 
 
 OUR readers will probably have observed the resemblance that 
 exists between the practices described in the last chapter, and 
 some of the institutions of the Catholic religion. In the Buddha- 
 ism of Tibet, which is the same as the religion of the Burmese, 
 Godama only being another name for Buddha, this resemblance is 
 still more marked. 'The first missionaries/ says Abel Remusat, 1 
 1 were not a little surprised to find in the heart of Asia, monas- 
 teries, processions, pilgrimages, festivals, a pontifical court, a 
 college of superior lamas electing a chief, who was ecclesiastical 
 sovereign and spiritual father to all the Tibetans and Tartars. But, 
 as good faith was a characteristic of the time, as well as the pro- 
 fession of these men, they contented themselves with considering 
 this Lamaism as a sort of degenerate Christianity, and as vestiges 
 of the former settlement of Syrian sects in those countries.' 
 
 But this resemblance was afterwards used as a controversial 
 weapon, and the French Philosophers pretended to find in Lama- 
 ism the origin of Christianity. But the celebrated Orientalist just 
 quoted has completely confuted these assertions from the works 
 of native authors. In his memoir he has made us acquainted with a 
 valuable fragment preserved in the Japanese Encyclopedia, which 
 contains the true history of the Lamaic hierarchy. The first seat of 
 Buddhaism was India, whence its patriarchs migrated to Tibet and 
 there established their religion, but still in dependence upon the 
 civil power of the State, till the house of Tchingkis Khan delivered 
 them from it and invested them with dominion. It was the 
 grandson of the conqueror who first bestowed this sovereignty on 
 the head of the religion, who then took the title of Lama, which 
 signifies a priest, as his peculiar designation. The account given by 
 Abel Remusat of the origin of the Lamaic dynasty accords perfectly 
 with another interesting document, brought to light, and translated 
 into Russian by the Archimandrite F. Hyacinth Pitchourinsky, 2 
 and from Russian into French by M. Julius Klaproth. 3 
 
 At the time when the Buddhist patriarchs first established 
 themselves in Tibet, that country was in immediate contact with 
 Christianity. Not only had the Nestorians ecclesiastical settle-
 
 NOTES 281 
 
 ments in Tartary, but Italian and French religious visited the 
 court of the Khans, charged with important missions from the 
 Pope and St. Lewis. These carried with them church ornaments 
 and altars to attempt a favourable impression on the minds of the 
 natives. For this end, they celebrated their worship in presence 
 of the Tartar princes, by whom they were permitted to erect 
 chapels, within the precincts of the royal palaces. An Italian 
 Archbishop, sent by Clement v., established his see in the capital, 
 and erected a church to which the faithful were summoned by the 
 sound of three bells, and where they beheld painted edifying 
 representations. 4 
 
 Nothing was easier than to induce many of the various sects, 
 which crowded the Mongol court, to admire and adopt the rites of 
 this religion. Some members of the imperial house secretly 
 embraced Christianity, many mingled its practices with the pro- 
 fession of their own creeds, and Europe was alternately elated and 
 disappointed by reports of imperial conversions, and discoveries of 
 their falsehood. 5 It was such a rumour as this, in reference to 
 Manghu, which caused the missions of Rubriques and Ascellius. 
 Surrounded by the celebration of such ceremonies, hearing from 
 the ambassadors and missionaries of the West, accounts of the 
 worship and hierarchy of their countries, it is no wonder that the 
 religion of the Lamas, just beginning to assume splendour and 
 pomp, should have adopted institutions and practices already 
 familiar to them, and already admired by those whom they wished 
 to gain. The coincidence of time and place, and the previous 
 non-existence of that sacred monarchy, for it has been well shown 
 by Fischer that no writer anterior to the thirteenth century gives 
 a hint of this system, amply demonstrate that the religion of Tibet 
 is but an attempted imitation of ours. It is no less probable, or 
 rather certain, that the inferior branches of the same religion 
 either copied these institutions from Tibet, or received them 
 directly in the same manner. 
 
 1 Abel Remusat, Apercu d'un Memoire intitule ' Recherches chronologiques 
 sur Porigine de la Hierarchic Lama'ique,' in the Journal A siatique for May 1824, 
 torn. iv. p. 257 seq. 
 
 2 St. Petersburgh, 1828. 
 
 3 In Nouveau Journal A siatique, Aug. and Oct. 1829, torn. iv. p. 8l seq. 
 
 4 Abel Remusat, p. 267, compare Assemani, inrT cit. 
 
 5 Assemani, Biblioth. Orient, torn. iii. Pa. II. ccclxxx. seq. Di Marco Polo 
 e degli altri viaggiatori Veneziana piu ilhistri. Dissertazoni del P. Ab. (now 
 Cardinal) Zurla, Venez. 1818, vol. i. p. 287.
 
 NOTE C 
 
 By JOHN JARDINE, Esq., H.M. Bombay Civil Service, M.R.A.S., 
 President of the Educational Syndicate of British Burma. 
 
 THE Right Reverend Monsignor Bigandet, Bishop of Ramatha 
 and Vicar Apostolic, Vice- President of the Educational Syndicate 
 of British Burma, and author of The Legend ofGaudama, has put 
 in my hands an Italian book containing an account of the origin 
 of the Italian mission in Burma, and with it much interesting 
 information about the earliest inquiries into Burmese literature, 
 and the earliest attempts to give the Burmans and Karens the 
 benefits of European teaching and European medicine. 
 
 It is entitled Delia Vita di Monsignor Gio. Maria Percoto, of the 
 Congregation of St. Paul, Missionary in the Kingdoms of Ava and 
 Pegu, Vicar Apostolic and Bishop of Massula, written in three 
 books by Father D. M. Griffini of the same congregation. It was 
 printed at Udine in Veiiezia, by the Fratelli Gallici in 1781, after 
 approval of the Inquisitor-General of the Holy Office at Venice, 
 and under the licence of the Reformers of Studies at Padua. It 
 is dedicated to the Deputies of the City of Udine, who are told 
 how Bishop Percoto, 'an intrepid soldier of Christ, who through 
 love to his Prince had sailed the stormy seas, crossed dreadful 
 deserts, lived alone in barbarous lands, in dangerous climates, in 
 the midst of tigers and of crocodiles, and, what is worse, among a 
 people full of superstitions and of vice/ was ' not only your fellow- 
 citizen, but, what is more, was pupil and fruit of these schools, 
 which are yours, and are kept safe under your guardian care.' 
 
 The first book describes the early life of Percoto. He was 
 born in 1725 at Udine, of a noble family of that city. Being drawn 
 to the religious life from his childhood, he entered the Congrega- 
 tion of St. Paul at Monza, and, after taking the vows, spent some 
 years in the study of philosophy at Milan, and of theology in 
 Bologna. On being called to the mission, he went to Rome, and
 
 NOTES 283 
 
 received the blessing of the Pope, Clement xni., before starting. 
 He sailed from Leghorn to Smyrna and Aleppo : thence he 
 travelled on camels through Damascus and Bagdad to Bussora, 
 where he found an English ship., which took him round Cape 
 Comorin to Bengal. After staying four months at Chandernagore 
 with the Capuchins, he sailed from Calcutta to Rangoon, which 
 he reached in October 1761, two years after leaving Italy. 
 
 The second book opens with some account of the country and 
 the people. Rangoon is said to have become the great port 
 because of the fall of Syriam. Crocodiles and elephants were 
 common ; and people built their houses on piles, not because of 
 the waters, but for security against tigers. Instead of medicine, 
 the people had an infinity of foolish superstitions, for which 
 reason the missionaries usually managed to bring some one who 
 knew medicine and surgery, and in this way attracted the people 
 to hear the gospel. The dislike to killing animals was general, 
 and the Europeans were known as the killers of fowls. 
 
