r 302 ] 



CHARACTERS. 



Particulars relating to the Inhabi- 

 tants of the Kingdom of Birman ; 

 from Major Si/mes's Account of 

 his Embassi/ to ^va. 



THE court-dress of the Birman 

 nobility is very becoming; it 

 consists of a long robe, either of 

 flowered satin or velvet, reaching 

 to the ancles, with an open collar 

 and loose sleeves; over this there 

 is a scarf, or flowing mantle, that 

 hangs from the shoulders, and on 

 their heads they wear high caps 

 made of velvet, either plain, or of 

 sUk embroidered with flowers of 

 gold, according to the rank of the 

 wearer. Ear-rings are a part of 

 male dress ; persons of condition 

 use tubes of gold about three inches 

 long and as thick as a large quill, 

 which expands at one end like the 

 mouth of a speaking trumpet. 



The Birmans in their features 

 bear a nearer resemblance to the 

 Chinese than the natives of Hin- 

 dustan. The women, especially in 

 the northern part of the empire, are 

 fairer than the Hindu females, but 

 not so delicately formed; they are, 

 however, well made, and in gene- 

 ral inclined to corpulence; their 

 hair is black, coarse, and long. — 

 The men are not tall in stature, 

 but active and athletic; they have 

 a very youthful appearance, from 

 the custom of plucking their beards 



instead of using the razor : they 

 tatoo their thighs and arms into 

 various fantastic shapes and figures, 

 which they believe operate as a 

 charm against the weapons of their 

 enemies. Neither the men nor 

 women are so cleanly in their per- 

 sons as the Hindus of India, amon^ 

 whom diurnal ablution is a religious 

 as well as a moral duty. Marriages 

 among the Birmans are not con- 

 tracted till the age of puberty; the 

 contract is purely civil ; and the 

 law prohiHts polygamy though 

 concubinage be admitted. They 

 burn their dead on a funeral pile six 

 or eight feet high, made of billets 

 of dried wood, laid across, with in- 

 tervals to admit a circulation of air, 

 and increase tlie flame. The priests 

 walk round the pile, reciting pray- 

 ers to Gautama until the fire reaches 

 the body, when the whole is quickly 

 reduced to ashes: the bones are af- 

 terwards gathered and deposited in 

 a grave. Persons of high distinction 

 are embalmed, and their remains 

 preserved six weeks or two months 

 after their decease, before they are 

 committed to the funeral pile. 



Of the population of the Birman 

 dominions, I could only form a 

 conclusion, from the information I 

 received of the number of cities, 

 towns, and ^'illages in the empire ; 

 these, I was assured by a person 

 who might be supposed to know. 