 After this description of the country the writer describes the 
 origin of the mission. In 1720 there were two Portuguese priests, 
 one at Syriam and one at Ava; but in 1721 the Propaganda sent 
 Fathers Calchi and Vittoni to supersede them. They were well 
 treated by the King of Ava, and helped by the Armenians. Calchi 
 built a church at Ava and died there in 1728. After two months 
 Padre Gallizia arrived, and was made Bishop of Elisma and Vicar 
 Apostolic. After him came Father Nerini, who had taught in the 
 schools at Milan, and, among others, Brother Angelo Capello, 'a 
 clever chemist, skilful in surgery and medicine/ The zeal of 
 Nerini took him among ' some savage populations who lived 
 separate from others in full liberty, and are called Karens' 
 (Cariani). All the functions of the Church were allowed with full 
 publicity, and schools were established at Syriam. In 1745 there 
 suddenly appeared at Syriam eight ships, with a little squadron of 
 soldiers, commanded by the Cavalier di Sconemille, Governor of 
 Bankibazar, a city belonging to the Germans (Alemanni) on the 
 Ganges. The Governor of Syriam under the King of Pegu sent 
 Nerini on board, and they told him they had been driven out of 
 Bankibazar by the Moors, and had come to seize Syriam, and 
 hand it over to the King of Ava. Nerini dissuaded them, and 
 they came ashore and lived peaceably. After this they went with 
 some of the mission to Pegu to get leave to establish a European 
 colony; on arrival they were told that the king had gone to hunt
 
 284 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 elephants, and that they could only be received in audience two at a 
 time with heads uncovered and barefooted. The Cavalier suspected 
 treachery, and refused to comply with such disgraceful conditions. 
 The Bishop and the Fathers Mondelli and Conte advised them 
 not to trust the short faith of the barbarians, but to get back to 
 Syriam. They agreed to do this ; but on starting they were 
 taken by surprise and killed. ' They had hardly entered into the 
 ship when out of the thick bushes that border on the river there 
 came an ant's nest of soldiers, some on horses, but the most part 
 on foot : and immediately the marsh was covered with armed 
 men, crying for their death, and stopping their way with stones 
 and arquebuses.' The ship could not go fast as the water was low 
 and the tide on the ebb ; the Cavalier and his men took to the 
 shore, but made little speed in the thick jungle. 'After many 
 conflicts they were beaten, and almost all were killed with the 
 Cavalier, and only four crossed those savage places and reached 
 Syriam to tell the sad news.' The bishop and the two priests 
 were all killed in this slaughter. 
 
 Father Nerini thought it necessary to obey orders and put the 
 mission in safety. He sent off Father Angelo to India, and soon 
 followed via the Siamese port of Mergui to Pondicherry and Chan- 
 dernagore. Nerini returned to Syriam in 1749 ; and a rich 
 Armenian and his wife finding the money he built 'a splendid 
 church, with only one nave adorned with arches and columns 
 within and without/ and with a bell-tower so high as to make the 
 Peguans marvel. A Latin inscription of 1750 commemorated the 
 Armenians, whose names were Nicholas de Aguilar, and Margarita, 
 his wife. ' The people met in the church at the sound of the 
 bell ; baptisms were performed with solemnity ; they made pro- 
 cessions, and went singing psalms through the squares and the 
 streets, and everything was done as in Italy. For the boys many 
 schools were made of geography, arithmetic, navigation, and such 
 sciences and arts as might be useful to them, and over all Father 
 Nerini presided, untiring, day and night.' The King of Tavoy 
 had sent for one missionary, and promised to build a church at his 
 own expense ; another was to go to Pegu to re-open the church 
 there, and a third to the new English colony at Negrais. The 
 Pope had made Nerini a bishop ; and he was hard at work making 
 grammars of the Burman and Pegu languages, dictionaries, and 
 prayer-books. Every day seemed a thousand years to his ardent 
 desires.
 
 NOTES 285 
 
 Then suddenly great disasters occurred. None of his mission- 
 aries reached their destinations. Two others were killed at the 
 sack of Martaban, the Padres Quadrio and Gazzeri. In 1756 the 
 Burmans took Syriam after a long siege, defeating the King of 
 Pegu. The old church was burned down ; some of the pillars of 
 the new church were broken. A spent bullet killed Father 
 Angelo as he was tending the wounded. 
 
 It happened that a French ship came into the port, and the 
 Burman King, Alompra, suspected that Nerini had got it to come 
 there to succour the King of Pegu. He ordered his soldiers to 
 fetch Nerini's head, but out of reverence for him they disobeyed 
 the order, and carried to the king the head of a Portuguese priest 
 whom they killed instead. Alompra, knowing that this was not 
 the head of Nerini, ordered the soldiers back to the church to 
 fetch it. They were met at the church door by the Bishop, who 
 asserted that he would protect the women who had taken refuge 
 there. Hereupon a soldier wounded him with a spear : other 
 wounds were given, and when he fell, they cut off his head and 
 bore it to the king. This happened in the beginning of 1756. 
 The same incidents, the arrival of the Galatee, sent by Dupleix 
 from Pondicherry at the instance of M. Bourno, chief of the French 
 factory at Syriam, the seizure of the ship by Alompra, and the 
 massacre of the French, are described in the British Burma Gazet- 
 teer and in Sir A. Phayre's history. 
 
 In 1760 two new missionaries arrived, Donati, who went to 
 Ava and died in 1761, and Gallizia, nephew of the bishop of that 
 name. He was joined by Percoto, who on his way out had learned 
 French and Portuguese, but found Burmese a greater trouble. 
 The author describes the talapoins or pongyis as the custodians of 
 the learned language, and suggests that they are a remnant of 
 the Samanei, or ancient Hindu philosophers described by the 
 Greek writers (see Ancient India as described by Megasthenes 
 and Arrian, by J. M'Crindle). 1 The word sramana occurs in the 
 Wagaru Dhammathat, and it would be interesting to know 
 whether in Percoto' s time it was used as meaning a Buddhist 
 monk. Percoto took immense trouble with pronunciation, going 
 
 1 Bigandet does not appear to accept this opinion : but the facts in support of 
 it are given by Colonel Sykes (Notes on Ancient I^dia p. 134), and it is accepted 
 by Hardy. See Eastern Monac hism, p. 10. Mountstuart Elphinstone discusses 
 the question, but without any definite conclusion on the point, in his History of 
 India. See his Appendix on the Greek Accounts of India.
 
 286 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 about repeating words till he became a master of the language. 
 His account of the Buddhist religion is inserted ; he wrote a 
 dialogue between a Christian and a pongyi. He translated the 
 Gospel by Matthew, the Book of Genesis, and the story of Tobit, 
 which latter delighted the king. After this he translated the 
 Gospels, the mass and prayers, and made catechisms in Burmese. 
 Another instance of his energy consisted in his making a complete 
 tri-lingual dictionary in Latin, Portuguese, and Burmese, thus 
 cariying into execution the idea of Calchi, Mondelli, and Nerini. 
 Besides this he made translations of the sacred books of the 
 Buddhists into Italian. 
 
 In the meantime the Fathers Avenati and Gallizia died, and 
 Percoto was left alone. He followed the king to the royal city 
 (Swemiudo), where he taught Latin and Portuguese in his schools. 
 In 1767 Carpani and other priests came to the country. After his 
 elevation to the episcopate, Percoto aided in starting a seminary 
 for young Burmans aspiring to the priesthood at Monla under 
 Father Cortanovis. There was some opposition from the pongyis, 
 but the king decreed in favour of the mission, being influenced by 
 a Frenchman in his service named Millard. There were some 
 contentions with the Portuguese, who had a church of their own 
 in Rangoon, where also Carpani had a beautiful church, and 
 employed himself in teaching, and in practising medicine. This 
 padre was appointed Judge of disputes among the foreigners there. 
 When he left, a Christian Burman was found who had some skill 
 in medicine. 
 
 Leaving Rangoon, where he was disturbed by some conspiracy 
 against the king, Bishop Percoto continued his visitations, and at 
 Monla returned to work at his great dictionary. The climate was 
 against him and he worked too hard : he sickened, and soon after 
 reaching Ava entered into his everlasting rest, on the 12th Decem- 
 ber 1776, in the forty-eighth year of his age. The Cavalier 
 Millard performed the funeral with some pomp. A stone slab 
 with a Latin inscription was placed over his grave, and was dis- 
 interred many years afterwards by Bishop Bigandet and Sir 
 Arthur Phayre. Percoto was succeeded in the episcopal office by 
 Padre Cortanovis. 
 
 The third part of Father Griffini's book is a treatise on the 
 virtues of Monsignor Percoto, written for the edification of the 
 pious. It contains a statement that when in Calcutta with Padre 
 Avenati, he presented a letter of introduction to Lord Cleves (sic)
 
 NOTES 287 
 
 from Lord Pitt, English Minister at Turin : the English ruler 
 offered him a large amount of rupees, and was greatly surprised at 
 his gift not being accepted. All the missionary asked was a letter 
 to Captain Dundas, then living at Rangoon. 
 
 The Vita di Monsignor Percoto is written in a beautiful and 
 reverent spirit, which it is impossible to reproduce in a mere 
 abstract of facts. Some day the history of education in Burma will 
 be written, and perhaps this note will guide English readers to 
 the perils and sufferings, labours, martyrdoms, and successes sus- 
 tained by the accomplished and ardent Italians who preceded 
 Sangermano. The latter had a church at Rangoon dedicated to 
 St. John, where the convent stands now. Bishop Bigandet has 
 seen the foundations, Sangermano, like Herodotus, is usually 
 correct in what he describes of his own knowledge, but like the 
 Greek historian he sometimes makes misstatements when he goes 
 beyond it, as for example when he remarks that the Burmese and 
 Arakanese language differ greatly from each other. It is probable 
 that a research among the manuscripts in the college of the Pro- 
 paganda at Rome would give results of value to both the mis- 
 sionary and the educationalist, and throw light on the Burmese 
 history of the eighteenth centuiy.
 
 APPENDIX I 
 
 SEE CHAPTERS VI AND XX 
 
 SINCE Sangermano's time, much has been added to our knowledge 
 of the peoples and languages of Burma. The best accounts I 
 have found are : Notes on the Languages and Dialects, by Dr. Forch- 
 hammer, Rangoon, 1884 ; Burma Census Report, 1891, by H. L. 
 Eales, I.C.S., vol. i. ch. viii. and x. They are full of most interest- 
 ing facts, and it is from them chiefly that this note is compiled. 
 
 Out of a total population of 7,605,560, the Burmese tribes were 
 returned as 5,771,594, of whom 5,405,727 were Burmese proper. 
 Mr. Eales takes exception to Max Miiller's calling the Burmese an 
 agglutinative language, and placing it in the Lohitic branch of the 
 Turanian stock. Burmese has affinity with Tibetan : and Mr. 
 Eales proposes to call it and the other languages spoken in Burma, 
 as well as Chinese, polytonic for the following considerations. 
 Variety of meaning is got by varying the tone or pitch of each 
 sound, especially of vowels, which may be ejaculated, whereas 
 consonants require the use of the tongue or lips. To use a simile 
 which exactly conveys the meaning, the savage, having but few 
 sounds, was forced to make as many words as he could out of 
 them by uttering the sounds in different tones, like Paganini, 
 who could play on one string of his violin. To avoid ambiguity 
 of sense, synonyms (of which Sangermano gives some examples) 
 are used at a later stage : and this is the first step to the 
 agglutinative language the use of synonyms to help the failing 
 power of the ear. This is the tendency of Burmese and Chinese, 
 and is manifest in Talaing. 
 
 Arakanese, an older form of Burmese, is the language of about 
 350,000 people. The Tavoy dialect resembles it, being that of an 
 Arakan colony planted there before the conquest of Pegu by the 
 Burmans. Both dialects are being rapidly absorbed into Burmese. 
 The Chaungtha, Yaw, Kudo (or Kadu) and Danu dialects are 
 now spoken by only 271, 57, 114, and 11^0 persons respectively ; 
 and the Yabein, which Captain Forbes proved to be a separate 
 language, has died out. Among the Yaws, wizards are still found. 
 
 T
 
 290 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 The next division, according to language, of the Tibeto-Burman 
 stock is the Chin-Lushai or Chin group, containing the following : 
 Southern Chin, Pallaing, Kun, Daignet, Thet, An, Mro, Kami, Haka 
 or Baungshe, Siyin, Shandu, Kyau, Lushai. These are mostly hill 
 tribes, and aggregated 1 1 3,000, of whom 23,000 were returned as 
 Buddhists, aud the rest as Nat-worshippers. For some account 
 of ' Chin Law and Custom,' see Forchhammer's Jardine Prize Essay, 
 Rangoon, 1885, and my edition of Maung Tet Pyo's Customary Law 
 of the Chin Tribe, a curious book, which, Sir H. S. Maine told me, 
 was useful as helping him to understand the origin of the customs 
 made law in the famous Code of Manu. 
 
 The next group contains the Kachin-Naga tribes, Kachin, 
 Lishaw, and Sak or Thet. They are found on the borders of 
 Assam, Yunnan, and Burma. A grammar has been compiled by 
 Mr. Andrew Symington, Extra Assistant Commissioner, Burma 
 Commission, and a long account of these people by Mr. George, 
 I.C.S., is appended to the Census Report. 
 
 Leaving the Tibeto-Burman class, Mr. Eales says the next most 
 important is the Karen class, of which the principal varieties are 
 the Sgau, the Pwo, which includes Taungthu, and the Bghai or 
 Bwe, which includes Karenni or Red Karen. The numbers in 
 Burma speaking these languages are above half a million, mostly 
 Buddhists, with above 40,000 Christians, belonging chiefly to the 
 American Baptist Mission, which has done much to raise them 
 from the despised state they held under the Burmans, and has 
 checked later Burmanising tendencies. In 1834 this mission sup- 
 plied the Sgaus and Pwos with a written language, adapting the 
 Burmese alphabet. The present tendency is to coalesce into a 
 Karen nation. The languages are thought by Forchhammer to be 
 connected with those of Northern China ; and M. de la Couperie's 
 researches point to the Karens being a pre-Chinese race, driven 
 southward into Burma by the pressure of the Chinese. 
 
 The next polytonic class is the Taic-Shan, sub-divided by Mr. 
 Eales as follows : 
 
 /^Ahom (near Assam extinct). 
 I Khamti. 
 
 :RN > ' \ Chinese Shans, Maingtha. 
 
 Burmese Shans. 
 
 'Khun. 
 
 U 
 
 INTERMEDIATE, . . \ T 
 
 \ Lu. 
 
 f Laos or Yun. 
 
 SOUTHERN, . . < _. 
 
 I Siamese.
 
 APPENDIX I 291 
 
 There are about 180,000 Shans in Burma, nearly all, except 400 
 Christians, being returned as Buddhists. Dr. Gushing gives proofs 
 that these Tai races came from South- Western China, the migration 
 beginning many centuries ago. Forchhammer states that most 
 Shan words can be found under the same or nearly related letters 
 in the dictionaries of the Amoy and Hok-Kyen dialects. The 
 Burmese Shans use an alphabet derived from the Burmans, sup- 
 posed to have been devised 300 years ago. They have some 
 religious literature. The Tai contains five tones in three series, 
 so there are fifteen possible different pronunciations of a single 
 syllable. 
 
 The remaining polytonic class is the Mon Khmer or Mon 
 Annam group, containing the Talaing or Peguan, the Palaung 
 and the Khamu. The Talaings number above 466,000 : 
 their language was discouraged by Alompra, and furiously pro- 
 scribed after 1824. There was much Talaing literature : many 
 palm-leaf manuscripts were hidden in the caves at Pagat, the 
 birthplace of King Wagaru, some of which were procured by Dr. 
 Forchhammer, and are now in the Bernard Free Library at 
 Rangoon. Complete sets are, it is reported, preserved in the 
 King of Siam's libraries at Bangkok. The Talaing nation is being 
 merged in the Burman ; and some think the language will soon 
 die out. It resembles the Cambodian. For the connections of the 
 Talaings with that race and with the ancient Hindu colonies on 
 the Burman coast, the reader is referred to Forchhammer's Notes 
 and Prize Essay. The opinion that the Talaings were connected 
 with Telingana in India is shown to be baseless, the name being 
 a Burman term of reproach, meaning people trodden under foot 
 In the fifth century Buddhaghosa brought the Buddhist Scriptures 
 from Ceylon to the Talaings. The Burmans have received these, 
 as well as the Hindu Manu Code, from them, as also their alphabet, 
 which was identical with the Indian Vengi characters of the 
 fourth century after Christ. 
 
 The Palaungs are found near the Ruby Mines. The Khamus 
 are stragglers from a tribe beyond the Mekong River. 
 
 The Selons or Selungs, sea-gypsies of the Mergui Archipelago, 
 are believed to be Malays, and their language is not polytonic. 
 
 Besides all these there are many imaj|4grants from China, the 
 Straits Settlements, Bengal, Oude, the Madras Presidency and 
 other parts.
 
 APPENDIX IT 
 
 SEE CHAPTER XI 
 
 IN Crawford's Journal, p. 287, under date 3rd Dec. 1826, I find the 
 following account of a fire at Ava, which caused loss to the widow 
 of the King's tutor, who complained to the King that ' the minis- 
 ters, and especially Kaulen Mengyi, who was her husband's suc- 
 cessor, and of whom she was very jealous, were not at their posts ; 
 for it appears that it is their special duty to attend upon such 
 occasions. The King, who was still very much out of humour, 
 summoned the ministers before him ; sent for a sword, drew it, 
 and ordered them, one by one, to come forward and swear upon 
 it that they were present at the conflagration and assisting in ex- 
 tinguishing it. Kaulen Mengyi came forward and avowed that 
 he was not present ; but that he had gone as far as the Rung- 
 dhau, or town-hall, to give the necessary instructions upon the 
 occasion. He was immediately ordered to be taken out of the 
 Audience Hall ; and to avoid being dragged thence by the hair 
 of the head, according to usage, voluntarily made as rapid a retreat 
 as could be expected from a man between sixty and seventy, and 
 of a weakly constitution. An order was given that he should be 
 punished after a manner which I shall presently describe. The 
 other ministers, none of whom were present at the fire, escaped 
 under various pretexts of business or sickness. The punishment 
 now awarded to the first minister is called in the Burman lan- 
 guage Nepu mha lhan the, or spreading out in the hot sun. The 
 offender who undergoes it is stretched upon his back by the public 
 executioners, and thus exposed for a given number of hours, in 
 the hottest part of the day, with a weight on his breast, more 
 or less heavy according to the nature of the offence, or rather 
 according to the King's opinion of it. It was at first thought 
 that the sentence, on the part of the King, was a mere threat. 
 Not so ; the most faithful and zealous of his ministers under- 
 went the punishment this afternoon from one to three o'clock, 
 and not, as is customary on such occasions with culprits of dis- 
 tinction, within the palace enclosure, but in the public road be-
 
 APPENDIX II 293 
 
 tween the eastern gate of the palace and the town-hall, and in 
 the view of a multitude of spectators. The old malefactor, whom 
 I once or twice before mentioned as being at the head of the 
 band of executioners, superintended the infliction. This person 
 and others of the same class are themselves not entitled to a 
 trial ; but may by the law of the country be put to death by any 
 of the ministers at pleasure and no questions asked. Here was 
 the first minister, then, delivered over into the hands of this 
 ruffian, in whose power it was to make the punishment more or 
 less severe. Such are the anomalies of this truly rude and 
 barbarous government. The stretching and sunning process, I 
 ought to have mentioned, is the punishment of mere peccadillos, 
 and is a very frequent infliction on persons of condition. 
 Kaulen Mengyi has since appeared in Lut-dhau, and in the King's 
 presence, and has been carrying on the business of the govern- 
 ment just as usual. It cannot be supposed, however, but that the 
 ignominy of such a punishment is felt by the person on whom 
 it is inflicted : and consequently those who had seen the minister 
 since described him as being low-spirited and downcast.' 
 
 While our envoys give general views of the administration, the 
 letters and journals of the early American Baptist missionaries can 
 be consulted for what I may call daily peeps at life in Burma 
 under the reign of King Bodoahpra, described by Sangermano. 
 They were eye-witnesses of two execution scenes presented in the 
 note at p. 84. Mrs. Judson confirms Sangermano about the great 
 local power wielded by the Viceroys and Governors. She, like the 
 Italian, found a friend in the Viceroy's wife at Rangoon ; and from 
 this lady, not from the Viceroy himself, she obtained the requisite 
 permit to depart to Bengal. These high officials were often re- 
 lated to the royal family by birth or marriage ; and as the 
 revenues of districts used to be given for their maintenance to 
 queens and other great ladies, these acquired much knowledge of 
 what went on in the districts, and influenced litigation, as shown 
 at p. 272. The Judsons had personal experience of heavy and 
 arbitrary taxes. In 1825, when the King Hpagyidoa was at war 
 with the British, the Rev. Adoniram Judson was, with the other 
 Europeans and Americans at Ava, suspected as a spy; and after being 
 roughly arrested and pinioned by the executioner, the malefactor 
 with the spotted face, he was cast into prison, and put in irons and 
 in the stocks. For some time his life was in danger ; but it does 
 not appear that the king desired the death of the captives ; and
 
 294 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 the cruel suggestion of the successor of Bandula in the command 
 of the army retorted on himself. Phayre's account agrees with 
 Mrs. Judson's. The Pukhan Prince had been in disgrace, and 
 was for some time in prison, along with the Europeans. ' He was 
 a man of relentless cruelty. On being appointed commander-in- 
 chief, he determined to inaugurate the assumption of his high 
 office by putting the European prisoners to death a horrible 
 superstition, altogether outside and opposed to the national 
 religion. The prisoners were sent to Aungpengle, where this 
 dreadful act was to be perpetrated. But the Pukhan Wungyi had 
 many enemies. Having been twice punished by the king, it was 
 suggested that he designed to raise himself to the throne. The 
 dark deed he meditated seems to show a deeper design than that 
 of success in the field. His house was searched, and it was said 
 that royal insignia were discovered. He was trodden to death by 
 elephants/ Phayre, p. 251. At this period the queen, who was 
 of low birth, had gained such entire influence over the king, that 
 she was known as the ' sorceress/ it being seriously believed that 
 she worked by witchcraft. Her brother, once a petty fish- 
 monger, was then the most powerful man in the kingdom. Mrs. 
 Judson writes : ' The king's mother, sisters, and brother, each in 
 their turn, exerted their influence in our favour, but so great was 
 their fear of the queen, that neither of them ventured to make a 
 direct application to his Majesty/ 
 
 In the advertisement to Mrs. Judson's Account of the American 
 Baptist Mission, dated 1827, I find the following notice of taxation 
 and slavery : 
 
 ' Slavery is carried on, similar, in many respects, to that which 
 prevailed under the Mosaic dispensation. When the father of a 
 family is overwhelmed with debt he has recourse to the sale of 
 his wife and children ; and if the sum he receives for them be not 
 sufficient, he offers himself in order to balance the account. Not 
 unfrequently, under the despotic government of the empire, a 
 tax is levied on an individual far beyond his ability to pay, and he 
 is put to the torture until he has entered into an engagement to 
 produce the sum required ; the sale of his wife and children takes 
 place for this purpose. Hence there are multitudes of slaves in the 
 Burman Empire. But those slaves whose situation is peculiarly 
 calculated to excite compassion, are children whose parents die 
 involved in debt. The creditor immediately lays claim to the 
 helpless orphans, and either retains them for his debt, whatever
 
 APPENDIX II 295 
 
 may be its amount, or sells them for an equivalent sum.' Mrs. 
 Judson proposed to apply the profits of her book to ransom some 
 of these orphan girls. She describes the people as lively, indus- 
 trious, energetic, frank, and candid, and neither pusillanimous nor 
 revengeful. When, in another passage, she ' presumes to say' 
 that there was not a single Burman who would not commit theft 
 or falsehood, given a good opportunity, the statement appears too 
 sweeping, and to require the qualifications which the great Indian 
 statesman, Mountstuart Elphinstone, sets forth in the chapter in 
 his History of India, where he treats of Hindu character. Alien 
 missionaries, police magistrates, and tax collectors, he reminds 
 us, do not see the most virtuous portion of a nation ; and under a 
 vicious government the lowest villager is often obliged to resist 
 force by fraud. Such was the case in Siam, where, as Bishop 
 Pallegoix, writing about the year 1854, tells us, the people while 
 detesting theft, were robbed by the Mandarins of every grade. 
 Falsehood was rare among equals ; but lies were told to superiors 
 in order to escape punishments. The Siamese, he says, are re- 
 markably humane, affectionate to parents, kind to wives, and good 
 to slaves, whom they treat better than servants are treated in 
 France, and not like the negro slaves in other countries. 
 
 A perusal of Elphinstone' s well-known Report on the Deccan 
 Territories would enable an interesting comparison to be drawn 
 between the Burmese administration and that of a contemporary 
 Indian monarch, the Brahman Baji Rao, last Peshwa or King of 
 Poona. The Maratha government seems to have been by far the 
 more excellent, vigorous, and just of the two. 
 
 Leaving the subject of administration for that of philosophy, 
 which has a wide influence among the peoples of the ' brooding 
 East,' we can supplement Bishop Bigandet's statement of Burman 
 Buddhist metaphysics in his chapter on the Seven Ways to 
 Neibban, by some of the actual arguments used by Judson's 
 acquaintance. Mrs. Judson calls the Buddhist system of ethics 
 pure but powerless, ' like an alabaster image, perfect and beauti- 
 ful in all its parts, but without life.' The Burmans are styled a 
 nation of atheists ; and I think that Sangermano in Chapter xiv. 
 is rather misleading, when he uses the word ' god ' in translating 
 the Burmese term ' superior' or 'highest being' as applied to 
 Gaudama and other Buddhas. The people with whom Judson 
 argued about religion appear to have been startled by the concept 
 of a supreme and eternal intelligence, as contrary to their own
 
 296 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 dogma, which substitutes a law or principle in lieu of a personal- 
 ity. The logic of one convert reminded Judson of the Idealism 
 of Berkeley and the Scepticism of Hume. Another inquirer 
 rejected the argument that fixed fate implies a being who fixes it. 
 But by fate they meant Karma, the influence of good and bad 
 deeds, under which the punishment follows the crime as surely 
 as the wheel of a cart follows the footsteps of the ox. Bigandet 
 mentions, however, that the notion of a supreme Buddha, akin to 
 the Adi-Buddha of the Northern school, has taken root in the 
 philosophy of Burma ; and since my note at p. 1 03 went to the 
 press, Mr. Taw Sein-Ko has informed me of his own conjecture that 
 what vague belief in a supreme intelligence is diffused in Burma 
 may be a survival of a form of the religion brought into Upper 
 Burma from Northern India with the Sanskrit language, many 
 centuries ago. Some devout respect is also paid to Maitreya and 
 other existing beings now dwelling in the heavens, who are 
 destined to become the Buddhas and saviours of those worlds to 
 come, which will take the place of the present universe. 
 
 The two most contrasted schools of Indian philosophy are the 
 Sankhya and Vedanta. The first maintains the eternity of matter, 
 and its principal branch denies the being of God. The other 
 school derives all things from God, and one sect denies the reality 
 of matter. Elphinstone, from whom I am quoting, says that 
 the doctrines of the Sankhya school seem reflected in the 
 atheism of the Buddhists. These speculations are remote from 
 the ordinary thought of men, but are commoner in the East 
 than those who have never lived there are aware. As in- 
 stances among my own friends I may cite the late Gokalji 
 Jhala, minister of Junagadh, and Gauriashankar Udayshankar, the 
 distinguished Regent of Bhavnagar, both Nagar Brahmans, who 
 found repose in the Vedanta, among weighty cares and private 
 anxieties. Rhys Davids remarks on the difficulty which a mind 
 impregnated with Christian ideas finds in realising the Buddhist 
 tenet that self or soul has no existence. The true Buddhism 
 alleges that man is never the same for two consecutive moments, 
 and that there is within him no abiding principle whatever. 
 The philosophy is said to mitigate the fervour of the believers ; 
 and it is easy to indorse the observation in the Census Report of 
 1891, that such a movement as the Crusades in Europe, or a jihad 
 in Arabia could never be excited by Buddhist monks. No Bud- 
 dhist could have written the Gerusalemme Liberata, or drawn the
 
 APPENDIX II 297 
 
 character of the noble Godfrey. The expression of Christian 
 heroism and hope, found in that warrior's oration over his dead 
 comrade Dudone in the third Canto, seems the literary antipodes 
 of Buddhist sentiment. Likewise Godfrey's belief in the active 
 providence of God, of whose will what men call Fate is a mere 
 servant. 
 
 'Anzi giudice Dio, delle cui voglie 
 Ministra e serva e la Fortuna e'l Fato.' 
 
 CANTO vn. 70.
 
 APPENDIX III 
 
 SEE CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 IN spite of the absence of reasons based on theology, philosophy, 
 and grammar, the learned reader of Sangermano's Burmese code, 
 will, as noticed on pp. 87 and 221, readily recognise its general 
 resemblance to Hindu law. As it is an abstract and not a trans- 
 lation, it is impossible to make a textual comparison with the 
 Hindu codes and commentaries. This laborious work has, how- 
 ever, been done by Dr. Forchhammer for the Wagaru Dhamma- 
 that in his Jardine Prize Essay, pp. 44-59, where the parallel 
 texts in the Institutes of Manu are given, as also the similar dicta 
 in Yajnyavalkya, Katyayana, Narada, etc., which cover a consider- 
 able number of rulings of the Wagaru not found in Manu. The 
 same has also been done for a great part of the Wonnana Dham- 
 mathat, compiled by, Wanna Kyaw Din about the year 1772 A.D., 
 in my Notes on Buddhist Law. But, as Forchhammer thought it 
 important to notice, ' the deviations in the textual wording in the 
 Sanskrit and Pali originals are far greater than the differences in 
 the two languages require ; if the latter were a translation of the 
 former, or based upon a corresponding Sanskrit version, a con- 
 siderably closer approach in the wording of the texts would have 
 been the unavoidable result.' Again, <A marked difference, 
 however, distinguishes the Dhammathat of the Taking king from 
 the Hindu Sastras ; the total absence, namely, of all that apper- 
 tains to the Vedic and Neo-Brahmanic cultus. The Wagaru 
 mentions neither Brahma, nor the Vedas, nor the sacerdotal class, 
 and its innumerable rights and privileges, nor the sacrificial fire, 
 or any other point bespeaking the influence of Brahmans and the 
 religious and civil institutions peculiar to Brahmanic India.' One 
 result in Burma is that marriage is not a sacrament, but an insti- 
 tution based on legal contract. Heirship, again, is not dependent 
 on the offering of the funeral cake, as in India. In the Wagaru 
 the direct religious element is almost absent ; but, as Forch- 
 hammer explains at length, its peculiar nature is nevertheless the 
 result of a religious tenet ; and that tenet is the Buddhist Karma,
 
 APPENDIX III 299 
 
 or the efficacy of good and bad works, a doctrine inseparably bound 
 up with that of transmigration or renewed existence. According 
 to Professor James Gray, a similar treatment has been applied in 
 Burma to the ethical maxims of the Sanskrit Manu found in the 
 literature called Niti, or proverbial philosophy, to bring them into 
 accord with Buddhist tenets. 
 
 The Menu Kyay collection of laws, compiled about 1756 A.D. 
 by order of the Emperor Alompra, introduces religious reasons 
 freely, including long quotations from the sacred literature of the 
 Buddhists, of which some specimens are given in the Notes on 
 Buddhist Law. The jurist went to the Suttapitakam for the dis- 
 course of Yasodhara, the wife of Gaudama, before he became a 
 Buddha, on the seven kinds of wives, those who are respectively 
 like an executioner, a thief, a ruler, a mother, a sister, a faithful 
 friend, and a slave. In another passage, the principle of govern- 
 ment, that 'all men whatever, even of the most degraded class, 
 are worthy to be raised to rank and station if the habits are 
 good/ is enforced by the story of Gaudama's success in wooing 
 and winning a lady of high degree, although in that former 
 existence the embryo Buddha was veiled in the family scavenger. 
 It is not easy to avoid suspecting that the Buddhist jurist, like his 
 Brahman predecessors in India, found a number of common secular 
 customs, and supplied religious reasons for them. In my preface to 
 the Customary Law of the Chin Tribe, I have drawn attention to the 
 resemblance of the rules of Burmese law to those of the Thesa- 
 walame, which is a compilation, made by the Dutch Government 
 of Ceylon in 1707, of the law of the Tamil Hindus of Jaffna, and 
 which that great authority, Mr. J. D. Mayne, thinks may be taken 
 as a fair statement of the Hindu law of Southern India before the 
 English Courts with their Brahman assessors began to apply the 
 rules of the Sanskrit books. I must add that the religion of the 
 Jains of India is, like Buddhism, opposed to Brahmanism. Yet 
 they are governed by the ordinary Hindu law. Hitherto, I have 
 found no trace of a specially Jainist law-book. 
 
 The greater portion of the Burmese law is now abrogated. 
 British Indian statutes of general incidence make up the law of 
 crimes, procedure, evidence, contract, and relief in equity. Tort 
 and damages are dealt with on English principles. Adultery is a 
 penal offence, and slavery is abolished. Privileges and sumptuary 
 laws are done away with. But our Courts are required by statute 
 to administer to the Buddhists their own laws about marriage,
 
 300 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 inheritance, and adoption : and the Dhammathats regulate these 
 important matters, with the general assent of the people, given 
 because of the conformity of the rules to Buddhist ethics. Thus 
 women are placed in a favourable legal position, property is 
 divided almost equally among the children, and husband and 
 wife both retain rights over the property gained by their joint 
 labour or capital. The contract of marriage now generally follows 
 the consent of the parties themselves, and not that of the parents, 
 as in older times, and among the Hindus still. The English rulers 
 have found almost nothing to repeal in these provisions of the law : 
 and the tendency of the native judges is to reverence the Dham- 
 mathat, as was shown in their objections to a proposed statute of 
 distributions as unnecessary. One judge called the Dhammathat 
 the Great Will. Another wrote ' It is very just, very subtle, 
 very good, and very clear. All disputes on such matters can be 
 settled by it. It is a second sun to the earth. Where then is 
 there a Buddhist who can renounce the Dhammathat ? ' 
 
 The apparent likeness to the Hindu law is thus varied by 
 means of Buddhist opinions, and also by the existence of Burmese 
 and other customs, which are incorporated in these codes. It is, 
 for example, a common practice for a young married pair to dwell 
 with the bride's father (see pp. 228, 257, 258, etc.) ; the youth- 
 ful wife is thus ensured more consideration and protection than in 
 India and China. At p. 255, sections 18 and 19, we find recog- 
 nition of damage caused by an unfriendly spirit, and a sanction 
 given to private war and revenge. These sentiments belong to 
 a lower stage of civilisation, like that of the Kachin and Hpun 
 tribes, as appears from the highly interesting reports on them from 
 the pen of Mr. George, Deputy Commissioner of Bhamo, appended 
 to the Census Report of 1891. He states that among the Kachins 
 the law of reprisal is the only one to which ultimate appeal is 
 made, and that slavery is prevalent. Mr. George quotes informants 
 who say that among the Kalangs, Kanons, or Kamans, and the 
 Lings or Liangs, the old men and women are got rid of by being 
 killed, cooked, and eaten. For a middle stage of civilisation, the 
 Customary Law of the Chin Tribe may be consulted. No attempt 
 has yet been made to collect the tribal laws of the Karens and the 
 Shans. Much information about the wilder tribes is to be found 
 in Mr. A. R. Colquhoun's work, entitled Amongst the Shans, to 
 which M. de Lacouperie has written an introduction. 
 
 It remains to add that, according to Dr. Rost, the law of
 
 APPENDIX III 301 
 
 Siam is based on the Dhammathat. The alleged Indian origin of 
 the Code is mentioned by our envoy, Mr. John Crawfurd, in his 
 Embassy to Siam in 1821, as also by Bishop Pallegoix. Many 
 practices are common to India, Burma, and Siam, as appears by 
 comparing the similar works of the Abbe Dubois, Pallegoix, and 
 Sangermano. The kings of Siam, like those of Burma, often 
 promulgated new codes, by which system the Siamese Manu is 
 said to have been reformed and amplified. Java and the neigh- 
 bouring island of Bali were for centuries the seats of Hindu colonies 
 and governments, which were originally Buddhist, but in the 
 course of centuries became subject to the religion of the Brahmans, 
 and at a later period to that of the Mohammedans.
 
 APPENDIX IV 
 
 SEE CHAPTERS XIV, XVII, AND XIX 
 
 DR. RHYS DAVIDS, in his work on Buddhism, writes 'It is probable 
 that the idea of transmigration first originated in that curious 
 trick of the memory, by which we sometimes feel so sure that 
 sensations we are experiencing have been experienced by us before, 
 and yet we know not how or when. Several interesting instances 
 of this are given by scientific psychologists. See the cases quoted 
 by Dr. Carpenter, Mental Physiology, p. 430, et seq., and Sir B. 
 Brodie, Psychological Inquiries, Second Series, p. 55.' The mystery 
 of Karma, on which the Buddhist dogma of transmigration is based, 
 has, he thinks, the same foundation of truth which lies at the 
 bottom of the widely prevalent belief in fate and predestination. 
 The ancient Egyptians believed in transmigration : and the Greeks, 
 according to Herodotus, derived the doctrine from them. The 
 poet Ennius introduced it among the Romans. See Dr. Paley's 
 article on 'Metempsychosis' in the Encyclopaedia Britannica and 
 Grote's Plato. There are traces of it in the Apocrypha ; and it was 
 held among the Gnostics. Origen adopted the belief as the 
 only means of explaining some scriptural difficulties, such as the 
 struggle of Jacob and Esau before birth, and the selection of 
 Jeremiah (Jer. i. 5). Lessing taught it, and it forms part of 
 Swedenborg's system. Montaigne in his essay on ' Raymond 
 Sebond ' calls it ' the most universal and received phantasy, and 
 which endureth to this day/ and goes on to quote Pythagoras, 
 Plato, and the rest of the ancient believers. 
 
 While there is abundant literature about the doctrine of trans- 
 migration in its various forms, I can find no notice of the effect on 
 character and conduct of this great tenet of the Brahmans, the 
 Jains, and the Buddhists. This is one reason for my inserting 
 here the following estimate of its influence on the people of 
 Burma, given me by an officer, who, from long service in that 
 country, has had many opportunities of studying their character : 
 
 ' The belief, most truly held by the Burman Buddhists, that the
 
 APPENDIX IV 303 
 
 present earthly life is but one of many that have passed, and of 
 many that are to come, in which the individual has had and will 
 have a place and a share, has a distinct influence on the personal 
 and national character. It enters into every thought of their 
 past, present, and future condition ; and produces in them a frame 
 of mind affecting their whole life which it is difficult for those 
 outside the faith to understand. The fact that, to them, the 
 existing life is only a small portion of their experience of the 
 earthly world, so enters into their estimate of life and character, 
 that they may be said to find in it the most powerful factor in 
 their acts as well as their thoughts. 
 
 ' That their past must influence the present is to them a Jiving 
 truth, and the wide results that flow from this cannot be easily 
 described or realised. The first thought of a mother, with her 
 new-born child, is turned to the unknown past whence it has 
 brought into this world a legacy of merits or demerits. She is 
 certain that the course of its life depends on the deeds of former 
 days, and she anxiously watches for symptoms that may indicate 
 whether these have been good or evil. If the child develops a 
 bad disposition, she will conclude that its demerits are great : if a 
 good disposition, she rejoices that its merits preponderate ; for she 
 knows that all she may do for her offspring will profit little against 
 the results of its previous existences. 
 
 ' But the acceptance of this truth does not lead to apathy or 
 despair : on the contrary, there are no people who more thoroughly 
 indulge in the constant expectation of some sudden reward accru- 
 ing to them from the accumulated merit with which they may be 
 endowed. The prospect of this happy turn which will bring with 
 it an improved worldly position, or, better still, a step towards the 
 great deliverance, is far more potent than any feeling of depres- 
 sion on the prospect of suffering in this life the burden of demerit. 
 As between the two alternatives, the Burman Buddhist looks 
 rather to the better issue. 
 
 'The merit which follows a good deed will certainly bear fruit. 
 Hence a hidden hope always rests in the mind of the amelioration 
 of present trouble. The hope of a better life is never absent from 
 the thought of a Burman Buddhist. 
 
 ' The knowledge that the vicious acts, or the misfortunes of indi- 
 viduals in their present condition, are ndt solely due to the exist- 
 ing faults of character, but rather that these faults are the results 
 of former misconduct, leads to a lenient view of a fellow-creature's
 
 304 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 apparent wickedness, and from this comes the marked tolerance 
 displayed by the Buddhist. 
 
 ' One result of the belief in successive births is the consequent 
 feeling of the comparatively unimportant nature of the present 
 existence. It is natural, to those who look on the narrow span 
 allotted to man as his one and only existence on earth, to attach 
 a supreme importance to the conduct of this life. But this is a 
 condition of mind very little experienced by the Burman Buddhist. 
 He therefore takes life more easily, and exhibits a light-hearted- 
 ness which is the special characteristic of the race. 
 
 ' In addition to the blessings of a tolerant mind and light heart, 
 the Burman Buddhist possesses the further virtue of being open- 
 handed. By the ethical teaching of his faith he is impelled to 
 generosity and consideration for others, and he is also influenced 
 by the assurance that the exercise of these virtues will bring its 
 reward. From this springs the current admonition, " Before you 
 are old, before you are sick, before you die, perform good deeds, 
 and so lay up merit." The Parables of Buddha-ghosa (which are 
 supposed to have been uttered by Gotama, the founder of the 
 Buddhist religion) show how deeply interwoven into the ordinary 
 events of life are the results of former good or evil deeds, and 
 prove how powerfully the Buddhist mind must be influenced, 
 even in small matters, by the belief in successive existences on 
 this earth, and by the relation which these bear to one another. 
 
 ' From this belief can be traced the salient points in the Burman 
 Buddhist's character and impulses, as seen now among the people. 
 There may still be found the light heart and the open hand, the 
 generous view of others' faults the tolerance towards all creeds. 
 
 O * 
 
 and the hopeful spirit which spreads a cheerfulness over their 
 whole life.' 
 
 Another reason for presenting this unique inspection of one of 
 the great factors of character is connected with the view taken 
 by some writers that the religion is without life and power, or at 
 most only a ' thin veneer ' spread over the real basis of older super- 
 stitions ; a view that seems wholly at variance with the above. 
 (See p. xiv.) Sir James Mackintosh, the historian of Ethical 
 Philosophy (in his Note on Jonathan Edwards) lays great stress on 
 the religious opinions of Augustine and Calvin about predestination 
 as a powerful influence in the moral education of the Scots, the 
 Dutch, and the people of New England. The two influences 
 of dogmatic religion and empiric superstition exist together in
 
 APPENDIX IV 305 
 
 Burma as elsewhere, but are easily distinguished. Bishop Palle- 
 goix, in his Description of Siam, mentions the Brahman fortune- 
 tellers, and the occult practices of Indian, Chinese, and native 
 origin; but observes also, that the superstitions one sees among the 
 Siamese form no part of their religion, since Buddha has forbidden 
 his followers to consult soothsayers, or put faith in omens, or, 
 generally, to give themselves to any superstitious practice. 
 Sangermano, while himself entirely free from any belief in such 
 things, as shown by his remarks on witchcraft (pp. 149, 172) never 
 suggests that the more credulous Burmans are not Buddhists. In 
 Hudibras, as also in Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy, the reader 
 will find an immense store of learning, displaying the prevalence 
 of the same superstitions in Europe. Samuel Butler treats 
 them with his usual burlesque humour in the second part of 
 Hudibras, where the knight and the squire discuss whether 
 a saint may resort to a sorcerer. In his Partition on 'Cures' 
 Burton raises the questions, whether it is lawful to ask a 
 wizard's advice, or to pray to saints like St. Vitus or St. Valentine 
 in cases of sickness ; and while pronouncing against both such 
 means of remedy, refrains from shutting the believers in such 
 practices out of the pale of Christianity. Nor does that learned 
 canonist and upright judge, Abbot, Archbishop of Canterbury, go 
 that length in his curious minutes in the divorce case of the Earl 
 and Countess of Essex in 1613, found in the State Trials: he 
 seems, indeed, to be in advance of his time, as he speaks of sorcery 
 to thwart the chief end of marriage as a rag of Popery, and doubts 
 whether, in England at any rate, the black art can create an 
 impediment, now that we have the light of the Gospel, meaning 
 the Protestant religion. The common law judges, however, went 
 on treating witchcraft seriously, until Lord Holt left it as a matter 
 of fact to the jury in a famous case where a woman had been ill- 
 treated as a witch. Serious cases of such maltreatment are not 
 uncommon in the Indian tribunals ; and I lately adjudged one of 
 homicide, in which a sick woman was killed by men whose aid she 
 had implored to cast a devil out of her. They pretended to become 
 enthusiast or possessed by good spirits for the occasion of the cure. 
 Mysticism and magic have still a hold over the nations of the East, 
 with regard to whom Whewell remarks, that we have no evidence, 
 as with regard to Europeans we have, t&at they are capable on 
 subjects of physical speculation of originating sound and rational 
 general principles. 
 
 u
 
 Another proof of the close and general influence of Buddhism in 
 Burma is found in the constant reading and teaching of the Niti 
 literature, the system of prudence and morality found in proverbs 
 and aphorisms. Professor James Gray, the translator of these 
 works, tells us of the charm they have for the Buddhists, as guides 
 to good conduct in this life, and thus helps to a better life beyond. 
 The Buddhist, he says, firmly believes that his future happiness 
 depends upon his behaviour in his present life, and relies more on 
 practical deeds rather than on the faith which his religion 
 demands. In Chap. xx. Sangermano gives some quotations from 
 these aids to virtue. The Lokaniti is still taught in almost every 
 monastic school in Burma. 
 
 Buddhaghosa's Parables, translated from Burmese by Captain 
 T. Rogers, R.E., have been published with an Introduction by 
 Professor Max Mttller. Many of the stories relate to Gaudama's 
 former existences. It is in this Buddhist literature, the Jatakas 
 especially (see p. 180), that many of the nursery songs and the 
 fairy tales, the comic stories and the fables, which are now the 
 common property of Europe, are found in their oldest form. The 
 Buddhist dogma disappears under Western influence. See Max 
 Miiller on the Migration of Fables, iv. Chips from a German Work- 
 shop, p. 175. The same essay relates how the transmigration of 
 Gaudama Buddha himself into the Saint Josaphat of both the Greek 
 and Latin Churches came about, an interesting story not generally 
 known to the Buddhists of Burma now, nor to European scholars 
 before 1 859, when the Lalita Vistara was pointed out as the source 
 of the History of Barlaam and Josaphat, the narrative of a hermit 
 and an Indian king, written by Johannes Damascenus early in the 
 eighth century. Thomas Warton had long before drawn attention 
 to this work as containing the originals of many stories found in 
 the Gesta Romanorum, in Boccaccio and Gower, in Caxton's Golden 
 Legende, and elsewhere. Says Warton : ' As Barlaam's fable is 
 probably the remote but original source of Shakespeare's "Caskets" 
 in the Merchant of Venice, I will give the readers a translation of 
 the passage in which it occurs, from the Greek original, never yet 
 printed/ See Price's edition of 1840 of Warton's History of 
 English Poetry.
 
 APPENDIX V 
 
 WHEN I wrote the Introduction to this Edition, the long and 
 valuable essays by Francis Buchanan, M.D., on the religion and 
 literature of the Burmans, and by John Leyden, M.D., on the 
 languages and literature of the Indo-Chinese nations, printed in 
 the Asiatic Researches, vols. vi. and x., had not come under my 
 notice. They are not mentioned by Cardinal Wiseman or his 
 colleagues. Dr. Buchanan had accompanied our envoy, Major 
 Symes, to Burma, where Sangermano gave Symes three treatises, 
 composed by him in Latin, on Burmese Cosmography, the Religion 
 of Gaudama, and the Ordination of Buddhist Monks. In Buchanan's 
 essay, English translations are given, which contain substantially 
 the information given in the present work. The dialogue found 
 in Chapter xiv. is said to have been written by the king's con- 
 fessor ; and Leyden says the object of it was the conversion of the 
 English, Dutch, Armenians, and others to Buddhism. Among 
 many other interesting matters, Buchanan supplies a comparative 
 vocabulary of languages, and an account of astronomy, with a fine 
 engraving of the sixty-eight constellations. 
 
 Buchanan, at p. 304, makes the following statement about the 
 law literature of Burma : 
 
 ' On law, the Burmaiis have many treatises, both containing the 
 laws of Manu and copious commentaries upon these. Whether 
 they still have any copies of the law as originally imported from 
 Ceylon, I know not; but I was told that the Damathat-gye, or 
 Code in common use, has suffered several alterations and additions 
 made by the decrees of various princes.' Compare Sangermano, 
 p. 223, Notes, pp. 87 and 221, and Appendix HI. Leyden, whose 
 essay was printed in the Asiatic Researches, vol. x., in 1811, the 
 year that he died, had read Buchanan's article, and a number of 
 works written by old Catholic missionaries in Burma. He mentions 
 the Code of Law, and Sangermano's Compendium, but does not 
 discuss its origin. 
 
 Probably when a practice became general, and had been recog- 
 nised as a custom, it became incorporated in the next edition of
 
 308 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 the Code. One of the rules in Section 8, on p. 228, is better 
 understood after reading Buchanan's account of the physicians. 
 One curious custom, he says, may be mentioned : ' If a young 
 woman be dangerously ill, the doctor and her parents frequently 
 enter into an agreement, the doctor undertaking to cure her. If 
 she lives, the doctor takes her as his property ; but if she dies, he 
 pays her value to the parents; for in the Burma dominions no 
 parent parts with his daughter, whether to be a wife, or to be a 
 concubine, without a valuable consideration. I do not know 
 whether the doctor is entitled to sell the girl again, or if he must 
 retain her in his family; but the number of fine young women 
 which I saw in the house of a doctor at Myeda makes me think 
 the practice to be very common.' 
 
 John Leyden, better known to Scotsmen as the poet of Teviot- 
 dale and the friend of Sir Walter Scott, sailed in 1 802 for Madras, 
 as an assistant-surgeon. His health giving way, he went to Penang, 
 where he studied the Indo-Chinese languages. He was afterwards 
 a professor, and then a judge at Calcutta. In 1811 he accompanied 
 the Governor-General to Java, and died from a fever caught in the 
 bad air of a warehouse of books at Batavia, which he had rushed to 
 examine. Sir John Malcolm and Sir Walter Scott both honoured 
 Leyden's memory with notices of his genius. 
 
 ' Quenched is his lamp of varied lore, 
 That loved the light of song to pour : 
 A distant and a deadly shore 
 Has Leyden's cold remains. '
 
 INDEX 
 
 ALAUNGHPRA. See Alompra. 
 
 Alaunzisu, King, 52. 
 
 Alchemy, 215. 
 
 Alompra, Emperor, ix., 61, 100, 285. 
 
 Amarapura, 68. 
 
 American Baptists, xix., 290, 293. 
 
 Anaundopra, King, 62. 
 
 Animals, 189, 195-207. 
 
 Anoarahta, King, x., 52. 
 
 Appeals, 272. 
 
 Arakan, 42, 70, 287. 
 
 Army, xxi., 97-101. 
 
 Arts, useful, xiii, 185-188. 
 
 Astrology, xi., xiv., 141, 146, 181, 208. 
 
 Astronomy, xi., 2, 208, 307. 
 
 Ava, 55, 56, 62. 
 
 Ayuthia, xxi., 62. 
 
 BADONSACHEN, King, 64-80, 112. 
 
 Balbi, Gasparo, xxii. 
 
 Bassein, 83, 218. 
 
 Bigandet, Bishop, xiii., xv., xvii.,xix., 
 
 113, 287, 296. 
 Birds, 195, 196. 
 Biumenti, King, 51. 
 Bodoahpra. See Badonsachen. 
 Brahmans, vii., 67, 141, 145, 208, 241, 
 
 272. 
 
 Brito, Philip de, xxiii., 57. 
 Buchanan, Dr. F., 307, 308. 
 Buddha, viii., 76, 296. See Gaudama. 
 Buddhaghosa, x, xx, 181, 221-223, 291, 
 
 304, 306. 
 Buddhism, ix., x.-xx., 33, 52, IO2-II2, 
 
 129-140, 280, 295, 302-306. 
 Buddhist Law, xix., 221-276. See 
 
 Dhammathat. 
 Buddhist Monks, xxviii., 68, 113-128, 
 
 135-140, 156, 176, 180, 235, 241, 
 
 272, 280, 285, 296. 
 
 Bureng Naung, xxi., 57, 81, 98. 
 Burma, vii., i. 
 
 Burmese, viii., xi., 41, 46, 151, 289. 
 Burmese Code, 221-276. 
 
 CALENDAR, 208-210. 
 
 Catholic Church, 277-287. See Mission- 
 aries. 
 
 Census, Report of 1891, xii., xiii., xiv., 
 xvii., 113. 
 
 Character of the People, xxvii., 151-156, 
 295, 302. 
 
 Characters, written, xi., 179, 290, 291. 
 
 Chegain. See Sagaing. 
 
 Child-birth, 164. 
 
 China, 63, 71. 
 
 Chinese, 58, 189, 217, 289. 
 
 Chins, xi., xiii., 42, 290, 299, 300. 
 
 Coinage, 214. 
 
 Commerce, xxii., xxiii., 216-220. 
 
 Conti, Nicolo de, xxii. 
 
 Cosmography, xxxviii., 1-41. 
 
 Courts of Law, 83-90, 94, 223. 
 
 Cox, Captain Hiram, xxiv., 221. 
 
 Crawfurd, Mr. John, xxiv., 84, 292, 301. 
 
 Crimes, 238-243, 267, 271-274. 
 
 Customs, xv., 157-177, 307. 
 
 DEBT, xix., 244-248. 
 
 Deitton, Book called, 142-145, 150. 
 
 Deposits, 248-250. 
 
 Despotism, Burmese, xix., xxvii, 73. 
 
 Dhammathat, x., xix., xxiii., xxxiv., 
 
 87, 180, 221-276, 298-301, 307. 
 Diseases, 166-174. 
 Donations, 224. 
 Doomsday-book, Burmese, 92. 
 Dress, 157. 
 Drink, 160, 189. 
 Dutch, the, xxiii., 63.
 
 310 DESCRIPTION OF THE BURMESE EMPIRE 
 
 EARTHQUAKES, 161. 
 
 Elephants, 76-80, 206. 
 
 Elphinstone, Mountstuart, 285, 295, 
 
 296. 
 
 Envoys, English, xxiv. 
 Europeans, xx. 
 Evidence, 272. See Witnesses. 
 
 FACTORIES, xxiii. 
 
 Fitch, Ralph, xxii. -xxiii. 
 
 Food, xxi., 159. 
 
 Forchhammer, Dr. E., viii., xi., xv., 
 
 xix., 221, 289, 298. 
 Fortune-telling, xxiv., 141-147. 
 Frederike, Caesar, xxi. 
 Funeral practices, 122, 160, 174-177. 
 
 GAMES, 162. 
 
 Gaudama, xii.-xvi., IOI-II2, 121, 129- 
 
 140, 295, 299, 306. 
 Geography, 4. 
 George, Mr., xii., 290, 300. 
 Golanagar, vii. 
 Gour, vii. 
 Gray, Professor James, 299, 306. 
 
 HELLS, 25-32, 140. 
 Houses, 142, 159, 1 60. 
 Hpagyidoa, King, 293. 
 Hsengbyusheng, King, 62. 
 Indian influences, vii.-xx., 4, 33, 48, 
 52, 76, 166, 180, 221, 296, 298. 
 
 INHERITANCE, xix., 225-227, 230-235. 
 Insects, 203-205. 
 Interlopers, xxiii. 
 
 Jo. See Yaw. 
 Josaphat, Saint, xvi., 306. 
 Judson, Rev. A. and Mrs. A. H., xxviii., 
 112, 217,293-296. 
 
 KACHINS, xiii., 44, 290, 300. 
 Kadu, 44, 289. 
 
 Karens, xii., 44, no, 290, 300. 
 Kings of Burma, 47-72. 
 Kublai Khan, ix., 53. 
 
 LAMAS, 280. 
 
 Languages of Burma, 42-44, 178-181, 
 
 289-291. 
 
 Leyden, John, 307-308. 
 Literature, xi., xix., 129, 142, 179- 
 
 185, 291, 305, 307. 
 Lizards, 199. 
 
 MAHARAZAVEN, 46-60. 
 
 Manners, 157-177. 
 
 Manu, xix., xxiv., 87, 221, 298, 307. 
 
 Manufactures, 185-188. 
 
 Marriage, xviii., 164-166, 235, 238-240, 
 
 255-261, 300. 
 Measures, 2. 
 Medicine, 164-174, 308. 
 Menpiauk, King, 54. 
 Missionaries, xix., xxiv., xxxiv., ill, 
 
 172, 173, 195. See American Baptists, 
 
 Catholic Church. 
 Mons. See Talaings. 
 Murder, 242. 
 Myinsaing, 53. 
 
 NATS, xi.-xv., 2, 13, 18-24, 161, 172. 
 Natural productions, 189-207. 
 Nerini, Bishop, 283-285. 
 Nirvana, 9, 32, 41, 106. 
 Niti literature, 299, 305. 
 
 OATHS, 87, 90, 238. 
 Officials, 81, 91, 223, 241-243. 
 Omens, 141-148. 
 Ordeals, 90, 150, 239. 
 
 PAGAN, viii., x., 51, 53. 
 
 Palaung, 44, 291. 
 
 Pali language, no, 180, 221. 
 
 Pallegoix, Bishop, 295, 301, 305. 
 
 Palmistry, xiv., 147. 
 
 Panja. See Panya. 
 
 Panya, viii., 53, 55. 
 
 Pegu, vii., ix., xxi., xxii., 277, 283. 
 
 Percoto, Bishop, xxxv., 282. 
 
 Phayre, Sir A., viii., xi., xxiv., 48. 
 
 Pinto, Ferdinand Mendez, xxi. 
 
 Poppozorahen, King, 52. 
 
 Portuguese, xxi., 57> 9^- 
 
 Prome, viii., 49. 
 
 Promises, 225.
 
 INDEX 
 
 311 
 
 Punishments, 82, 83-86, 100, 292. See 
 
 Crimes. 
 
 Puppa-tsau-Rahan, King, 52. 
 Pyumengti, King, 51. 
 
 RACES of Burma, 42-46, 289-291. 
 
 Ramayana, 148. 
 
 Rangoon, 94, 97, 198, 217, 220, 283. 
 
 Rehatsek, xii., xiii., xvi. 
 
 Revenues, 91. 
 
 Rice, 189. 
 
 SAGAING, 53, 55. 
 
 Samudrit, King, 51. 
 
 Sangermano, xxiii., xxvii., xxxiii., 
 
 xxxix., 80, 221, 287. 
 Santo, Stephano, Hieronimo de, xxi. 
 Sarekittra. See Tharekhettara. 
 Satomenchin, King, 54. 
 Sciam. See Shan. 
 Seasons, 210-212. 
 Selons, 291. 
 
 Sermons of Gaudama, 129-140. 
 Serpents, 200-203. 
 Shamanism, xiii., xvi. 
 Shans, viii., ix., 43, 52, 53, 290, 300. 
 Siam, xxiii., 61, 62, 72, 295, 301. 
 Slavery, xix., xxvii., 135, 156, 230, 240, 
 
 248, 261-265, 268, 270, 271, 294. 
 Sykes, Colonel, 33, 104, 223. 
 Symes, Major Michael, xxiii., xxiv., 
 
 221. 
 
 Superstitions, xi.-xiv., 141-150, 161, 
 304. 
 
 TAGAUNG, viii., 48, 54. 
 
 Talaings, vii., ix.-xi., 42, 51, 22 1, 291. 
 
 Talismans, 148. 
 
 Tarukpyeming, King, 53. 
 
 Tattooing, xx., 148, 158. 
 
 Taungthu, ix. , 290. 
 
 Taunu. See Toungoo. 
 
 Taw Sein-Ko, Mr., xxix., 150, 296. 
 
 Taxes, 91. 
 
 Thadomengbya, King, 54. 
 
 Thammudarit, King, 51. 
 
 Tharekhettara, 48, 49. 
 
 Thaton, viii., x. 
 
 Theft, 250-253, 271. 
 
 Thenga Raja, King, 52. 
 
 Tibet, viii., 280, 289. 
 
 Time, 2. 
 
 Torts, 253, 254, 265-269. 
 
 Toungoo, 44, 57, 58. 
 
 Trabia, King, 54. 
 
 Transmigration of Souls, 8, in, 154, 
 
 302-306. 
 Trees, 193, 194. 
 
 UZZANA, King, 53. 
 
 WAGARU, x., 221, 285, 298. 
 Wagers, 269. 
 Weights, 2. 
 
 Witchcraft, xiv., 149, 305. 
 Witnesses, 237, 272, 275. 
 Women, xvii., xix, xxi., 135, 137, 165, 
 239. 299, 300. 
 
 YAW, 43, 289. 
 
 ZEMPIUSCIEN, King, 62. 
 Zimme, xxiii., 56. 
 Zodi sect, in. 
 Zunit, King, 53. 
 
 Printed by T. and A. CONSTABLE, Printers to Her Majesty, 
 at the Edinburgh University Press.
 
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